Brenda Fisher (9 June 1927 – 2 August 2022) was an English long-distance swimmer. In 1951 she broke the women's world record for swimming the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, becoming a celebrity, and was given the British Sportswoman of the Year Award.

Life

Fisher was born and raised in

Scartho Scartho () is a suburban village in the southern part of Grimsby, in the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire, in the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire, England. Scartho's population is approximately 11,000. Up until the end of th ...

North East Lincolnshire North East Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. It borders the borough of North Lincolnshire and districts of West Lindsey and East Lindsey. The population of the district in the 2011 Census was ...

, the daughter of a

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

trawler skipper, learned to swim at the age of 9, and initially became a speed swimmer."Brenda Ready To Swim Anything Provided It’s Made Worthwhile"
''

The Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'' 15 August 1956. Retrieved 11 June 2012"Brenda Fisher"
Solo Swims of Ontario Inc. Hall of Fame. Retrieved 11 June 2012 Brenda Fisher swimming

On 17 August 1951 she was the 23rd swimmer of the English Channel from France to England, completing in a new record women's time of 12 hours 42 minutes. She was fed every hour keeping up a rate of 25 strokes a minute rising to 30 as she approached England. She only learned of her time when she landed in England. She broke the previous women's record of 13:20 set by

Florence Chadwick Florence May Chadwick (November 9, 1918 – March 15, 1995) was an American swimmer known for long-distance open water swimming. She was the first woman to swim across the English Channel in both directions, setting a time record each time. She ...

a year earlier. A crowd of 60,000 turned out to welcome her back to Grimsby. Brenda Fisher in 1951

Fisher swam the Channel again in 1954, and was the first woman ashore. In 1956, Fisher completed and won the

River Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the longest river i ...

Swim, then at the fastest time."Brenda Fisher Beats Marilyn Bell Record"
Solo Swims of Ontario Inc. Hall of Fame ''Globe and Mail'' 14 August 1956. Retrieved 11 June 2012 Fisher was asked to attend the

Royal Command Performance A Royal Command Performance is any performance by actors or musicians that occurs at the direction or request of a reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Although English monarchs have long sponsored their own theatrical companies and commis ...

and she was given the

Sportswoman of the Year Award The Sportswoman of the Year Award is given by the Women's Sports Foundation every year. This foundation recognizes both an individual and a team Sportswoman on their performance over a 12-month period. This award is given based on their new records ...

. In September 1956, Fisher took part in the

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

swim from Niagara to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, completing in 18 hours and 50 minutes, 2 hours and 6 minutes faster than the previous record set by

Marilyn Bell Marilyn Grace Bell Di Lascio (born October 19, 1937) is a Canadian retired Long-distance swimming, long distance swimmer. She was the first person to swim across Lake Ontario and later swam the English Channel and Strait of Juan de Fuca. Perso ...

. At that point, she was the third person in history to complete the swim. She attempted the Ontario swim again in 1957 but retired after 12 hours 43 minutes, during a thunder storm which threatened to sink her support boats. Fisher, with

Stanley Baker Sir William Stanley Baker (28 February 192828 June 1976) was a Welsh actor and film producer. Known for his rugged appearance and intense, grounded screen persona, he was one of the top British male film stars of the late 1950s, and later a pro ...

, was one of the judges in the 1954

Prestatyn Prestatyn (; ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085. Origin of name The name Prestatyn d ...

"Easy To Love" Bathing Beauty Contest. Fisher married Paddy Johnson, footballer with

Grimsby Town F.C. Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

After retiring, she became a swimming teacher in Grimsby. In 2015, her biography was published. ''Blonde In Deep Water'' was written by local journalist Lucy Wood. In 2016, she appeared on the

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

series ''

Flog It! ''Flog It!'' is a BBC television series presented by Paul Martin (TV presenter), Paul Martin that was broadcast from 27 May 2002 to May 2020. Description The show follows a similar formula to ''Antiques Roadshow'', with members of the public b ...

'', to sell her

Clarice Cliff Clarice Cliff (20 January 1899 – 23 October 1972) was an English ceramic artist and designer. Active from 1922 to 1963, Cliff became the head of the Newport Pottery factory creative department. Early life Cliff's ancestors moved from the ...

'Inspiration' vase at auction and in June 2018 she appeared on Antiques Roadshow with her collection of swimming memorabilia. Fisher received in 2018 the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

, as part of the Queen's New Year Honours list, for her achievements in the sport of swimming. A blue plaque in her honour was erected in Grimsby in 2017. Fisher died from complications of a stroke on 2 August 2022, at the age of 95.

References

External links

"Mass Attack On Channel 1951"
British Pathe. Retrieved 11 June 2012
"Channel swimmer welcomed home"

ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based media production and broadcast journalism company. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York City, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washin ...

, 23 August 1951. Retrieved 11 June 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Brenda 1927 births 2022 deaths English Channel swimmers English female swimmers Female long-distance swimmers Sportspeople from Grimsby British long-distance swimmers Recipients of the British Empire Medal 20th-century English sportswomen