Matthew Webb

This article is about the Channel-swimmer. For the footballer, see Matthew Webb (footballer).

Captain Matthew Webb
Webb in The Illustrated London News, 1883
Born	(1848-01-19)19 January 1848 Dawley, Shropshire, England
Died	24 July 1883(1883-07-24) (aged 35) Niagara River, Niagara Falls
Cause of death	Paralysis from water pressure swimming in the Niagara Rapids
Resting place	Oakwood Cemetery, Niagara Falls, New York
Monuments	Monument to Captain Webb, Webb Crescent, Captain Webb Primary School
Occupation(s)	Seaman, swimmer, stuntsman
Years active	1875–1883
Known for	Swimming the English Channel
Spouse	Madeline Kate Chaddock (married 1880–1883)
Children	2
Parent(s)	Dr. Matthew Webb, Sarah Cartwright Webb
Awards	Stanhope Medal

Captain Matthew Webb (1848–1883) was an English seaman, swimmer and stuntman who became the first recorded person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids. Webb significantly increased the popularity of swimming in England.

Born in Dawley, Shropshire Webb developed strong swimming skills as a child while playing with his friends in the River Severn. At twelve years old, Webb began his career in the Merchant Navy after being accepted to train on the HMS Conway. After training on the Conway for two years, he began a three year apprenticeship working for the Rathbone Brothers of Liverpool. During this time, he sailed internationally across various trade routes, visiting countries such as China, India, Hong Kong, Singapore and Yemen.

After completing his training as a second mate in 1865, Webb worked mainly in this role for 10 years aboard different ships and for multiple companies. During this time, Webb was recognized for two acts of bravery, both of which involved swimming: In the Suez Canal, Webb released the ship's propeller from an entangled rope by diving down underwater and cutting it with a knife, and in the Atlantic Ocean, Webb jumped in to attempt to save a man who had fallen overboard while the boat was travelling at a speed of 14.5 knots. This latter feat won him the first Stanhope medal.

In 1875, after one failed attempt, Webb successfully swam the English Channel from Dover, England to Cap Gris Nez, France. This achievement made him a celebrity, raised him £2,424 through public subscription, and kick-started his career as a professional swimmer and stuntman. During his swimming career, Webb competed in several races, and performed several stunts in England and America including: In 1877, he completed a 40 mile swim from Gravesend to Woolwich along the Thames; in 1879, he swam 74 miles over 6 days to win a long distance swimming race; in 1880, he raced twice against Paul Boyton in his lifesaving suit; he floated for 60 hours at the Royal Aquarium, 74 hours at the Scarborough Aquarium and then 128 and a half hours at the Boston Horticultural Hall. Despite these swimming accomplishments, Webb's financial situation worsened, and in 1883 he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, leaving him bedridden for two months. Webb died in 1883 after he was paralysed by the water pressure when attempting to swim down the rapids at Niagara Gorge, below Niagara Falls.

Early life

Webb was born on 19 January 1848 in Dawley, Shropshire. He was one of thirteen children of the surgeon Dr. Matthew Webb. In 1849, while Matthew Webb was only 14 months old, they moved to Madeley, and then in 1856 to Coalbrookdale. The Webb family lived just one field from the River Severn, which was where Webb developed his strong swimming abilities. The Webb family were Anglicans, so Webb was familiar with the stories of the Bible.

Webb's first memory involved the water. After finishing his day at school he would go with a group of friends to play in the Severn, so by the time he was seven he could swim. This was uncommon for the time, as swimming was not generally considered a pleasurable activity, but rather an activity prescribed by doctors as a treatment for a wide range of ailments. At eight years old, Webb and his older brother Thomas saved his younger brother Charles from drowning in the Severn.

Webb enjoyed pulling off dangerous stunts in front of his friends, and reading stories of the sea. The book Old Jack by W. H. G. Kingston inspired him to become a seaman.

Career as a seaman

In 1860, at the age of twelve, Webb and his parents decided he should leave school and join the Merchant Navy, so he enrolled on the HMS Conway training ship.

Training on the Conway

HMS Conway training ship at Rock Ferry

In his first days on the ship, he felt homesick and hated the harsh conditions, but he soon became popular on the Conway and earned the nickname "Chummy Webb". The students were taught both traditional subjects and nautical skills. Their routine was strictly regulated, but allowed some time for play. Webb excelled in swimming, rescuing a fellow student from overboard, and impressed his peers by swimming for long periods of time.

