Annual Conference

Each year since 1990, the Society has held an annual conference – with the exception of 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions. Leading pioneers and researchers give presentations and the Society’s various awards are given.

The Conference is open to all – it is not restricted to members only. Non-members are most welcome.

DUE TO AN UNEXPECTED LAST-MINUTE CANCELLATION OF OUR HOTEL BOOKING, WE HAVE REVISED OUR PLANS FOR THE 2022 CONFERENCE.

We are also mindful of escalating costs for everyone and so we have endeavoured to make this year’s Conference affordable and enjoyable. Our formal evening dinner will be replaced by an informal get-together in a local hotel after the Conference and our AGM will be held at a later date (27th November) by Zoom.

• The Conference will be held at the offices of Subsea7.
• Accommodation  There are several hotels and B&Bs available in the Sutton area. The organisers and speakers will be staying at The Premier Inn which has very favourable rates IF BOOKED EARLY,  The hotel is about 20 minutes walk away from Subsea7.
• There will be no formal dinner but everyone is invited to gather in the bar/dining area of the Premier Inn to socialise enjoy and evening meal. Their menu can be viewed here.

THE HOTEL
(Clicking on the image of the Premier Inn will take you to the hotel’s website)

Premier Inn, St Nicholas Way, Sutton, London, SM1 1AT

GETTING THERE
By Rail: Trains from Victoria Station, London to Sutton Station; journey time approximately 35 minutes.
Turn right on exiting Sutton Station. Cross over the main road and continue north along the pedestrianised High Street. Continue along the High Street until you reach St. Nicholas Road on your left. Turn left into St Nicholas Road and right at the T-junction at the end of the road. The Premier Inn is a 5 minute walk to your right.

By Car:
Parking near the Premier Inn:
There is no parking at the Premier Inn. Parking is available at Just Park, St Nicholas Centre, St Nicholas Way which is a 3-minute walk away. Discounted overnight parking (£7.50) is available for guests staying at the Premier Inn hotel. (Tickets must be validated at reception). Note: the car park is closed between midnight and 6am (or 8.30am on Sundays)

The History of Subsea7
Liz James, Group Environmental Director, Subsea7

Liz James started her career as the first female professional offshore diver in the North Sea. Since then she has worked in a variety of corporate, management and leadership roles and has over 30 years’ experience working in the oil and gas industry including Project Manager/Director roles.
Prior to joining Subsea7 she worked as a Lead Project Engineer for Saipem in London,  and earlier for Duke Energy in Australia, Phillips Petroleum, Conoco, British Gas and Maersk. She has trained in Management of complex programmes, Executive leadership training, Kidnap incident management training and Women in business coaching.

The Development of Buoyancy Aids in diving
Patrick Van Hoeserlande
Air Force Major Van Hoeserlande Patrick, Ir GS

Patrick Van Hoeserlande is a diving instructor, a writer-editor of the Flemish diving magazine ‘Hippocampus’ and an occasional contributor to ‘Divers for the Environment’. As an aeronautical engineer, he has a keen interest in how things work and why. He started a professional doctorate at the Cardiff Metropolitan University carrying out research in (military) concept development. He is passionate about the combination of technology and diving and enthusiastic about spreading the word about his field of interest.

Some Highlights of the Historical Diving Society’s Collection
Nigel Phillips

In 1982 Nigel Phillips founded his own company dealing in rare antiquarian books about science and medicine, in all their aspects and in any language, especially early works from the fifteenth century to about 1850. He is a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association and of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers.
He is also the Collections Manager of the ever-increasing artefacts, documents, images and film that is in the collection of the Historical Diving Society/Diving Museum.

The Significance of Diving in the Development of the Norwegian Society we Recognise Today.
Bjørn W Kahrs

Bjørn Kahrs is a highly experienced diver, author and founder member of the Norwegian HDS. He started sports diving in 1967 and was soon instructing before moving into commercial diving. In 1973 he joined Seaway (Norway) and ran their first closed bell diving course diving on mixed gas down to 100 metres, and later diving offshore with Comex. In 1976 he became an instructor at Comex Aberdeen, then Safety Officer and Training Co-ordinator. Two years later he moved to the Norwegian Underwater Institute where he supervised dry and wet diving down to 500 metres. In 1984 he transferred to the Norwegian state diving school as head of closed bell training. He retired in 2005 and became the first secretary of the HDS Norway; and later, the chairman.

The History of the Royal Naval Physiological Laboratory
Gavin Anthony

For over 35 years Gavin was involved in research, development and assessment of diving systems and procedures for the Royal Navy. This included the development and assessment of re-breathers, creating active thermal protection systems and producing mix gas Decompression Tables. He is involved in the development of standards for diving equipment and helicopter ditching systems. A diver since 1970, he has qualified as an HSE pt III commercial diver and is a recreational instructor. He is a Trustee of DDRC Healthcare, Secretary of the BSAC Jubilee Trust and provides technical support and advice to the BSAC. He is currently a Director of GAVINS ltd and is an independent Consultant for Diving and Life Support.