Talk:Professor Powsey

More book references

I found two more book references which can be incorporated into the article. I think it would be good to add them, since some of the current refs refer only to other divers, and the WP:AFC reviewers may feel the draft currently has insufficient citations on Powsey to prove notability. Here they are: [1], [2]. The "search links" in the banner atop this page can also be used to find further citations if desired. Pinging Afewthings to notify. (BTW, you should put this draft on your watch list so you know when people edit it or its talkpage.) Softlavender (talk) 23:48, 1 December 2021 (UTC)

More as well: [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8]. -- Softlavender (talk) 00:20, 2 December 2021 (UTC)

Thank you Softlavender. Unfortunately I can't get a page number on most of these books on Googlebooks. But I'll add them as citations for now and I'm going to see if I can order them, if they're available, from my regional library. They look fascinating on pier culture in general. It does seem though, that in most publications on pier amusements the performers, Osbourne, Powsey, Gadsby etc. are just noted as performing with no great specificity. But great stuff and thanks! Afewthings (talk) 17:12, 2 December 2021 (UTC)

Oh, and thanks for the Wikipedia overview. I'm going to watch that this evening. Much better than anything on Netflix! Afewthings (talk) 17:21, 2 December 2021 (UTC)

I see page numbers for a few of them on my end (sometimes the Googlebook views are different in the UK). On a couple of others, you can purchase the Google ebook (readable and searchable on your computer or device), which will have the page numbers, if you feel like doing that. Another trick I sometimes use is search for a book by title on Amazon (unlikely these will be sold in the U.S., but probably on Amazon UK), and if there's a "Look Inside" feature, open that and click the hardcopy version at the top, and then using the search icon search for terms, and the page numbers and entire pages will come up. Softlavender (talk) 23:29, 2 December 2021 (UTC)

Taking pools on excursions

I was bemused to read that:

Online postcard, photographic and film evidence suggests he also took his towers and pools on excursions to dive elsewhere, during his active years.

I wondered how somebody might take a pool around, and idle curiosity led me to look at the cited source(s).

One source is cited. It's a film. So it shows nothing about postcards or photos. It's a fascinating film, and for all I know the tower shown in it might have been Powsey's, but it's inadequate as evidence for the claim. Afewthings, got any other sources for this? -- Hoary (talk) 00:23, 2 December 2021 (UTC)

No other sources on the travel; perhaps that claim will get removed. Or I'll remove it. However, it can be shown he traveled. Unless he rented towers and pools locally (structure I should think, to be filled with water) he must have brought gear with him. He must have had a crew and possibly a vehicle. Just erecting the towers would be an undertaking, as would ensuring their safety. When I get a chance I'll review that claim unless you or someone else removes it. Good point. Afewthings (talk)

The video shows him diving from a tower into the sea at the Herne Bay pier. The tower could have already been there; the sea was already there. The video does prove he performed elsewhere, but not that he carried towers or pools. I can see him transporting a 4-foot-deep pool (his main stunt); transporting a tower is a little more questionable in my mind. In any case, we've no proof yet he dived at non-oceanside locations. There is the implication earlier in the draft that he performed at fairgrounds, but usually the proprietor would construct the tower, etc., no? Unless Powsey was fussy about that. Softlavender (talk) 01:18, 2 December 2021 (UTC)

Found some online mentions of him diving at The Firs speedway and also Wembley speedway and have added them... Either I or someone else took out the reference of him taking his kit on the road so that's sorted; yes, all speculation, thanks for that, although it seems certain he went on the road. Obituary has a reference to him taking a 2 year 'world tour' as well. There is Westcliff Regatta footage of him in 1938 when he was at the Southport Fairground/Pleasureland so he obviously traveled back to Kent for that, although he's diving off a pier or quay again it appears as you mention. Fascinating to see how the editorial process proceeds. I kind of have a greater respect for Wikipedia! Afewthings (talk) 03:28, 3 December 2021 (UTC)

"dived" or "dove"?

Hoary: I'm consistently seeing "dived" when referring to Powsey, these stunt-divers, and indeed diving as a sport (whether high or underwater) in general. I have not seen "dove" anywhere in reference to this sport, particularly not in the UK. Would you mind changing that usage back? Softlavender (talk) 00:28, 2 December 2021 (UTC)

Wiktionary -- of course not a reliable source, yada yada -- tells us:

The past tense dove is found chiefly in North American English, where it is used alongside the regular (and earlier) dived, with regional variations; in British English dived is the standard past tense, dove existing only in some dialects. Some speakers express uncertainty about what the past participle should be; dove is relatively rare as a past participle. (Compare Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary; The American Heritage Dictionary; The Cambridge Guide to English Usage)

I hadn't known that. "Dived" it is. -- Hoary (talk) 02:28, 2 December 2021 (UTC)

