Rob Hoole

Educated in the UK and USA, Rob Hoole joined the Royal Navy in 1971 and qualified as a Minewarfare & Clearance Diving Officer in 1976. In 1991, he co-founded the Royal Naval Minewarfare & Clearance Diving Officers’ Association (MCDOA) of which he is Vice Chairman. He also runs its website at www.mcdoa.org. Rob acquired an MBA from Oxford Brookes University in 2000 and left the Royal Navy in 2002 after serving 32 years in all manner of operational and training roles at sea and ashore including Command of diving teams and mine countermeasures vessels.

Aside from his family, his passions include country pubs & real ale, sailing, reading and maritime history, particularly the development of naval & military diving, minewarfare and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) otherwise known as bomb & mine disposal. An official advisor to the Historical Diving Society on military and naval diving, he helped prepare its museum and library for opening in 2011. He has written and contributed to many books, journals and other publications covering different aspects of his favourite subjects. Last but not least, he is a fierce supporter of Project Vernon, the successful campaign he initiated via the MCDOA to erect a monument at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, Hampshire to commemorate the minewarfare and diving heritage of HMS Vernon, which previously occupied the site, and its heirs and successors.