William Thomas Burgess, Channel swimmer
William Thomas Burgess (right) at Walmer after his successful channel swim, which took place on 5-6 September 1911. He was the second person to swim the channel after Captain Matthew Webb in 1875. With him are his mother, Mrs Burgess, and Captain H W Pearson, the pilot of the motor boat Elsie which accompanied him across (the boat can be seen in the background of the photograph). The departure point was the South Foreland Lighthouse, St Margaret's Bay, Dover, and the arrival point was Cap Grisnez, Le Chatelet. The time taken was 22 hours and 35 minutes. Burgess came from Rotherham in Yorkshire, and worked as a blacksmith in Paris. Burgess stated afterwards that his main sustenance during the swim was Nestle's milk chocolate, plus a few grapes, a chicken leg and half a cup of tea
