Edward Temme

From Openwaterpedia
E.H.Temme circa 1936, the first person to swim the English Channel and represented England in water polo in the 1928 Olympic Games

Edward Temme or E. H. Temme (born 16 September 1904 in Plaistow, Greater London, Great Britain and died 26 June 1977 at the age of 72 in Padova, Italy) was a London insurance clerk who played water polo for the Plaistow United Swimming Club in Plaistow Great Britain and was the first man to complete a crossing of the English Channel both ways.

Water Polo Career

He played water polo for Great Britain in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games and the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.

English Channel Career

  • He was the King of the Channel® from 1934-1951.
  • He completed a crossing of the English Channel in 14 hours 29 minutes on 5 August 1927 from France to England at the age of 22.
  • In 1933, he crossed the 16.1 km Bristol Channel from Weston-super-Mare to Penarth in 7 hours 5 minutes.
  • On 19 August 1934, he crossed the English Channel from England to France in 15 hours 34 minutes which set a new record.
  • He was the first person to swim the English Channel in both directions.
  • In 1927 Dover Town Council raised money by public donation to purchase a gold cup to present to the next English person to swim the English Channel from England to France; Ted Temme was the winner of the gold cup.
  • He also had four failed attempts across the English Channel, all England to France:
    • In 1928 after 8 hours 7 minutes
    • In 1929 after 5 hours 40 minutes
    • In 1932 after 11 hours 50 minutes
    • In 1933 after 11 hours 45 minutes
  • He was the Supervisor for the first Daily Mail Cross Channel Race in 1950.

King of the Channel®

The King of the Channel® is a title is bestowed on the man who has successfully completed more swims of the English Channel than any other. The title as well the accompanied Letona Trophy is awarded by the Channel Swimming Association. Its female equivalent is the Queen of the Channel®.

List of Kings of the Channel®

King of the Channel® - The Letona Trophy Number of Crossings Years Held Title
Captain Matthew Webb 1 1875-1934
Edward Temme 2 1934-1951
William Barnie 3 1951-1960
Brojen Das 4-6 1960-1974
Melvyn Sharp 7 1974-1975
Des Renford 8-16 1975-1979
Michael Read 17-18 1979-1980
Des Renford 19 1980
Michael Read 20-31 1980-2000
Kevin Murphy 32 2000-2004
Michael Read 33 2004-2006
Kevin Murphy 34 2006-

External links

Retrieved from "https://openwaterpedia.com/index.php?title=Edward_Temme&oldid=549913"