Apprenticeship with the Rathbone Brothers

8 Finsbury Circus, London (building on the right), current Head office of Rathbones Group

In 1862 after two years on the Conway, Webb enlisted himself for a three year apprenticeship on the eastern cargo ships operated by the Rathbone Brothers of Liverpool. Webb was trained to become a second mate, and was paid £30 for his three years work.

His first voyage was from Liverpool to Calcutta. The crew experienced bad weather, and Webb was terrified throughout it. Despite this, Webb excelled in the harsh conditions and was not prone to seasickness like the other new recruits. He also got the traditional sailors tattoo of a blue anchor on his right arm. The ship then sailed to Hong Kong, Singapore, back to Calcutta end then back home. In Hong Kong, Webb was subject to a mugging attempt. However he managed to fight off the assailants until a policeman caused them to flee.

In the summer of 1863, while at home, Webb rescued his 12-year-old brother Thomas from drowning in the Severn.

His next trip was to Aden and then Bombay, where he stayed for three months and first experienced swimming in the sea. He swam between the boats in the harbour, eating dinner at his destination and then swimming back again. He found that he liked the extra buoyancy that the saltwater provided, and the roughness of the waves, later saying "you must not attempt to battle with waves". Rather, you should "manoeuvrer them and they will assist you". Webb gained a reputation for being fearless and was admired by his comrades. After his third voyage (to Singapore and Hong Kong again), he passed his second mate qualification.

Work as a second mate and seaman

Webb had to stay with the Rathbone Brothers until his contract expired in 1865, but as soon as it ended he began work as a second mate for Saunders & Co., another shipping company based in Liverpool. He worked for them on ships to Japan, Brazil and Egypt.

Webb was very confident in his physical abilities, especially when it came to swimming. He was known for leaping off the yardarm into the sea, and earned an extra £1 per day for anchoring the boat near a wreck, and then swimming back to shore—a job which all the other sailors were too afraid to do. He even competed with a dog from Newfoundland to see who could swim the longest in the rough sea. After an hour, Webb was still swimming but the dog was exhausted and was rescued from the water.

Yet another another one of Webb's stunts took place in the Suez Canal, where the propeller of their ship had intertwined with a rope, causing it to get stuck. Webb dived down for hours, slowly cutting the rope dive by dive, until it was cut and the propeller was freed. Saunders & Co. never recognised him for this feat, and so he left for the United States.

Stanhope Medal

His time in the US did not last long though, as he immediately disliked it and took a job as an ordinary seaman on the Cunard Line ship Russia to get back to the UK. On this ship, Webb attempted to rescue a man overboard by diving into the sea in the mid-Atlantic. Webb jumped into the cold water while the boat was travelling at a speed of 14 and a half knots, in pursuit of what he thought was the man's head, but it was actually just his hat. During the 37 minutes before he was rescued, Webb nearly drowned, and said he had a flashback of his whole life. The man was never found, but the passengers of the Russia banded together to give Webb a purse of 100 sovereigns, and upon returning home, he learned that his daring attempted rescue had won him the first Stanhope Medal, and made him a hero of the British press.

From 1865 to 1875, Webb worked on seven different ships, the last of which was named the Emerald, where he served as captain for six months.

English Channel swimming record

In the summer of 1872, Webb had read an account of the failed attempt by J. B. Johnson to swim the English Channel, and became inspired to try.

Channel training

In 1874, Webb was looking for financial backers for his channel attempt and long swims in general. He first approached Robert Watson, the owner of the Swimming, Rowing and Athletic Record and the Swimming Notes and Record, asking for help in finding a backer for his channel swim. Watson did not believe Webb would actually swim the channel, but advised him to wait until next summer as the weather would not be good enough until then. Webb agreed with Watson, so moved to Dover for the rest of the summer to begin practising. In Dover, the locals nicknamed him the "Red Indian" as he would often come back from long swims with a red face. Before returning to Watson's office in Fleet Street, Webb tested himself by swimming to Varne Lightvessel and back again, a distance of thirteen miles.

