Roy Fransen

Sadly, on 5 July 1985, during a public performance in South West London, Roy Fransen died whilst attempting his Dive of Death for the final time. He was then aged 69, and remained a very fit man for his years.

By 1960 a more compact arena show was performed. This was billed The Dive of Death, and as a spectacle attracted large audiences. Circus and trade fairs throughout the capital cities of the world were regularly visited. Many European and UK television broadcasts were transmitted. Timex, of wrist watch fame, ran a TV ad campaign praising their product's longevity - successfully enduring several 'On Fire Into Fire' high dives, whilst strapped upon Roy's wrist.

His 1948 record high-dive, from a height of 110 feet (34 m) into a depth of 8 feet (2.4 m), remained unbroken worldwide for 49 years. This acrobatic diving record was in the category of highest dive into shallow water. Whilst not including fire, it incorporated a full somersault followed by a head-first entry into a 16-foot (4.9 m) diameter (above ground) diving tank. During his lifetime Roy Fransen remained the unchallenged European high and fire diving champion.

In the late 1940s together with his elder brothers and friends, including stuntman/diver George Baines and Vera Beaumont, diving beauty, Fransen created a high dive stunt and show, simply to generate an income. This it did, and within two seasons had grown into a full-scale water show production called Aqua-revue. Enjoying popularity at open air lidos and indoor swimming pools, a troupe of 20 to 30 performed a mix of acrobatic water skills, beauty, comedy and danger. Roy Fransen's Aqua Show, plus Aqua-Belles and Aqua-Zanies, toured many UK holiday resorts well into the mid-1950s.

As a youth and during the 1930s, to improve his athletic hobby and sporting skills, he practised dry and without water at home in suburban Pinner, diving from a springboard into safety-netting set up in his parents' back garden.

Royston Albert Fransen (born 4 January 1916 in Tottenham, north London, England; died 5 July 1985) was a British high diver and stuntman. He was best known for his public displays of high and acrobatic diving, usually into shallow depth tanks and pools. These high dives were often performed with both diver and water surface being set ablaze with burning petrol. Roy Fransen's professional high and fire diving career lasted over 40 years until his accident and death in 1985 during a performance, when aged 69.