Commemorating Cdr. Lionel ‘Buster’ Crabb
On 28 January 2023, on what would have been Commander Lionel 'Buster' Crabb's 114th Birthday, a small celebration was held at Durrants Cottage in Rowlands Castle where Crabb lived with for a short time with his wife Margaret in the last few years before his famous...
Peter Kreeft dives again!
In 2018, Franz Rothbrust of Historische Tauchergesellschaft e.V. (HDS Germany) gave a lecture at our Conference on a project to reconstruct a Kreeft diving suit. (A transcript can be found in our 2018 Conference Proceedings.) Around 1799/1800 Peter Kreeft lost a ship...
Subsea to Summit – 3 days on Snowdon
Having successfully climbed Ben Nevis in Standard Dress two years ago, the Working Equipment Group repeated the challenge on Mount Snowdon, the highest point in Wales. This year the team were raising funds not only for the Society but also for a little girl in Wales...
VERNON MONUMENT DEDICATION
On 15th July, under a cloudless blue sky, a ceremony was held at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth to dedicate the Vernon Monument. Gunwharf Quays occupies the former location of HMS Vernon, the home of clearance diving for almost 75 years. The monument, a life-size...
Reg Vallintine, 1930–2022
It is with enormous sadness that we announce the death of Reg Vallintine who died on Saturday 25 June. Reg was an Honorary Vice President and founder member of the Society with a personal history of outstanding achievements in the early days of sport diving in...
SUMMER RALLY AT STONEY COVE
It was a typical English summer weekend: Glorious sunshine one day followed by cold overcast rain. But rain didn't stop play. There was a terrific turn out of members and volunteers, an exceptional variety of helmets, pumps and equipment to try out and plenty of...
End of an Era at Horsea Lake
Saturday and Sunday 26th and 27th March 2022Defence Diving School, Horsea Island, Portsmouth What a weekend! A potentially sad farewell turned into a weekend of celebration, good humour, camaraderie and was completed by an emotional and fitting farewell...
HDS Germany’s 2022 Programme
Historische Tauchergesellschaft (HDS Germany) have announced their programme of events for 2022. Their International Classic diving meeting will be held in Leipzig on the 17th - 19th June 2022. Let us hope that Covid restrictions will allow us to join them this year....
Czech Retro Diving Weekend
7th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL RETRO DIVING WEEKEND, 2021(Jiří Trpík Memorial event)Another successful Retro Diving event was held by the HDS Czech Republic in September. There was a wide range of vintage diving equipment from twin hoses to hard hats – and good weather to...
