Siebe Gorman & Company Ltd was a British company that developed
diving equipment
Diving equipment is equipment used by underwater divers to make diving activities possible, easier, safer and/or more comfortable. This may be equipment primarily intended for this purpose, or equipment intended for other purposes which is found ...
and breathing equipment and worked on
commercial diving
Commercial diving may be considered an application of professional diving where the diver engages in underwater work for industrial, construction, engineering, maintenance or other commercial purposes which are similar to work done out of the wate ...
and
marine salvage
Marine salvage is the process of recovering a ship and its cargo after a shipwreck or other maritime casualty. Salvage may encompass towing, re-floating a vessel, or effecting repairs to a ship. Today, protecting the coastal environment from ...
projects. The company advertised itself as 'Submarine Engineers'. It was founded by
Augustus Siebe , a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
-born British engineer chiefly known for his contributions to
diving equipment
Diving equipment is equipment used by underwater divers to make diving activities possible, easier, safer and/or more comfortable. This may be equipment primarily intended for this purpose, or equipment intended for other purposes which is found ...
.
Siebe plc started in the 1970s as a continuation of Siebe Gorman when Siebe Gorman started to take over other firms, to mean the new conglomerate to distinguish it from Siebe Gorman's original breathing apparatus and diving gear core business. Siebe plc was once one of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
's largest engineering businesses. It was a constituent of the
FTSE 100 Index but in 1999 it merged with
BTR plc
BTR plc was a British multinational industrial conglomerate company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1924, grew strongly by acquisition under Sir Owen Green's leadership, and merged with Siebe plc in 1999 to form BTR ...
to form
Invensys. Invensys was taken over by the French multinational
Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric SE is a French multinational company that specializes in digital automation and energy management. It addresses homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries, by combining energy technologies, real-time automatio ...
for £3.4 billion in January 2014.
History
*1788: Augustus Siebe was born in
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
in Germany, named Christian Augustus Siebe.
[pages 16 etseq, ''The International History of Diving History'' vol 4 no. 1, publ. Historical Diving Society] He was educated in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and
apprentice
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
d to a brass founder.
*1812: He served as an artillery officer at the
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...
and narrowly escaped death.
*1815: He served as an artillery officer in the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n army at the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
.
*1816: After that war he moved to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. He became a
watchmaker
A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their part ...
, then gunmaker, then instrument maker, and settled at 5 Denmark Street in
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, where he became an
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
.
*1819: He started a business as a
mechanical engineer
Mechanical may refer to:
Machine
* Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement
* Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...
at 145
High Holborn
High Holborn ( ) is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard. It starts in the west at the eastern end of St Giles High Street and runs past the Kingsway and ...
, London. He traded as Augustus Siebe and dropped the word "Christian" from his name. Down the years he produced various mechanical devices, not only diving gear.
[Invensys: About us]
/ref>
*1819: He married Susannah Gliddon (from Devon).
*1819: He produced a breech-loading firearm.
*1823: He was awarded a Vulcan medal for a screw tap for thread cutting.
*1826: He moved to 5 Denmark Street, London, which he rented.
*1830: His daughter Mary Siebe was born. The company, by then trading as Siebe Gorman, developed its first diving helmet
A diving helmet is a rigid head enclosure with a breathing gas supply used in underwater diving. They are worn mainly by professional divers engaged in surface-supplied diving, though some models can be used with scuba equipment. The upper part ...
.[ (Later, William Augustus Gorman (formerly O'Gorman) (an Irish sea captain) married Mary Siebe.)
]
Start of involvement in making diving equipment
*1830: The Deane brothers asked Siebe to make a variation of their smoke helmet design for underwater use.[ Later they turned to him to produce more helmets for diving operations. Expanding on improvements already made by another engineer, George Edwards, Siebe produced his own design; a ]helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
fitted to a full length watertight canvas
Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...
diving suit
A diving suit is a garment or device designed to protect a diver from the underwater environment. A diving suit may also incorporate a breathing gas supply (such as for a standard diving dress or atmospheric diving suit). but in most cases the te ...
