Neil Moss incident

Neil Moss
Born(1938-07-28)28 July 1938
Died24 March 1959(1959-03-24) (aged 20)
Peak Cavern, Derbyshire, England
Cause of deathHypercapnia
Burial placeMoss Chamber, Peak Cavern
EducationBalliol College, Oxford University

Oscar Hackett Neil Moss (28 July 1938[1] – 24 March 1959) was a British student who died in a caving accident. A twenty-year-old undergraduate studying philosophy at Balliol College, Oxford, Moss became jammed underground, 1,000 feet (300 m) from the entrance,[2] after descending a narrow unexplored shaft in Peak Cavern, a famous cave system in Castleton in Derbyshire, on 22 March 1959.

According to accounts from Moss's party, he became stuck after dislodging a boulder in part of the shaft, estimated to be 40 feet (12 m) deep, which then trapped the rope ladder preventing him being pulled up by rescuers. The 1 foot (30 cm) distance between the rungs of the ladder was too great for someone of his height to reach through the remaining gap.

Initial attempts to haul him free failed because the rope broke several times.[3] When he lost consciousness as carbon dioxide from his own respiration as well as from his carbide lamp built up in the base of the shaft, he was unable to assist further rescue attempts made with a stronger rope. More rescue efforts were made after Moss's party sought help from experienced cavers who notified the police. Oxygen cylinders were brought into the cave to try to ventilate the shaft using a rubber tube but made little difference to the poisonous atmosphere inside. A media circus assembled in Castleton.

On the second day eighteen-year-old June Bailey answered the call for an experienced caver small enough to fit into the tunnel, and spent six hours assisting, until she was "driven back by foul air." Caving veteran Bob Leakey, who heard the appeal from the police via a BBC radio news bulletin, also tried but could not get to Moss.[3] The rescuers abandoned attempts to reach Moss down the shaft and tried drilling through the rock to reach him from underneath. Moss never regained consciousness and was declared dead on the morning of Tuesday 24 March[4] by Doctor Hugh Kidd after his breathing could no longer be heard after detecting Cheyne-Stokes respiration beforehand during pauses in the drilling. Dr Kidd recalled this as the first time he had pronounced a death without being able to see the patient.

His father, who had kept vigil at the entrance, requested that his son's body be left in place to avoid risk of further injury or loss of life to those attempting a retrieval.[5][6][7] The fissure was sealed with loose rocks from the floor of the chamber and the inscription 1959 Niel Moss RIP (name misspelled) was carved onto a rock by the shaft. This section of Peak Cavern is now known as Moss Chamber after being renamed from Great Cascade Chamber in honour of the deceased. There were media reports of the fissure being filled with cement or concrete but this is untrue, as verified by those who participated in the rescue and clear-up.[8]

Aftermath

The story of Moss's death was widely publicised,[9] including worldwide in European, Australian, and American newspapers. The cave remained closed to the public until after the inquest with the lights remaining lit as a sign of respect. The publicity included accusations of fault although the coroner reached a verdict of death by misadventure with no fault on the part of Moss's original party or the rescuers. The incident led to a brief negative attitude towards caving with some calling for it to be banned although it did raise awareness of foul air in tight dead end crevices.

The incident also featured in the novel One Last Breath (2004) by Stephen Booth.[10] In 2006 fellow Derbyshire caver Dave Webb released a documentary Fight For Life – The Neil Moss Story on DVD[11] in 2006 after researching the incident since 1991, including interviews with rescuers, in response to contradictory news coverage of the event. The documentary was released with an added introduction on Webb's official YouTube channel on 31 May 2025.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ 1939 England and Wales Register
  2. ^ "Oxford Student Trapped in Cave 300 Feet Deep". Chicago Daily Tribune. 23 March 1959. p. 1.
  3. ^ a b "Oxford Student Trapped in Rock Crevice is Dead". Rome News-Tribune. Rome, Georgia. AP. 24 March 1959. Page 1, columns 4-5. Retrieved 6 September 2022 – via Google News.
  4. ^ "Frogman in Cave". Chicago Daily Tribune. 24 March 1959. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
  5. ^ "Cave Becomes Youth's Tomb; Rescue Fails". Chicago Daily Tribune. 25 March 1959. p. 1.
  6. ^ "Student's Body to be Left in Shaft". The Age. Melbourne. 26 March 1959. Page 4, columns 2-3. Retrieved 6 September 2022 – via Google News.
  7. ^ "The Man in the Shaft". Time. 6 April 1959. Archived from the original on 1 February 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
  8. ^ "Remembering Neil Moss". 24 March 2019.
  9. ^ Pathé, British. "Pothole Tragedy". www.britishpathe.com. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  10. ^ Booth, Stephen (2006). One Last Breath. Random House. ISBN 978-0-440-24270-3 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "Neil Moss Story". Mountain Rescue England and Wales. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Fight For Life: The Neil Moss Story - The Ultimate Account". You Tube. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
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