Matthew Webb

Captain Matthew Webb (19 January 1848 – 24 July 1883) was an English seaman, swimmer and stuntman. He is the first recorded person to swim the English Channel for sport without the use of artificial aids. In 1875, Webb swam from Dover to Calais in less than 22 hours. This made him a celebrity, and he performed many stunts in public. He died trying to swim the Niagara Gorge below Niagara Falls, a feat declared impossible.

Early life
Webb was born on 18 or 19 January 1848 in High Street, Dawley (now part of Telford), in Shropshire, one of eight sons of fourteen children of the surgeon Dr. Matthew Webb. In 1849, while Mathew Webb was only 14 months old, Dr. Matthew Webb and his wife Sarah Cartwright Webb moved with the family to Madeley High Street, and then by 1856 to Eastfield House, Coalbrookdale. The Webb family's which was situated just one field from the River Severn, which was where he Webb developed his strong swimming abilities. After Webb's death, Dawley Heritage determined the original Webb house to be between 57 to 63 High Street.

The Webb family were Anglicans, so Webb was familiar with the stories of the bible. One story that Webb remembered well into adult life was Daniel in the lions' den.

Webb's first memory involved the water. After finishing his day at the local school he would go with a group of friends to play in the Severn, and by the time he was seven, he could already 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. By eight years old, Webb was already a strong swimmer, so when his younger brother Charles was drowning in the Severn, he and his older brother Thomas were able to save him.

Even at school, Webb was fearless and enjoyed pulling off dangerous stunts in front of his friends.

Webb enjoyed painting pictures of animals, and reading stories of the sea. He was particularly influenced by the book "Old Jack" by W. H. G. Kingston, which was one of his inspirations to become a seaman.

Career as a seaman
In 1860, at the age of twelve, it was decided by he and his parents that Webb should leave school and join the Merchant Service.

He joined the training ship HMS Conway as an apprentice for Rathbone Brothers of Liverpool. In just his first few days on the ship, he felt homesick and hated the harsh living conditions, saying "I was hardly afloat before I wished myself back again to my comfortable home".

On the Conway, Webb was taught both traditional school classes (English, mathematics, history etc.), and specialized classes in nautical skills (map reading, astronomy, sailing etc.). His routine was regulated by the program and generally consisted of waking up at six, eating breakfast at eight, participating in traditional school classes during the morning, lunch at midday followed by half an hour of play time, nautical skills classes in the afternoon, and then dinner at five followed by more play time and some school prep until prayers at eight thirty, and then bed at nine. The routine on the weekend and during the half day on Wednesday was more varied, as the students were allowed off the ship to visit friends and/or participate in various fun activities.

Webb became popular on the Conway, and was given the nickname "Chummy Webb". He could also defend himself in a fight, later saying that "many of the boys were highly respectable", but also "some were highly the opposite". He excelled in swimming, rescuing a fellow crew member from overboard, and impressed fellow crew mates by his ability to stay in the water for very long periods of time. He even competed with a dog from Newfoundland for 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.

After two years as a student on the Conway, he enlisted himself for a further three years apprenticeship on their eastern cargo ships, where he traded with East India and China, and completed training to become a second mate. During this time, Webb gained a reputation for being fearless and was admired by his comrades.

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

From 1866 (when his legal agreements tying him to the Rathbone Brothers expired) to 1875, Webb worked on seven different ships, the last of which was named the Emerald, where he started work in January 1975 and served as captain for six months.

On 22 April 1873, whilst serving as second mate on the Cunard Line ship Russia, travelling from New York to Liverpool, 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, and ended up remaining in the water for about an hour and a half. Upon being rescued, "the poor brute was nearly drowned".

The man was never found, but in 1974, Webb's daring attempted rescue won him an award of £100 and the first Stanhope Medal, and made him a hero of the British press.

English Channel swimming record
In 1873, during his sailing career, 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
Webb trained first at Lambeth Baths, then in the River Thames, the English Channel and Hollingworth Lake.

In 1874, Webb was looking for financial backers for his channel attempt and long swims in general. He first approached Robert Patrick Watson, the owner of the Swimming, Rowing and Athletic Record, asking for help in finding a backer for his channel swim. Watson eventually 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.

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 in the summer of 1874 for a Channel crossing to be completed that year, as the weather was becoming too harsh.

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 swam across the channel in 24 hours wearing an inflatable suit.

A month after leaving his job on the Emerald, 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 in 43-44 hours. This record stood until 25 July 1899 when it was beaten by Montague Holbein. 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. Payne was the sporting editor of The Standard.

In August 1875, Webb announced to the public that he would attempt to swim across the English Channel with the statement from Payne:"'I am authorised 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.'"

Channel swim
On 12 August 1875, Webb made his first cross-Channel swimming attempt, but after seven hours he had been driven over nine miles off course and was forced to abandon the swim despite being over halfway there.

