George Ian Civil – a tribute
GEORGE CIVIL PASSED AWAY PEACEFULLY AT HOME ON 19 February 2024 , after a brief period of illness . George was born in Sofia in Bulgaria in 1946 , shortly after the end of the Second World War . His life followed a conventional pattern of school and university where he excelled until he was called up for National Service . In 1967 he headed to Britain , where his mother and brother had already settled near the town of Brentwood , Essex .
George worked at Imperial College , at Selo , a division of Ilford Films , and later in the power industry , initially at conventional power stations on the Thames Estuary then at Bradwell Nuclear Power Station , where he worked until it was decommissioned in 2002 .
George joined the Selo works diving club ( today known as Brentford Selo SAC ) in 1969 , where he developed a passion for scuba diving . George was a member of BSAC for 55 years and became an Advanced Diver and Advanced Instructor , as well as a member of the Eastern Region Coaching Team .
George ’ s BSAC membership number was an impressively low A031445 , and his early training records bear signatures for training and qualifications from BSAC legends such as Mike Todd . George later joined Chelmsford Scuba Diving Club , where he continued diving and instructing for another 15 years . He dived all around the UK , but especially loved his annual trips to the Red Sea , where he made his final dives in May 2023 .
Everybody remembers George for his patience , kindness , knowledge , skill , generosity and above all his sense of fun , which extended across his family , colleagues and fellow divers .
George is survived by his wife , Jackie , brother Emil , daughters Louise and Amanda , and five grandsons . NEIL BARKER , Chelmsford Scuba Diving Club
George Civil
SCUBACHAT
Manta Diving
OR MAYBE NOT , BUT THAT ’ S THE NAME OF THE DIVE Centre in Puerto del Carmen in Lanzarote and that ’ s the name on their hard boat .
Members of my branch had been there to finish off their Sports Diver open water skills before going to Egypt last September . I ’ ve dived quite a bit in Lanzarote – shore dives from the beach at Playa Chica and some RIB diving from the jetty . The Manta dive boat sounded good to me : easy entry off the back and a broad ladder to get back on at the end of the dive .
The centre is owned and run by Ben and Rachel , with a team of very experienced , friendly and helpful instructors who all speak English and have a broad knowledge of the numerous sites within easy reach with their hard boat that comfortably takes 12 fully kitted divers .
They run two boat dives in the morning , followed by a shore dive in the afternoon . They follow a set programme but became flexible to the clients requests while I was there !
Having recently had a knee replacement , I ’ m not as agile as I used to be but that was no problem for the very helpful staff . I de-kitted in the water , passed my kit to the skipper via the guide and they made sure I was safely up the ladder and seated at the end of the dive . If they got more helpful they might as well have done the dive for me !
We saw octopus on every dive for the week along with ( not manta ) rays , angel sharks and a lone moray , plus wrecks for those into metal . Water was balmy 19 ° C , with 20 metre visibility ; it ’ s tough but someone has to do it !
They can sort out accommodation and there ’ s a discount for BSAC divers , just get a flight and turn up – that ’ s what I did ! manta-diving-lanzarote . com DAVE PLUMB , The Monday Club and Coventry BSAC
OK hun ?
I SEE MORE AND more photos of divers in the magazine giving a very poor ‘ OK ’ signal . I have always taught and can see in the ( old ) Sport Diving manual that it says ‘ keep the fingers straight ’. With gloves on , in poor visibility or when viewed from an odd angle , the OK should be clear and unambiguous . PETER SLEGG , HUGSAC BSAC 380
What ’ s in a name ?
ON 5 APRIL I RECEIVED A LETTER FROM THE Receiver of Wreck , stating the bronze ship ’ s name plate Portia I recovered now belongs to me .
An article with me holding the name plate was published in BSAC ’ s magazine in October 2009 . The name plate did not just give us the ship ' s name ; it also gave us the place where the ship was built – Trondhjens Verksted in Norway . It also gave us the engine number and hull number , which was fantastic for wreck researchers like all wreck divers at Grimsby and Cleethorpes BSAC .
It ’ s important to declare all wreck material to the Receiver of Wreck , not just throwing it to the back of your garage . This makes recovering any items from shipwreck far more interesting and rewarding for all . PETER RODGER , Grimsby and Cleethorpes 37
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