HISTORY

 

In the mid-1950s Crewe Baths Superintendent Mr. Wallace Ian Brodie and his deputy Miss Agnes Buttery wanted to encourage swimming among people with disabilities in Crewe. This became a reality when members of Crewe Baths visited Kingston-upon-Thames in 1955 and met Mr. James McMillan, a consultant engineer, who had devised a method of teaching people with disabilities to swim.

This led to a meeting on 3rd March 1956 at Crewe when Mr. McMillan addressed over 40 interested members of the public, including some of the Crewe Councillors.

At the meeting it was resolved that a swimming club for the physically handicapped be inaugurated to be run on the same lines advocated by Mr. McMillan, who had developed the Halliwick Association of Swimming Therapy Method.

Following this inaugural meeting, Seahorse's first committee meeting was held on 12th April 1956 at Crewe's Municipal Building when the Club officials were elected and the Club rules were resolved.

Members of the Crewe Baths Committee gave Seahorse Swimming Club exclusive swimming rights and sole use of the Flag Lane swimming pool on Thursday evenings. This partnership has continued to the present day, with the Mayor of the Crewe Town Council being the Club President.

Seahorse SC volunteers with members of Spartans SC at Crewe Baths during Seahorse's early days.

The Flag Lane Baths had been opened on the 6th November 1937 by the Mayor of the Borough of Crewe, Alderman F. Bott. The Baths had been designed by Mr Leonard Reeves with the assistance of H. Knowles. The Baths served the town until 2016.

During the late 1950s, Seahorse officials visited Spartans Swimming Club who were based in Kingston-upon-Thames and were shown methods to train swimmers. The first 'Splash Night' was held in 1958 to encourage swimmers to compete against each other. This introduction to competitions prepared the swimmers for the challenges from other clubs and in 1963, Seahorse entered its first Inter Club swimming gala. A new ramp was acquired at the Baths to assist swimmers with access into the pool. In 1966 a celebration gala night was held for the Club’s 10th anniversary. In 1969, several new members joined Seahorse from Homeleigh Children’s Centre.

In the 1970s Seahorse opened a branch of the Club at Nantwich Swimming Pool, and in 1977, the Club celebrated its 21st birthday with a dinner and disco at Saxon Cross Motel, Sandbach. Seahorse continued to compete against similar clubs in the area, which included: Alsager Swans, Aquarius (Sandbach), Winsford Turtles, Chester Terrapins, Shropshire Sharks, (Shrewsbury), Cheslyn Hay Otters (Walsall), Wrexham Dolphins and Aquadis (Wirral). A sponsored swim was held in the late 1970s for the Crewe Lions Club.

Seahorse started the 1980s with a fashion show and jewellery party and various other events to raise funds for the Club. Changing cubicles were modified at the Baths to accommodate wheelchairs, and a new hoist to assist people with disabilities enter the pool was fitted. Rolls Royce Motors was the venue for the 30th anniversary celebrations and in 1987, several Seahorse members attended the Crewe Heritage Centre for a visit of Her Majesty Queens Elizabeth ll. In 1988 the Borough Council awarded a plaque to Seahorse to celebrate the Baths’ 50th anniversary.

Seahorse SC swimmers with Volunteers Barbara Warrington and Peter Wilkinson displaying their trophies after competing at a Halliwick AST Gala in the 1980s.

The Nantwich branch of Seahorse ended in 1991, and in 1992, Seahorse members took part in a sponsored swim for the Special Olympics Appeal. Disabled parking was provided at the Baths following a request from Seahorse in 1994, and in 1996, five volunteers - Beryl Barnes, Ettie Broom, Agnes Buttery, Margaret Platt and Barbara Warrington - were presented with certificates from the Borough Council for their 40 years service at Seahorse. The Club was nominated for a Community Champions award in 1996, and the following year, members raised £931 for the Special Olympics Appeal by taking part in a sponsored swim.

During the Millennium, several instructors attended a Halliwick AST training course and Gwyneth Dunwoody MP praised the work of the volunteers. In 2002, Seahorse was presented with a Mayor’s Oscar from the Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council. A new hoist was fitted at the Baths in 2003, and in 2006, the Club celebrated its 50th anniversary with a disco at LMR Sports and Social Club. During the same year, a sponsored swim by the members raised £422 for the Mayor’s Charity Appeal. In 2009, Edward Timpson MP praised the work of the volunteers during one of his visits.

