The following is a short resume of Bill Pickering's life
so far, and a short history of the Bill Pickering Cup held between four local
Probus Clubs, Walsall, Aldridge, Gorway and Bloxwich that started in 1987.
Bill Pickering
is not strictly 'Black Country', but he has strong local connections. In fact,
he was born at Overseal, near Swadlincote in Derbyshire, on 19th July 1921 and
has a lifelong affinity to water, both salt and fresh, and has spent most of
his long life in, on or around the stuff.
Fired with
enthusiasm by reading books about the many channel swimmers since Captain
Matthew Webb who became the first to complete the crossing in August 1875, Bill
resolved at the age of eight that he would one day swim the channel himself.
It was to be
26 years before his dream would come true, but he obviously started training in
earnest at an early age, taking second place in a race in the River Trent at
Burton at the age of fifteen and at his very first attempt. His interest in
swimming led him to take up seasonal employment in the swimming baths at Ashby
de la Zouch, which not only gave him the opportunity to continue his training,
it was where he met his wife, Clarrie, whom he married on 13th September 1941.
Following
service in the Royal Navy between 1941 and 1946, mostly on board a minesweeper,
Bill worked at the Trent Bridge Baths at Burton (now gone), and then Leicester
for two years. He then moved to Market Drayton, to run the baths there, and in
1951 to Bloxwich for a two-year stint as baths manager. That two years actually
turned into a marathon session, for he was there for no less than 35 years!
The Bloxwich
baths eventually became the Leisure Centre in the early '80s and Bill was the
manager there until he retired in 1986. He made many good friends in Bloxwich,
and has many fond memories of his time in the town. He still visits it on a
monthly basis, in his capacity as a member of the Bloxwich Probus Club, an
association of retired businessmen and professional people.
Obviously,
working at the various swimming pools gave Bill an opportunity to train and
hone his endurance, and it was not uncommon for him to be up at 6.00 am and to
spend 6, 8, and sometimes 10 hours in the water. All this paid off when he won
the Morecambe Cross Bay Championship in 1954 for the twelve-mile crossing from
Grange Over Sands to Morecambe, a course which he competed no less than
seventeen times.
The time was
coming for him to achieve his ambition of swimming the English Channel, and his
chance came in 1955. Most people would be satisfied with just accomplishing the
great feat, but Bill is not one to do things by halves. On the 27th August he
completed a logged course of some 21 miles in 14 hours 6 minutes to take the
world record from American swimmer Florence Chadwick (she was to take the
record back just two months later when she completed the crossing in 13 hours
55 minutes).
Bill being prepared for his Channel Swim
Bill was not
satisfied with that achievement. In 1958 he also became one of only two people
to swim the Firth of Forth, the other being a Canadian, and was the first to
swim The Wash in 1960. 1971 saw him swim the Bristol Channel at the age of 50.
In 1979, aged 58, he made an attempt at crossing the Irish Sea, but was
defeated by fog and the cold waters; at a decidedly chilly 47 degrees Fahrenheit,
they drained his strength and forced him to abandon the attempt.
Bill Pickering
has a great sense of humour and counts among his friends two well-known
personalities, our very own 'Arry 'Arrison, and the inimitable TV and stage
comedian Ken Dodd. Bill taught 'Doddy' to swim at Canley in Coventry and at
Bournemouth, and they have been friends ever since. In fact, they made a very
funny Path Pix colour film together, which Bill would love to see again.
Bill moved
back to Overseal after he retired in 1986, to occupy his parents' former home,
they having passed away in 1976. In September 2001, he and Clarrie celebrated
their Diamond Wedding anniversary, and were very pleased, and honoured, to be
visited by the then mayor of Walsall.
On his retirement, he joined Bloxwich Probus Club and
donated a Cup to be competed for by four local Probus Clubs, Walsall, Aldridge,
Gorway and Bloxwich. The Competition is played at the indoor bowling facility
at Bloxwich Leisure Centre and is usually played during February of each year,
and the winners have the privilege of organising the following years event.
(Information courtesy of Black Country Bugle User
posted 9 January 2003)
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simply the best
1921 to 2014
this is Bill at
the channel swimming association champions dinner
held in Dover town
hall November 2013 aged 92..looking as great as ever
(picture courtesy of the Simon Griffiths H2o magazine )
www.h2openmagazine.com |
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Top 25 in none wetsuit race 
Top 25 in the wetsuit race 
