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Heritage · Reg 1159032

The Historical Diving Society

99 /100

Clarity score

Exceptional

Charity accounts, evidence & financial rating

99/100 Clarity Score · 5 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score

Register checked 4 October 2026 · latest accounts 2025

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Quick answer

Is The Historical Diving Society a good charity?

The Historical Diving Society scores 99/100 (5 stars, Exceptional) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2025 (£596k total income, 97% cause spend, latest year). This reflects financial transparency and stewardship on paper — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown.

Income

£596k

Accounts 2025-03-31

Spending

£326k

Accounts 2025-03-31

Charitable activities

97%

latest year · share of spending

Accounts filing

On time

Charity Commission

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Portsmouth · UK-wide · PO12 2JS Reg 1159032 Registered charity Official website Charity Commission register

What does The Historical Diving Society do?

To advance the education of the public in the study of the history of diving and to establish and maintain a museum for the benefit of the public and preservation of items of historical and educational value.

Activities reported by the charity on the official register · extract . This is separate from the accounts data used for its rating.

The Historical Diving Society hasn't added a description directly to CharityCompare yet. Work here? Add it free →

How much does The Historical Diving Society raise and spend?

Accounts period 2024-04-01 to 2025-03-31 · Source: Charity Commission filings

The Historical Diving Society revenue and expenses for 2025
Category Amount % of spend
Total income £596k —
Total expenditure £326k —
Charitable activities £317k 97%
Fundraising £9k 3%
Reported governance £3k 1%

Governance can already be allocated within other expenditure categories. It is not a separate measure of all administration costs; do not add these rows without checking the accounts notes.

What changed in The Historical Diving Society’s latest accounts?

Reported totals for 2025 compared with 2024. Changes can reflect the accounting period, restricted grants or restructuring as well as the charity’s work.

Income change
+39.4%
£427k → £596k
Spending change
−32.3%
£481k → £326k
Charitable activities share
Not disclosed
Both years need a disclosed spending split.

These are annual figures. The Clarity Score may use averages across several disclosed years. Source: official accounts.

97%On charitable activities

Where does the money go?

Latest accounts (2025) · £326k spent

  • Charitable activities97%
  • Fundraising3%

Charities usually allocate governance costs across their other spending categories, and these reported figures add up to more than total spending, so governance is not drawn as a separate slice. The accounts table shows it separately.

From the annual return

What does The Historical Diving Society pay its staff, and where does its money come from?

Answers The Historical Diving Society gave in its annual return to the Charity Commission for the year ending 31 March 2025, plus its register entry. These are the charity's own disclosures, not part of the Clarity Score.

Where does The Historical Diving Society's money come from?

The Historical Diving Society reported £596k total income for the year ending 31 March 2025. The largest sources were donations and legacies £568k (95%), trading and fundraising events £14k (2%), charitable activities £11k (2%).

  • Donations and legacies £568k · 95%
  • Trading and fundraising events £14k · 2%
  • Charitable activities (fees and contracts) £11k · 2%
  • Investments £2,127 · 0%
  • Other income £702 · 0%

Cash at year end: £191k · unrestricted funds: £452k · restricted funds: £81k. Restricted funds can only be spent on purposes set by the donor.

Can I claim Gift Aid, and are the trustees paid?

The register records The Historical Diving Society as registered with HMRC for Gift Aid, so a UK taxpayer can usually add 25p to every £1 they give by making a Gift Aid declaration. Work out your Gift Aid

The Historical Diving Society's annual return for the year ending 31 March 2025 reports that no trustee received remuneration or other benefits from the charity.

Registration details

Registered as a charity
Company number
09204944 (Companies House)
Also known as
The Hds
Where it says it operates
Throughout England and Wales

Source: Charity Commission register and annual return data, Open Government Licence v3.0. A blank answer in the return is shown as not reported, never as “no”.

How have The Historical Diving Society's finances changed over five years?

Income rose 153% from £235k in 2022 to £596k in 2025; spending was £326k in 2025.

