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Memories of Maidstone Swimming Club

By: KentOnline reporter multimediadesk@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 10:30, 27 April 2009

The 1952 Maidstone Water Polo team were, back, Peter Witts, Charlie Jarrett, Fred Shanahan and Ralph Jenner with, front, 'Pidge' Turner, Norman Cox and Keith Neeves

These two photographs were sent in by readers whose memories were nudged by our story about Maidstone Swimming Club.
One shows the Maidstone Water Polo Team at a tournament at the Gravesend open air swimming pool in June 1952. Both Peter Witts, top row, and Norman Cox, bottom row, won the Victor Ludorum cup for swimming while attending Maidstone Boys Technical School in the 1940s.
The second picture was sent in by Janet Hope, nee Harryman, who was a member of the club during the 1950s and still swims twice a week at Maidstone Leisure Centre.
The picture shows members in Valenciennes, France, during the first visit from its twin town, Chatham.
She said: “I well remember Tuesday and Friday evening club nights. I also remember swimming in the river Medway near to Farleigh bridge.”
Gordon Francis of Bell Meadow, Maidstone, was a member of the club and swam and played water polo in the old pool for many years.
He said: “Looking towards the river, on the left of the swimming baths was the electricity works building and between that and the original bridge was a large yard where the electricity company stored it’s drums of cables. On the opposite side of Fairmeadow was a pub called The Lamb. This is where the water polo team entertained the visiting teams with many jugs of Fremlin’s Three Star Bitter.

Members of Maidstone Swimming Club during the 1950s in Valenciennes France during the first twinning visit from Chatham

“During the 1960s and 1970s Maidstone had a very successful polo team which won many tournaments and leagues. Although the players are now in their late 1960s and early 1970s they still have a reunion dinner every other year to remember those good times.”

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