Captain Matthew Webb (19 January 1848 – 24 July 1883) was an English seaman, swimmer and stuntman who became the first person to swim the English Channel without the use of artificial aids. Webb increased the popularity of swimming in England at a time when few people knew how to swim.
Born in Dawley, Shropshire, Webb developed his swimming skills as a child while playing in the River Severn. At twelve, he began his career in the Merchant Navy after training at HMS Conway. After graduating, he began a three-year apprenticeship with the Rathbone Brothers of Liverpool, during which he sailed internationally across various trade routes to countries including China, India, Hong Kong, Singapore and Yemen.
After completing his second mate training in 1865, Webb worked for ten years aboard different ships and for several companies. He was recognised for two acts of bravery: in the Suez Canal he freed the ship's propeller from an entangling rope by diving underwater and cutting it, and in the Atlantic Ocean he jumped in to attempt to save a man who had fallen overboard while the ship was travelling at . This latter act earned him the first Stanhope medal.
In 1875, on his second attempt, Webb gained fame by successfully swimming the English Channel from Dover, England, to Cap Gris-Nez, France. Public donations raised him £2,424 (about £ today), and he started a career as a professional swimmer. Webb competed in several races, and performed stunts in England and America, including completing a swim from Gravesend to Woolwich along the Thames in 1877, swimming over six days to win a long-distance swimming race in 1879, and floating for 128.5 hours at the Boston Horticultural Hall in 1882. Webb's financial situation worsened, and in 1883 he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, leaving him bedridden for two months. Webb died later that year after being paralysed by the water pressure while 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 13 children of the surgeon Dr Matthew Webb. In 1849, when Webb was 14 months old, his family moved to Madeley, and then in 1856 to Coalbrookdale, where they lived near the River Severn.
Webb's first memory involved the water. After school he would go with friends to play in the Severn, so by the age of seven he could swim. This was uncommon for the time, as swimming was not generally considered a pleasurable activity but rather a medical treatment. At eight Webb and his older brother Thomas saved their younger brother Charles from drowning. Webb enjoyed showing off in front of his friends and reading sea stories, with the book Old Jack by W. H. G. Kingston inspiring him to become a seaman.
Career as a seaman
In 1860, at twelve years old, Webb began training for the Merchant Navy aboard the HMS Conway training ship. Initially homesick and disliking the harsh conditions, Webb soon became popular on the Conway and earned the nickname "Chummy Webb". The routine was regulated but allowed time for play, and the boys studied both traditional subjects and nautical skills. Webb rescued a student who had fallen overboard. He impressed his peers by swimming for extended periods.
Apprenticeship with the Rathbone Brothers In 1862 Webb began a three-year apprenticeship on eastern cargo ships operated by the Rathbone Brothers of Liverpool. He trained to become a second mate, earning £30 (about £ today) for his three years' work. His first voyage was from Liverpool to Calcutta. The crew faced bad weather, which terrified Webb. Despite that he excelled in the harsh conditions and was not prone to seasickness, unlike the other new recruits. The ship then sailed to Hong Kong, Singapore, back to Calcutta and then back home. In Hong Kong Webb fought off a mugging attempt until a policeman caused the assailants to flee.
His next trip was to Aden and then Bombay, where he spent three months and first swam in the sea. He swam between the boats in the harbour, dining at his destination and swimming back again. He enjoyed the extra buoyancy that the saltwater provided and the roughness of the waves. Webb gained a reputation for fearlessness and was admired by his comrades. After his third voyage he passed his second mate qualification.
Work as a second mate and seaman
Webb's contract expired in 1865, after which he became a second mate for Saunders & Co., another Liverpool-based shipping company. He worked on ships to Japan, Brazil and Egypt.
Webb was confident in his physical abilities, especially in swimming. He would leap off the yardarm into the sea and earned an extra £1 per day for anchoring near a wreck and then swimming back to shore—a job that the other sailors were too afraid to do. In one incident he competed with a Newfoundland dog to see who could swim the longest in the rough sea. After an hour Webb was still swimming but the dog had to be rescued from the water. In the Suez Canal his ship's propeller became entangled in a rope. Webb dived repeatedly for hours, cutting the rope until the propeller was freed. Saunders & Co. never acknowledged his efforts so he left for the United States.
Disliking the US, Webb took a job as an ordinary seaman on the Cunard Line ship Russia to return to the UK. During the voyage he attempted to rescue a man overboard by jumping into the cold mid-Atlantic Ocean while the ship was travelling at . During the 37 minutes before he was rescued Webb nearly drowned. The man was never found but the passengers of the Russia gave Webb a purse of gold and upon returning home he learned that his attempted rescue had won him the first Stanhope Medal and made him a hero in the British press.
