Leased from Gosport Borough Council, No 2 battery at Stokes Bay is now home to The Diving Museum, a haven of historical and modern-day military, commercial and sport diving equipment.
Much of it has not been displayed before, the gear having been stored for the HDS at the nearby RN Submarine Museum.
Equipment includes, for instance, sets used by naval clearance divers, bell divers and saturation divers, and a helium speech unscrambler.
Sport diving equipment includes early sets such a Cousteau triple-cylinder unit, and formative computers such as the Bendomatic and Decobrain.
Planning permission is still in process for a number of larger exhibits. These are expected to arrive before the end of the year and, in most cases, be placed outside the museum.
Included will be a series of bells, including a reproduction of a 1600s Halley bell, and two notable compression chambers.
One was used by experimental oxygen rebreather divers and the training of WW2 charioteers. The other was employed in a series of deep dives to 1500ft and 2000ft in the 1970s, overseen by the Royal Naval Physiological Laboratory.
The HDS would like to hear from those who have equipment, memorabilia or published material that might be of interest. It plans to open a library for research.
The Society would be grateful also to hear from potential financial donors and staffing volunteers.
The museum opened its doors at the end of April but was officially opened at a ceremony held on 18 June and presided over by John Bevan, HDS Chairman, and Kevin Casey, Museum Officer.
VIPs were the Mayor of Gosport, Councillor Chris Carter; Caroline Dinenage, MP for Gosport; and Vice Admiral Sir Richard Ibbotson CB DSC.
The museum is open at weekends and on bank holidays from 11am to 5pm, from April to October inclusive.
Entry costs £2 for adults, £1 for children up to 16 and OAPs. Children need to be accompanied by an adult as some of the exhibits are heavy and/or fragile.
There is a beachside car park nearby, with cafe and public loos.
A dedicated museum website is due to launch but, until then, enquiries can be directed to enquiries@thehds.com.
Also in Gosport are the Royal Navy Submarine Museum and Explosion!, the Museum of Naval Firepower.
Related links
The Historical Diving Society
Archive | 
Win a Luxfer pony cylinder
