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Showing posts from July, 2004

The Wall

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“What a dear old wall that is that runs along by the river there! I never pass it without feeling better for the sight of it. Such a mellow, bright, sweet old wall; what a charming picture it would make, with the lichen creeping here, and the moss growing there, a shy young vine peeping over the top at this spot, to see what is going on upon the busy river, and the sober old ivy clustering a little farther down! There are fifty shades and tints and hues in every ten yards of that old wall. . . . It looks so peaceful and so quiet, and it is such a dear old place to ramble round in the early morning before many people are about.” Jerome K. Jerome, “Three Men In A Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)” Ch. 6 (1889)
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a tale of two divers

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Elwyn Davies tells the story of the days he was stationed in North Africa during the Second World War. In the harbor were 187 sunken ships and it was the task of his men to send divers into these ships, to find the safes and blast them open to find documents that pertained to the enemy and his plans. In those days the divers wore the old-type diving suits, not like those used today. Every diver had a buddy and every buddy had a reserve buddy. Across the harbor at this station were chalk cliffs where caves and tunnels had been dug in. One such cave had three chambers: the innermost chamber housed the divers, the middle chamber held communications and in the outer chamber, the buddies stood waiting. When the diver went into the water his #1 buddy would sit on a three-legged stool by the water’s edge holding in his left hand held a pressure gauge. His right hand held the handle of a small, innocent-looking wheel. When immediately the helmet was fixed and the diver entered with water ...
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