(standard diving dress
Standard diving dress, also known as hard-hat or copper hat equipment, deep sea diving suit or heavy gear, is a type of diving suit that was formerly used for all relatively deep underwater work that required more than breath-hold duration, which ...
). The real success of the equipment was a valve
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...
in the helmet.
*1831: He bought 5 Denmark Street's leasehold
A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a l ...
. He lived and worked there for the rest of his life.
*1856: He applied for and was given British citizenship.
*1868: He bought the freehold of 5 Denmark Street.
*1868: He retired because of old age and ill-health; 4 of his 5 sons had died by this time.
*1870: Augustus Siebe passed his business to his son Henry Herapath Siebe and to William Augustus Gorman. The business started trading as 'Siebe & Gorman'
*15 April 1872: He died at home of chronic bronchitis
Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...
. He was buried at the West Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery.
One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of L ...
.
*1876: Siebe & Gorman moved to 17 Mason Street (later renamed Boniface Street), Westminster Bridge Road, Lambeth
Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...
, London.
*1878: Henry Fleuss
Henry Albert Fleuss (13 June 1851 – 6 January 1933) was a pioneering diving engineer, and Master Diver for Siebe, Gorman & Co. of London.
Fleuss was born in Marlborough, Wiltshire in 1851.
In 1878 he was granted a patent which improved rebr ...
with help from Siebe Gorman designed a practical oxygen rebreather
A rebreather is a breathing apparatus that absorbs the carbon dioxide of a user's breathing, exhaled breath to permit the rebreathing (recycling) of the substantially unused oxygen content, and unused inert content when present, of each breath. ...
: see Rebreather#History.
*1880: The company's name changed to Siebe Gorman & Co.
*January 1882: Robert Henry Davis
Sir Robert Henry Davis (1870 – 1965) was an English inventor and director of the Siebe Gorman company. His main invention was the Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus, an oxygen rebreather that Davis patented for the first time in 1910, inspire ...
(age 11) (1870–1965) joined Siebe Gorman as an office boy. Over the years he learned much and became good at breathing apparatus engineering.
*1887: Henry Herapath Siebe died aged 57.
*1894: Robert Davis was promoted to General Manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
of Siebe Gorman.
20th century
*September 1900: Robert Davis married Margaret Tyrrell.
*1901: Robert Davis's and Margaret Tyrrell's first son Robert William Gorman Davis was born. Over the years Robert William Gorman Davis trained as an engineer and later joined the company.
*14 Feb 1904: William Augustus Gorman suddenly died aged 69. (He was buried at Claygate
Claygate is an affluent suburban village in Surrey, England, southwest of central London. It is the only civil parish in the borough of Elmbridge. Surrounded by green belt, it lies inside the Greater London Built-up Area.
Claygate was once in t ...
Church in Surrey.) The company became a new private company
A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...
'Siebe Gorman & Co. Ltd.'.
*1905: The Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
set up the first Deep Diving Committee.
*1907: The resulting naval diving tables appeared. The Admiralty approached Siebe Gorman to help develop better deep-diving gear.
*1907: The Siebe Gorman Proto industrial rebreather starts to be made. The Siebe Gorman Salvus
The Siebe Gorman Salvus is a light oxygen rebreather for industrial use (including by firemen and in coalmine rescue) or in shallow diving. Its duration on a filling is 30 to 40 minutes. It was very common in Britain during World War II and for ...
and the Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus
The Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus (also referred to as DSEA), was an early type of oxygen rebreather invented in 1910 by Sir Robert Davis, head of Siebe Gorman and Co. Ltd., inspired by the earlier Fleuss system, and adopted by the Royal Na ...
appeared later.
*1930: The Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
set up the second Deep Diving Committee.
*1932; King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
knighted Robert Davis, largely for inventing the Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus.
*1938: Robert Davis, needing more room for factory expansion, bought 6 acres at Tolworth
Tolworth is a suburban area in the Surbiton district, Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London. It is southwest of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Long Ditton, New Malden, Kingston, Surbiton, Berrylands, Hinchley Wood, ...
near Chessington
Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London. Historically part of Surrey, today it is the largest salient of Greater London into that county. At the 2011 census it had a population of 18,973. The ...
in Surrey. The new building on it was named Neptune Works, on Davis Road.
