Fred Beckwith

Frederick Edward Beckwith (16 December 1821 – 29 May 1898) was an English swimmer who won "championship" races in the 1850s,[1][2] despite only being a "passable" swimmer according to some accounts, and went on to become a popular "professor" and coach of swimming. He backed Matthew Webb to swim the channel and later managed his family members' swimming careers.

Professor Beckwith

Life
Lambeth Baths in 1854

Beckwith was a swimming instructor (a "Professor") at Lambeth Baths. He was an early proponent of sidestroke which was a technique first seen in Australia with what was called an overarm recovery. This remained the best stroke for longer distances for some time even after front crawl became popular. Beckwith used the technique successfully to win the English championship.[2]

His daughter Agnes and son Willie were also accomplished swimmers.[3][4][5][6]

Beckwith was a showman and he had assumed the title "Champion of the World" in 1851. Beckwith lost the first defence of this claim because he was said to be only an average swimmer. In 1874 Beckwith backed Matthew Webb to be the first person to swim the channel. He trained Webb and organised early publicity by exhibiting Webb as he swam up the River Thames the following year. However the number of spectators was few and Beckwith lost money after hiring a steamer for onlookers. As a result, Webb changed his allegiance and Beckwith later organised for his daughter, Agnes, to swim further than Webb.[7] In his 1889 book Rambles of a Physician, P 324, Mathew Woods describes Professor Beckwith's Aquatic Entertainments at The London Aquarium. At one time this was believed to be the first-ever printed description of synchronised swimming or water ballet. ( see books.google.co.uk )

References
  1. Wilson, William (1883). The Swimming Instructor: a Treatise on the Arts of Swimming and Diving. London: Horace Cox. p. 127. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  2. "Pre-FINA Foundations". FINA. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  3. Thomas, Ralph (1904). Swimming. London: Sampson Low, Marston, & Co. p. 295. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  4. Lambie, James (2010). The Story of Your Life: a History of the Sporting Life Newspaper (1859–1998). Leicester: Matador. p. 173. ISBN 9781848762916. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  5. "Swimming and Swimmers". London Society. London: William Clowes and Sons. 1866. p. 49. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  6. Parker, Claire (November 2001). "The Rise of Competitive Swimming 1840 to 1878" (PDF). The Sports Historian. 21 (2): 54–67. doi:10.1080/17460260109447882. PMID 21049655. S2CID 7634536. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  7. James Lambie (2010). The Story of Your Life: A History of the Sporting Life Newspaper (1859-1998). Troubador Publishing Ltd. pp. 173–. ISBN 978-1-84876-291-6.
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