Hi folks, my father swam like a brick so he played no part in my mother's self-appointed mission to teach me to swim, when I was aged 5 (1954). We lived near Hockley Brook so the venue for my lessons were a bus-ride away either to Monument Rd or (more frequently) Grove Lane Baths (I think they had washing as well as swimming baths).
Our session at Grove Lane was always followed by a cafe treat of Wagonwheel and steaming Oxo and a visit to Handsworth Park.
Was my mother successful in teaching me to swim?
Partly, I rarely swim now, my crawl resembles drowing far too closly, I swim in constant fear of being
rescued by a well-meaning lifeguard.
Grove Lane was the venue for my school's (Harry Lucas) swimming sessions, most of which were routine, but there was one worthy of note: during one visit a lad, a non-swimmer, for some reason jumped into the deep end, Mr Jones, Art Master at Harry Lucas and the supervisor on that visit, seeing the lad in difficulty immediately jumped in, fully clothed, to assist the lad. Mr Jones had to borrow clothes from the pool staff to make the return journey to school, which always included a visit to the cake shop, Baines, I think, on Hockley Brook to stock up on bread rolls or a cake if you were
flushed.
Peg.
Must view!:
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/peg-monkey-cartoons.48101/page-3#post-615229