Heeley Baths - your memories

[Treatment 10]

Did Mr. Wall teach you by any chance ?

 

I was talking with someone that I have not seen since 1965, and she remembered Mr Wall holding the float out to get her swimming. He must have been one of the most well known blokes in South Sheffield.

Edited July 13, 2010 by Treatment
Can't bloody spell today !

[rc501 10]

I use to go to the baths virtualy everyday training back in the sixties ,Mr Wall was the coach and you could buy arrowroot biscuits for a penny each.

[bow blade 10]

Swimming lessons with Mr Whitehead - we did breaststroke legs over and over again!!!

Cubicles were great!!

Edited August 15, 2013 by bow blade
spelling!!

[fatrajah 10]

The entire class of 4A of Carfield Juniors used to go there every friday afternoon in 1958. I remember Mr Wall slippering one of my classmates for swearing (must have hurt quite a bit with just a pair of wet trunks on). I found swimming in the deep end a bit scary as I used to think the "plug hole" would suck me under. Another thing I remember was the attendant who looked like Wee Willy Harris.

[Dreb48 35]

I have good and bad memories of Heeley Baths.

Firstly learning to swim there in the 50s under the legendary Mr Wall after being bussed in from Totley County School. There was absolutely no way you were going to leave there without being able to swim so despite the tactics I suppose you have to give him credit for that. I really did hate it though.

Secondly was when my kids were at Abbey Lane School in the 80s and the school galas that were held there.

One of my daughters was an excellent swimmer and always did well. After one gala she was approached by someone and given a little note asking if she'd go to King Teds pool for trials for Sheffield City Swimming Club. The guy was Glynn Mettam, as mentioned in previous posts.

To cut a long story short, she went, she joined and it was the start of several years competitive swimming which as a parent meant touring the pools of South and West Yorkshire, half of which are now shut.

I think, therefore, that it's quite an achievement for Heeley to have survived that cull.

[marybarber 10]

Learning to swim there at 5 year old, being took there by Meersbrook Bank school and doing all your swimming badges, from 25 yards upto 1752 yards (mile i think) at 11 years old, and all the school swimming galas, I remember an instructor called Mr Wall, scared me to death, plus getting up at 6am on a sat coz you was allowed to swim from 7am till 10am in them days and coming out of the water all wrinkly. Ha, good times.

 

DaveGas - did you go to Meersbrook Bank school from 1955 -1959. I was there then Mary Beecroft, lived down Smithywood. I also went to Heely Baths on Sat morning about 1959/60. I was 10 in 1955!!

[manxbiker 10]

We would usually walk past the dairy on Broadfield road and get a drink from their vending machine (if it was working) Then up the gennel onto Abbeydale road near to where the Sasperella bar was. Although we never went in there in school time i seem to recall it

(taken from another poster Thank you)

 

 

The gennel was called Primrose Hill.

 

Quite a walk back to Sharrow lane school in time for our bottle of milk

[jdodie 10]

Only visited Heeley Baths a few time. I went to the baths at Upperthorpe on Sunday morning when I was with BSAC (learning to scuba dive)…. Sometime we also used Glossop Road for week-day venues.

[Odd-jobs 10]

Any remember Bill Taylor attendant there, a star, a true gent. The five ex girlfriends some with their daughters who turned up to mourn him at his funeral and chatted and swapped anecdotes at his funeral will stay with me for ever.

[manxbiker 10]

Saturday morning was bath day individual rooms with big baths half full of hot water, you could put cold in but hot tap was outside controlled by the woman in charge

She had a tap handle on a piece of string so you could not stay too long

Then up the hill for a sasperrila ? never could spell that at the Temperance bar Abbeydale road

[Bypassblade 10]

Just found this thread remember the baths well on Broadfield Road; with the cubicles round the side, I'm talking of the 60's here when I last went.

[fatrajah 10]

Can anyone remember how deep the deep end was & how high the top board was? I'm fairly sure that the deep end was 6' 6" deep & the diving board about 8'. I ask this because another forum member is adamant that diving from such a high board into such shallow water would inevitably result in serious ijury or worse.