E A Martel and the British Isles

Two of E A Martelʹs 7 visits to the British Isles are described - a 4-week excursion in 1895 to Ireland, Derbyshire and Yorkshire, and one of 3 days to the Mendip Hills in 1904. Besides new explorations, including the first descent of the 100m-deep wet shaft of Gaping Gill, he mapped other caves and studied several inaccessible underground rivers. The main descriptive publications in both languages are reviewed. Martelʹs ways of encouraging and helping British cave work are discussed, and also the English and Irish membership of the Societe de Speleologie. Wherever possible new information is given about these Franco-British links, with some new illustrations.