Still Diving After All These Years
This article was first published in the Hull Daily Mail 16 April 2003. It appears here with their kind permission.
GRANDFATHER Reg Thompson's idea of relaxing is not sitting by the fire with his newspaper and slippers. He is more at home beneath the waves exploring the shipwrecks on the seabed off Flamborough.
Eighty-year-old Reg has been scuba diving for 45 years. The fact that he has been a pensioner for 15 of them does not deter him from his weekly dives into the treacherous currents off the headland.
He said: "Diving on wrecks can sometimes feel a bit strange. "A group of us hired a diving boat and spent 10 days diving on one of the most famous wrecks in the world - the British ship, Thistlegorm, which was sunk in the Red Sea by a German bomber in the war.
"It went down with a railway locomotive on board, lorries full of motor cycles, aeroplane wings and ammunition. "I have been back several times and it is a fascinating dive. It does feel a bit strange being inside a huge wreck like that. I always make sure I can find my way out again."
Reg, of Marine Valley, Flamborough, helped to found the Hull branch of the British Sub Aqua Club, and is now a life member.
He has also been involved in rescues off the Flamborough coast. Local people hailed him as a hero some years ago when he swam out with another person to rescue a family of four who had become trapped by the tide in caves at North Landing.
He said: "People don't realise just how dangerous the tides and currents can be in this area. "The force of the sea can whip the mask from a diver's face."
Reg, who goes diving every weekend, weather permitting, with his friend Trevor Jones, from Hull, said: "Trevor is 60, but he is just a kid at heart. "The other divers all know us and call us the Young Ones. "But these days we dive from the boat Trevor keeps in Bridlington Harbour because swimming out to wrecks from the shore is a bit strenuous for us now; "
He added: "Years ago when I first started diving, all my diving gear was made by a friend from Hull called Bob King. "He made diving suits out of cot mattress material and improvised with breathing equipment using Calor gas bulbs with shredder valves before aqualungs were available. "In the old days we could keep any souvenirs we found during dives, but now every find has to be reported to the Inspector of Wrecks.
"But that does not spoil the thrill of diving. I enjoy it as much now as I ever did when I was young. "It is a great hobby and it is my way of keeping fit."
Rena Duncan
GRANDFATHER Reg Thompson's idea of relaxing is not sitting by the fire with his newspaper and slippers. He is more at home beneath the waves exploring the shipwrecks on the seabed off Flamborough.
Eighty-year-old Reg has been scuba diving for 45 years. The fact that he has been a pensioner for 15 of them does not deter him from his weekly dives into the treacherous currents off the headland.
He said: "Diving on wrecks can sometimes feel a bit strange. "A group of us hired a diving boat and spent 10 days diving on one of the most famous wrecks in the world - the British ship, Thistlegorm, which was sunk in the Red Sea by a German bomber in the war.
"It went down with a railway locomotive on board, lorries full of motor cycles, aeroplane wings and ammunition. "I have been back several times and it is a fascinating dive. It does feel a bit strange being inside a huge wreck like that. I always make sure I can find my way out again."
Reg, of Marine Valley, Flamborough, helped to found the Hull branch of the British Sub Aqua Club, and is now a life member.
He has also been involved in rescues off the Flamborough coast. Local people hailed him as a hero some years ago when he swam out with another person to rescue a family of four who had become trapped by the tide in caves at North Landing.
He said: "People don't realise just how dangerous the tides and currents can be in this area. "The force of the sea can whip the mask from a diver's face."
Reg, who goes diving every weekend, weather permitting, with his friend Trevor Jones, from Hull, said: "Trevor is 60, but he is just a kid at heart. "The other divers all know us and call us the Young Ones. "But these days we dive from the boat Trevor keeps in Bridlington Harbour because swimming out to wrecks from the shore is a bit strenuous for us now; "
He added: "Years ago when I first started diving, all my diving gear was made by a friend from Hull called Bob King. "He made diving suits out of cot mattress material and improvised with breathing equipment using Calor gas bulbs with shredder valves before aqualungs were available. "In the old days we could keep any souvenirs we found during dives, but now every find has to be reported to the Inspector of Wrecks.
"But that does not spoil the thrill of diving. I enjoy it as much now as I ever did when I was young. "It is a great hobby and it is my way of keeping fit."
Rena Duncan