On 10 February 1988 Alderney Diving Club's 21 st Anniversary was celebrated by the launch of a series of 6 postage stamps designed by Victoria Kinnersley. The islanders had always had a fascination with diving as their lives are so dependant on the sea around them and of what lies below the clear and bright sea.

The first stamp illustrates the Lethbridge barrel named after the inventor John Lethbridge from the West Country. The barrel was the first form of Atmospheric diving dress. The tapered barrel would be sealed up with the explorer sealed inside, his arms protruding through waterproof sleeves. He could dive up to 20 meters for periods of 20 minutes. On return to the surface the air could be replenished by bellows.

The next stamp, the Deane Open Helmet was developed in the 1820's by the brothers Charles and John Deane. The design was based on a smoke helmet for use in a burning building. The expired air was expelled out of the bottom of the helmet.

The 3rd stamp depicts the Siebe closed dress helmet. The helmet was sealed to the divers suit and air was expelled from a specially designed valve. The equipment was famously used on the removal of the wreck of the Royal George at Spithead.

The 4 th stamp shows the Heinke helmet which was similar to the Siebe helmet but with various improvements. The materials were of better quality and engineered to a higher standard.. The picture shows the salvage of the Liverpool in 1902 wrecked at Corblets Bay in Alderney.

In the 1940's a great leap forward by Jacques Cousteau a French naval officer. With his friend Emile Gagnan they developed the first demand valve , making exploration of the underwater world possible for the public.With a rubber mask and fins man could swim freely without a hose to the surface.

The 6 th stamp shows the next development in the 1960's with the development of the Superlite helmet. Developed in America for the oil industry it is made from glass fibre and is supplied with air through an umbilical to the surface . The stamp depicts the stricken MV Point Law an oil tanker which went aground in Peace Bay on Alderney in 1975.

In 2005, the Island nation of St. Kitts issued these Jules Verne
commemorative stamps featuring Denayrouze and Roquayrol's Aerophore,
and Pat Regan's working replica of Captain Nemo's diving suit
from Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

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• Last edited on 18th January 2010