May 1930

Mr Cyril Fox, Superintendent of Sheffield Corporation Cleansing and Baths (pictured) took on its organisation, and corresponded with Mercedes in advance to make sure all her needs were met. She sent him a list of her favourite tunes, her food requirements, and the log of a previous endurance swim to brief him on what was required of officials. 

The Sheffield Mail covered the Mayor’s opening speech in which he reminded Mercedes she had come to the home of swimming. He said Sheffield was very rich in swimmers and commented that if there were trophies to be won, there were sure to be some Sheffielders after them.

Among others present at the start were the Lady Mayoress, Alderman Bancroft, Councillor J.W. Holland (Chairman of the Baths Sub-Committee), Councillor R. Colver and, of course, the Baths Superintendent, Cyril Fox.

The swim commenced on Friday morning, 23 May at 11.16 a.m. and Mercedes successfully completed her designated 36 hours at 11.16 p.m. on Saturday night, 24 May, averaging about 33 strokes per minute throughout the swim using mainly breaststroke, and occasionally back and trudgen strokes.

Back to back swims: She also created a new record of having swum for 71 hours in the space of one week. Several spectators had travelled from Belfast and Leicester (some of them swimmers themselves) to see if she could complete two endurance swims in such a short space of time.

Mr. T.W. Stokes, Chairman of Sheffield ASA, officiated along with Messrs H. Dixon, H.G. Pryde and J.A. Morton, and together they took responsibility for feeding Mercedes and keeping the official log. Mr Stokes commented afterwards that they were amazed at her performance and said: “Frankly, I thought it was impossible.”

The usual mainly liquid items were offered as nourishment, but she seemed to have added a beef sandwich on to her menu instead of just relying on coffee, milk, and soup to see her through. After each drink she also had a little glucose.

To pass the time she read her correspondence whilst in the water. She also dictated replies to some of the correspondents who needed urgent information about her next planned swim, and Mr Fox obligingly wrote to them on her behalf, explaining that she couldn’t write herself because she was in the middle of a swim. During the afternoon she asked for a copy of the Sheffield Mail as she was anxious to know how Amy Johnson was faring on her flight to Australia.

Fighting off sleep during the night was, as usual, her greatest difficulty. She experienced lapses into a sort of semi-consciousness, and those on poolside could hear her mutter “Oh, I am so tired,” and the word “bed” framing on her lips. But the general noise provided by spectators with metal bin lids, as well as the shouting of newsboys, kept her going. At times she complained of a stomach ache and a head ache, but commented later that she much preferred the stomach ache to the sleepiness that threatened to overcome her efforts. It was a very long night, but by 8.00 a.m. the tiredness had left her completely and she continued swimming effortlessly through Saturday.

It was reported that she completed the swim without any undue fuss. Mr S. Holme, Secretary of the Attercliffe Swimming Club, made the announcement at the finish, and she swam smilingly to the shallow end where three attendants were waiting to lift her out of the water. Her feet and hands were pinched by the water, but she remained quite collected and chatted cheerfully while being examined by Dr. A.O. Flint, himself a well-known Sheffield swimmer, who reported that she was in splendid condition. 

The local media wrote that never before has a Sheffield swimming audience been roused to such a pitch of excitement and whole-hearted appreciation as was shown at the Glossop Road Baths when the signal went at 11.16 p.m. indicating that Mercedes had been swimming for 36 hours. Inside, the building was packed almost to suffocation. Outside, several thousands more waited patiently for announcements, causing frequent traffic blocks, and extra police had to be summoned. The crowd sent up ringing cheers when she was carried on a stretcher to the waiting ambulance, which took her to the Grand Hotel. At the hotel her swimming costume was cut off by the nurse in attendance and she then retired for the night. The next day, as usual, she rested in bed to allow her muscles to recover.

A Union Jack flag was presented to Mercedes by Sheffield Corporation Baths Committee as a memento of her endurance swim, together with the sentiment that they hoped she would find it both suitable and useful in her sea swims. At her request the Sheffield Coat of Arms had been worked into the flag, and it came with hoisting tackle and a carrying satchel. Mercedes carried this flag with her on her travels, and wrote to Mr Fox in July 1930 to let him know that she intended to fly it during her swim across the Hellespont.

Many years later Mercedes gifted the flag to Roe Green Primary School in north-west London where her own children were pupils, after she noticed that their own was in tatters on the school flag pole.