Seahorse was nominated for Cheshire East Council’s ‘Sports Club of the Year’ award in 2010, and the following year, a sponsored swim raised £1935.25 for the Newlife Foundation Charity. Seahorse celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with a fun gala in 2012, and was nominated during the same year for: The Cat Community Radio ‘Fundraising’ award and Cheshire East Council’s ‘Sports Club of the Year’ award. A sponsored swim raised £630 for Leighton Hospital’s ‘One in Eleven’ Appeal in 2013, and the following year, a sponsored walk by the Club raised £670 for St. Luke’s Hospice. Two months later, a fun gala and disco was held as part of the country-wide ‘Community Games’. During 2015, the Club took part in the Ice Bucket challenge for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and swimmers wore odd socks to raise £240 for the Down Syndrome Awareness Day during the same year. Another ‘Community Games’ swim was held in the summer of 2015 and during the same year, Michael Roberts became the first volunteer to complete 50 years’ service at Seahorse. He was later recognised by Crewe Town Council with a Civic Award for his long association with the Club.

Success for Seahorse SC at the Halliwick AST Regional Swimming Gala in 2014 at Crewe Baths.

Swimmer Jamie Hinde raised £800 after completing a marathon swim for the Ronald McDonald House Trust at Alder Hey Hospital in 2016. In April that year Seahorse relocated to Crewe’s new Lifestyle Centre. This coincided with the Club’s 60th Anniversary, and a book about the history of Seahorse titled, ‘A Seahorse Tale’, which was compiled by Club Secretary, Gareth Roberts. The occasion was celebrated with a disco at Willaston Sports and Social Club. In 2017, the Club held a 22 mile swim (length of the English Channel) and raised £825.65 for former Seahorse swimmer Stuart Bloor's Wheelchair Appeal. In June 2017, it was announced that Seahorse was to be given the prestigiouos Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. The presentation of the award was made by the Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire, Mr David Briggs MBE, on the 7th September at the Lifestyle Centre.

During 2018, Laura Smith MP praised the Club volunteers during a visit and Seahorse members walked six miles, as part of the 'Great Get Together' (inspired by Jo Cox MP, who was killed on 16th June 2016) and raised £110 for St. Luke's Hospice. In the Summer and Autumn of 2018, Seahorse swimmers Sean Savage, Zac Beeston and Daniel Adcock took on long distance swims for charity during their swimming sessions.

It was pleasing to see Reg Latham complete 25 years volunteering at Seahorse during 2019. He was congratulated by Laura Smith MP during one of her visits to Seahorse, and a few months later, Reg attended the 'Active Cheshire' awards evening having been nominated for a Community Sports Award. Seahorse continued to support good causes as they raised funds for residents of Beechmere Retirement Home, who lost their homes following a fire at the complex. Swimmer Neil Jones took part in a sponsored swim to support the Terrence Higgins Trust and fundraising events were held for the third consecutive year for Children In Need. In September a funtime swim was held as a way of remembering long serving volunteer Michael Roberts, who passed away in 2018.

The year 2020 started with enthusiasm. Three swimmers planned to complete charity swims during the year and everyone looked forward to the galas. However, the world faced a pandemic and by 18th March, our swimming sessions were suspended due to the nation's lockdown. This continued until 11th October. We returned to the pool, until a further lockdown was announced on 5th November. This remained in force until 6th December. After a brief spell back in the pool a further lockdown began in January 2021. This continued for four months until April.

Despite these setbacks, Seahorse members kept in touch with each other throughout the lockdowns by taking part in various online activities. It was also pleasing that some good news was announced on 29th May 2020, when Halliwick AST presented (virtually) Volunteer Reg Latham with a Distinguished Service award.

Swimmer Ethan Carroll persevered with his challenge of swimming 20 lengths of the pool on 20 occasions, which was started in early 2020. Despite having to ‘stop-start’ his challenge due to three lockdowns, he was determined to see it through. He completed his challenge in June 2021 and in doing so he raised over £145 for the Wingate Centre in Wrenbury.

Volunteer Darren Shenton and swimmers Sam Foster, Connor Moulton and Sean Savage took on a challenge to swim 2022 lengths of the Lifestyle Centre Pool (over 30 miles!) during September, October and November 2022 to raise £570 for the Children in Need Appeal.

During the summer months of 2023, swimmer Oliver Daly took on a 999 challenge (9 mile swim, 99 km walk, and 999 km cycling) and raised £1,126.37 for St. Luke's (Cheshire) Hospice, and during November of the same year, £206 was raised for the Children in Need Appeal.