Watson was surprised by Webb's return, and introduced him to Fred Beckwith, who was a coach at Lambeth Baths in south London. During September 1874, Watson and Beckwith organised a secret trial of Webb, where they watched him swim breaststroke down the Thames from Westminster Bridge to Regent's Canal Dock. After watching for an hour and twenty minutes, they "grew tired of watching his slow, methodical but perfect breaststroke and magnificent sweep of his ponderous legs", and so concluded Webb's trial. For the rest of the 1874 swimming season, Webb trained everyday at Lambeth Baths. He became very good friends with both Beckwith and Watson.

Beckwith tried to make money from Webb, issuing a statement in the Sporting Life challenging anyone to swim further than his "unknown amateur" down the Thames, and then trying to place a bet on Webb's successfully swimming across the Channel. However, it was by then too late for a Channel crossing to be completed that year, as the weather was becoming too harsh.

Portrait of Paul Boyton in his survival suit, on the front of a cigarette packet

In June 1875, Webb left his job as captain of the Emerald, in order to focus on his swimming feats. It was also during this month that future American rival Paul Boyton paddled across the channel in just under 24 hours wearing a survival suit. Despite Boyton's suit protecting him from the elements, the public saw them as rivals, which meant Webb had to live up to the very high standards of endurance that Boyton set in his suit. Webb always said that Boyton was "an obvious fraud".

On the 3 July, Beckwith organised a spectacle by showing Webb setting a record by completing a 20 mile swim between Blackwall and Gravesend along the River Thames, which Webb completed in 4 hours and 52 minutes. Webb received media attention for the feat, with newspapers such as Bell's Life, Land and Water, The Daily News and The Globe all reporting on it. Unfortunately for Beckwith, the poor public interest on the rainy day meant that he lost money. As a result, Webb took another manager, Arthur Payne, the sporting editor of The Standard.

On 17 July 1875, Webb announced to the public that he would attempt to swim across the English Channel with the statement from Payne in Bell's Life and Land and Water:

I am authorized by Captain Webb to announce his full determination to attempt the feat of swimming across the Channel... Beyond a paltry bet of £20 to £1 he has nothing to gain by success. Surely, under the circumstances, there are some lovers of sport who would gladly, in sporting language, "put him on so much to nothing". Should he by chance succeed, which is extremely improbable, it would be cruel that one who would undoubtedly have performed the greatest athletic feat on record should be a loser by the event.

Webb's next swim was from Dover to Ramsgate. He hired a local boatman and invited a reporter from the Dover Chronicle to join. Despite heavy rain, he set off just before 10 a.m. with the tide in his favor but the rain against him. Webb did some breaststroke, and this time also incorporated some sidestroke. 8 hours and 40 minutes later, he finished back at Ramsgate Pier. Unfortunately for Webb, the national newspapers did not print his swim, with The Times printing another one of Boyton's appearances. The only newspaper that printed anything about the swim was the Dover Chronicle.

Following his long swims, Webb had a medical check in London by Dr. Henry Smith. The report was once again printed in Land and Water, and was extremely detailed. An employee at the Land and Water called Frank Buckland gave Webb a jar of porpoise oil for insulation, which Webb later used for his channel swim.

Flying Horse Tavern, 10 King Street, Dover

In August, Webb moved from London to stay at the Flying Horse Tavern in Dover, to begin final preparations. While in Dover, he followed a strict routine of swimming for an hour a day, except for every tenth day where he would do a long swim up to five hours.

Channel swim

Preparations and first attempt

Webb consulted the locals on the conditions in the Strait of Dover, and eventually settled on using the same strategy that Boyton had previously used. He aimed to start on the Dover east flood tide, and then catch the current as it turned to the west. He decided he would be backed by the lugger boat called Ann, which was captained by George Toms. Aboard the lugger would be the captain, and a crew of six others. Webb decided he did not want a doctor, since he believed he knew his health best.

Map showing the routes of Webb's two channel attempts

He had to wait until 12 August, when he made his first attempt. During the swim, he attempted to use a form of goggles without a seal (which he called "barnacles"). The intent was to shield his eyes from the splashing of the salt water, however they only made the problem worse. The weather was still not great, and after seven hours he had been driven over nine miles off course. Webb swam until he could not swim any longer, boarding the boat only fifteen minutes before the conditions became so bad that he would not have been able to. Despite Webb's disappointment, he remained positive, and was assured by Captain Toms that had the weather been better, he probably would have made it.

