SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: Diving back into the parish register from more than 100 years ago, DAVID MORGAN has found the story of a medal-winner from Croydon who raced at the Chariots of Fire Games
Making a splash: Harold Annison was the first manager of the Brighton ‘swimming stadium’ in the 1930s
The 2024 Olympics are fast approaching.
The excitement is building but so, too, are the nerves. There are concerns and worries about how the Games will go, both for individual competitors and for the organising committee.
It was much the same 100 years ago, the last time that Paris staged the Olympics – remembered now as the Chariots of Fire Games, for the exploits of track sprinters Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell, as portrayed in the 1981 Oscar-winning movie.
Among those preparing for the Paris Games 100 years ago was Harold Annison, a swimmer from Croydon. Aged 29, he was something of a veteran in an amateur sport, having already competed in the previous Olympics in Antwerp in 1920.
His name first appeared in the baptism registers of Croydon Parish Church, Harold Edward Annison, born December 27, 1895. His parents Frederick and Minnie had enough income to employ a governess for their children. Frederick was a keen swimmer and cyclist and encouraged his children to take up similar pursuits.
Along with his siblings, young Harold joined Croydon Swimming Club and in 1910, when 14, he won the Southern Counties 100 yards freestyle junior championship. He won the London junior title over the same distance, too.
In 1911 he joined the famous Otter Swimming Club in central London and by 1913 he was competing internationally for England, regarded as a great prospect by many.
In a scratch race in Middlesborough that year Annison came up against someone who was to become one of his closest rivals, Jack Hatfield. Annison had sensationally defeated Hatfield in the Amateur Swimming Association 100 yards freestyle championship at Brighton that summer in a very close finish. That was Hatfield’s first defeat of the year. Determined to get some sort of revenge for losing his sprint title, Hatfield turned the tables with relative ease.
National champion: Croydon SC’s Harold Annison won the one-mile race held in the Serpentine in Hyde Park in July 1920
The Great War saw such trivialities as sport set aside for more than four years. Annison served in the Royal Navy. He was fortunate to come out unscathed and resumed his swimming training once back in civilian life.
A newspaper report from August 2, 1920, showed how well Annison had got back into training. He had improved his performances and was now a world-class swimmer. With the Antwerp Olympic swimming events being held later in the month, good performances were needed to catch the selectors’ eyes.
Annison must have been on a provisional list, given that he was already the 220-yard freestyle national champion
The British One Mile Championship was held on the Serpentine in Hyde Park on Saturday, July 31. On a course which consisted of swimming four laps of a roped off 440 yard circuit, Annison was at a distinct disadvantage, having being drawn in the inside lane where he would be hampered by having to swim in shallower water. Taking the lead after the first lap, however, Annison proved much too strong for his rivals winning by a margin of 60 yards. His 25min 25sec finishing time was slow because of the currents which flow below the surface of the lake. It was the first time since 1899 that a swimmer from the Southern Counties had been successful in the event.
One of Annison’s competitors in the race was the experienced Australian, Frank Beaurepaire, against whom he would race several times in the next few years. On this occasion, Beaurepaire retired at the end of the third lap with cramp, complaining that the temperature of the water was… too cold.
The officials in the British Olympic Association confirmed that Annison was included in their team for the Games, the newspaper reporting: “His performance on Saturday stamps him as a likely representative to bring back to Great Britain laurels in the Olympic Games at Antwerp later in the month.”
The newspaper continued to build up Annison’s prospects by informing their readers that he was the ASA title-holder for both the mile and the 100 yards as well as holding every Southern Counties title from 100 yards to the mile. The reporter noted that Annison had never been defeated in any championship race in which he had participated.
Such expectations must have weighed heavily even on Annison’s broad swimmer’s shoulders.
Roll of honour: Annison was a rare winner of the national one-mile title to come from the south of England
In his heat of the 1,500 metres in Antwerp, Annison maintained his record and won in 24:28. He would have been concerned though, to see Beaurepaire win his heat in a much faster time, 22:55. The semi-finals pitted Annison and Beaurepaire together.
The Australian finished second, qualifying for the final, while Annison trailed him by almost 50sec, losing his unbeaten record. Beaurepaire went on to win the bronze medal in the final.
Annison still had a chance of a medal as he was also part of Britain’s 4x200m freestyle relay team which won its Antwerp semi-final. In the final, Britain was up against favourites Australia, with Beaurepaire again his rival. In the end it was the United States team who won gold, breaking the world record, with Australia taking the silver and Great Britain, with Annison swimming the final, anchor leg, taking a hard-earned bronze.
Between the Olympics, Annison continued swimming and featuring strongly in domestic championships. He finished third in the long-distance event in the River Thames in 1921, which was won by Jack Hatfield. In 1924, Annison managed one place better, but was still unable to get the better of his northern rival.