£0 £200k £400k £600k £800k 2022 2023 2024 2025 Income 2022: £235k Spending 2022: £0 Income 2023: £177k Spending 2023: £95k Income 2024: £427k Spending 2024: £481k Income 2025: £596k Spending 2025: £326k Cause spend 2025: £317k
  • Income
  • Spending
  • Cause spend
The Historical Diving Society income and spending by accounts year
Year Income Spending Charitable activities
2025 £596k £326k £317k
2024 £427k £481k Not disclosed
2023 £177k £95k Not disclosed
2022 £235k £0 Not disclosed

Cause spend is plotted only when the filing discloses a split · Source: Charity Commission filings

Financial context

How do its finances compare with similar charities?

Compare The Historical Diving Society with 28 other heritage charities in our detailed dataset: the same regulator, £500k–£1m income band and accounts ending in 2025. Each period covers 50–54 weeks. These are reference points, not targets or a ranking of impact.

Swipe across the table to see the peer median and coverage.

Latest annual figures, accounts ending 2025-03-31. Peer medians exclude this charity; the median is the middle value.
MeasureThis charityPeer medianPeer coverage
Annual income £596k £723k 28 of 28
Annual spending £326k £673k 28 of 28
Charitable activities share 97.3% 93.7% 27 of 28

The annual spending share can differ from the multi-year average shown elsewhere. Missing disclosures are excluded, never counted as zero. We show a median only with at least ten peer disclosures. Different year-end months, restricted funding and delivery models can still limit comparisons.

How peers are selected Check this charity’s source accounts Choose between similar charities

How does The Historical Diving Society compare?

The share of each group scoring at or below The Historical Diving Society, including tied scores. A group matched on cause, income band and accounts year appears when at least ten records qualify. Broader groups below may mix reporting periods and operating models. Groups include this charity; percentiles measure our financial rating, not impact.

Same cause, income band and accounts year (2025) 97thpercentile

Scores at or above 97% of 29 charities with the same primary cause, income band and latest accounts year · 99/100 vs 83 peer average.

Income band (£500k–£1m) 98thpercentile

Scores at or above 98% of 2,127 charities in its income band · 99/100 vs 78 peer average.

Heritage charities 99thpercentile

Scores at or above 99% of 150 charities in this cause · 99/100 vs 73 peer average.

How does The Historical Diving Society compare, and where else can you look?

Compare The Historical Diving Society with others More heritage charities How we score charities

Where The Historical Diving Society sits

The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby.

Similar heritage charities

Top-rated peers by CharityCompare score

Evidence and interpretation

What the evidence says about The Historical Diving Society

In 2025, reported income was £595,507 and expenditure was £325,584. Income exceeded expenditure by £269,923. This annual balance is not the charity’s available cash or unrestricted reserves.

More financial context

Income rose 39.4% compared with 2024. Read the accounts notes for restricted grants, legacies and one-off receipts before treating the movement as a trend.

Calculated from our dated accounts dataset, refreshed 2026-09-06. This is not an audit or a manual review of every filing. Original register and accounts · How calculations work.

Find the right support

Who it supports and how to access its work

Reported beneficiaries: Children/young People; Elderly/old People; The General Public/mankind.

How it works: Provides Human Resources; Provides Advocacy/advice/information; Acts As An Umbrella Or Resource Body.

Use the official contact details to check eligibility, referrals, waiting lists and current service coverage. Broad register classifications and a contact address do not confirm that a particular service is available to you.

Explore source-checked support routes

Classifications supplied to the register; extract 2026-10-04. Register contact and activity details · Website listed for this charity

Look beyond the score

Results and impact evidence

We have not added a source-checked programme outcome for this charity. That is a gap in this profile, not evidence that the charity has no impact. Its annual report may contain results that have not been assessed here.

Reported grants to institutions: £0 (2025-03-31). This is spending reported in the annual return, not a measure of beneficiary outcomes or an open grant opportunity. It may already be included in charitable expenditure. Check the source accounts.

What these results can tell you

Counts of services delivered describe activity. They do not by themselves establish lasting change, what would have happened without the programme, or cost-effectiveness. Results with different definitions, populations or years should not be ranked against each other.

How to judge charity impact evidence

What is The Historical Diving Society's Beacon report?

Detailed accountability and finance metrics from UK regulator filings — structured for transparency in our four-beacon report.

Accountability & Transparency

Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.

100/100

Accountability & Transparency metrics for The Historical Diving Society
Metric Score Value
Filing history (5 years)

No recorded lateness in available history = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more or unknown status = 0 pts. Missing data is not proof of late filing.

