The HDS Board and Officers
Our Board members have a wide range of backgrounds from Military Diver to Vice Chairmanships in international organisations. Several members are Managing Directors of their own businesses.
As a result the pool of social and managerial skills is impressive and it underpins our strength and development. Our Board is supported by an advisory panel with expertise in various aspects of diving including medical, scientific and military diving history.
All our Board members are unpaid volunteers.
An organigram of our Board Members can be found here
President
Surgeon Rear-Admiral Philip Raffaelli, CB, QHP, FRCP
Philip Raffaelli joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1976 while studying medicine at Edinburgh Medical School. From 1979 he worked as a medical officer in the Royal Navy Submarine Service, working for a time on submarines. In 2007, he became the head of the RN Medical Service, the Medical Director General (Naval), as Surgeon Rear-Admiral before being appointed Surgeon-General on 22 December 2009. He retired from the Royal Navy in 2012.
HONORARY VICE PRESIDENTS
The HDS Vice President is an honorary title bestowed by the Board upon a member or individual who has a proven record of working and supporting the Society over a long period of time. We have three Honorary Vice Presidents and we thank them for their invaluable contributions to the Society over many years.
MICHAEL FARDELL • JOHN SMILLIE • REG VALLINTINE
The Elected Board of Directors
Chair
Mike O’Meara
Mike joined the RN at the age of 17 where he qualified as a Clearance Diver and left the Navy in 1975 as a CD1 diving supervisor to join the offshore diving industry. Within 3 years he was a Diving Superintendent; he went on to hold several senior positions rising to Vice President responsible for Health Safety Security Environment and Quality with Subsea 7.
In 1981 he was responsible for the successful salvage of £40 million of gold bullion from HMS Edinburgh in the Barents Sea.
He is Vice Chairman of the HDS with special responsibility for the Diving Museum’s accreditation.
Vice Chair
Kevin Casey
Kevin Casey is from Melbourne Australia. He started work as a civil engineering draftsman, then as a rigger, diver’s attendant, air diver, air diving supervisor and saturation diver in the offshore oil industry. He is Managing Director of www.buyhistoryprints.com. He is a member of the South East Museums Development Programme’s Advisory Panel and committee member of the Friends of Stokes Bay and Gosport Society. In 2018 he was elected onto Gosport Borough Council. He has been a member of the HDS since 1991 and Museum Director for 11 years.
Treasurer
Tony Marshall
Tony is the Chairman of the Scuba Industries Trade Association and former Vice Chairman of the British Sub Aqua Club. He is the Managing Director of Collins and Chambers, a diving equipment retailer.
He has been a member of the HDS since 2008.
Secretary
Vacant
Working Equipment Group Officer
Ty Burton
Ty has been a member of the HDS since 2002.
Publications Editor
Peter Dick
Peter developed a long standing interest history of diving while working offshore in the 1970s. He has been a member of the HDS from its inception and presently edits the Historical Diving Times and International Journal of Diving History for the Society.
Museum Director
Kevin Casey
Kevin Casey is from Melbourne Australia. He started work as a civil engineering draftsman, then as a rigger, diver’s attendant, air diver, air diving supervisor and saturation diver in the offshore oil industry. He is Managing Director of www.buyhistoryprints.com. He is a member of the South East Museums Development Programme’s Advisory Panel and committee member of the Friends of Stokes Bay and Gosport Society. In 2018 he was elected onto Gosport Borough Council. He has been a member of the HDS since 1991 and Museum Director for 11 years.
Member Without Portfolio
Adrian Barak
Adrian has been involved with the ‘diving world’ since his early teens (a very long time ago!!) and was one of the Founder Members of the Society in 1990. He has been a member of the Working Equipment Group since its inception, and has served as Films Officer for many years. He was one of the divers involved in the excavation and recovery of the Mary Rose and is a collector and dealer in underwater-related books.
Appointed Officers
Archivist Gary Wallace Potter
Books Peter Jackson
Collections Manager Nigel Phillips
Estates Manager Les Rutherford
Exhibitions Officer Vacant
Films Adrian Barak
Historic Divers’ Index Gary Wallace Potter
Historic Equipment Peter Wingett
Membership (acting) Ann Bevan
Media & Shop Ann Bevan
Oral History Vacant
Royal Navy Diver’s Index Ginge Fullen QGM
Museum Safety Officer Cdr Martin Marks OBE
Museum Cashier Martyn Bellamy
Museum PR Helen Rutherford
Advisory Panel
Cdr Robert Hoole RN
Gavin Anthony
Ric Wharton
Professor Peter Bennett
