Tag Archives: mile medal

Gerry Sheldon: swimming

There were sometimes dolphins  in the Solent when you were swimming along off Yarmouth.

I do remember one occasion when we had been practising our mile swim, a thin little girl who was a good swimmer set off for the pier before us. As I got near to the pier the current was getting stronger and it was harder work. Florrie Knee called out to me to come and help her. She wasn’t in trouble but the little girl was, under the pier, and Florrie was trying to help her.  Although she was a good swimmer, the tide was pulling her and she was tired. Florrie and I managed to help her ashore, and she ran home. Nobody ever knew what had happened, or what nearly happened.

Gerry Sheldon nee Haward  b1924

Florrie Sloper: Swimming at school

I loved our visits to Love Shore once or twice a week.
I cant imagine how from a safety point of view that could happen today.
I learned to swim quite quickly (no armbands etc) and ended up with a silver medal in 1934 for swimming a mile, from Eastmore, Bouldnor, to the Pier at Yarmouth accompanied by a rowing boat.

Florrie Sloper nee Knee b 1922

Eileen Smith: Free Time: swimming

Yarmouth School Mile Swimming Medal

Yarmouth School Mile Swimming Medal, other side engraved with name Eileen Lansdowne 1932

All of us children learnt to swim at Love Shore or Pier Shore, down the lane opposite Basketts Lane. The boys swam off Love Shore; the girls swam nearer the pier.
We went swimming twice a week in the summer, from the end of May, supervised by Mr. Stanway and Miss White ( who was later Mrs. H Hayles). According to tides, we went swimming at 11.30 in the morning or 3.30 in the afternoon. We used to nip back home to change and run down to Love Shore with a towel round us. No one taught us proper strokes, we just learnt to swim. In September we swam for our certificates – 20 yards, 40 yards, and 100 yards. In 1933 some of us swam a mile from Eastmore to the pier for which we received a medal – I’ve still got mine.
I only swam once in the competition against other schools. I hated it. The private schools had all been taught proper strokes –  crawl – and we’d just learnt to swim along.

Eileen Smith nee Lansdowne b 1921

Swimming Medal awarded for One Mile

Swimming Medal awarded for One Mile