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Swimming Lessons

Baron it has to be the same Mr.Milner. He coached me too Jack Middleton coached me especially to improve my backcrawl. He too was also an olympic swimmer but a long time before Ken. Jean.
 
Nice to see Reg Milner is not forgotten.He was tough,but always fair,as were most of the teachers at U.T.S.He lead our boxing club to glory,for the 5 years I was with them,we never lost a tournament (is this selective memory).Does anyone know he only had sight in one eye,and cheated to pass a navy medical,during the war.He was also heavyweight wrestling champion of the med.fleet.
 
Ray I didn't realise that what a man. I have posted my old swimming club membership cards somewhere on the forum where his name is on the front cover. Will try and sort our where. Jean.
 
These are the club medals and the club membership card. Have looked through the forum threads but couldn't find it anywhere. Jean.
 
Jean,
Is this your own membership card?,my membership of the same club ended about 1951,started taking more interest in girls.
There was a camping trip to Sratford on Avon at the end of the forties,when the polo team went.
one of my cousins Bernard Smith was still playing water polo there untill they closed it down,perhaps you knew him.
 
Coming from such a big family we loved the swimming lessons and couldn't wait to get the free pass to Monument RD, Swimming baths it was such freedom and not having to worry about having no money in the holidays, because at least you could go swimming. The only downfall was sharing a costume with your sister and hoping she didn't want to go the same time as you.(Happy Days)
 
Ray I was not born till mid 46. I have a more up to date membership book and will have to sort it out. That too is on a thread somewhere and it must be the one with George Milners name on the front. Jean.
 
Really enjoyed the swimming lessons in the 60's at Kings Heath baths, catching the bus we had to use tokens green or red i think they were also remember burning my arm on a radiator in the foyer of the baths it was red hot.What about the medals we used to get bronze silver and gold, happy days
 
Terry so pleased you enjoyed your lessons. Were you referring to your survival awards where you would gain a sew on and a metal badge or medal. Jean.
 
Monument Road Baths

I have to say, initially I hated swimming.
Once a week our class from St. Peters RC School would meet outside Monument Road Baths at 9 o'clock on a Wednesday morning.
Out of trepidation I was always early and stood outside the baths waiting for a few stragglers and our teacher to arrive.
Under my arm wrapped inside a towel, was a pair of green woollen swimming trunks with moth holes.
On entering we made our way up a flight of stairs, 2 to a cubicle, changed into our 'swimwear', made our way down stairs along a freezing corridor and splashed through a freezing pool of water that was there to counter verukas and athletes foot into the swimming pool.
The water was always freezing, so you had to keep moving to stave off hypothermia.
But the downside was if you kept moving, the green woolen swimming trunks [that your mother had said, you were lucky to have] would fill with water and sag down to your knees.
I wanted to learn to swim.
I remember going back to school one lunchtime and passing a funeral of a young boy [in our street] who had drowned in the canal.
My fathers younger brother at the age of about 6 had drowned in a canal.
Everyday on our way home from school we passed over a canal.
I was very aware at a young age without any prompting it was important to learn to swim.
Even in, double knitted, moth holed, green waterlogged trunks.

ladywood
 
No I really didn't like going to Monument Rd baths from my school at Camden St., it was a fair walk, and those horrible cap's we had to put on our heads. It is strange really because I always loved dabbling around in water and still do. I never learned to swim at the baths during that time, I was such a tiny little thing and very lacking in any confidence. I did however learn to swim many years later at Monument Rd. We used to go in hour lunch hour from the office at Swan Brand, and I was pushed in the deep end by a stupid boy. I went straight to the bottom and back up again...guess what? I swam for my life.

Maggs.
 
What a nasty experience but it happened only too often. My husbands brother still won't go in water even to paddle in the sea. It's sad because of all the fun water in a safe environment can be. Jean.
 
I loved my swimming lessons I had at Kingstand ing Baths? [near Christ the King School}. Never learnt to dive tho' was push in off a board and that was the end of that.
Haven't done any swimming for many years now. Miriam

My mother in her 70's.
 
Swimming lessons oh how I loved them at green lane baths,I turned into a good swimmer and was entered into the swimming competitions at woodcock st won quite a few.. and had the chance of being trained for the young olympics but that was going to take money and my mom was bringing up 3 of us on her own..I remember my disappiontment and never understood why as with a lot of other things untill I was older but it didnt stop me being a water baby still swim now........so many lost opportunities and all down to poverty dont think many people realised that we were poverty stricken cos we had so many other things happiness comes free thank god .
You can achieve anything if you work hard for it.
 
Jean which school did you swim for and the area in the district gala?. I swam for Manor Park girls Aston swimming club and Aston the area schools championships. I used to go to Kent street with Bert Owens as coach. You went for a trial and I think it was 25 throughout the city were sponsered. I had two coaches from Aston too so I was lucky it didn't cost mom a lot and I did a paper round to help. Jean.
 
ladywood said:
Monument Road Baths

I have to say, initially I hated swimming.
Once a week our class from St. Peters RC School would meet outside Monument Road Baths at 9 o'clock on a Wednesday morning.
Out of trepidation I was always early and stood outside the baths waiting for a few stragglers and our teacher to arrive.
Under my arm wrapped inside a towel, was a pair of green woollen swimming trunks with moth holes.
On entering we made our way up a flight of stairs, 2 to a cubicle, changed into our 'swimwear', made our way down stairs along a freezing corridor and splashed through a freezing pool of water that was there to counter verukas and athletes foot into the swimming pool.
The water was always freezing, so you had to keep moving to stave off hypothermia.
But the downside was if you kept moving, the green woolen swimming trunks [that your mother had said, you were lucky to have] would fill with water and sag down to your knees.
I wanted to learn to swim.
I remember going back to school one lunchtime and passing a funeral of a young boy [in our street] who had drowned in the canal.
My fathers younger brother at the age of about 6 had drowned in a canal.
Everyday on our way home from school we passed over a canal.
I was very aware at a young age without any prompting it was important to learn to swim.
Even in, double knitted, moth holed, green waterlogged trunks.

ladywood
Click to expand...
Crowd of us used to go swimming at Monument rd baths during our lunch break in the early sixties. Used to work for Ryland Garage Ryland st. Always remember the chap who was tatooed from head to toe, unusual then.
 
