a bit of history

In October 1953 The British Sub Aqua Club was founded by Oscar Gugan and Peter Small. It became so popular that the existing committee became the general committee of the BSAC. The original London BSAC members reformed into the first branch. Many members went on to form other branches or set up dive centres in Britain and around the world. The BSAC was recognised as the governing body for the sport in 1955. By spring 1956 the BSAC membership was nearly 2000.

By 1960 the London No1 Branch had 410 members but in 1967 this had fallen to 191 - out of which only 35 attended their AGM.

diving with the No. 1 Branch

In the early days of the club there was great public interest in diving. The club gave demonstrations at galas and boat shows in the 1950's. In 1962 the British Safety Council and BSAC organised a conference as there was growing concern about the continual rise in numbers of deaths due to asphyxia and drowning. The No 1 Branch demonstrated rescue techniques in and out of water. In 1964 the branch gave a demonstration at the opening ceremony of the Crystal Palace Sports Centre. The club was affiliated to the Royal Life Saving Society and promoted their qualifications.

Branches helped local authorities such as police and museums with projects. There were also strong links with the navy. In the early 1960's cross Channel underwater swimming was attempted by the branch.

club diving

During the year of 1959 there were 503 aqualung dives, 251 snorkel, 57 oxygen and 25 helmet dives. In 1961 up to December there were 784 dives, 12 oxygen and 14 "in standard diving gear". The DO noted:
"My aim was to make the diving trips more relaxed, and to encourage members to organise their own dives with their friends rather than have large unwieldy masses waiting hours just for ten minutes in the water."
Divers had "snorkel cover", a snorkeller on the surface who followed the bubbles then escorted the divers to shore.

spear fishing

Catching fish was common, either with a knife or a spear gun. In the early days divers would do harpoon target practice in the pool. In 1961 the Derek Mortimer Spearfishing Cup was awarded to the London Branch member who caught the biggest edible fish without the aid of an aqualung.

preserving wildlife

There was a lot of interest in preserving "specimens" from underwater with many magazine articles on the subject for example encasing them in plastic, bleaching, injecting formalin.

photography

Ordinary cameras were used inside a homemade watertight case. Early models included a plastic bag with a glass or perspex window or a plastic box with a rubber glove for a hand to manipulate the controls.