On 21 August, J.B. Johnson also attempted the swim, but only swam for an hour before exiting the water due to the cold and his tiredness.

Undeterred by his and Johnson's previous attempts, on the 24 August at 12:56 pm, Webb began a second swim by diving in from the Admiralty Pier at Dover in his red silk swim costume. 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 foot 8 inches tall.

He was backed by a lugger boat called "Ann", and two smaller rowing boats. Among the crew was Arthur Payne, an artist from the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, Webb's brother-in-law George Ward and three other journalists. Smeared in porpoise oil for insulation, he set off into the ebb tide which carried him for the first three quarters of a mile out from shore.

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 which had so far carried Webb westward, eastward and then westward again.

Webb swam breaststroke at a stroke rate of about twenty-two strokes per minute, and ate cod-liver oil, beef tea, brandy, coffee, and ale. By 17:30, on August 24, 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. By 23:00, the captain believed the party was about twelve and a half miles from Dover, and nine miles from Calais. During the swim, a mailboat named "The Maid of Kent" passed Webb, with the passengers singing the tune Rule, Britannia!. Webb later recalled this moment 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.'"Despite stings from jellyfish and strong currents off Cap Gris Nez which prevented him from reaching the shore for five hours, finally, after approximately 21 hours and 40 minutes, at 10:41 am on August 25, he landed near Calais—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, Webb slept in Paris Hotel.

Reception
Upon completion of the crossing, Beckwith's Sporting Life published the headline "Captain Webb's Great Swimming Feat", which in the lede referenced the paper's previous articles on Webb when Beckwith was his manager, but lifted the main section of the article from Payne's report in The Standard. Contained in The Standard, was Payne's eyewitness account of the crossing, including observations of the weather conditions, Webb's stroke, the water conditions and the marine life.

Surgeons such as Sir William Fergusson regarded Webb's feat as "almost unrivalled as an instance of human prowess and endurance", and note that his body must have been good at vasoconstriction to prevent heat loss.

Upon taking the train to Wellington, Somerset, he was warmly received by a large crowd and a band from the 7th Shropshire Rifles. The crowd removed the horses from the front of his carriage, and drew it by hand to Ironbridge where they were met by another band of the 6th Shropshire Rifle Corps and were welcomed by the Mayor of Wenlock. Webb spent the night in Ironbridge, and 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 to Dawley and down the High Street, where the people of the town warmly welcomed him. Webb received many gifts, and the London Stock Exchange set up a testimonial fund, which raised £2424 for Webb and his family. Of this money, Webb gave £500 to his father, and invested the £1782 in the hopes that this would provide him lifelong income. Webb then moved to 21 Tavistock Crescent, Kensington, London.

It was suggested that Webb be knighted in parliament, with Mr R. H. Home MP 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. To make money, he licensed his name for merchandising such as commemorative pottery and matches, lectured, won prize money for winning events, patented various inventions, and was sponsored to complete other swimming related stunts.

In his 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.

Despite all his income streams, Webb did not make much money and was exceedingly generous. He also found it hard to cope with his newfound fame, and, by 1879, had also fallen into financial trouble. To raise funds, Webb toured England competing in long endurance events and completed swimming stunts, including multiple six day races, swimming between twelve and fourteen hours per day.

Webb won the "Swimming Championship of England" in May 1879 at Lambeth Baths against other swimming champions from around England. To win, he swam 74 miles over 6 days, by swimming for roughly 14 hours per day.

Unfortunately for Webb, his exhibition swims were drawing less attention as time went on, and so in 1880 he brought his feats to America for the first time. In September of that year, Webb escalated his achievement to win the "Swimming Championship of the World" against American Paul Boyton at Nantasket Beach, however he was accused of cheating and was not awarded the prize money. Overall, Webb was still unsuccessful in America, and lost money on the trip.

Back in England in 1880, Webb floated for seventy four hours in the waters of Scarborough Aquarium, and for sixty hours in the Royal Aquarium in Westminster. He returned again to America in 1883, when he beat his own record by floating for one hundred and twenty eight and a half hours (minus a ninety four minute break) in Boston Horticultural Hall. However, his financial situation still did not improve.

He wrote a book called The Art of Swimming.

In 1882, Webb announced that he would attempt to swim through the base of Niagara Falls, a body of water notorious for its rapids and whirlpools.

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

However, driven by his worsening financial situation and desire for fame, Webb did not take the doctors advice. Four months later, he attempted to swim across the Niagara Rapids.

