
Justin Garrett

Obituary
Justin was an irreplaceable part of DUSAC. After earning his Ocean and Sports Diver qualifications, he went on to achieve his Diver Leader certificate, a testament to his dedication and passion for the sport.
Year after year, Justin played a pivotal role in training new members, attending every pool session and open-water weekend without fail. He delivered lectures, organized countless trips for both trainees and experienced divers, and was a guiding force for so many who passed through the club.
Beyond diving, Justin was an invaluable member of the DUSAC committee. He took part in meetings, helped shape the club’s future, and was instrumental in planning the year’s activities, fundraising efforts, SU accreditation, and AGMs. His knowledge, leadership, and unwavering commitment kept the club running smoothly—DUSAC would have been lost without him.
Justin’s impact on the club and its members is immeasurable. He was not just a skilled diver and dedicated leader but also a true friend to many. His legacy will live on in every diver he trained, every trip he planned, and every moment of camaraderie he shared.
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Memory wall
Justin was a good, kind, generous man and I am devastated that he is no longer with us. His memory will live on in so many of us from the Dundee University Sub Aqua club, I know that he had a lasting impact on so many of us.
My heart-felt condolences to Justin's family for this terrible loss. Justin, you are deeply missed.
He was a humble but very generous guy, always gave up so much of his time and shared his enthusiasm and considerable knowledge for diving with everyone. He could always be relied on to help people out and bring pizza to the long tank filling sessions.
We've all had so many special experiences diving and so much of that was thanks to Justin with his teaching, trip planning, company and generosity.
He really was an integral part of what made DUSAC great for so many people for so many years. He'll be a dearly missed dive buddy and friend.


I still remember one trip where we entered a pub quiz at the Cowshed on Skye during a trip. He picked a team name that was slightly less than PC, incurring some anger from one of the organisers. It’s alright, the other one thought it was hilarious. Never one to back down, Justin proceeded to write answers which had his team struggling to breathe. We won the moral victory, if not the quiz. His sense of humour was quick and ruthless.
Justin was also an incredibly generous person. He was always first in line to give up his time for a training session or trip. A healthy chunk of student divers coming out of Dundee will have been taught by him. He bought a RIB that was essentially donated to the clubs he was a part of. He spent what must have been a frustrating amount of time keeping it in shape so it could continue to be used. Despite that, Justin would stay cool, calm and collected like he always did.
It’s hard to put into words how much he will be missed by the diving community. It’s even harder to put into words how much he will be missed by his family and his friends. My heart goes out to Amanda, Evie and Mirren.
Quite early into meeting Justin I made the mistake of telling him I didn't like bacon. I think that set me back at few steps in his good books 😂 I don't think he reacted so strongly to anything else I said in the following years, which says a lot.
On the way to a dive me and Justin got the bus to stop at a shop and we ran in to get some bits. We were greeted by people asking if we had time for a picture eating a cheese toasty. Knowing right well everyone on the bus would be cursing us, how could we say no!
The time that Justin came dressed as a ghost to one of my Halloween parties, and let's just say it was a very questionable outfit that provided laughs all night long.
The many many wonderful tales of things that he had to remove from people. His sense of humour was something else.
I remember how buzzing he was after his first dive in Donegal, he said he had never seen so much sea life in one dive.
I probably wrecked his head with medical questions over the years but he really didn't seem to mind, or at least never showed it.
I could go on but in a nutshell it was a pleasure and a privilege to know Justin, to learn from him, to call him a friend. He will be massively missed. My sincere condolences to his immediate and extended family. I send you lots love and support and hope it helps you a little bit in getting through such a difficult time. Please know the diving community is here if there is anything you need.



Justin had a way of encouraging and supporting people, whether it was with diving or life in general. He was always quick to share advice, often sending me links to diving gear I’d casually mentioned wanting to try. I still remember how his enthusiasm went into overdrive when I passively suggested I might be keen to try rebreather diving one day. That was just who Justin was—passionate about diving and eager to share it with others. He loved recounting stories from his early diving days and trips he’d been on, and many of the photos here are from trips he organized so others could experience the same joy he felt. He even went as far as buying a RHIB to ensure the club wouldn’t miss out on that aspect of the diving experience.
Justin and I often dived together, sometimes to the detriment of us both. There were several occasions when I was diving with Justin, feeling bored, disoriented, or freezing, but I didn’t want to call it early for fear of disappointing him. So, I’d spend the dive semi-miserable, waiting for it to end, only to find out later—on the boat or back on shore—that he’d been feeling the exact same way, leaving us both stubborn and cold. It was a hard habit to kick! He would say that he appreciated diving with me, because I knew how to dive with rebreather divers and would often repeat this to other rebreather divers when they needed a buddy on a dive trip. In truth, I’m probably just as qualified as any other diver, but I’m glad that I was able to earn his respect.
Justin’s interests weren’t just limited to diving. He could talk about cars, boats, travel, electronics, films, family planning —really, anything you were contemplating. He always seemed to have a reassuring word or thoughtful perspective, especially during difficult times or when navigating personal challenges or interpersonal conflicts.
And, of course, Justin had a brilliant sense of humour. His work as an A&E doctor honed a sharp, dark wit that was both quick and clever. It was one of the many things that made him such a unique and memorable person to be around.
Justin’s passion, kindness, and humour touched so many of us. He’ll be deeply missed; as a diver, and as a friend, but the memories and lessons he shared with me—and all of us— will be remembered forever.
Ed and I went on lots of trips with Justin and some of our favourite memories include -
The Summer Isles diving from his rib, he was very generous in letting us all have a shot at driving, maybe too generous as it did end up beached on the slip!
The floodlit night dive on the Breda, we were all very excited for this dive but unfortunately for him his suit flooded and we had to rip a mildly hypothermic Justin out of it when we got back to land.
A much warmer trip in the Sound of Mull doing some deeper wreck diving and eating ice creams in Tobermory.
Exploring his local turf on Orkney when we dived Scapa Flow. Justin was just getting the hang of his rebreather and enjoyed much less deco time than the rest of us!
We celebrated lots of big occasions with Justin including 2 diving trips to Skye over New Years. Sometimes this didn't include much diving due to the terrible weather but we always had a great time.

He was a passionate diver, always making time in his busy work schedule to jump in the water - even bringing little Evie along to watch.
Justin was a quiet man with a brilliant sense of humour, he pushed us to do more and was always keen for a catch up.
The dive community have lost a brilliant, skilled diver but more importantly a good friend.



