Book brings back memories of deep sea rescue for man from Troutbeck Bridge
A MAN who spent more than three days trapped at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean said a new book on his extraordinary rescue “put the atmosphere in place”.
Roger Mallinson said Diving by Stephen McGinty had made him “cold and shivering” when he read it because he “brought back the story right now”.
The book explores the actions of those who worked to save Mr. Mallinson and Roger Chapman from a grim death 500 meters below the surface in 1973.
The two men had laid telephone cables on the high seas 150 miles off the Irish coast.
The rear sphere of their submersible, Pisces III, had flooded at the end of the mission, causing the vehicle to sink.
It was up to those on the surface to retrieve the couple, who were employed by Vickers Oceanics in Barrow, before their air ran out.
“You are in the submarine, frozen, out of oxygen, scared,” said Mr Mallinson, 83, of Troutbeck Bridge.
“Everything is going really well with Stephen McGinty’s book.”
Mr Mallinson said he felt he should have included more about the exact circumstances that led to the incident.
Mr McGinty, 49, said: “This is Britain’s most remarkable post-war maritime adventure and it has been completely forgotten.
“This [the story] has been buried in the Atlantic Ocean for almost five decades and I think it’s time to bring it to the surface. ”
The rescue mission was coordinated by Commander Peter Messervy, Managing Director of Vickers Oceanics and a former Royal Navy Rescue Diver.
One rescue submarine was airlifted from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and another was dispatched from the North Sea. A remote-controlled miniature submarine was taken on board by the US Air Force.
Four separate attempts were made to save the pair to no avail.
Finally, a repaired Pisces II, which had been damaged in the first rescue attempt, was successfully flown to the bottom of the ocean and its stranded namesake rose to the surface.
Roger Chapman later revealed he had less than 15 minutes of oxygen left. The two men had been in their submersible for over 84 hours when they were finally rescued. Mr Chapman, who lived in Broughton, died last year.
Last month Mr. Mallinson, of Troutbeck Bridge, and dozens of former Vickers employees met at the Windermere Jetty Museum for a reunion and to launch Mr. McGinty’s book.
Diving: the untold story of the world’s deepest underwater rescue, published by HarperCollins, is available for purchase online.