Seeing Freddie Tennant’s photo in BwB on February 17 brought back memories for one of Dundee’s greatest supporters of swimming and water polo.
Freddie featured in a tale mainly of boxing but Frank Jordan remembers him as a great personality who worked at the old Dundee Central Baths.
Indeed, Frank has now taken time to list quite a number of great personalities who worked in that establishment.
“Dundee had a number of outstanding swimmers, water polo players and divers when I took up swimming at the old Central Baths or, as Dundonians knew them, the Shorers,” recalled Frank.
“Through the years in swimming, the baths staff have had some great characters.
“The first one that comes to my mind is Geordie Crawford, who worked at the Central and Lochee pools.
“When he called out your cubicle number to come out the pool, you had to move as you got some bathers ignoring him and giving him some backchat.
“He would note your cubicle number and, with his cleaning-up brush, he would lift an article of clothing and hold it over the pool and call out, ‘Son, if you don’t come out this goes in,’ and it always worked.
“There was another Geordie working at the pool baths, George Campbell. He was known as the Pied Piper as you saw him play his Tipperary whistle to the youngsters while Danny Heron gave them a swimming lesson.
“George was also a middleweight and heavyweight boxing champion while in The Black Watch and he was another attendant you couldn’t fall out with.
“Danny was well known at the ‘Shorers’ for his teaching youngsters to swim as he’d a great personality and patience while teaching.
“I knew from my own experience he would allow you to stay in the pool to do some extra training.”
Frank, who writes the swimming and water polo notes for the Tele, continued: “Of course, as BwB recently featured, there were another two boxers working at the baths, Freddie and Norrie Tennant.
“Freddie worked in the Turkish baths, and Norrie at Lochee and Central Baths.
“Both were well known in Dundee and their boxing exploits have been well documented, not least in this column.
“Their sister Margaret Tennant also worked in the Turkish baths.
“The females also had their personalities.
“Nellie Brown was well-known in the ladies pool, teaching youngsters, and she was a member of the Admiral Club.
“She and George Aird, the Baths manager, ran the Dundee Hawthorn Club for handicapped people in the city one of the most popular swimming clubs in Dundee.
“Every Friday night, they met at Lochee Baths and admission was free.
“Margaret Palin was another long-term swimming instructress at the Central Baths and Olympia.
“She was a member of the YAABA in Broughty Ferry and helped to organise long-distance swimming events. She was also secretary of the Midlands Lifesaving Association.
“It was Margaret who encouraged me to take up lifesaving, teaching and gain instructors certificates.
“Two former swimmers and polo players still work in Dundee Davie Morris (ex-NCR) is the duty officer at Lochee Baths, along with Hamish Winter, long-distance swimming champion and water polo player with the Belmont club.”
Dundee certainly owes a lot to these wonderful people.
Frogmarched out of Baths to edge of Tay
Continuing his aquatic theme from the story above, Frank Jordan continued: “Annie Sweeney was a real personality at the ‘Shorers’.
“She was another attendant who did a lot of teaching and she formed the Dundee ladies flotation team, now known as synchronised swimming, and they gave exhibitions all over Scotland.
“At 65, she took up karate to keep fit. Around that time, there was one incident in the first-class pool at the counter where there were clothes baskets and this young lad was making a nuisance of himself. Annie heard him and said: ‘Look, son, calm down’.
“He replied: ‘Listen Granny, you get back to your knitting’.
“Annie walked round the counter, put his arm up his back and frogmarched him out of the pool to the edge of the wall leading into the River Tay.
“We all thought she was about to throw the laddie in the water but she just told him: ‘Away you go home’.”
One facility at the Shore Terrace pool was extremely popular.
“Another popular spot at the Baths was Abie Davis’ cafe, nicknamed The Shivery Bite,” continued Frank.
“It was the cheapest cafe in Dundee. A cup of tea, a portion of soup and a sandwich would cost the equivalent of 5p. A pie and a cup of tea 10p. And it was open from 9.30am to 9.30pm.
“I knew all the baths managers but I found George Aird the most helpful.
“He swam and played polo for Whitehall and understood the requirements of swimmers, polo players and divers. I remember, when I was chosen to play polo for Scotland in Moscow, he gave me extra time every evening in the ladies pool.
“He said: ‘If you’ve got any big matches coming up, Frank, you can have a free aerotone bath’.
“He was also a first-class MC at the Whitehall social evenings.
“Steve Screenan and Joe McGuire were also sportsmen, and Steve was the brother of Olympic swimming champ Robert.
“Steve was a very good swimmer and polo player and Joe was well-known in football circles. I think he played for Alhambra Hibs, who were from Hunter Street, off Hawkhill.
“Another engineer was Tom Mulgrew, who gave me a lot of advice on how to look after and run a swimming pool plant room when I got the job of a physical training assistant at Menzieshill High School.”
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