A vintage shop in the Vale of Clwyd helped the boss of the world’s biggest scuba diving organisation go back in time.
Mary Tetley, the Chief Executive of the British Sub-Aqua Club, needed a period outfit to celebrate the 60th anniversary of BSAC diving as an organised sport.
The diamond anniversary dive at Dorset’s Swanage Pier was organised by London Number 1, the first branch of the British Sub Aqua Club which was formed in 1953.
According to Mary, who lives in Gellifor, between Denbigh and Ruthin, the 1950s style underwater party was one of the highlights of their anniversary year.
As well as the period diving gear used by several members taking part, Mary needed a 1950s outfit for the on-shore celebrations.
That’s where Vintage MaryDei shop in Hall Square, Denbigh, came to the rescue.
The shop that specialises in vintage and retro clothing was set up by sisters Mair Jones and Nerys Ann Roberts.
The social enterprise was established in memory of their late parents, David Jones and his wife, Mary, to support carers of all ages – most of whom are unpaid – within Denbigh and the surrounding villages.
On the big day Mary Tetley, who also owns Denbigh Chocolate Shop with her husband, Mark Young, looked the part in a vintage 1950s polka-dot dress, hat, handbag and gloves.
She said: “It’s been a fantastic event. I travelled in vintage clothes which I got from the MaryDei Vintage shop.
“I really was delighted to attend such a well organised and thoroughly enjoyable day. The weather has been brilliant and it was great to see so many BSAC branches joining in the event.
“It was a pleasure to welcome along the Mayor of Swanage while so many members of the public have stopped and shown such an interest in diving.
“We wanted to celebrate our club and BSAC’s 60th birthday in style and we enjoyed a tremendous day. The weather couldn’t have been better with glorious sunshine all day.
“We were delighted to welcome along an original member of London branch, Tony Moore, who at 83 was the oldest diver in the water on the day.
“And Tony enjoyed a dive using some of his own historic dive gear, much of which dates back to the early 1950s.
“Of course wetsuits didn’t exist in the 1950s and some of the old divers just wore shorts and a sweater while some fashioned semi-drysuits out of old rubber material.
“We were keen to see just what is what like when those pioneering divers took to the water wearing just shorts and a sweater.
“Every diver using historical dive gear was ‘buddied-up’ with a diver using modern equipment. That was necessary from a safety perspective so if anything failed, the diver would have had a back-up close at hand.”
“After the day’s diving concluded we had a 1950s rock ‘n’ roll parry which we all thoroughly enjoyed.”
To learn more about BSAC visit www.bsac.com
