Comment

Comment by Dive Diva on November 5, 2009 at 9:16am

Other aspects of Bill's work:

Rescue work, December 1896, at the River Level Colliery near Aberent, Wales, when the pit was flooded and six men and boys drowned.
Work on the building of the Blackwall Tunnel, 1891–1897.
Being foreman in charge of works on the construction of the new naval docks in Gibraltar.
Work on the construction of the jetty for the Royal Victoria Dock Granary, 1905.
Emergency work, which called him away from Winchester, on the wreck of the SS Dordone in Newport.
Work with Sir Leonard Hill developing linear decompression tables.
Part of the interview article: "In cold water diving he [William] explained what a man has to contend with is the pressure. At Gibraltar he says ‘two of my men died through pressure of water." (Hampshire Observer, 2 September 1911)

In response to questions about his work on Winchester, William says "'It was not difficult. It was straightforward work, but had to be carefully done'. He went on to say that Mr Jackson had told him that he was very pleased with the work and that he had done what no other man had done—that was he had laid the foundations of a wh*** cathedral, Walker said 'I am proud of the honour'". (Hampshire Observer, 2 September 1911)

Walker died during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918 and is buried in Beckenham Cemetery, London.

Comment by Bill Gardner on November 5, 2009 at 9:07am

It all comes down to- a profficient worker dedicated to his craft, as all divers should be!

Comment by Dive Diva on November 5, 2009 at 8:57am

Saving the Cathedral
By Stephen Stafford

A century ago, Winchester Cathedral was saved by the heroic work of William Walker, a diver who worked tirelessly to shore up the historic foundations and preserve one of England's greatest buildings.

The story goes back to 1905 when experts discovered that parts of Winchester Cathedral were under serious threat of collapse.

The Cathedral's archeologist Dr John Crook explained why the the building was in such peril:

"There were large cracks in the masonry. One of the pillars in the crypt in the eastern end of the Cathedral was forcing itself through the earth beneath so the vaulting was collapsing there.
The west front of the Cathedral was in a terrible state with bits of masonry falling off. Its conceivable that if nothing was done, the South wall could have toppled over."

The causes of the problems went back to when the Cathedral was expanded using beech logs as a foundations in the 13th century. This proved inadequate and over the centuries walls began leaning outwards and rotating.

The solution was to remove these beech logs and pump in concrete to firm up the foundations. This was to be achieved by tunneling down to a layer of gravel under the Cathedral walls.

The only snag was the Cathedral was built on a high water table - water still bubbles into the crypt today. It meant the trenches quickly filled with water so it would have taken years to underpin the wh*** cathedral while pumping solid material from under the walls could undermine them further.

The decision was made to employ the most experienced diver that they could find to descend into the murky water to temporarily shore up the walls by putting concrete underneath them. In his time, William Walker was the most experienced diver of Siebe Gorman Ltd. 235 pits were dug out along the southern and eastern sides of the building, each about six metres deep. Shoring up the foundations took a Herculean effort by William Walker.

He worked tirelessly from 1906 until 1911. He dove into the murky water five days a week, for 6 hours at a time, for 6 straight years. He removed the rotting timbers and the peat moss strictly by feel-the swampy black water was pitch black. He worked in almost complete darkness in the peaty water 13 feet above his head which was filled with sediment.

He supported the Cathedral by layering more than 25,000 bags of concrete, 115,000 concrete blocks and 900,000 bricks in place under the foundation.

As Dr John Crook explains: "It was a fairly heroic achievement ... he was clearly doggedly determined to finish the job."

After Walker finished his work, the groundwater could be safely pumped out and the concrete Walker had put into place was able to bear the foundation walls. Bricklayers were then able to restore the damaged walls.

The diving industry was still in its infancy but Walker used the best gear available - a Rubberised canvas suit with round diving helmet, and heavy boots - the wh*** suit weighed around 200lbs.

William Walker has become a hero in Winchester folklore. There are several statues of him in and around the Cathedral and each St Swithin's day prayers of thanksgiving are offered for the work of William Walker.

To celebrate the completion of the work, a thanksgiving service, led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, was held on July 15, 1912. At this, Walker was presented with a silver rose bowl by King George V. Newspaper reports at the time remarked that this was the second time Walker had met George V, the first being when the king was a naval cadet and Walker was his diving instructor.

Later, Walker was honoured with the title MVO (Member of the Royal Victorian Order) by king George V who said that he had "saved the cathedral with his own two hands".

An interview that Walker gave to the Hampshire Observer in 1911[1] gives insight into his work. In it, Walker reveals that, unlike some other divers, he had never worked on any treasure dives.