WWII
*1938/39: Siebe Gorman was one of a number of British companies to receive contracts for the manufacture of tens of thousands of gas masks including the ''British Civilian Duty Respirator'' (for Civil Defence
Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mit ...
& related use) and the ''Respirator, Anti-Gas, Civilian Duty'' (for general public use).
*May 1941: Siebe Gorman's factory in Lambeth
Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...
was bombed during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Massive loss of company and personal historical records.
*1941: The company, already planning to leave London, moved to Chessington, Surrey
Chessington is an area in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames within Greater London. Historically part of Surrey, today it is the largest Salient (geography), salient of Greater London into that county. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, ...
and resumed manufacturing. It has been speculated (although without any real evidence) that André Rubber located to the same area in order to supply Siebe Gorman.
*June 1943: Siebe Gorman were contracted by the 79th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)
The 79th Armoured Division was a specialist armoured division of the British Army created during the Second World War. The division was created as part of the preparations for the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944, D-Day.
Major-General Percy ...
to design specialist apparatus for use by the Duplex Drive Tank crews. Known as the Amphibious Tank Escape Apparatus (ATEA) the equipment was fitted with a protosorb canister and enabled it to be used as a re-breather for up to 7 minutes. Tank crews would strap the inflated ATEA to their chests, and in the event of sinking, would fit the mouth piece and nose clips. The equipment was used extensively in training, during which crews perfected its operation in a water-filled cistern as well as on a submerged tank. No doubt it contributed to the saving of many lives especially on D Day where 35% of the tanks that swam towards the Normandy shore sunk due to the poor sea conditions. 1200 men were trained before D Day using the ATEA, and a further 300 for River Crossing.
After WWII
*1948: Siebe Gorman was making aqualungs of the type nicknamed 'Tadpoles'.
*around 1950: Peak production of standard diving dress. After this, diving technological development in the USA more and more reduced Siebe Gorman's business, which was halved by the early 1960s.
*1951: Birmingham University
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
gave Robert Davis an honorary degree
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
.
*1952: Siebe Gorman became a limited company
In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...
. Robert Davis became its managing director
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
.
*1952: Marconi and Siebe Gorman collaborated to produce an underwater television camera system.
*1953: Some sport divers find how to make an aqualung regulator out of a Calor gas
Calor is a brand of bottled butane and propane which is available in Britain and Ireland. It comes in cylinders, which have a special gas regulator.
The company was formed in 1935, and is one of the UK's largest suppliers of liquefied petrol ...
demand regulator, and spread this knowledge, thus bypassing the naval/industrial monopoly on making usable underwater breathing apparatus.
*1954: Around now Siebe Gorman started making Cousteau-Gagnan-type aqualungs, and diving suits for commercial and sport diving. In September 1954, the inaugural issue of the British Sub-Aqua Club
The British Sub-Aqua Club or BSAC has been recognised since 1954 by UK Sport as the national governing body of recreational diving in the United Kingdom.
The club was founded in 1953 and at its peak in the mid-1990s had over 50,000 members d ...
magazine ''Neptune'' contains a full-page Siebe Gorman advertisement for three sets of "Essjee" underwater breathing apparatus: The Standard Aqualung (single cylinder); The Twin Cylinder Aqualung (of double capacity) and The Junior Set (a smaller set than the Standard for use by young people). Special suits, swim fins
Swimfins, swim fins, diving fins, or flippers are finlike accessories worn on the feet, legs or hands and made from rubber, plastic, carbon fiber or combinations of these materials, to aid movement through the water in water sports activities s ...
, dive masks, etc. are also available.
*1955 or after: Siebe Gorman stops making standard diving dress. The 1955 underwater catalogue of the London sporting goods store Lillywhites
Lillywhites is a sports retailer based at Piccadilly Circus, London, United Kingdom. It is a division of Frasers Group.
