The Underwater Association for Malta 1966 was established under that name in 1966 to assist in the organisation and publication of British diving science. The first organising committee consisted of John N. Lythgoe (Institute of Ophthalmology, London), John D. Woods (Physics Department, Imperial College, London), Nicholas C. Flemming (Pembroke College, Cambridge), Anthony Larkum (Botany, Cambridge), Andrew E. Dorey (Zoology, Bristol), Christopher C. "Bill" Hemmings (Fisheries Laboratory, Aberdeen). Bill Hemmings was appointed the first Chair. Subsequent Chairs were Nic Flemming, John Lythgoe and Richard Pagett. As the Association expanded and broadened its range of international recruitment, the name was shortened to the Underwater Association. After a few years the use of Malta as a central base for multiple projects was abandoned, and the Association expanded its objectives to promote underwater science at any location, attracting one third of its membership from outside the UK. The Underwater Association corresponded and collaborated with equivalent voluntary bodies in other countries, especially the American Academy of Underwater Sciences in the USA. The methods and goals of the Underwater Association helped equivalent bodies to develop in South Africa and Australia. The UA held its first symposium in 1965 to discuss the results of that year’s expeditions. It took place in the Physics Department of Imperial College London, on 29th October. The resulting papers, and those of symposia from 1966–69, were published in booklet form. The proceedings volumes were reviewed in maritime research journals for the information of other marine scientists. Woods and Lythgoe in 1971 and Drew, Lythgoe and Woods in 1976 also published books on underwater science with contributions from members of the UA and elsewhere. The Association also published a newsletter several times each year, circulated by post, which was an essential component of its success in the days before digital communications. Edward Drew and Helen Ross were newsletter editors for much of this time. Copies of most of the UA publications on the proceedings of symposia are held by the library of the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. The Underwater Association provided a vehicle for marine scientists who used diving to pool experiences, learn different techniques, experiment with different breathing gas mixtures and diving gear, and to publish their results in a way that emphasised the effectiveness of diving, as well as the skills needed to work efficiently underwater. This achievement coexisted with routine publishing in the mainstream single-discipline refereed journals that demonstrate the high quality of the research.