Successful attempt

Good weather finally arrived on the 24 August with a good barometer reading, little wind and slightly overcast sky. The sea was 18°C (65°F). Webb began preparations by eating an English breakfast with claret, and at around 12:45, set off in the Lugger Ann with the rest of the crew from the Harbour towards Admiralty Pier. Captain Toms predicted the swim would take around fourteen hours, while the captain Pittock of the Castalia (who was known as an expert on the channel waters) predicted it would take around twenty.

Admiralty Pier, Dover

At 12:56 pm, Webb began his second attempt by diving in from the pier in his red silk swim costume. Webb was smeared with the porpoise oil for insulation and set off into the ebb tide which carried him for the first three quarters of a mile out from Admiralty Pier. At the time of his swim, Webb weighed 14 stone and 8 pounds, his chest size was 40 and a half inches and he was 5 feet 8 inches tall.

Boat crew feeding Matthew Webb hot coffee

Webb was backed by the Ann and two smaller rowing boats operated by Charles Baker (who joined Webb in the water for parts of the swim) and John Graham Chambers. Aboard the Ann was: Toms and his crew, Webb's brother-in-law George Ward, Payne (who was acting as a referee and reporter for the Land and Water and The Standard) and reporters from The Field, the Daily News, the Dover Express, The Daily Telegraph, the Dover Chronicle, The Times, the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News and The Illustrated London News.

Breaststroke in action at the 1924 Summer Olympics

Webb started swimming his breaststroke at a stroke rate of about 25 strokes per minute, but slowed to around 20 when he found his rhythm. He drank cod liver oil, beef tea, brandy, coffee and ale, but did not stop long for each feed in an effort to preserve body heat.

At 17:30, Dover could no longer be seen, at 20:35, Webb was stung by his first jellyfish, which was painful but did not stop him after he had a shot of brandy, and by 23:00, the Captain Toms believed they were over half way. During the swim, a mail boat named The Maid of Kent passed Webb, with the passengers cheering.

During the morning of August 25, the Sporting Life published a column with the title "Captain Webb's Channel Trip", which reported on the favourable weather conditions and changing tides.

The strong currents off Cap Gris Nez prevented him from reaching the shore for five hours, during which time Webb was visibly struggling, and his stroke was slowing. By 21:30, Webb's stroke had slowed to twelve strokes per minute, and the crew was very anxious as they could see Webb's exhaustion. The Maid of Kent returned with a rowing boat containing eight people to shield Webb from the strong wind and rain, and the crew began singing the tune Rule, Britannia!, which Webb later recalled in his diary:

Never shall I forget when the men in the mailboat struck up the tune of Rule Britannia, which they sang, or rather shouted, in a hoarse roar. I felt a gulping sensation in my throat as the old tune, which I had heard in all parts of the world, once more struck my ears under circumstances so extra-ordinary. I felt now I should do it, and I did it.

View from Cap Griz Nez, facing England

After approximately 21 hours and 40 minutes, at 10:41 am on August 25, he landed near Calais, completing the first successful cross-channel swim without artificial aid. His zig-zag course across the Channel was about 39 miles (66 km) long. Upon completing the swim, he fell into his friends' arms, and then slept in Hotel de Paris.

Reception

Webb was elevated into heroic status upon completion of his swim. He became extremely popular, and celebrations of his swim were rampant on his arrival back to England.

Recovery in France

Webb had a fever with a temperature of 38 °C (101 °F) and slept for about 24 hours, only waking to eat soup and fish and to look out the window. Upon waking fully, he had two long swellings on the back of his neck from holding his neck up for so long. He had a bath and a large breakfast before meeting the crowds that had gathered at the floor of the hotel. Once Webb had recovered, he and George Ward briefly escaped the crowds for a quick tour of a lace factory. However, they quickly returned to the hotel, where they found out that Captain Pittock from the Channel Steamship Company had invited them to cross back to England aboard the Castalia. Webb accepted the invitation.

Return to England

At 13:00, Webb boarded the flag-decorated Castalia after saying goodbye at the hotel. He briefly retreated to the salon but soon moved to the deck, where he was greeted by a cheering crowd.

