Hull (41 hours) – 9 to 10 October 1930
Madeley Street Baths
Hull was one of the corporations that responded positively to the mailshot that Mercedes had sent to 50 local authorities in April 1930, and the terms and conditions of the swim were subsequently approved by the Baths Committee of the City Council. The event was booked for 9 to 10 October in the Madeley Street Baths. Mr J.W. Bell, Manager of the Baths, supervised all the arrangements, and gramophone recitals were to be given by Mr Sydney Scarborough from the Columbia Depot in Hull.
Mercedes wrote to the Town Clerk, Mr J.R. Howard Roberts, at the Guildhall on 27 July to let him know that she would be out of the country for most of August and early September, but reassured him that he could rely upon her appearance in Hull in good time for the start of the endurance swim.
She informed them that she had arranged for one of her official swimming logs to be forwarded to him so that he could have a similar document drawn up to cover the Hull swim, and in her absence referred him to Mr Bond, Baths Superintendent in Wolverhampton for any specific logistical information he may need.
On her arrival in Hull, during the few days before the endurance swim Mercedes used the East Hull Baths to practice in under the direction of Mr J. Clapham of the Kingston Swimming Club.
The Hull Daily Mail
and the Hull Times
covered the event. Local dignitaries in attendance at the swim were the Lord Mayor (Cllr R. Richardson JP), the Lady Mayoress, the Town Clerk (Mr J.P. Howard Roberts), Chairman of the Baths Committee (Alderman Webster), and Councillors Nicholson, Thielman, Hewson, Anderson and Verity. Three of the stewards were themselves professional swimmers, and one of them – Professor Gautier of Bridlington – had, several years before, swum across the crocodile-infested waters of the Mula River at Poona.
The swim commenced at 6.00 a.m. on Thursday morning, 9 October, and was completed at 11.02 p.m. on Friday night, 10 October. She maintained an average of 33 strokes per minute, and her performance was charted on a blackboard for the spectators to monitor. Whilst swimming, she signed about 500 autographs, which helped to pass the time.
A clog dance:
Many spectators spent all Thursday night on poolside and their ranks included a party of fish bobbers whose impromptu entertainment helped Mercedes stay awake. They performed a clog dance, and presented her with a gift of four pieces of fresh skate for later consumption. She gratefully acknowledged their contribution when she related to the press the next day that the fishermen of Hull had also sung to her. She said, “They were really splendid.”
Complimentary tickets: It was agreed between both parties that free admission to watch the event be granted to 200 poor children who had gathered outside the baths on Thursday evening, and it was reported they were delighted with the unexpected surprise.
The gramophone music was, as always, much appreciated by Mercedes, and she requested repeats of the current popular song Springtime in the Rockies.
At the finish of the swim on Friday night three local policemen donned swimming costumes and lifted Mercedes out of the pool. Dr Eadie, Dr Cockcroft-Barker and the Jubilee nurses attended Mercedes during and after the swim, and both doctors declared that her condition gave them no cause for anxiety.
A letter from a fan referred to vast crowds during the first 18 hours, and it was noted in the Hull Daily Mail that, as at 11.00 a.m. on the second day, 2,150 spectators had paid for entry. However, no total spectator numbers were printed in the available covering reports, only confirmation that from an early hour people thronged the vicinity of the baths eager to witness the swim. The baths were packed to capacity during the last evening and those who couldn’t get in waited patiently outside to cheer Mercedes as she was transported in a police ambulance to her hotel.
A gold ring bearing the Hull Coat of Arms was presented to Mercedes by the Baths Committee in recognition of her record swim in their city.