History
In the 19th century, several members of the Lillywhite family were leading cricketers; another, Fred Lillywhite, ...
offers the "Essjee" Standard Aqualung, Twin-Cylinder Aqualung and "Tadpole" Aqualung at £40, £65 and £38 respectively alongside the Essgee full-face mask for use with these breathing sets, the Essjee Mid-Season sponge-rubber wetsuit and the Essgee weight belt. In August 1955, Cogswell & Harrison, another London stockist of Siebe Gorman equipment, places an advertisement in ''Neptune'' offering not only the "Essjee" single and twin aqualungs but also Siebe Gorman's Mid-Season sponge-rubber wetsuit
A wetsuit is a garment worn to provide thermal protection while wet. It is usually made of foamed neoprene, and is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports and other activities in or on water. It ...
, its stockinette-lined drysuit
A dry suit or drysuit provides the wearer with environmental protection by way of thermal insulation and exclusion of water, and is worn by divers, boaters, water sports enthusiasts, and others who work or play in or near cold or contaminated ...
and its proofed gabardine Grenfell drysuit.
*1956: The 1956 Lillywhites underwater catalogue introduces Siebe Gorman Mark II Essgee Aqualungs, "now modified with decreased resistance to breathing and improved flow of air". The 1956 Cogswell & Harrison catalogue features the Essgee breathing sets, Essgee Mid-Season sponge-rubber wetsuit, Essgee Grenfell proofed gabardine dry suit, Essgee two-piece dry suit "based on experience with wartime frogmen", "made of green rubberised cotton stockinette" and the Essgee Continental two-piece dry suit "in green vulcanised sheet rubber".
*1957: Esgee Mistral Aqualung introduced, made under Cousteau-Gagnan Patents with the general design features of the Spirotechnique "Mistral" and following on the lines of development of the Essgee Mark II with double-lever action to reduce opening resistance to a minimum. The Essgee Mistral Aqualung appears in the 1957 Lillywhites underwater catalogue alongside the Essgee Mark II Aqualung. From January 1957, Siebe Gorman run a series of advertisements in the British Sub-Aqua Club journal ''Triton'' offering "everything for underwater swimming" including the Essgee two-piece dry suit, the Essgee Continental two-piece dry suit and the Essgee Dive Mask Mark II.
*1959: The Fairey Aviation Company
The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Middlesex and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Cheshire. Notable for the design of a number of important military a ...
took over Siebe Gorman. From November 1959 to April 1960, Siebe Gorman run a series of advertisements in ''Triton'' celebrating the use of Siebe Gorman wetsuits and weight belts by the British team at the World Underwater Fishing Championships off Malta and Gozo in August 1959.
*1960s: Siebe Gorman started making scuba gear aimed at the public market (sometimes using the tradenames Essgee and Essjee), although they had made it earlier for work divers and the Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
. They also continued to make diving bell
A diving bell is a rigid chamber used to transport divers from the surface to depth and back in open water, usually for the purpose of performing underwater work. The most common types are the open-bottomed wet bell and the closed bell, which c ...
equipment and pressure chambers.
*1960: From May 1960 to June 1961, Siebe Gorman advertises a new range of Essgee Mid-Season foam neoprene wetsuits in ''Triton''.
*1961: Siebe Gorman takes over the diving gear maker firm Heinke. A few helmets were given the tag of "Siebe-Heinke", but eventually the name Heinke completely disappeared. The first Siebe-Heinke advertisement for the Heinke Merlin regulator appears in the December 1961 issue of the ''Royal Navy Diving Magazine''.
*1962: In January, Siebe Gorman announces its merger with Heinke to ''Triton'' readers. From May 1962 to April 1963, the company advertises "the new seamless Siebe, Heinke 'dip suit'" in ''Triton''. The Siebe-Heinke Dip Suit, which makes its début at the London Boat Show
The London Boat Show was an event held in London from 1955 to 2018, organised by British Marine. First held at Olympia, it was later moved to the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, and finally the ExCeL Exhibition Centre. The show's cancellation wa ...
in January 1962, is an economically priced lightweight dipped-latex dry suit with roll-seal waist entry, primarily designed for use by "skin-divers" but also readily adaptable for use by dinghy sailors, fishermen, canoeists and water skiers. The suit appears in Lillywhites underwater catalogues from 1962 to 1964. With effect from December 1962, Collins and Chambers Ltd. of London E14 are appointed sole UK spares distributors and servicing engineers for all Siebe-Heinke aqualung demand valves. Collins and Chambers subsequently become stockists of Siebe-Heinke equipment.