Death in Niagara Rapids
In June 1883, Webb and his family traveled to America, with Webb maintaining the intention to swim in the Niagara Gorge through the Whirlpool Rapids on the Niagara River below Niagara Falls, a feat many observers considered suicidal. Webb trained for several days at Nantucket beach, then travelled to Niagara Falls. He then made an impromptu plan and called a press conference to explain it. Money was promised to Webb by the railway companies which charged visitors to come and watch the attempt, which Webb thought would be around $10000. Webb had originally planned the swim for 21 July, but special arrangements from the railway companies caused him to delay the start until July 24. At 16:25, Webb jumped off the side of a ferryboat into the rapids.

Many people considered this swim suicidal, and some even argued that this was Webb's intention. Webb's close friend Robert Watson tried to dissuade him, and 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.'"Despite this, Webb did not tell his wife Madeline that he would be attempting the stunt, but said "If I die they will do something for my wife" shortly before the swim.

Before exiting the ferry, the operator tried to dissuade him one final time, but Webb only waved, smiled and said "goodbye boy", before exiting the boat.

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 briefly, but at 16:35, he was sucked into the whirlpool and was never seen alive again.

Four days later, Webb and the two Indians bodies were found. Webb's 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 he was paralyzed from the water pressure.

Webb was temporarily interred in Oakwood Cemetery, Niagara Falls, New York, and then reburied once again in Oakwood Cemetery. Above the grave was a dark granite Gothic Monument inscribed "Captain Matthew Webb. Born Jan. 19, 1848. Died July 24, 1883".

Personal life
On 27 April 1880, Webb and Madeline Kate Chaddock were married at St Andrew's Church, West Kensington, and they had two children, Matthew and Helen. Matthew went on to fight in France in World War I, with the South African Forces, but was killed in 1917 at the Ypres Salient. After his death, his wife remarried and moved to South Africa.

Legacy
Webb significantly increased the popularity of swimming during his lifetime, and shortly after his death, several periodical swimming championships were started, and the Sporting Life attributed much more paper space to swimming.

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 procession go by. It was produced by the Baldwin Bros., a photography firm in Dawley, around the same time that the Captain Webb Memorial in Dawley was unveiled.

Memorials
On 23rd October 1909, funded by public subscriptions, Webb's elder brother Thomas unveiled a memorial at the bottom of Dawley High Street. It took the funding committee just seventeen weeks to fund, build and unveil the memorial. On it reads the short inscription: "Nothing great is easy." The memorial was taken away for repair after a lorry collided with it in February 2009. The landmark memorial was returned after full restoration and was hoisted back onto its plinth in High Street in October 2009.

On 8 June 1910, a second memorial was unveiled for him in Dover. Another memorial plaque with his portrait was also unveiled in the parish church at Coalbrookdale.

Places
Two roads in the town (Captain Webb Drive and Webb Crescent) and the Captain Webb Primary School in Dawley are named after the swimmer.

Webb House of the Haberdashers' Adams Grammar School in Newport, Shropshire, is named after Webb.

Book
A book about Webb's life was written in 1986 entitled "Nothing Great Is Easy" by author David Elderwick. It has the tagline "The Story of Captain Matthew Webb, The First Man To Swim The English Channel".

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.

Descendants
Matthew Webb's Great Nephew, Edward Webb of Nottingham became the first man to solo para-glide across the English Channel on 12 September 1992. This was 117 years after his Great Uncle crossed the Channel. Edward was just 20 years old at the time but the feat helped to raise £2.5 million pounds in fundraising for the Christian Rescue Services Young Children in Need charity. Captain Webb no longer has any living descendants, as his great great granddaughter did not have any children.

Cultural references


His death inspired a poem by William McGonagall in 1883. John Betjeman's poem "A Shropshire Lad" (1940) also commemorates the death of Webb, portraying his ghost swimming back along the canal to Dawley. It was set to music by Jim Parker and was recorded by folk singer John Kirkpatrick.

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.

An episode of Peabody's Improbable History (a segment of Rocky and Bullwinkle) misidentified him in dialogue and the episode's title as "Captain Clift". It was a sly reference to Peabody's voice being patterned after actor Clifton Webb. The character in the episode did, however, resemble Matthew Webb. The joke name also facilitated Peabody's closing pun about the "White Clifts of Dover".

A 2007 Channel 4 documentary named Swimming: A Brief History suggests that Webb's swim was hugely inspirational. Both his Channel crossing and Niagara Falls downfall are discussed and Webb is described as revered for his 'sporting achievements'. The programme also features an artist's illustration of the 1875 channel swim and describes him consuming "beef tea, beer and brandy" during the event.

In 2009 Jim Howick portrayed Webb during a humorous retelling of his death in Episode 4, Series 1 of the CBBC show Horrible Histories.

Production began in 2014 for a full-length film adaptation about Webb's Channel attempt, initially under the working title The Greatest Englishman. It was directed by Justin Hardy, written by Jemma Kennedy, and starring Warren Brown. Released in 2015 under the title Captain Webb, the movie was nominated for a British Film Award the following year, but box office success was limited.