Caricature of Webb by Ape, published in the London magazine Vanity Fair in 1875

As Webb approached Dover Harbor, lots of people scrambled to greet him. Captain Toms and the rest of the lugger crew were also waiting and walked with him into the town. Since the crowds were so thick, Webb and the crew boarded a carriage to the Flying Horse Inn. Webb had quickly had enough of the crowds, so on August 28, he tried to get away to his home in Wellington, Shropshire via a train which stopped by London. Despite his efforts, the crowd would not let him out alone, and so accompanied him and Ward to the train station in Dover, while the song "See the Conquering Hero Comes" was played by the 5th East Kent Rifle Volunteers. In a further attempt to evade the crowds, upon reaching London, Webb ran across from Charing Cross station to Euston Square.

Although Webb had tried to escape the attention, everyone in Wellington knew he was coming, and so he was warmly received by a large crowd and a band from the 7th Shropshire Rifles who were also playing "See the Conquering Hero Comes". The crowd drew the carriage by hand to Ironbridge. Here, the 6th Shropshire Rifle Corps band and the Mayor of Wenlock welcomed him. The journey through the night was lit by candles, torches and lanterns held by the residents of the towns. Webb spent the night in his home, and then attended Coalbrookdale church the next morning. The Sunday was very quiet for Webb, due to the Victorians celebrating the Sabbath. However, the next day he was met again in the morning by a group from Dawley. They invited him to "receive the homage of the town of his birth", and then escorted him and his family to Dawley and down the High Street, where the people of the town warmly welcomed him. Webb and his family's route to Dawley and then to Madeley was lined with huge amounts of flowers, and the day was ended with a bonfire and firework display.

On 31 August, Webb moved back to London, where strangers immediately recognized him and wanted to shake his hand. He visited the Baltic Exchange to check on the progress of his fund, where many of the workers stopped their work to cheer him. Webb accepted many invitations, including visiting the Lord Mayor of London, a Royal Cambridge Music Hall ovation and a portrait drawing. He then moved back to Dover where he met up with Captain Toms and his crew for a dinner.

Webb received many gifts, including gold cuff links and collar studs, a gold watch, a North London Swimming Club gold cross, a solitaire, a silver cup and a jewelled tie pin. He had several poems written about him, and received huge amounts of mail which caused him to joke that the writing was even harder than the swimming had been. The London Stock Exchange set up a testimonial fund, which raised £2,424 for Webb and his family. People from a large variety of backgrounds contributed, and the Land and Water published the names of all the donors. Of this money, Webb gave £500 to his father, and invested £1782 in the hope that this would provide him lifelong income. He then moved to Kensington, London.

For the rest of 1875, Webb spoke at boys' schools, including the Conway. He was used as an example of various English virtues, including patriotism, humility and determination.

Media attention

Completing the crossing lifted Webb to fame. He was reported on positively by The Standard, The Sporting Life, The Daily Telegraph, The Standard and The New York Times. Contained in The Standard was Payne's eyewitness account of the crossing, including observations of the weather conditions, Webb's stroke and the marine life. Webb also had an interview with The Daily Telegraph, where he gave a short account of his swim. However, the reporter was disappointed by Webb being bad at storytelling.

Academic attention

Surgeon Sir William Fergusson regarded Webb's feat as "almost unrivalled as an instance of human prowess and endurance", and noted that his body must have been good at vasoconstriction to prevent heat loss. Webb was also interviewed by The Lancet.

Parliamentary attention

It was suggested in parliament that Webb be knighted, with Mr R. H. Horne being Webb's strongest advocate, as he had himself swam across the Menai Strait. However, Webb was never knighted.

Swimming career

After his record swim, Webb basked in national and international adulation, and followed a career as a professional swimmer.

Lectures

He began by lecturing, where he would talk about his career and other swimming related topics. In these lectures, Webb spoke against the common Victorian practice of forcefully dunking children in the water, saying "fear of water on his part can never be removed by force or so-called heroic treatment", and proposed the alternative methodology of letting the child experiment themselves in shallow water. Webb also licensed his name for merchandising, such as for commemorative pottery and matches.

Cavill rivalry

In August 1976, Webb accompanied Frederick Cavill on his first channel attempt, but it ended in disaster when Cavill consumed a large amount of whisky and was stung by many jellyfish. In the Land and Water, Webb criticized Cavill for using sidestroke instead of breaststroke, and for wearing a jersey. He also mentioned that Cavill only got halfway, which angered Cavill and made him determined to try a second time the following year. Webb did not accompany Cavill for his second attempt, and Cavill claimed to have completed the crossing almost ten hours faster than Webb. However, this claim was quickly discredited when one of the signed witnesses "Mr. Gammon" was discovered to never have existed. Cavill continued to taunt Webb, and challenged him to a race across the channel which Webb declined.