*1963: Siebe-Heinke ''Blue Book of underwater swimming 1963'' published. It comes with an introduction and a catalogue of underwater swimming equipment comprising not only the existing inventories of Siebe Gorman and Heinke but also new products including the "Dip" suit and the "Mercury mouth-held demand valve manufactured in plastic", which was also advertised in ''Triton'' from May 1963 to June 1964.
*1964: Siebe-Heinke ''Blue Book of underwater swimming 1964-65'' published with content broadly resembling the 1963 edition but with an expression of regret that "owing to manufacturing difficulties we can no longer supply complete Dip suits".
*1965: Robert Davis dies at home on 29 March 1965 at the age of 94. Siebe Gorman issues two leaflets entitled ''Aqualung equipment''. The first focuses on the company's breathing sets, while the second covers its range of dry underwater swimsuits, foam neoprene wet suits, woollen underclothing, gloves, footwear, weightbelts and weights, underwater knives and books. In the October 1965 issue of ''Triton'', Siebe Gorman places an advertisement alerting readers to the company's contribution to the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball: "A large proportion of the underwater scenes for the film 'Thunderball' were shot in a 150′ × 150′ tank in Pinewood. As the leading British exponents of diving, Siebe Gorman were asked to provide a team of divers whose duties were to ensure safety of the stars and cast of the film, as well as act as an underwater working party".
*1966: Triton publishes article about Siebe Gorman's submersible decompression chamber.
*1967-8: Siebe Gorman stops using the tradename 'Siebe Heinke'. About now, Siebe plc Siebe may refer to:
*Augustus Siebe: inventor of the standard diving dress
*Siebe Gorman
Siebe Gorman & Company Ltd was a British company that developed diving equipment and breathing equipment and worked on commercial diving and marine salva ...
started as a continuation of Siebe Gorman when Siebe Gorman started to take over other firms, to mean the new conglomerate to distinguish it from Siebe Gorman's original breathing apparatus and diving gear core business. ''See Siebe plc Siebe may refer to:
*Augustus Siebe: inventor of the standard diving dress
*Siebe Gorman
Siebe Gorman & Company Ltd was a British company that developed diving equipment and breathing equipment and worked on commercial diving and marine salva ...
for more information.''
*1969: Siebe Gorman issues new 20-page catalogue featuring a diver on the front cover in a "dry frogman's suit" with an integral "SeaCrown" fibreglass helmet.
*1971: Using the slogan "Be in the swim with NEPTUNE", Siebe Gorman introduces a new single-hose, two-stage diving regulator
A diving regulator is a pressure regulator that controls the pressure of breathing gas for diving. The most commonly recognised application is to reduce pressurized breathing gas to ambient pressure and deliver it to the diver, but there are als ...
named "Neptune".
*1975: Siebe Gorman moves to Cwmbran
Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to pro ...
in Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
in 1975 and concentrates on firefighter
A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...
's breathing equipment.
*1979: ''Siebe Gorman & Co Ltd v Barclays Bank
Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services.
Barclays traces ...
Ltd'' 979
Year 979 ( CMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* March 24 – Second Battle of Pankaleia: An Ibero-Byzantine expeditionary ...
2 Lloyd's Rep 142, a well known UK insolvency law
United Kingdom insolvency law regulates companies in the United Kingdom which are unable to repay their debts. While UK bankruptcy law concerns the rules for natural persons, the term insolvency is generally used for companies formed under the ...
case about book debts in debenture
In corporate finance, a debenture is a medium- to long-term debt instrument used by large companies to borrow money, at a fixed rate of interest. The legal term "debenture" originally referred to a document that either creates a debt or acknowl ...
s.
*1995 October: Siebe Gorman still had their premises at Cwmbran
Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to pro ...
.
*1998: Siebe plc sold North Safety Products (and Siebe Gorman with it) to Norcross.
*End of 1998: Norcross closed the plant at Cwmbran and transfers production of breathing apparatus to Dukinfield in Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, where they still had capability to make oxygen rebreathers, but did not make or overhaul any there.
