Guest 690- Registered: 10 Oct 2009
- Posts: 4,150
21 September 2010
20:5871904I don`t know where to begin here. After a trip to London yesterday morning, I popped into The White Horse on the way home, and in there were a pleasant group of Irish people, one of whom had just swum the channel, and was signing the wall. During the conversation, I asked as to whether the Irish channel had been done, and the swimmer told us that only one person had done it, but didn`t mention who and I didn`t enquire. Anyway, I was looking for something this evening in the loft, and came across my father`s box of items, and got caught up looking through them again, and came across this picture of a Tom Blower which I thought was a relation of ours, and it was Dover beach possibly he was on. I never thought of doing it before, but I typed in Tom Blower on the internet to see if anything came up. Lo and behold, lots of interesting information, and that he was the swimmer who`d done the Irish channel between Ireland and Scotland. The picture below I`ve known about for year`s, but as I`ve said, I assumed it was a relative or freind. Anyone else heard of him? He was the torville and Dean of his day in the 30s and 40s apparently, and died young from a heart attack.
Tell them that I came, and no one answered.
21 September 2010
21:0471905Blimey!! You are a constant surprise Colin!
Guest 690- Registered: 10 Oct 2009
- Posts: 4,150
21 September 2010
21:0671906 Known as the `Torpedo`, Tom Blower swam the english channel in a record 13 hours 29 mins in 1937. He was the first to swim the Northern Irish sea in 1947 in a time of 15 hours 26 mins, (the next attempt being in 1970). In 1948, he joined the elite of swimmers who had swam the channel both ways. This picture is from my father`s box, and I haven`t a clue as to where it was taken or who took it, but there does appear to be a pier structure in the background.
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Guest 690- Registered: 10 Oct 2009
- Posts: 4,150
21 September 2010
21:0971908Bern, I have an Alladins cave of item`s of my father`s, most of which would have perished many years ago if I hadn`t have rescued them. I`m sure he`d be aghast at seeing some of it on here.
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Guest 649- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 14,118
21 September 2010
21:1271909Well done again Colin we on the Dover Forum are very lucky to have someone like yourself, I would like to see that box of yours.
Guest 690- Registered: 10 Oct 2009
- Posts: 4,150
21 September 2010
21:1871912I`ll have to pay you a visit Vic, lots of other items, and he did keep wartime diaries, and some interesting notes about various ships lost contact with, believed sunk etc.
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Guest 649- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 14,118
21 September 2010
21:2271914I have said this before we need to have them on show to the public Colin.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
21 September 2010
21:5171926great stuff colin, pity he had such an unfortunate name.
Tell them that I came, and no one answered.