 100% 15/15 pts
Trustee oversight

Three or more trustees on the register = 15 pts, scaled down for fewer (governance red flag below three).

 100% 9 trustees · 15/15 pts
Declared policies

Safeguarding (4) · conflict of interest (3) · volunteer management (3) — from Charity Commission annual return.

 100% 10/10 pts

Financial Health

Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.

97/100

Financial Health metrics for The Historical Diving Society
Metric Score Value
Reserves (months of expenditure)

3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years = 0 pts. Reserves are not necessarily cash; needs vary by operating model.

 100% 18 months · 15/15 pts
Income stability / growth

+20% or more over the window = 10 pts · flat = 5 pts · −20% or worse = 0 pts, scaled between.

 100% 10/10 pts · 3-year average
Liabilities to assets

0% liabilities-to-assets = 5 pts, scaling down to 0 pts at 60%+ debt.

 80% 6% · 4/5 pts

Financial Efficiency

How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.

100/100

Financial Efficiency metrics for The Historical Diving Society
Metric Score Value
Program expense ratio

90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below.

 100% 97% · 10/10 pts (Latest year)
Fundraising efficiency

≤10p to raise £1 = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 40p or above (fundraising cost ÷ income).

 100% 1p per £1 income · 10/10 pts (Latest year, disclosed years)

Community Support

Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.

100/100

Community Support metrics for The Historical Diving Society
Metric Score Value
Volunteer-to-staff ratio

Volunteers at 2x staff or more = full marks · no volunteers = 0 pts, scaled between.

 100% 30 volunteers / 0 staff · 10/10 pts

How we calculate beacon scores →

What trust indicators does The Historical Diving Society have?

Pulled from the Charity Commission register — filing behaviour, board size, and workforce where reported.

  • Accounts filed on time

    up to date · last filing

  • Trustee board size (3–12)

    9 trustees on the Charity Commission register

  • Workforce on register

    0 employees · 30 volunteers

Fundraising Regulator

Status not yet checked

Separate from our financial scores. Registration records a commitment to the Code of Fundraising Practice; it does not certify every fundraising activity.

Check Fundraising Regulator →

Official register

Reg 1159032

Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.

View on Charity Commission →

Trustees & officers

  • Michael Brendan O'Meara Chair · since 2015
  • Kevin Francis Casey since 2015
  • Peter Henry Dick since 2015
  • Anthony John Holt Marshall since 2020
  • Stephen James Roue since 2021
  • James Alexander John Cullen since 2022
  • Elizabeth Fernande James since 2022
  • Lucy Rosalind Marder since 2024
  • Ailsa Chambers since 2026

How reliable is The Historical Diving Society's data?

Source
Charity Commission (England & Wales)
Accounts year
2025
Filing date
Data refreshed

Medium confidence — some data missing or late

Scores reflect the accounts in our dated data extract. The live register may contain newer filings. Clarity Score measures how clearly the charity accounts for money in those filings — not programme impact.

Check the current register entry · Report a data correction

Financial source extract: 2026-09-06. Organisation identifier: 5052263. Method version: 1.1. View method changes.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources: Charity Commission for England and Wales, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. Open Government Licence v3.0 .

Your donation decision

What should you check before donating to The Historical Diving Society?

  1. 1. Match the name and charity number

    Check 1159032 on the official register. A real charity number alone does not prove that a fundraiser or appeal is authentic.

    Verify the registration →

  2. 2. Read the accounts in context

    Our latest accounts data covers 2025. Compare the accounts period, spending and reserves. An administration cost ratio alone cannot tell you how effective a charity is.

    Explore the financial evidence →

  3. 3. Look for evidence of results

    Read the trustees’ annual report for activities, outcomes and limitations. The Clarity Score measures public reporting; it does not establish the impact of a donation.

    How to read charity accounts →

  4. 4. Compare charities serving your cause

    Compare up to four charities, check the dates behind their figures, and decide which work you want to support. Complete your donation through a verified charity channel.

    Start a comparison with The Historical Diving Society →
How we score charities +

The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.

Full methodology →

Accountability & Transparency

Scored from filings

40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10).

Financial Health

Scored from filings

30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises).

Financial Efficiency

Scored from filings

20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below).

Community Support

Scored from filings

10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio.

