Short Stories from the Reg Thompson Archives.


Reg Thompson has been diving for some 45 years and, at over 82 years old, still dives. Over the years his inquisitive and pioneering spirit has led to many memorable experiences, some of  which he has kindly agreed to share with you. Over the coming months Reg's short stories will be published here.



1. A Story of the Beginning. 
"Once after an air raid on Hull I found a half burned out incendiary bomb with tail fins intact. I took it into the garden and tried to light it"

 2. The Experimental Period.  
"One of the lads pumped air down a garden hose to one of us on the bottom wearing an ex-ARP gas mask"

3. The Hydroplane Project.  
"Weird and wonderful shapes appeared on the pool side".

4. The Spear Fishing Era - Part 1  
"The midnight oil burned constantly as, on Bob's dining room table, under our very eyes, Dry suits began to appear!

5. The Spear Fishing Era - Part 2.
"Finally the gun lay on my bench - loaded! Never had I seen anything that looked so evil." 

6. Das Boat.
"One crew member was detailed to keep scooping water and oil out of the scuppers with a condensed milk tin and to put the oil back into the engine!" 

7. A New Aqualung.
"I used that valve up to 1987 with the aid of rubber bands cut from bike inner tubes." 

8. But Someone has to do it.
"In this box Bob crouched with a long cylinder of BOC air almost six feet long, yards of rubber hose and a dry suit."

9. The Beast (Compressor).
"Never have I seen such a malevolent looking piece of machinery. It sat there on two six feet long 6"x 6" Girders daring anyone to try to start it."

10. Frogmen's Search.
At last we stopped in front of two fire engines which were lined up on the river bank with their floodlights trained on the water! 

11. Giant Lobster.
"Frogmen guard giant lobster weighing 50 lb with claws big enough to shear clean through brass tubing"

12. Another Search.
We spread out across the drain feeling our way across the muddy bottom plunging our arms up to the elbows in the mud. 

13. Making An Exhibition Of Ourselves.
"Two of the lads fished him out unconscious and lay him on the pool side" 

14. Diving At Flamborough.
"As I got to the end of the gully I saw a small cave, not very big but big enough to get my head and shoulders in with my cylinder banging the roof" 

15. Oxygen Experiments.
"When the CO2 built up and he was passing out we had to take the bag off his head"