Hackney Sub Aqua Club

HMS Brezen was a British Navy ‘B’-class destroyer build in the Jarrow shipyards in 1928. She measured 323ft x 32ft and was powered by 34,000 hp steam turbines giving a top speed of 35 knots; she was armed with four 4.7" and 2 anti-aircraft guns, eight 21" torpedo tubes and depth charges.

The Brezen was sunk on the 20th July 1940 in the Straits of Dover by a German air attack while escorting Channel Convoy CW7. During the attack the Brezen’s gunners shot down three of the enemy aircraft. However, she was badly damaged by near misses and was finally sunk by a direct hit to the engine room while being towed. One of the ship’s company was killed.

We were diving from Dave Bachelor’s boat Neptune, out of Dover. My dive buddy was Tom and I was leading our second dive of the day. The water temperature dropped, the pressure in our ears increased as we followed the shot line down into the gloom. At around 30 metres a huge section of the ship appeared out of the darkness, a glowing rust orange set against the misty aqua blue background.

The Brezen is split into two halves and sits upright on the white sand and gravel seabed. I attached a line to the shot and reeled off, following the hull along the port side of the ship up to the bow. We slowly finned through the clear water, peering through the empty portholes into the dark recesses of ship. It was strange thinking of all the crew living and working in there, young lads coping with the ever-present threat of mines, U-boats and air attacks.
As we reached the bow, we both had plenty of air left. We turned back and headed up onto the deck. The anti-aircraft gun placement is still there. Remembering the Brezen went down with these guns firing, I ignored a large crab to examine the guns. With my head in the gun pit, I was transfixed. What must it have been like for the crew on that evening in 1940? Suddenly, I saw the crab coming right at me, fast. Just as I was about to fend it off, I saw Tom grinning from ear to ear. He had the crab in his hand and was lunging it at me!

After 35 minutes our air was running down and we ascended back up the shot line. We both had some deco time to do and played noughts and crosses on Tom’s slate as we floated around, killing time.
Back on the boat, we de-kitted talking three-to-the-dozen about an amazing dive. Thanks to Ann for organising the trip.