From 1865 to 1875 Webb worked on seven ships, the last being the Emerald, where he served as captain for six months.
English Channel swimming record In mid-1872 Webb 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 sought financial backers for his Channel attempt and other long swims. He approached Robert Watson, owner of the Swimming, Rowing and Athletic Record and Swimming Notes and Record, for support. Though Watson doubted Webb would attempt the channel, he advised him to wait until next summer for better weather. Webb agreed and moved to Dover to practise. 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 on Fleet Street he tested himself by swimming to the Varne Lightvessel and back, a distance of .
Watson was surprised by Webb's return and introduced him to Fred Beckwith, a coach at Lambeth Baths in south London. Watson and Beckwith arranged a secret trial of Webb, watching him swim breaststroke down the Thames from Westminster Bridge to Regent's Canal Dock. After an hour and 20 minutes they "grew tired of watching his slow, methodical but perfect breaststroke" and concluded his trial. For the rest of the 1874 swimming season Webb trained daily at Lambeth Baths. He became close friends with Beckwith and Watson.
In June 1875 Webb left his job as captain of the Emerald to focus on swimming. That same month future American rival Paul Boyton paddled across the Channel in a survival suit. Although Boyton used a suit, the public viewed them as rivals, forcing Webb to match the standards of endurance that Boyton had set. Webb called Boyton "an obvious fraud".
On 3 July Beckwith organised a spectacle with Webb attempting a swim from Blackwall to Gravesend along the River Thames, which he finished in 4 hours and 52 minutes. Although Webb gained media attention for the feat, low public interest on the rainy day meant Beckwith lost money. As a result Webb hired a new manager, Arthur Payne, sporting editor of The Standard.
On 17 July Webb announced his attempt to swim the English Channel with a statement in Bell's Life and Land and Water:
Webb's next swim was a 20-mile journey from Dover to Ramsgate. He hired a local boatman and invited a reporter from the Dover Chronicle. Despite heavy rain he set off just before 10 am with the tide in his favour. Webb alternated between breaststroke and sidestroke, finishing in eight hours and 40 minutes at Ramsgate Pier. The only newspaper to report was the Dover Chronicle.
After his long swims Webb underwent a medical check in London, which was reported in the Land and Water. An employee there gave Webb a jar of porpoise oil for insulation, which he later used for his Channel swim. In August Webb moved from London to the Flying Horse Inn in Dover to begin final preparations. He swam an hour daily, except every tenth day when he swam up to five hours.
Channel swim
Webb consulted locals about conditions in the Strait of Dover and chose to use Boyton's strategy. He planned to start on the east flood tide and catch the current as it turned west. For support, he chose the lugger boat Ann, which was captained by George Toms. Webb did not want a doctor, since he believed he knew his health best.
First attempt Webb waited for moderately good weather and began his first attempt on 12 August. According to Dolphin from the Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, during the swim, he tried an early form of goggles without a seal, which he called "barnacles", but they did not work. The weather worsened, and after seven hours he was more than nine miles off course. He boarded the boat 15 minutes before the weather conditions would have prevented him doing so. Despite his disappointment he remained positive and was assured by Toms that with better weather he likely would have succeeded.
Second attempt
Good weather arrived on 24 August with a good barometer reading, light wind and slightly overcast sky. The sea temperature was . Webb ate bacon and eggs with claret then set off in the Ann from the Harbour to Admiralty Pier. Toms predicted the swim would take around 14 hours, whilst Captain Pittock of the Castalia—who was an expert on the Channel waters—estimated it would take around 20. At the time of his swim Webb weighed , his chest size was and he was tall.
At 12:56 pm Webb dived from the pier in his red silk swimming costume. He set off into the ebb tide, which carried him for the first three-quarters of a mile. 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 were: Toms and his crew, Webb's brother-in-law George Ward, Payne (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.
Webb started swimming breaststroke at 25 strokes per minute but soon slowed to 20. He consumed cod liver oil, beef tea, brandy, coffee and ale but did not stop long enough for each feed to preserve body heat. By 17:30, Dover could not be seen. At 20:35 Webb was stung painfully by a jellyfish, but he continued after a shot of brandy and by 23:00 Toms believed they were over halfway. A mail boat named The Maid of Kent passed Webb, with passengers cheering.
For five hours the currents off Cap Gris-Nez prevented him from reaching the shore, and he was visibly struggling. By 21:30 Webb had slowed to twelve strokes per minute and the crew grew anxious. The Maid of Kent returned with a rowing boat containing eight people to shield Webb from the wind and rain and the crew sang Rule, Britannia!.
After nearly 22 hours, at 10:41 am on 25 August, he landed near Calais. His zig-zag course across the Channel covered about . After finishing he fell into his friends' arms, and slept in the Hotel de Paris.
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