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.
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 multiple 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.
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 his 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
thumb|HMS Conway training ship at [[Rock Ferry]]
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 students 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. Although Boyton used a suit, the public viewed them as rivals, forcing Webb to match the standards of endurance that Boyton 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 10:00 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
thumb|upright=0.8|Map showing the routes of Webb's two channel attempts
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.]]
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, while 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. 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. 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 the tune "Rule, Britannia!".
thumb|View from Cap Griz Nez, facing England
After nearly 22 hours, at 10:41 am on 25 August, he landed near Calais. His zig-zag course across the Channel covered about . It was suggested in parliament that Webb be knighted, with Richard Henry Horne being Webb's strongest advocate, but it never happened.
It took 36 years for anyone else to swim the channel, accomplished by Thomas Burgess in 1911. After Burgess completed the crossing, Webb's widow was interviewed. She was pleased that Burgess had succeeded, as it demonstrated the crossing was possible and would silence those who doubted Webb's achievement. Since then, the channel has been crossed by over 2500 swimmers.
Swimming career
After his record swim, Webb received recognition internationally and pursued a career as a professional swimmer. though this was mostly written by Payne.
In August 1876, Webb accompanied Frederick Cavill on his first channel attempt, but it ended after Cavill drank a lot of whisky and was stung by jellyfish. In Land and Water, Webb stated Cavill had only made it halfway, which angered him. After Cavill's second attempt, he claimed to have finished nearly ten hours faster than Webb. This claim was quickly discredited when one of the witnesses was found to be fictitious. Cavill continued to taunt Webb for years.
Early exhibition swims
Webb did not make much money, but lived a high-cost lifestyle and was generous. In 1877, he bet £100 (about £ today) at 20-to-1 odds that he could swim from Gravesend to Woolwich along the Thames. He completed the 40-mile swim which broke the record for the longest freshwater swim, and earned publicity from The Times. The record stood until 1899 when it was beaten by Montague Holbein.
By 1879, Webb was in financial trouble. To raise funds, he entered a long-distance swimming race organised by Beckwith. The swimmers were tasked with swimming as far as possible over six days. The race was a moderate success for Beckwith, and Webb won the £70 prize. He swam , averaging 14 hours per day.
After Webb went missing, Kyle speculated he had likely ended up downstream, while others suggested suicide. The next day at noon, Kyle sent Madeleine a telegram with the news, and at 22:00 he stopped the search for Webb alive, offering a $100 reward for Webb's body. Rumours spread that Madeleine inherited a large sum, but Kyle told the public that Webb had left it to his children.
Four days later, Webb's body was found. The autopsy revealed that he died from paralysis caused by water pressure, leading to respiratory failure. Many of Webb's friends organised an ornamental swimming event at Lambeth Baths in his honour. The Land and Water criticized the risks Webb had taken later in life, and Bell's Life blamed the railway companies for his death.
Webb's widow reburied Webb in Oakwood Cemetery with another funeral. A dark granite Gothic monument was placed above the grave, inscribed "Captain Matthew Webb. Born Jan. 19, 1848. Died July 24, 1883". Webb Crescent and Captain Webb Primary School in Dawley are named after him, as is Webb House of the Haberdashers' Adams Grammar School in Newport, Shropshire. In 1965, Webb was added to the International Swimming Hall of Famethumb|Captain Matthew Webb memorial, Dover, KentHis death inspired a poem by William McGonagall in 1883, and John Betjeman's poem "A Shropshire Lad". A film adaptation of Webb's Channel attempt, directed by Justin Hardy, written by Jemma Kennedy, and starring Warren Brown, 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