The Ship's Bell

Andy, Tracey & Chris were kindly invited to the home of the Bromley BSAC diver who recovered the T R Thompson bell in 1989. An accomplished diver and wreck researcher he had recovered ten ships bells but the TRT bell was the largest (and heaviest) of them all. It took Andy & Chris to lift the bell out into the daylight for a photo. Finding the bell invloved a degree of good luck , the plan had been to dive another wreck but a fishing boat moored over that wreck saw Bromley BSAC relocating to the TRT. The bell was lying upside down in the sand with only the circular rim showing. The dive team had to use a lorry jack to push winches out of the way to free the huge bell - what a find! And more luck was needed to recover it, just as the bell was lifted one of lines to one of the lifting bags failed and the bell was only prevented from sinking out of sight by a diver holding the divers ladder in one hand and the bell in the other - Phew , a close one! Chris-P