I've always hated swimming. I can't stand the water in my eyes, up my nose, over my head. The hate stems from my school days, when we were taken to Woodcock St. Baths for lessons and we had to sit along the side of the water, in a line, and jump in one after another. When it came to my turn, after watching all the others go under after they hit the water, I decided that there was no way I was going to do that so I just sat there. The teacher was not amused, so he pushed me in and of course,being unprepared, I went right under, swallowed most of the water in the baths and came up spluttering and coughing. The teacher said "Are you alright?" and without waiting for a reply pushed the next lad in who had also stalled for the same reason that I did.

I must say though that I can see the sense in teaching all children to swim but how many times have we heard in a news bulletin, a mourning relative saying "I don't know how he came to drown - he was such a strong swimmer!" - if he had been like me, the unfortunate deceased would never have gone anywhere near open water and still been alive!

Conversely, though, I'm in a sorry state when I have to do a risk assessment for travelling on a cross-channel ferry!
 
I hated it.. we were ignored if we couldnt swim just left to shiver in the shallow end Funnily enough I taught myself to swim as an adult I am now a qualified swim instructor lifeguard trainer assessor and an aquafit instructor I often wonder if it was the humiliation of those early swim lessons spurned me on
 
I used to go to Birchfield Road Boys School and if you could swim you could not go to the swimming baths because there were to many scholars to accomodate.
 
nickcc101 said:
Crowd of us used to go swimming at Monument rd baths during our lunch break in the early sixties. Used to work for Ryland Garage Ryland st. Always remember the chap who was tatooed from head to toe, unusual then.
Click to expand...


I saw a lot of things in Monument Street baths, but nobody that was tattooed from head to toe.
All the best.

ladywood
 
Love reading all your experiences. It is such a shame that so many were either pushed in the deep end or ducked by some idiot not knowing the long lasting damadge it could do. Jean.
 
G G Jean said:
Love reading all your experiences. It is such a shame that so many were either pushed in the deep end or ducked by some idiot not knowing the long lasting damadge it could do. Jean.
Click to expand...


Maybe it made us stronger.

ladywood
 
Getting pushed ( or in my case thrown !! ) in seems to have been common practise and what would the nanny state have to say if that were still happening I wonder ! I can't possibly condone it but I guess there was a general 'lets toughen 'em up' attitude still prevailing in the post-war decade, who knows ? We used to have our swimming lessons at Victoria Road swimming baths and would march in a line two abreast each week from Alma St School across to the Aston Hippodrome and up Potters Hill to Victoria Rd with our rolled towels under our arms, this being in the very early sixties.
The teacher who took us was a Mr McGill and I can still recall the powerful smell of chlorine as you entered the building which was all tiled walls and very austere. The pool area had changing cubicles along each side with a curtain which you pulled acrooss for privacy, I remember these being very cramped. Despite my early bad experience I did learn to swim, not brilliantly but enough to get by !!!

Heres a pic of me at about that time, 1961 / 62
 
That is where I learned to swim Victoria road baths and was pushed away from the side of the pool by water gushing out of those big portholes just under the bar. Survival instinct set in and I swam back on my very first visit to the baths. I have said before but a Mrs Olive Woods took us for our swimming lessons. Jean.
 
Silhouettem that sounds exactly like Monument Rd baths were we had to go. And I definitely got pushed in at the deep end, and couldn't swim either. Very stupid behaviour.
 
jean..that would be the same olive woods i had then jean...my post 69...put me off swimming for life im afraid...

lyn
 
Lyn looking back over this thread people had this fear due to the stupid behavour of some idiot or other. Pete's brother was a right hard case but after being pushed in the deep end he's been afraid since. He won't even paddle in the sea. Think of all the fun these folks have missed over the years. Jean.
 
I never learned to swim as a kid. I hated water in my ears! A teacher recommended that I wear earplugs....but I couldn't stand those in my ears either!

From Foundry Rd. Juniors we used to go to Monument Rd. I have no memory of ever being pushed in, but I was never confident in the water and always tried to keep my ears above the water. Strangely though, once I was in the water, I used to quite enjoy splashing about.

In my thiirties a bunch of us took to going to Northfield baths and I realised that I could float... I remember thinking 'I only have to move my arms and legs and I'll be swimming!'. So I basically taught myself to do a very basic breaststroke.

I still can't do the front crawl, but now I'm always the first one in the sea or the pool on holiday. No earplugs or goggles either!
 
Most of my work was teaching and coaching youngsters from the age of five up to sixteen and sometimes 18 if it was a sixth form option. In my spare time I used to do one to one adult instruction with myself in the water. [One to one the only time you were allowed in the water with them]. I used to thoroughly enjoy it and believe me you are never too old to learn. Jean.
 
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