John H Thomas

[mickawinn]

The above was a diver during the 1860s to the 80s. He originally lived in Southampton and moved to Poplar. Two stories exist about him, one that he was involved in the aftermath of the Tay Bridge disaster in 1879 and two that he was one of the divers involved in the sinking of a training ship full of boys. Can anyone suggest where I can start? Are there any registers for divers?

[PaulineJ]

I'd have thought that newspaper coverage of the bridge disaster would have given some coverage to the investigation. Newspaper archives?

[mickawinn]

Most of the reports I have read concentrate on the event, the passengers killed and who was to blame. Those involved in the recovery don’t get much coverage.
John eventually committed suicide by cutting his throat and the only newspaper item I have found recalls him walking, underwater, from Greenwich Pier to the Isles of Dogs but I cannot trace any coverage of that. Although why he would do that is beyond me!

[tonepad]

You could try contacting the Historical Diving Society:

"The HDS also maintains a database of historical divers called The Divers Index. We welcome enquiries about diving ancestors or former colleagues who worked in underwater or allied occupations. This index is constantly being updated."

http://www.thehds.com/about-us/

[mickawinn]

Thanks tone pad. The diver’s index has proved to be a mine of information.