History Part 4 (1925-1965)

LINKS: FOREWORD, 1, ORNAMENTAL SWIMMING, PROGRAMS, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, NEWS

1927 water polo team

Tyldesley Swimming Club won the Manchester and District First Division Water Polo Championship for the first time in 1927, but this proved to be the last success until after the Second World War.

The members of the squad in 1927 were:- Jimmy Blears, Bill Lewis, Alf Tyldesley, Bob Lewis, Kenneth Tyldesley, J Leyland, “Jab” Johnson and “Dickie” Wright.

In 1939 Tyldesley reached the final of the Lancashire Junior Championship, but the Championship race never took place because of the war.

FRED ISHERWOOD

For the first time in over fifty years, the club was called upon to elect a new president in 1935 following the death of R. J. Clegg Esq. JP, Fred Isherwood Esq. JP was unanimously elected.

Fred Isherwood was one of the distinguished members of the club. He had been an active swimmer and player, captain and secretary. He held the office of President until his death in 1949, when he was succeeded by T. T. Bradshaw, Esq., JP.

His swimming interests were not purely local however, as is reflected by the fact that he was President of the ASA of England in 1926.

He was President of the Manchester and District Swimming & Water Polo Association, in 1907, and President of the Northern Counties ASA in 1910 and 1911. Mr Isherwood was treasurer of the NCASA from 1919 until 1945, and when he was elected President again in 1946 he became the only man to ever have held the office twice. The association marked this unique occasion by presenting Mr and Mrs Isherwood with a suitably inscribed pendant in recognition of his unrivalled services.

His greatest swimming honour, however, came in 1937, when he was chosen to take charge of the British swimmers competing in the Empire Games in Australia. Mr Isherwood had the satisfaction of seeing his team triumph in seven of the thirteen events in which they competed.

Another member of the Tyldesley Swimming Club to gain administrative honours in the sport was Mr John Cleworth.

He was secretary of the Lancashire County ASA in 1950-51. President of that body in 1960-61, and President of the Bolton and District Swimming and Water Polo Association in 1954-55. He was a member of the Northern Counties Executive Committee from 1950 until 1954.

Mr Cleworth was connected with the club for many years. He was an active swimmer and polo player in the mid-twenties, and became a member of the committee in 1933. He held office of secretary in the early post war years and was a Vice President from 1949 until 1971, when he was elected President of the club. Mr Cleworth became a life member in 1973.

The club continued to hold galas every year during the second world war, with all proceeds going to the War Comforts Fund and the red cross. Many notable swimmers appeared at Union Street during this period, E H Temme being one of them (E H Temme was the first swimmer to swim the Channel both ways, swimming from France in 1927 and from England in 1934).

Tyldesley’s ranking in the water polo world was proved in 1948, when it was proposed to change the rules of the game. Three trial matches were held and one was allocated to Tyldesley. It is felt, incidentally, by some experienced people, that these changes, e.g. “no moving rule” etc. brought about the downfall of the sport from a spectator point of view.

Takings for a polo match at the old baths used to be as much as £15, and in the early days crowds waited for hours before a match in order to obtain a good view.

At times the queues have stretched to the top of Union Street, and even into Shuttle Street, and as many as seven coaches have travelled to away matches.

The crowds who witnessed the matches in those days were not always peaceful ones, and many a referee has been threatened with a “ducking”. On one occasion after beating Wigan, Tyldesley had to leave the baths through the boiler house to avoid trouble.

In 1948, Don Jenkinson won the Bolton and District Junior 100 yards Championship, and the Lancashire County Boys 100 yards Championship. The polo team won the Bolton and District Second Division Championship in the same year.

Tyldesley won the Bolton and District Division one Squadron Championship in 1954, but there is no doubt that the 1950’s was a decade which will be remembered by water polo enthusiasts.

