HDS Annual Conference
Museum of Docklands, London
21st October 2006

The Society’s annual conference was held in the Wilberforce Theatre of the Museum in Docklands, West India Quay, Canary Wharf, London, on Saturday 21st October.

Our speakers and subjects were:

Dr. Nick McIver The Railway Divers
*
Dr. Peter Earle The Disappearing Fleet – Treasure in Vigo Bay
*
Richard Larn One Size Fits All! Royal Navy Divers and Equipment
*
Colonel Peter Chitty, MBE The Army’s Divers

Dr. Nick McIver’s distinguished career in occupational medicine, with particular reference to the diving industry, has led to many honours and awards. He has directed companies in the hyperbaric medicine field and acted as an advisor to many organisations. He has also, as something of a career break, served as Regimental Medical Officer in a Gurkha Regiment. He began researching the history of the Railway Divers following the chance discovery that the railway companies, with their need to build and maintain bridges and docks, were for many years the largest employers of divers in the country.

Dr. Peter Earle has researched and written books on a variety of historical subjects, ranging from kings to corsairs. It was whilst researching the life of Sir William Phips and his salvage of the Concepcion in the late 1600’s that he came across the log book of Phip’s vessel, the Henry. This provided the vital locational data which enabled Seaquest International to relocate the wreck in just two days of searching and recover an incredible treasure. Dr. Earle is currently working on a new book, covering the exploits of treasure divers from the 1690’s to the mid-nineteenth century. His talk will cover two of the many expeditions made to Vigo Bay to salvage the Spanish treasure flee, destroyed by a joint British/Dutch fleet in 1702; those of William Evans in the eighteenth and Isaac Dickson in the nineteenth centuries.

Richard Larn first dived in 1947 with a Draëger closed set, purchased from Exchange & Mart for the sum of 10 shillings. He subsequently served for 22 years in the Royal Navy, finishing his service career as a Chief Petty Officer free diver. On leaving the navy he founded Prodive in Falmouth, a company that was responsible for the training of 1,000 commercial divers. Subsequently he was responsible for locating and salvaging the wreck of the Association in the Scilly Isles and he has published 42 books on wrecks and wreck diving, including, of course, the definitive Shipwreck Index of the British Isles. His talk will cover the history of Royal Navy diving and equipment.

Colonel Peter Chitty has been described as the ‘father of army diving’ and for once the catchpenny title is true. He is, perhaps, the ultimate authority on the history of army diving, his long service career spanning the introduction of many new systems and methods as officer in charge of the Army Diving School at Marchwood. His talk will encompass the long history of diving in the Royal Engineers, beginning in the 1830’s when the Corps of Sappers & Miners pioneered military diving (and subsequently taught the navy to dive!)