*End of 1999: Norcross sold what had been Siebe Gorman as a going concern to an Iranian entrepreneur Parvis Moradifor. The company was renamed Air Master Technology Limited (AMtec) from the name of the famous Siebe Gorman breathing apparatus. (Norcross itself was subsequently purchased by Honeywell
Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
for its industrial safety products. Therefore, Honeywell's North line of respiratory protective equipment can be traced back to Siebe Gorman & Company Ltd.)
21st century
*2000: Air Master Technology relocated to Swindon
Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
.
*2001: Air Master Technology ceased trading.
*2001: Parvis Moradifor sells the assets and the name ''Siebe Gorman'' to a Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
n concern, who with a factory in Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, still make breathing apparatus and parts for civilian and military use, including an industrial breathing set under the name Siebe Gorman. their name is "Siebe Gorman Sdn. Bhd."
* By 2014, the company has relocated to Australia.
* According to Companies House
Companies House is the executive agency of the company registrars of the United Kingdom, falling under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. All forms of companies (as permitted by the Companies Act) are i ...
, Siebe Gorman & Company was dissolved on 9 April 2019.
* In August 2017 the Deane Helmet, which had been rescued by John Bevan when Siebe Gorman closed down, was put on display at the Diving Museum in Gosport.
Operations
The Company was notable for developing the "closed" diving helmet
A diving helmet is a rigid head enclosure with a breathing gas supply used in underwater diving. They are worn mainly by professional divers engaged in surface-supplied diving, though some models can be used with scuba equipment. The upper part ...
of the standard diving dress
Standard diving dress, also known as hard-hat or copper hat equipment, deep sea diving suit or heavy gear, is a type of diving suit that was formerly used for all relatively deep underwater work that required more than breath-hold duration, which ...
and associated equipment. As the helmet was sealed to the diving suit, it was watertight, unlike the previous "open" helmet systems. The new equipment was safer and more efficient and revolutionised underwater work from the 1830s.
Colonel Charles Pasley
General Sir Charles William Pasley (8 September 1780 – 19 April 1861) was a British soldier and military engineer who wrote the defining text on the role of the post-American Revolution British Empire: ''An Essay on the Military Policy and Ins ...
, leader of the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
team that used Siebe's suit on the wreck of suggested the helmet should be detachable from the corselet
In women's clothing, a corselet or corselette is a type of foundation garment, sharing elements of both bras and girdles. It extends from straps over the shoulders down the torso, and stops around the top of the legs. It may incorporate lace in ...
, giving rise to the typical standard diving dress
Standard diving dress, also known as hard-hat or copper hat equipment, deep sea diving suit or heavy gear, is a type of diving suit that was formerly used for all relatively deep underwater work that required more than breath-hold duration, which ...
which revolutionised underwater civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...
, underwater salvage, commercial diving
Commercial diving may be considered an application of professional diving where the diver engages in underwater work for industrial, construction, engineering, maintenance or other commercial purposes which are similar to work done out of the wate ...
and naval diving
Professional diving is underwater diving where the divers are paid for their work. The procedures are often regulated by legislation and codes of practice as it is an inherently hazardous occupation and the diver works as a member of a team. D ...
.[
Standard diving suit equipment was their main manufacturing operation, producing diving helmets in copper and brass. They also made ]frogman
A frogman is someone who is trained in scuba diving or swimming underwater in a tactical capacity that includes military, and in some European countries, police work. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of combat diver, comb ...
's equipment for the British armed forces during World War 2, and later, sport scuba
Scuba may refer to:
* Scuba diving
** Scuba set, the equipment used for scuba (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) diving
* Scuba, an in-memory database developed by Facebook
* Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array, either of two in ...
gear. See makes of rebreather.
Siebe Gorman and Co manufactured 12 bolt, 8 bolt, 6 bolt, 3 bolt, 2 bolt, no bolt, flange, and 12 bolt square corselet standard diving
Standard diving dress, also known as hard-hat or copper hat equipment, deep sea diving suit or heavy gear, is a type of diving suit that was formerly used for all relatively deep underwater work that required more than breath-hold duration, which ...
helmets.
Heinke Ltd in London also made diving gear and had connections with Siebe Gorman.