Annison also played water polo with Otter SC, and was the club’s water polo honorary secretary from 1920.
When the British team selections for the Paris Olympics were announced, Annison knew he was to be a busy man, selected for the 1,500m and 400m freestyle as well as the 4x200m freestyle relay. And for good measure, he was also named in Britain’s water polo squad.
In the water polo tournament, Britain were drawn against Hungary in the first round. The match was closely fought, with the Hungarians winning 7-6. Great Britain, the defending Olympic champions, were out of the competition.
At least Annison could now focus his energies on his swimming.
Annison won his 1,500m heat in 23:38. Hatfield also qualified for the semi-finals. But while Hatfield made it through to the final as a fastest loser, Annison was well-beaten in a race won by Beaurepaire.
As so often happens at the Olympics, then 100 years ago and as could happen this year, a young, unproven competitor arrived on the scene to claim a stunning gold medal. The 1,500m freestyle at the 1924 Paris Games was won by Andrew “Boy” Charlton, a 16-year-old from Manly who beat the field by more than half a minute and smashed the world record, clocking 20:06.6. Hatfield had to settle for fourth place, nearly two minutes behind Charlton, as Beaurepairewon the bronze.
Annison was a semi-finalist in his other individual swim, the 400m freestyle, but was edged out of a place in the final by Hatfield.
Annison still had hopes of a medal with the relay team, which duly progressed into the final. The competition was tough: the Australian quartet included the in-form Charlton and Beaurepaire, while the Americans, gold medal-winners in 1920, also had some new talent in their team, the 20-year-old from Chicago, Johnny Weissmuller.
Hollywood star: five Olympic swimming gold medals propelled Johnny Weissmuller into an acting career as Tarzan
Weissmuller was one of the sporting sensations of the age. On the same day as the relay final, he had won the 100m freestyle gold medal in an Olympic record 59.0sec – beating the defending champion and his American team-mate, Duke Paoa Kahanamoku by more than two seconds.
Finishing times in the swimming events were quick at those Paris Games, which were the first Olympics were the racing was held in a purpose-built, 50-metre pool.
The 100m freestyle was Weissmuller’s second gold medal of the Games, as two days earlier, he had won the 400m freestyle. He would also win an Olympic bronze with the United States team in the water polo, and return in 1928 when the Games were held in Amsterdam to win the Blue Riband of the pool, the 100m freestyle and another Olympic gold in the 4x200m relay.
Weissmuller was the first man to swim the 100m freestyle under one minute. He never lost a race and retired with an unbeaten amateur record and worldwide renown to become a Hollywood actor, playing Tarzan in a series of successful movies through the 1930s.
In those Paris Olympics of 1924, Weissmuller was to swim the final leg for the US team, and took over with a commanding lead to win another gold medal and set another world record, as the Australians won silver. Annison was unable to inspire the Great Britain team as they finished fifth, with Japan taking the bronze.
After the Paris Olympics, Annison continued swimming and was still playing water polo for Otter SC in 1933 when he was the club captain.
A new opportunity opened up for him in 1934 when he became the first manager of the new pool built in West Street, Brighton. It was advertised as the largest covered seawater pool in the world. One of the first people to dive into the water from the 10-metre diving platform was none other than Johnny Weissmuller – or Tarzan as he was by now known to the world.
The early success of the pool didn’t develop into a long-term viable business and in October 1935 the building was turned into an ice rink, a purpose it would serve for many years.
In 1936, Annison wrote a book about the coaching of swimming. He also devised a new type of swimming relay. Held over 10 miles, it involved a team of 10 swimmers, all of whom had different specialities. For perhaps understandable reasons, the Annison relay never really took off.
In 1940, Annison moved to Lancing, living in the house in Sussex which had belonged to his father and taking over the family’s nursery business.
Harold Annison, Olympic swimming medal-winner from Croydon, died in November 1957.
Annison was one of the generation of people who survived the Great War and managed to get back to perform at their very best. And he probably enjoyed more than a couple of visits to the cinema where he perhaps muttered under his breath as he watched the latest Tarzan film: “I swam against that chap!”
David Morgan will be guiding a tour of Croydon Minster’s stained glass windows for Inside Croydon readers on May 21. Places on the tour are limited, and are being booked up fast. Click here for more details and to book your place
If you would like a group tour of Croydon Minster or want to book a school visit, then ring the Minster Office on 020 688 8104 or go to the website on www.croydonminster.org and use the contact page
Some previous articles by David Morgan:
- Croydon’s Lifeboat parades that answered a Mayday appeal
- Defeated Dutch admiral who endured his parole in Croydon
- The church fire that consumed a thousand years of history
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
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