News
‘Frogman’ Reg leads on BSAC club’s 60th anniversary celebration
One of Hull’s original ‘frogmen’ – now aged 90 – has launched a search for fellow scuba divers to help celebrate a historic landmark.
Great grandfather Reg Thompson is appealing for past members of British Sub Aqua Hull, the club he helped found in 1954 to join in its Diamond Anniversary festivities.
Amazingly, Reg only hung up his fins three years ago at the age of 87.
“It broke my heart when I had to stop, but my legs are not up to it anymore,” said Reg, now an honorary life member of the British Sub Aqua Hull branch.
“It means I get in for free!” he laughed. “When we first started out it was sixpence a week to join, which was a lot of money in those days.We went by the name of Hull Frogmen – myself and five diving obsessed friends.”
Reg has a treasured collection of photographs from his diving days but would love to see any other club photos or souvenirs from former members.
Hull’s Diving Officer, Trevor Jones, of Beverley, was inspired by Reg to take up diving. He said: “Reg knows just about all there is to know about scuba diving and has helped bring along so many of our youngsters over the years. He is a great character.”
Reg, whose home in Flamborough overlooks the North Sea, recalls how he and the other club founders started out by making their own diving suits.
He said: “One of them lads, Bob King, would come over to our house for tea nearly every night and we would obsess about diving, experimenting with homemade gadgetry. We operated on a shoestring, with hardly any funds. We made our own suits out of rubber sheets which were used at the time to line babies’ cots. We would stick them together with glue.
“Eventually neoprene came along which was a lot better. I remember making masks too, using rubber tubing and calor gas valves converted with an elastic band.”Our methods were very unorthodox in the early days.”
British Sub Aqua Hull, which currently has about 38 members, is keen for as many past and present members as possible to attend a 60th birthday barbecue at the aptly named Ship Inn in Dunswell on June 28.
“We’d love to hear from former Hull divers and to see any old photos or divingmemorabilia they can bring along to share with us. As a club we must have had more than 1,000 members pass through our doors over the last six decades so hopefully some of them are still in the area and able to attend,” said Trevor.
For more information about the Hull BSAC club’s 60th anniversary barbecue on June 28 at 7.30pm contact Diving Officer Trevor Jones on +44 (0)1482 862818.
News
Dive Worldwide Announces Bite-Back as its Charity of the Year
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
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