Siebe Gorman product list
Rebreather equipment
This is a partial list of some of their rebreather equipment covering military and civilian, diving and non-diving.
*Aircrew Rebreather "Stelox"
* Aerorlox (mine rescue, liquid oxygen)
*Siebe Gorman Novus SCBA
*Amphibian Mark I to Mark IV
*ATEA Siebe Gorman
* Universal Rebreather or CDBA (Clearance Diver
A clearance diver was originally a specialist naval diver who used explosives underwater to remove obstructions to make harbours and shipping channels safe to navigate, but the term "clearance diver" was later used to include other naval und ...
Breathing Apparatus)
* DSEA Siebe Gorman
*FireOX
*Fleuss-Davis SCUBA apparatus (see Henry Fleuss
Henry Albert Fleuss (13 June 1851 – 6 January 1933) was a pioneering diving engineer, and Master Diver for Siebe, Gorman & Co. of London.
Fleuss was born in Marlborough, Wiltshire in 1851.
In 1878 he was granted a patent which improved rebr ...
)
*Individual scrubber
*Lungovox (a short-duration industrial oxygen rebreather
A rebreather is a breathing apparatus that absorbs the carbon dioxide of a user's breathing, exhaled breath to permit the rebreathing (recycling) of the substantially unused oxygen content, and unused inert content when present, of each breath. ...
in a backpack box)
*Minox
*MRS suit
*Oxylithe
*P-Party (Mark I, Mark II, and Dutch)
*Proto
Proto or PROTO may refer to:
Language
* Proto-, an English prefix meaning "first"
Media
* ''Proto'' (magazine), an American science magazine
* Radio Proto in Cyprus
Music
* ''Proto'' (Holly Herndon album), 2019
* ''Proto'' (Leo O'Kelly ...
*Proto ten
*Proton[
* Savox
*]Sladen suit
The Sladen Suit was a heavy type of British divers' drysuit made by Siebe Gorman. It is entered by a wide rubber tube at the umbilicus: this tube is folded and tied off before the diver dives. It was used by British manned torpedo riders and for ...
(as used by the British Human torpedo crews)
* Salvus A.N.S[
*Watchkeepersuit
]
Other items
*Air lock diving-bell plant
Port of Gibraltar, Gibraltar Harbour's air lock diving-bell plant, or caisson diving bell barge, was a purpose-built barge for the laying, examination and repair of moorings for battleships. It was designed by Siebe Gorman, Siebe Gorman & Company ...
*Gasmask
A gas mask is a mask used to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Most gas mas ...
s
*Drysuit
A dry suit or drysuit provides the wearer with environmental protection by way of thermal insulation and exclusion of water, and is worn by divers, boaters, water sports enthusiasts, and others who work or play in or near cold or contaminated ...
s (with tradename
A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...
"Frogman" when sold to the public market)
*The Bragg-Paul Pulsator
The Bragg-Paul Pulsator, also known as the Bragg-Paul respirator, was a non-invasive medical ventilator invented by William Henry Bragg and designed by Robert W. Paul in 1933 for patients unable to breathe for themselves due to illness.
It was the ...
medical ventilator
References
External links
Grace's guide to British Industrial History: Siebe, Gorman and Co.
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20051225060831/http://www.nauticalarchive.com/Siebe%20Gorman/html/index.html Siebe Gorman archive photographs at Trinity Marinebr>Siebe Gorman
Siebe Gorman Diving Helmets Gallery
Current Siebe Gorman website
* ttp://www.hydroglove.net/media/729422104a3ac4baffff81a7ffffe907.pdf Siebe-Heinke Dip Dry Suitbr>Siebe-Heinke Frogman Dry Suits
Siebe-Gorman Diving Suits
Historical Diving Society
{{Authority control
Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
Defunct manufacturing companies of England
Engineering companies of the United Kingdom
Former defence companies of the United Kingdom
Diving equipment manufacturers
Diving engineering
Manufacturing companies based in London
British companies established in 1819
Manufacturing companies established in 1819
Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1999
Rebreather makers
1819 establishments in England
1999 disestablishments in England
Underwater diving in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom in World War II