Fight for Life - The Neil Moss Story DVD

A DVD produced and edited by Derbyshire caver and prize-winning film- maker David Webb. 52 minutes.

In March 1959 a team of cavers entered Peak Cavern with the object of exploring a side passage off a large chamber deep in the system. One of the, Neil Moss, became trapped and attempts to release him resulted in perhaps the biggest cave rescue ever mounted in this country. The events of this dramatic weekend and its aftermath are told through the medium of contemporary photographs, press clippings and interviews with several of the men that were present during the rescue attempt, and include scenes filmed in and around the village of Castleton and Peak Cavern. The body of Neil Moss has never been recovered. The film was first shown to an audience of over 200 in September 2006 at this year’s Hidden Earth caving conference. Subsequent unsolicited comment from both cavers and the caving press (see below) has been extremely complimentary and has included such statements as factual and sensitive, impressive piece of work captivating from beginning to end, very well edited and put together, and a classic caving film. Many have said that it is a story that needed to be told if only to correct some of the inaccuracies and fanciful accounts that persist to this day. Filming for the project started as long ago as 1994 and continued intermittently over the following years with pauses while other easier subjects presented themselves for editing. It was finally resurrected late in 2005 following sustained prodding from the interviewees who kept reminding me that they were not getting any younger, and the arduous task of editing some 15 hours of footage began in earnest. Although the incident occurred nearly 50 years ago, its impact upon the village of Castleton and its inhabitants was great, and is remembered by many even today. "