1. John Volanthen attended Longhill High School in Rottingdean, and later De Montfort University in Leicester where he studied electronics.
10 Facts About John Volanthen
1. 2.
John Volanthen's interest in caving began when he was a scout.
3.
John Volanthen began cave diving through a social club when he attended college.
4.
John Volanthen was part of a team that attempted a cave rescue of Eric Establie in 2010, in the Dragonniere Gaud Cave near Labastide-de-Virac in the Ardeche region of France, which was ultimately unsuccessful.
5.
John Volanthen placed guidelines in the cave to assist others in navigation.
6.
John Volanthen disputed the notion that encountering the team was due to luck, saying that he and Stanton systematically surfaced at every airspace in the flooded cave passages to shout and listen for a response, as well as to smell for any indicators of human waste signifying the current or past presence of the team.
7.
John Volanthen assisted in rescuing members of the team; the children were sedated and then lashed to the divers.
8.
John Volanthen was awarded the Royal Humane Society's bronze medal in 2012 for a rescue attempt of a diver in a French cave, and for the discovery of the diver's body.
9.
John Volanthen was awarded the Royal Humane Society's Stanhope Medal for his role in the rescue.
10.
John Volanthen is a volunteer scout leader with the Somerset Scouts, taking children on cave excursions.