Exhibition swims

River Thames at sunset

Despite his income streams, Webb did not make much money, but lived a high cost lifestyle and was exceedingly generous. In 1877, Webb bet £100 at 20 to 1 odds that he could swim Gravesend to Woolwich along the Thames. He completed the 40 mile swim which broke the record for the longest freshwater swim, and earned him some publicity from The Times. This record stood until 25 July 1899 when it was beaten by Montague Holbein.

By 1879, Webb had fallen into financial trouble. To raise funds, he competed in a long distance swimming race organized by Beckwith. He and several other notable swimmers were tasked with swimming as far as possible over a six day period. The race was a moderate success for Beckwith, and Webb finished in first place winning the £70 prize. To win, he swam 74 miles over 6 days, by swimming for roughly 14 hours per day.

Travel to America

Webb was drawing less attention as time went on, and so in 1880 he brought his feats to America for the first time.

Sandy Hook to Manhattan Beach swim

Webb found a new manager called Captain Henry Hartley, who located The Manhattan Beach Company which was willing to wager $1,000 for Webb to swim from Sandy Hook to Manhattan Beach. Webb was required to enter the Manhattan Beach Harbour between 17:00 and 18:00 so that the greatest number of spectators would see him. Despite Webb's crew being very inexperienced, and arriving three hours early at Manhattan Beach, Webb finished the swim and fulfilled his contract. Webb was not in the mood to meet Paul Boyton, who was present at the beach. Instead, he simply ate his steak dinner and retired to bed. The New York Times criticised the feat as impressive but useless.

Races against Paul Boyton

On August 22, Boyton and Webb raced at Newport beach. They both wagered $1,000, and James Bennett (Newport casino owner) added another $1,000 to the prize pool, bringing the total to $3,000. Two white buoys were placed half a mile apart; Webb was tasked with swimming around them twenty times in regular trunks, while Boyton had to swim around them twenty-five times in his suit. There was a large crowd gathered on the beach, and Boyton got off to a very fast start. Unfortunately for Webb, he got a severe cramp which ended his race, while Boyton simply cruised to the finish.

Webb quickly challenged Boyton to a rematch, which he accepted. Their second race took place at Nantasket Beach, and was advertised as the "Championship of the world". Since fanfare was even greater on their second meeting, the prize pool was even higher at $4,000. In this race, Boyton had to travel between three buoys, while Webb only had to travel between two. After the race was postponed several times, it eventually went ahead on September 6. The details of the race are unclear, but the referee refused to declare a winner and later accused Webb of cheating by swimming to shore and running across the beach. Webb defended himself, and it was later found out that the referee was Boyton's fiancee's dad, indicating that he was probably biased. Boyton challenged Webb again, via a letter to the New York Herald that offered him even greater odds, but Webb did not reply.

Race against Ernest Von Schoening

Webb's next race was against Ernest Von Schoening, who undoubtedly beat him in the "Endurance Championship of the World" held on September 14. Webb left the water after swimming six miles, and Hartley later said he had felt like he was going to get cramps as he did in Newport against Boyton.

Overall, Webb was still unsuccessful in America and lost money on the trip.

Return to England

Back in England on 27 April 1880, Webb and Madeline Kate Chaddock were married at St Andrew's Church, West Kensington. They went on to have two children, Matthew and Helen.

Webb's next exploit was to float for 60 hours in the Royal Aquarium in Westminster. The affair was so dull that members of the public would get distracted by the other attractions of the museum, and barely anyone paid any attention to Webb. He followed this up by floating for 74 hours in the waters of Scarborough Aquarium, but this also received little public attention. In 1881, Webb's good friend Frank Buckland from the Land and Water died, and Webb was also beginning to fall ill. He continued swimming though, as it was the only way for him to provide for his new family. He did another six-day long race at Lambeth Baths and a sixteen mile race against Willie Beckwith.

Hollingworth Lake

Webb made his health even worse when he swam against Dr. G. A. Jennings in the cold water of Hollingworth Lake. Although Webb had trained in the cold water, and was almost twice as fast as Jennings, the 54°F (12°C) water caused him to hallucinate and become disorientated. With only twelve minutes to go, Webb lost his direction and then with thirty seconds remaining, climbed out the water, which technically lost him the race. Upon retiring from the water, Webb vomited and was gently nursed by Baker and Watson back to proper body temperature.

