DCASC Celebrates 150 Years
In early October Durham County Council Chairman Dennis Morgan presented two special Chairman's medals to two longstanding club members, Ken Spirit and Charmian Rawlings, and a third medal to the club as a whole. He described the club's 150 years of teaching and promoting swimming as 'a wonderful achievement'.
Ken Spirit used to swim in the pool in the old wash houses, watched Lord Barnard open Elvet Baths in 1932 and taught himself to dive. He won gold in the Northumberland and Durham Diving Championships, served on the club's committee for so many years that he was awarded a long service medal, and still gives occasional diving lessons to young club members at Freeman's Quay.
Charmian became an Olympic and Commonwealth Games diver after teaching herself to dive in Dawdon pit pool. She was just 15 when she finished fifth in the three metre diving competition in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki. Four years later she was in the team for the Melbourne Olympics and in 1958 won double gold in the Empire and Commonwealth games in Cardiff. She still helps out the club with teaching and galas.
On October 16 the Mayor of Durham, Les Thomson, presented medals to the victorious Durham Medley Challenge swimmers who came from clubs across the North East for the third year running, and learned all about timekeeping!
History
The club was founded at a meeting in 36 Saddler Street in 1861 and members swam in both the river Wear and Durham's Public Baths and Washhouse next to the Baths Bridge. These were built in 1855 and replaced in 1932 by the Elvet Baths swimming pool, which in turn closed in 2008 and were replaced by Freeman's Quay.
For more information about the club, please contact Maureen Rowe, Secretary, on 07952713707
