The Cave and Crag club was one of the first to be formed in the aftermath of the Second World War ending in Europe in 1945.
The main founder was Dave Williams who gathered around him a small group of friends. During 1946 they started caving and climbing in North Wales and Derbyshire Traveling by foot, bicycle or public Transport.
On the 12th of February 1947 the Birmingham Cave & Crag club was officially formed with nine members. Annual membership fee was7/6. 1947 was the worst winter of the 20th century and early records mention meets to the Clent hills and Ilam Hall with snow drifts upto 25 foot deep.
During the first three years the membership increased to 21 with meets now spreading as far as South Wales, Yorkshire and the Lake District. A hut at Alstonefield was established. The club started it’s first dig at Gateham Swallet and an oversees meet to Chamonix was held.
The new members included several highly knowledgeable cavers that enabled the club to form links with the cave research group, The Peakland Archaeological Society and Others. Standards at this time were restricted by lack of equipment, guides etc so most members took part in all activities Caving, Climbing and Walking. Very few motorcars or motorcycles existed but the increased membership together with help from other groups enabled the club to hire a coach for the weekend every month and this was an important part of club activity for several years.
The first newsletter was produced in 1950 and the dig at Gateham Swallet closed. 1951 saw the close of the Alstonefield hut and a move to Baslow.
The Club hut at Pant Ifan was discovered in mid 1945 by a group of club members climbing at Tremadoc and was officially opened Christmas 1954. See separate history of PantIfan
The rest of the fifties saw the club growing great exploration of the Tremadoc cliffs and a hut move from Baslow to Wetton and back to Alstonefield again.
The sixties saw a big change in the club with the increased use of the motorcar making people more independent and not reliant on the club. Equipment and standards improved and members specialized into their chosen activity. Many members had married with families and a new annual meet was introduced “The Family Meet” to cater for all families, this meet completed it’s 36th year in 2000. The late sixties and seventies saw high caving activity with several; overseas expeditions. The early seventies saw the re roofing of the barn at Pant Ifan. At the same time additional sleeping quarters and improved leisure area were provided.
During that time the name of the club was changed to the Cave and Crag Club to more reflect our now widely spread membership. The mid seventies saw the introduction of the Alstonefield walk which is held every year in December to provide an opportunity for all members to take part at a time of year with low caving and climbing activity.
The 1980’s and early 90’s saw the club at a low level with an ageing and static membership but during the late 90’s the club has regained much of it’s earlier impetus. After several difficult moves of club room we moved several years ago to the Moby Dick which was very close to the Birmingham rock face climbing wall and this proved most beneficial with membership having grown over the last five years by 40% to approximately 140.
The club celebrated it’s 50th year anniversary in 1997 and this event was marked by a club weekend held at an outdoor centre in the lake district with old photographs and slides covering the past fifty years and a dinner dance on the Saturday evening. Members from all over the world attended this unique event, a pig roast at Pant Ifan later in the year completed the celebrations.
The very sad death of one of our younger members in a climbing accident in the French Alps at the end of 1998 affected us all greatly.
In commemoration it was decided to effect a major improvement to the facilities at Pant Ifan. A significant number of club members worked very hard over a 16 month period to complete this project which has brought those involved closer together. This improvement was officially opened in February 2000.
It is impossible to provide a history of the club in a few words but it is hoped that this brief summary will at least provide some idea of the Cave and Crag Club
Mike Varley
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History