Return to America

He returned again to America in 1882, where he won a five-mile race against the railroad engineer George Wade at Brighton Beach, and another five-mile race against a field of 22 swimmers at Nantasket Beach. Both events were badly organized, and poorly recognized as sporting events. Webb then beat his own record by floating for 128 and a half hours (minus a 94 minute break) in Boston Horticultural Hall, which attracted more attention than his previous floating exhibits in England. However, his financial situation still did not improve. Webb did not engage in any more races against notable swimmers in America, but instead busied himself inventing new things.

Final return to England

Webb's last competitive swim was in March 1883, when he raced 20 miles at Lambeth Baths once again against Willie Beckwith. Webb was forced to quit the race when he was spitting blood as a result of tuberculosis. By this point, Webb had lost so much weight that he was 42 pounds lighter than when he swam the channel. Consequently, his doctor ordered that he should he should completely quit swimming.

For the next two months, Webb was bedridden from the tuberculosis. His brother, now Dr. Thomas Webb wrote to him begging that he give up long distance swimming for his health. Webb appeared one more time publicly to ceremonially start a race at the Battersea Baths.

Driven by his worsening financial situation and desire for fame, Webb did not take his brother's advice.

Death in Niagara Rapids

Looking downriver at the Niagara rapids and gorge, from the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge across the Niagara River

In 1882, Webb had announced his intent swim through the Whirlpool Rapids below Niagara Falls. So, in June 1883, Webb and his family returned again to America, with Webb maintaining the intention to complete the stunt that many observers considered suicidal. Webb was not unaware of the danger, and wrote a will which left all his property to his wife shortly before the swim. Beckwith and Watson tried to dissuade him, and Watson later said:

As we stood face to face I compared the fine, handsome sailor, who first spoke to me about swimming at Falcon Court, with the broken-spirited and terribly altered appearance of the man who courted death in the whirlpool rapids of Niagara... let it be taken for granted that his object was not suicide, but money and imperishable fame.

Webb hired a cottage and trained for around a month at Nantasket Beach. He hired a new manager called Frederick Kyle, and travelled with him to Niagara on 23 July. Once at Niagara, the Niagara Falls Gazette announced that Webb would start his swim at 16:00 that day. Webb made an impromptu plan and called a press conference to explain it. Money was promised to him by the railway companies which charged visitors to come and watch the attempt, which Webb thought would be around $10,000. Webb's final conversation was with the boat operator Jack McCloy as he was rowed to the rapids. They conversed about Webb's family, his channel crossing and his swimming exhibitions since then. McCloy tried to dissuade him one final time, but Webb only waved, smiled and said "goodbye boy", before exiting the boat.

Whirlpool rapids, Niagara Gorge

Everything went smoothly for the first part of the swim, but upon being lifted by a large wave, Webb shouted and lifted his arm, before being pulled underwater by the currents for a distance of about 40 meters. He reappeared several times briefly, but was sucked into the whirlpool and was never seen alive again.

Many speculations were made after Webb went missing. Kyle argued that he had just ended up somewhere downstream, while others said his intention was suicide. The following day at 12:00, Kyle sent Webb's wife a telegram with the news, and then at 22:00 he stopped the search offering a $100 reward for whoever could find Webb's body. Rumours were spread that Webb's wife inherited a large sum of money from Webb, but Kyle told everyone that Webb had left it to his children.

Four days later, Webb's body was found. The body had a cut on the forehead, which caused people to assume he was knocked out on a submerged rock, and then died from drowning. However, the autopsy revealed that the cut was made after his death, and that he died from being paralysed from the water pressure, which caused respiratory failure.

Webb's grave at Oakwood Cemetery

Webb was interred in Oakwood Cemetery. His widow and family were distraught upon hearing the news, and his widow said that she hadn't even entertained the idea that he might not complete it. Many of Webb's lifetime friends organized an ornamental swimming event at Lambeth Baths, in Webb's honour. The Land and Water put shame on the risks Webb had taken in his later life, and also blamed the railway companies for encouraging the swim.

In January, Webb's widow returned to the burial site to rebury the body with a proper funeral. Above the grave was a dark granite Gothic monument was built, inscribed "Captain Matthew Webb. Born Jan. 19, 1848. Died July 24, 1883".

