In memory of Philippe Tailliez (1905-2002)

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Capitaine de Vaisseau, Philippe Tailliez, on Thursday September 26, 2002, in France.

A diver since the 1930’s, it was Tailliez who introduced Jacques Yves Cousteau to the sport of goggle fishing in 1936. Two years later he introduced Cousteau to Frederic Dumas and together the diving trio became the famed “Les Mousqemers” of the French Mediterranean coast.

Philippe Tailliez was a career Naval officer, and in 1945 he became the first commanding officer of the Group d’Etudes et de Recherches Sous-Marines G.E.R.S.)

This was the first military group to employ the Cousteau-Gagnan Aqua-Lung and in 1949, under Tailliez’s command, it produced the book Plongee en Scaphandre. This book was the world’s first diving manual to cover the use of the Aqua-Lung and included repeat dive tables developed by G.E.R.S. It was later revised and translated into English.

His 1954 book Plongees sans Cable recorded his early diving adventures and was published in English with the title To Hidden Depths. His involvement with diving and the sea continued throughout the last half of this century. Capitaine Tailliez was the recipient of the Society’s 1998 Historical Diver Magazine Pioneer Award, and he received numerous other international awards during his long and distinguished career.

Leslie Leaney
President
Historical Diving Society-USA