Overall score

Sum of all pillar points. Display stars use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated.

How can you share The Historical Diving Society's rating?

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Frequently asked questions

Common questions about The Historical Diving Society's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.

Is The Historical Diving Society a good charity? +

The Historical Diving Society scores 99 out of 100 (5 stars — Exceptional) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 97% of its spending goes to charitable activities (latest year) and its accounts are up to date. That reflects how transparent and financially healthy it looks on paper — it does not measure the real-world impact of its work, so treat it as one factor alongside the cause you care about. CharityCompare never tells you where to donate.

Is The Historical Diving Society a legitimate charity? +

The register data used for this profile lists The Historical Diving Society as a registered charity (charity number 1159032). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1159032&subId=0. Check the current entry and the identity of anyone requesting money. Registration does not verify a particular appeal; Clarity Score summarises filing transparency, not programme impact.

What is The Historical Diving Society's charity number? +

The Historical Diving Society's charity number is 1159032. Check that number on the official register (Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI) or this CharityCompare profile before you donate — scammers sometimes reuse real numbers on fake appeals.

What is The Historical Diving Society's charity rating? +

The Historical Diving Society scores 99 out of 100 on CharityCompare (5 stars — Exceptional). The Clarity Score (method v1.1) sums four pillars from UK regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 pts), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10). Stars use the same bands as those labels — 90+ is 5★ Exceptional. It is not an impact ranking.

Does The Historical Diving Society have reviews and complaints? +

CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for The Historical Diving Society. Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts (none flagged on this profile). For formal complaints about a charity, contact the Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI or the Fundraising Regulator as appropriate.

How much of my donation reaches The Historical Diving Society? +

Across the recent disclosed accounts used for this score, 97% of The Historical Diving Society's total spending went to charitable activities. That is the closest official figure to "how much of your donation reaches the cause" — it is an average across all spending in the filing, not a pound-by-pound breakdown of an individual gift.

What are The Historical Diving Society's overheads? +

Across the recent disclosed accounts used for this score, fundraising costs were about 3% of total expenditure and fundraising plus separately reported governance figures amount to about 4% of expenditure (2025); these categories can overlap, so this is not a distinct total of all administration costs at The Historical Diving Society. The register does not show individual salaries; senior pay is disclosed in the trustees' annual report and accounts.

How much income does The Historical Diving Society receive? +

The Historical Diving Society reported £596k total income in its 2025 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: growing.

Are The Historical Diving Society's accounts up to date? +

Filing status: up to date (last filing 2025-09-29). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.

Where is The Historical Diving Society based? +

The Historical Diving Society's registered contact address is in Portsmouth (PO12 2JS). It tells the regulator it operates in England and Wales, with a focus on heritage.

Where does The Historical Diving Society's money come from? +

The Historical Diving Society reported £596k total income for the year ending 31 March 2025. The largest sources were donations and legacies £568k (95%), trading and fundraising events £14k (2%), charitable activities £11k (2%).

Can I claim Gift Aid on a donation to The Historical Diving Society? +

The register records The Historical Diving Society as registered with HMRC for Gift Aid, so a UK taxpayer can usually add 25p to every £1 they give by making a Gift Aid declaration.

Are The Historical Diving Society's trustees paid? +

The Historical Diving Society's annual return for the year ending 31 March 2025 reports that no trustee received remuneration or other benefits from the charity.

When was The Historical Diving Society registered as a charity? +

The Historical Diving Society was entered on the register on 30 October 2014. It is also a company registered at Companies House (company number 09204944).

How does CharityCompare score The Historical Diving Society? +

We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in The Historical Diving Society's regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 points — filing history, trustees, policies), Financial Health (30 — reserves, income trend, debt), Financial Efficiency (20 — cause spend and fundraising cost, on a graduated scale) and Community Support (10 — volunteer-to-staff ratio). An open statutory inquiry scores 0. The score measures reporting on paper, not programme impact. CharityCompare is free for donors, takes no commission on donations, and scores cannot be bought.

How often is this page updated? +

This profile was last updated on 6 September 2026 from the latest UK regulator data available to CharityCompare, and The Historical Diving Society's most recent accounts cover 2025. Scores and figures refresh whenever we re-ingest the register, so the page reflects our latest data pull rather than a one-off review.