A tribute to Phil Smith
PHILIP SMITH , ONE OF THE PIONEERS of underwater photography in the UK , has died after a short illness , aged 89 .
‘ Phil ’ was a founder member of the Bournemouth and Poole Branch ( No . 6 ), which was formed in 1955 , during the early years of BSAC . The branch quickly became a significant presence on the national stage , owing to enthusiastic figures such as Phil . He started diving at the age of 24 and became a major contributor both to the Bournemouth branch and the national scene .
He was involved in the organising committee of the early Diving Officers ’ conferences , which were aimed at standardising working practices and promoting the safety of sports diving .
He was a professional photographer and became dedicated to the underwater world . In its early days , Bournemouth members were largely focused on spear-fishing and he wrote a series of articles for the club magazine on techniques . For a number of years he was the manager of the British spear-fishing team and was responsible for their visit to Brazil at a time when international travel was far from the norm .
Jointly with Kendall MacDonald , a former BSAC Chair , he co-authored a book entitled “ Spear-fishing in Britain ” published in 1962 .
He soon became more interested in the new field of underwater photography and in 1965 won all the British categories in the first International Festival of Underwater Film , being named ‘ British Underwater Photographer of the Year ’.
He continued to compete , winning gold medals and trophies during the remainder of the 1960s and took films and photographs in Mediterranean and other foreign waters . He was an early pioneer of underwater cine film , and produced a fascinating piece of work called ‘ Down on the Durleys ’ which featured a patch of rocks in Poole Bay .
Importantly , he was the principal photographer for the GLAUCUS underwater habitat project , in which two members of the Bournemouth and Poole branch lived for a week 10m down in Plymouth Sound in 1965 ( full details of this project are available on the Bournemouth and Poole website at bournemouthandpoolediving . co . uk ).
Phil became an elected member of the BSAC National Committee in 1966 and was appointed a judge for a number of later underwater photography competitions . In 1966 , he became a co-founder of Underwater World magazine , the first British magazine to have a full colour cover and to appear monthly . He went on to became a regular contributor to Triton magazine .
In 1969 he and his wife , Annie , were involved in a traffic accident in Europe , which unfortunately reduced his diving activities . Despite this and being confined to a wheelchair following a stroke in 2013 , he remained cheerful , with a fund of stories of the old days .
His wife Annie was also a major contributor to their club ’ s activities and it is sad to note that she predeceased him by only a few months , having fallen victim to the Covid pandemic . He is survived by his son Steve and daughter Melanie . ADRIAN KING , Bournemouth and Poole Branch ( No . 6 ) committee member and Reg Vallintine , Historical Diving Society
Remembering Paul Feakes
SCUBACHAT
WE MOURN THE LOSS OF OUR GOOD FRIEND AND club mate , Paul Feakes , who has died at the age of 63 . Paul was a diver ’ s diver – enthusiastic , knowledgeable , technical and vastly experienced as well as being a lovely , modest man . He did his best to dive every week and would happily set off to dive a new wreck somewhere in the UK or overseas .
Paul was a founding member of Eden Divers , BSAC # 1689 based in Edenbridge , Kent , where he inspired and encouraged everyone from novices to instructors to improve and learn on every dive . He was Diving Officer when I joined Eden Divers , incredibly welcoming and encouraging , passing on his years of experience in some challenging and entertaining training sessions .
He was also a longtime member of Kingston & Elmbridge , BSAC # 17 where he held the position of Diving Officer .
Dive trips with Paul were always fun ; he enjoyed a good laugh and loved the banter after a dive . It helped that he had a wicked , dry sense of humour . Over the course of a long diving career , Paul had pretty much dived everything . He was the go-to person to talk to when planning a trip , or just needing advice on diving a particular wreck or buying equipment . He understood people and had a knack for pairing divers together , which more often than not resulted in the creation of new and long-lasting friendships along the way . Paul was never happier than when he was in the water , imparting his knowledge and experience in a calm , and assured way . When you dived with Paul you knew you were in very safe hands .
“ Paul was DO when I joined Eden Divers ,” remembers Alex Denny , today ’ s DO of the same club . “ He was incredibly welcoming and encouraging , passing on his experience in some challenging and entertaining training sessions . He encouraged me to take on a bigger role in the club .”
“ Paul had a knack of injecting dry humour into his training ,” recalls Martin Greenwood , Chair of Eden Divers . “ His feedback after one of my Dive Leader training dives was ‘ you nearly had it – another six attempts should do it ’. Sometimes you didn ’ t quite know whether he was being serious .”
Paul will be missed by everyone who knew him , and by everyone he inspired at Eden Divers and Kingston & Elmbridge BSAC clubs . ALEX KENNEDY , Eden Divers
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