Few records exist of the clubs early years, a notable exception being the caving diary of Wilf Taylor which documents many of the early trips undertaken. In the excitement of the discovery of Lancaster Hole it is fair to assume that we concentrated more on cave exploration than on club affairs. Ironically, for he later became a Northern Pennine Club member, the club owes a debt of gratitude to George Cornes, for if he hadn’t discovered Lancaster Hole the Red Rose might never have come to exist.
Our own founding members some who were at this time members of the now defunct British Speleological Association (BSA). However certain officials of that organisation were restricting access to the system by placing locks on the entrance pitch lid so eventually local cavers decided to leave the BSA and form their own clubs, hence the formation of the Red Rose (RRCPC) and the Northern Pennine (NPC). They of course soon found other ways of entering the system, the rest as they say is history.
It would be amiss not to mention a few of those early members, Wilf Taylor as Secretary, Jim Eyre as our first President (1956-1968), Tom Sykes, Ron Bliss, Bill Leyland, Ray Barker and many more, all young tigers of their day who caved in woollens using old rope ladders, who all contributed immensely in the early exploration and surveying undertaken by the Red Rose and others.
Early days in Ease Gill
Red Rose members in the early years mainly resided local to Lancaster but although easy to reach the local caves they wanted a permanent base in the dales and commenced to build a small hut to the rear of the Marton Arms Hotel in Ingleton, a project that was never completed. However, in the early 1960’s we obtained rented premises in the rear stable yard of the Flying Horseshoe Hotel in Clapham which we used until 1967 when we moved to our present headquarters at Bullpot Farm.
Nowadays the club has swelled to nearly 200 members. It still counts Lancaster Hole, now extended to the 100km. “Three Counties System” as its home territory, publishing a complete survey and guide of the system; but members now also cave in most of the UK caving areas as well as undertaking regular expeditions abroad.