Poster

This blog page reproduces a poster advertising "the greatest diving act in the world--thrill of a lifetime". The blog writer comments: "There is no date, but the reference in the obituary below to Professor Powsey's last dive being for charity suggests that this may in fact be a poster advertising his very last dive at the age of 75." However, there is a date, or most of one: "Saturday, May 18th". This web page -- which I reached via the article Determination of the day of the week (which I was too lazy to use) -- tells us that for the first half of the 20th century, 18 May was a Saturday in years 01, 07, 12, 18, 29, 35, 40, 46. Note that "41" isn't among them. (And the prose seems to be to be quite a bit earlier than 1941, though I'm unable to pinpoint how/why.) Southport still has its own Princes Park; this park currently seems not to be mentioned anywhere in Wikipedia, but perhaps somebody could find when it hosted spectacles such as this. -- Hoary (talk) 00:02, 5 December 2021 (UTC)

I've just noticed that "the Lads" are straightforwardly described in the poster as being "at the Front" (not as having returned from there, or similar). So Blighty was at war at the time. The options are down to 1918 and 1940. There was plenty of action along the western front in May 1918. As for 1940, only really from 10 May, if I understand this correctly. So I'm pretty sure this is from 1918. (Also, the typography looks wrong for 1940.) ¶ Whit Monday comes 50 days after Easter Sunday. According to this web page, Easter Sunday was 5 May in 1918 and 28 April in 1940. So (thanks to this web page), Whit Monday was 24 June in 1918 and 17 June in 1940. -- Hoary (talk) 06:02, 5 December 2021 (UTC)

Er, no. Easter Sunday was 31 March in 1918 and 24 March in 1940 -- Gregorian calendar, by "Gregorian reckoning" (last time, I presented the date in the Gregorian calendar but by "Julian reckoning"). So Whit Monday was 20 May '18 and 13 May '40. -- Hoary (talk) 08:54, 8 December 2021 (UTC)

Extraordinary sleuthing Hoary. I think you are right about WW1 on that poster. BTW it's been fascinating seeing what you have edited. I noticed you are interested in photographers, and there was a Japanese photographer whose haunting images I liked and had visited his Wikipedia page in the past. Went back and sniffing through the history of edits not surprised, or surprised, to find you contributed. Fascinating to see.Afewthings (talk) 06:28, 9 December 2021 (UTC)

Afewthings,thank you for the comments on an article on a Japanese photographer (though I have to say that few of those articles satisfy me). So, 1918, or 1940? The great debate continued to rage; an "executive summary" would be "Still don't know." ¶ Time to get this draft moving again? -- Hoary (talk) 22:53, 21 December 2021 (UTC)

Hoary My goodness Hoary, what a fascinating read. I'm truly astonished at the thought and consideration into dates and font. I'll have to go through it again. Yes, time to get it reviewed. Over Christmas I'm going to upload a photo from an old card with the proper accreditation and insert it in the bio-info box. Maybe the picture will look excessive and I won't include, but I just want to see what it looks like. Prior to reading the string I felt strongly you are right, that the font style suggests the era of WW1. There is a picture online of West Pier Brighton diver Walter Tong with a poster promoting him very early 20th century and the poster style is almost identical. I know that prior to the late 20th century styles didn't change so much. My old man wore wool shorts, knee socks and woolly jumpers during the war just like I did in the early 60's. In black and white photos we might have been brothers. Maybe fairground promotional posters were similarly immune to stylistic change, unlike more elevated art and design. Over Christmas I'll press the button to have it reviewed; that will be interesting I'm sure there will be lots to do then. With the Omicron Grinch stealing a chunk of our Christmas I'll probably have time to deal with it ha ha. Thanks for the link to that exchange. Wishing you a very merry, stay safe and best for the new year.~~

Hoary Oh, PS, this might be of interest to you, in that it suggests how familiar people in the inter war years might have been with the spectacle of pier diving. On the Wikipedia page for 'It's That Man Again', a frantic-antic radio show that starred Tommy Handley of Southport (before my time) there is a character known as 'The Diver' who interrupts the narrative...well, you can read it yourself if you visit the item and look under 'characters' to find 'The Diver'. The character had a catchphrase based on a real pier diver from Southport, the one legged Peggy Gadsby (for whom there is also a statue on Southport Pier) who used to collect money from spectators saying 'Don't Forget the Diver'. This apparently became an oft repeated phrase in common discourse. It's sort of a testament to how entrenched Pier Diving might have been, so much that when offering a round at the pub someone might say 'Don't forget the diver', or so I imagine. I've spent a bit of time listening to the radio program on Youtube but haven't encountered The Diver yet. Also of interest, there was a Professor Cyril diving at Brighton doing the bicycle dive who lost control of the bike in 1912 and fell to the pier deck and died shortly after! Cyril's real name was Albert Higgins Heppell and Brighton Museums has an item on him. The activity was apparently not without hazards.~~

If you haven't yet had much time to work on this, Afewthings, I hope that this is because your Christmas turned out not to be as dull as you'd feared. Well, I'm looking forward to seeing this as an article. (Incidentally, in order to "sign" a message, you have to hit "~" not just twice but four times.)