1950s water polo team

In 1950 Tyldesley won the Lancashire County Second Division Championship, and won the Northern Counties Grade Two Championship in the following year. In 1954 they won both the Bolton and District and the Manchester and District First Division Championships and won the Manchester and District the following year. They won the Manchester and District Knock‑out competition in 1956, and again in 1957, when they also regained the Manchester and District First Division Championship.

Without doubt one of the finest polo players connected with Tyldesley Swimming Club was Jack Whittaker. He first played for Lancashire at Stafford in 1949 and he went on to captain Lancashire County for seven years. He was a member of the Lancashire team which won the Championships of England in 1950 and 1951, and made a major contribution to the Tyldesley Swimming Club success in the fifties.

In the early 50’s the local press reported that a fixture between local rivals Tyldesley and Atherton was called off in the second half due to the game becoming “too stormy”, Tyldesley were leading 11-0 at the time.

A fixture card for 1950 shows that on most Home match nights two games were played, one against a team from the Bolton &District League and the other from the Manchester & District league, in total the card shows 39 matches to be played.

Following the death of Mr Fred Isherwood in 1949 the members of Tyldesley Swimming Club presented a trophy to the Northern Counties ASA in recognition of his association with swimming in general, and the Tyldesley club in particular. This trophy known as the “Fred Isherwood Memorial Trophy” is presented annually to the winners of the Grade Two Water Polo Championship.

A similar honour was granted to Mr T T Bradshaw several years later, when two trophies were presented by the club to the Lancashire County WP&SA in his memory. These trophies are presented annually to the winners of the Girls and Ladies 100 yards freestyle Championships.

On the death of T T Bradshaw Esq. JP in 1954 Mr Frank Isherwood was elected President of the club. He held office until his death in 1962.

CLOSURE OF UNION STREET BATHS AND OPENING OF CASTLE STREET BATHS

The Old Tyldesley Baths Union Street

Reproduced with permission of Wigan Heritage Service (Williams Family Collection)

The old baths in Union Street were closed at short notice at the end of the 1960 season on health grounds. This obviously presented a problem to the club. And after discussion it was decided to approach Atherton Urban District Council, and seek permission to use Atherton public baths for swimming and water polo. This was granted.

Atherton Swimming Club were very good to Tyldesley during that period, particularly Mr Kershaw, the baths superintendent, who went out of his way to co-operate with the club in every possible way.

However the period at Atherton proved extremely difficult and but for the dedication and loyal efforts by the members at the time, it is possible that the club could have disbanded.

Whilst at Atherton, Tyldesley Swimming Club still enjoyed some success. In 1963, Tyldesley won both the Manchester and District Second Division Polo Championship, and also the Junior Championship.

The conversion of the old Majestic Cinema into the present public baths was completed in 1964, at a cost of approximately £67,000. They were officially opened on the 22^nd May, in that year.

Opening of new baths 1964

Left to right: Harry Kerfoot (Mayor of Tyldesley), Councillor George Hilbert (Chairman of Tyldesley Council), Councillor Sam Little & Tony Trussle (Tyldesley Baths Manager)

The club moved back, and a grand commemorative gala was held on Saturday, 8^th August, 1964. At this gala, Pauline Sillett of Radcliffe, won both the Girls and Ladies 110 yards freestyle championships of Lancashire, and took both the TT Bradshaw trophies. Two other Lancashire Championships were decided at the gala, the winners being H S Smith of Harphurhey, Boys 110 yards backstroke and S Hall of Burnley, Girls 110 yards breaststroke. Jeff Webster, a member of the home club, was third in the backstroke event.

In 1965, Jack Whittaker left the district to take up a new appointment in Northampton. Jack had been club captain for fifteen years, and as a mark of respect and appreciation of his services to the club for almost twenty years, two trophies were purchased and suitably engraved the “Jack Whittaker Testimonial Trophy”. These trophies are presented to the winners of the Girls and Boys fifty metres freestyle events at the Annual Swimming Gala.

Tyldesley won the Bolton and District Junior Males Squadron Championship in 1965, and headed the Bolton Age Group competition in the same year. They also won the Lancashire Counties U18s Polo Championship in 1969.