The Diver In The Royal Navy The diver became an important member of any royal Navy crew, and a special training school was set up in HMS Excellent at Portsmouth. All but the smallest vessels carried divers and equipment. Wherever in the world a naval force operated a diving team could be called upon. The ‘Ships Divers’ carried out routine underwater maintenance such as unblocking inlets, freeing tangled propellers, and effecting minor repairs, tasks which previously required expensive and time-consuming dry docking. Equipment lost overboard could be recovered, provided the water was not too deep. For difficult and deep water tasks the navy maintained a specialist unit. Consulting closely with Siebe Gorman, the navy continually updated and upgraded its equipment, providing the driving force behind many technical developments.

‘Divers Tales’ Despite the vast improvements in diving that Siebe’s apparatus brought about, divers, particularly those who dived deep, retained a special status. Often working single-handed, and always on their own initiative, the ‘Deep Sea Diver’ became an individual who commanded the greatest awe and respect. In the early days diving physiology was poorly understood; only men of a certain physical type could dive effectively to depths in excess of 33 feet. There was no way of predicting who these individuals might be and, given that diving also required physical strength, steady nerves, and considerable engineering skills, genuine ‘deep sea divers’ were men apart. This elite of the diving world was always in great demand, salving lost valuables and carrying out civil engineering tasks in difficult conditions. It was a dangerous, glamorous live, and a very well paid one!

Blown To The Surface! Standard diving equipment, despite appearances, is in fact incredibly buoyant. Although the diving helmet is extremely heavy at the surface, once on the sea bed the diver is only kept there by weights attached to his back, chest and boots. Inexperienced divers, or divers working in different positions, occasionally suffered a phenomena known as ‘blowing up’. The diver inadvertently allowed more air to enter the suit than was exiting via the helmet valve. Within a very short space of time the diver would become positively buoyant and shoot, out of control, to the surface. So dangerous was ‘blowing up’ that divers under instruction were required to deliberately experience it before their training was considered complete. Should a diver ‘blow up’, there was the danger that he would rise too quickly, collide with the diving vessel, or become helplessly entangled.

Overcoming The Bends One of the greatest dangers that divers face is that of decompression sickness or ‘the bends’. Nitrogen, held in solution in the body’s tissues, is suddenly liberated as bubbles of gas when the diver ascends. The effects range from a slight rash to death. During the early days this physiological phenomenon was little understood and, although a number of theories for avoidance were advanced, deep diving – anything below 40 feet – was always a risk. In 1905 Professor J S Haldane, working for the British Admiralty, devised a method of ‘Stage Decompression’ whereby divers were brought to the surface in a series of ‘stops’, allowing nitrogen to dissipate harmlessly. Decompression accidents still occasionally occurred, and special chambers were manufactured, many by Siebe Forman, in which a diver could be rapidly repressurised for a very slow and controlled ‘ascent’.

Communications 1. Although water is a very good conductor of sound, Standard Divers working alongside one another were unable to converse normally. The underwater world is anything but silent, and conversation was impossible. However, one improvised method was devised. Experienced divers would touch helmets and speak, the sound being transmitted via the copper domes. Unfortunately ‘reception’ was rather poor and the bulky Standard Diving equipment was unsuited to such intricate manouvres. In any case most diving was carried out in such poor visibility that the divers would have had difficulty in finding one another! As a result, few divers felt the inclination or need to speak. Diving, at least in the early days, was regarded as a solitary task, and if divers had to work in pairs it was generally without the need for verbal communication.

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