Author's own photo taken at Winchester Cathedral

1905. Large cracks have appeared in the walls and vaulted ceiling of Winchester Cathedral. The whole building is in danger of collapse. Will it sink into the soggy ground beneath it?

The amazing story of William Walker, diver extraordinaire, was mentioned by Liz Manning in last Wednesday’s blog, and here I am, mentioning him again, because he’s become the inspiration behind my blog today.

Things we might learn from William Walker

1 Follow your dreams.

William Walker was born in 1869, and aged 18 he began his training as a deep-water diver in Portsmouth. Yes, he had to wear the cumbersome outfit and one of those heavy helmets.  Imagine his mother’s horror at such a dangerous choice of career, and can you almost hear his father’s urgent instruction? ‘For goodness sake come home William, and do something sensible for a change.’

Did William go home? No. He followed his dreams.

2 You never know when your moment might arrive.

1906. Winchester has a high underlying water table and the cathedral is built on peaty soil. It was impossible to dig trenches before any reinforcing work could be done, because they would have simply filled with water and gurgled happily no doubt.

William was the best diver for the job. Could he do it? Would he? When asked, he probably smiled.

His moment had arrived.

3 Never give up because it’s too difficult or your doubts start crowding in.

William had to descend into the murky water of 235 pits, each about 6m (20ft) deep, to dig out rotten foundations and shore up the walls with concrete.

He toiled for nearly six hours a day underwater, in darkness, working with his bare hands and entirely by touch. For five years. Eventually he propped the cathedral up with 900,000 bricks, 114,900 concrete blocks and 25,800 bags of cement.

He would not, could not, give up.

4 It’s OK to take a break and savour the moment.

Because it took William so long to put on and take off his heavy diving suit, when he stopped for a break he would just remove his helmet in order to eat his lunch and smoke his pipe.

I am not suggesting you take up pipe-smoking, just mentioning that a break from toil and a bit of day-dreaming are part of being the best writers we can be.

5 Imagine the best possible outcome for our work.

I wonder if William would be surprised that he is so well-remembered. His grave, at Beckenham Cemetery in Bromley, south-east London, bears the words: "The diver who with his own hands saved Winchester Cathedral."

For him the best outcome was saving Winchester Cathedral. His parents probably thought often of what the worst might be. I reckon William imagined the cathedral rising strongly from the peaty swamp. I think that every day he thought, 'Yes, I can do this.' I like William Walker because he believed he could succeed, and because he didn't ever stop trying.

Known as 'Diver Bill', William Walker died aged 49 during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918.

A sad and early death for a talented and determined man.

Veronica Bright is a prize-winning author of short fiction and drama. Now she’s working on a novel for children. She writes occasional book reviews for Transforming Ministry, and loves visiting the local infants school for Open the Book sessions. Veronica runs the Plymouth Christian Writers and the ACW Writing for Children zoom groups. If you’re interested in considering joining either of these, please put a note in the comment box.