Legacy

Family

Webb's son Matthew went on to fight in France in World War I, with the South African Forces, and was killed in 1917 at the Ypres Salient, while Helen became a swimming and dance instructor. After Webb's death, his wife remarried and moved to South Africa. Captain Webb no longer has any living descendants, as his great great granddaughter did not have any children.

Impact on swimming

Portrait of Captain Webb in his red swimming trunks on a cigarette box

Upon completion of his channel crossing, The New York Times mentioned how much good Webb had done by inspiring the whole country to go swimming, with the London Baths overflowing with people, and many others swimming in open bodies of water. Many new books were published teaching swimming in the next twenty five years. Swimming clubs grew in quantity, and many new swimming pools were opened with the Baths and Washhouses Act allowing local authorities to build them. Shortly after Webb's death, several periodical swimming championships were started, and the Sporting Life attributed much more paper space to swimming. Webb expressed in his lifetime that he wanted to inspire more people to learn to swim, and even wrote his own book called The Art of Swimming, though this was mostly written by Arthur Payne.

It took thirty-six years for anyone else to swim the channel, which was accomplished by Thomas Burgess in 1911. After Burgess completed the second channel crossing, Webb's widow was interviewed. She spoke highly of Webb, and said she was glad Burgess had completed the crossing, as it proved it was possible and would silence those who doubted Webb's crossing.

Since then, the channel has been successfully crossed by over 2500 swimmers, including a four-way crossing by Sarah Thomas in 2019.

The pig on the wall postcard

Some time after Webb's death, in 1909, a postcard was produced which depicted a pig on a wall watching Webb's post-channel procession go by. The Baldwin Bros., a photography firm in Dawley, produced it around the same time that the Captain Webb Memorial in Dawley was unveiled.

Memorials and places

Captain Webb pub, Wellington Road, Wellington

On 23rd October 1909, funded by public subscriptions, Webb's elder brother Thomas unveiled a memorial at the east end of Dawley High Street. On it reads the short inscription: "Nothing great is easy." Webb also has another memorial in Dover, and one at Coalbrookdale.

Webb Crescent and the Captain Webb Primary School in Dawley are named after the swimmer, and Webb House of the Haberdashers' Adams Grammar School in Newport, Shropshire, is named after him.

Captain Mathew Webb memorial, Dover, Kent

International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame

In 1965, Webb was added to the International Swimming Hall of Fame, for being the first swimmer to cross the English Channel.

Cultural references

His death inspired a poem by William McGonagall in 1883, and in 1940, John Betjeman's NME single of the week "A Shropshire Lad".

Webb's picture on boxes of Bryant and May matches is said to have inspired the physical appearance of the Inspector Clouseau character, portrayed originally in the Pink Panther films, by Peter Sellers.

A full-length film adaptation about Webb's Channel attempt, initially under the working title The Greatest Englishman, was directed by Justin Hardy, written by Jemma Kennedy, and starred Warren Brown. It was released in 2015 under the title Captain Webb.

See also

• List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame
• List of successful English Channel swimmers
• Gertrude Ederle – First woman to swim the English Channel
• Mercedes Gleitze - First British woman to swim the English Channel

Sources

• Watson, Kathy (2001). The crossing: the glorious tragedy of the first man to swim the English channel. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 1-58542-109-X.

• Sprawson, Charles (1993). Haunts of the Black Masseur: The Swimmer as Hero. Jonathan Cape (published 17 June 1993). pp. 36–44. ISBN 978-0099223313.

• Lambie, James (2010). The Story of Your Life: A History of the Sporting Life Newspaper (1859–1998). Troubador. pp. 172–178. ISBN 9781848762916.

• Seccombe, Thomas (1899). "Webb, Matthew" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 60. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 104–105.

• Dolphin (1875). The Channel Feats of Captain Webb and Captain Boyton. London: Dean & Son.

• Williams, Henry Llewellyn (1884). The Adventurous Life and Daring Exploits in England and America of Capt. Matthew Webb. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

Further reading

• Elderwick, David (1987). Captain Webb – Channel Swimmer. Brewin. ISBN 0-947731-23-7.
• Webb, Matthew (1999). The Art of Swimming. Pryor Publications. ISBN 0-946014-78-7.