HISTORY
The Army Caving Association (ACA) was founded in 1977. In 1991 it brought together caving in the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy with the Army and became known as the Combined Services Caving Association (CSCA). A change in constitution made it easier for members of the three armed services in the United Kingdom to come together for joint caving activities.
Members of the British Services have been involved in caving going back to at least 1910 when the famous caving pioneer Dr E A Baker was trapped by floodwater in Eastwater Swallet in the Mendip Hills with a party from the Northamptonshire Regiment. Baker's writings at the time include numerous references to participation of various members of the Army in his trips to Yorkshire Dales and Ireland. Photographs exist showing members of the armed forces dressed in bowler hats with candles and wearing boots and knee-length puttees descending caves such as Noon's Hole in Northern Ireland. After the Second World War, the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst Caving Club operated out of Fountain Cottage, Priddy. It was responsible for introducing several generations of army officers to the sport of caving.