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Some of this information seems inaccurate or muddled between different incidents in different cases. I can confirm that the well known "Torricellian Chamber" is an airbell about 65 m from base in Buxton Water Sump, in Peak Cavern (at Castleton, Derbyshire). There was an early 1950s article in "Nature" about this site but it was a report of a scientific investigation of water levels related to periodic flooding and makes no reference to any rescue effort. This article was reproduced in a Cave Diving Group Newsletter a number of years ago (with permission from the publisher).
There is a database of publications on this site but it's a member only benefit, so you can't access it without the password. However, the index to it is available to you by hovering over "Resources" above, then over "Newsletters", then clicking on "Newsletter index", in case you want to delve. (I just had a quick glance for you but couldn't immediately find it as I'm very busy with other stuff as I type.)
Someone else may post here if they can easily tell us the reference. Meanwhile, I'm going to email a couple of other folk who know a lot about the early Peak District diving in the hopes that they can tell you the reference to the reprint in the CDG Newsletter.
Once you know the reference you could contact the BCA Librarian (found via "British Caving Association") and she will almost certainly scan & email the article for you.
There was a successful rescue around then from a large airbell less than 20 m into the Resurgence Sump at Peak Cavern. One of the stranded divers was, from memory, Ken Hurst from Sheffield (I think there was a total of two divers who had to be helped out.) The airbell is called the Schoolroom. Could this have been the incident in question, if the facts have become muddled?
The "half a mile, mostly underwater" is definitely wrong; no-one had been into an underwater cave in the UK anywhere near that distance in 1949. It was the late 1970s before such penetration dives were made.
One of the people I asked to look into this has just sent a message to say he's on the case and will post something on here when he's had chance to read contemporary material properly. I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it for you.
Ah - that wording is subtly different. This is being looked into for you by others who have easier access to the contemporary literature; one of them will no doubt respond in due course. It'll be interesting to learn the outcome, as none of us is aware of the incident (although that may just mean we're not familiar with published information about it).
Let's see . . . .
Have found the reference for you of the reprint of the Bob Davies paper, originally published in "Nature":
Davies R E, 1999 (reprint date), Water at a depth of -5 ft discovered by diving in Peak Cavern. Cave Diving Group Newsletter 130 (January 1999) pages 4 - 6.
The original paper (bearing the same title) appeared in Nature Vol.166 p.894 (1950) and the copyright is owned by Macmillan Magazines Ltd.
The paper makes no reference to any rescues - but it does tell us that the divers involved with Davies were F. G. Balcombe, D. A. Coase, W. H. Davis, C. W. Mack and J.A.Thompson. As a record of their efforts to perform a detailed scientific experiment in an underwater cave, shortly after the war, this paper is fascinating.
There is further background information about Bob Davies in this short obituary:
OK, let's see what my contacts come up with.
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