A Brief History
Surf Life Saving originated in Australia in the early 1900s, when the growth of seaside towns and interest in swimming led to a number of drownings. Patrols were formed by local residents, living close by beaches with strong currents, alerting people to the dangers of the surf.
As you can probably tell, the Surf Life Saving movement was started by the Aussie’s – many of whom worked in London, Australia House in particular. Thier love of the sea mean’t they travelled to Brighton, their nearest seaside resort, at every possible spare time. With having founded Bude SLSC in 1953 their infinity with surf life saving made it an obvious choice to start a club nearer their temporary “home” (London).
This was the beginning of Brighton Surf Lifesaving Club, one of the three clubs that formed the Surf Life Saving Association of Great Britain (SLSA GB) around 1955. Volunteer clubs patrolled beaches at Bude and St Agnes in Cornwall and Brighton, their aim to protect, rescue and resuscitate bathers.
Brighton BLSC was a sub-section of the well established Brighton Swimming Club. They shared an arch down at Brighton Beach located about 200 yards west of Brighton Pier. Not only sharing venues, but they also shared the same colours of the swimming club: navy and white. Their caps were navy and white quatered and their flags flew high with navy back ground and BRIGHTON SLSC in large white letters. Along with the colours of navy and white, their emblem, by all accounts, was a skull and crossbones. Yes! Like Pirates!!
By all acounts, Brighton were a successful club considering their small numbers. Here below is a section taken from BSC’s History book.
In 1958, the surf life saving section organised a team and entered the national surf life saving competition in Perranporth using a line and a very fine reel. Which had been constructed by that renowned craftsmen of the Lanes, Geoff Thompson. In very bad weather conditions the Brighton team managed to achieve second place and in the 1959 event in which they also competed, one member, Roland Davis, had the proud distinction of winning the National Open Surf Race and is now the holder of the Chyverton Trophy awarded for this event.
Brighton was successful for what seems to be about 20 years in surf life saving until Brighton SC were re-housed into a smaller venue which simply could not hold all the surf life saving equipment, thus, the end of Brighton Surf Life Saving Club
around the mid 1970s. In addition to this, children and adults interest in the sea and spending time at the beach slowly started to decrease facilitating the end of the club.
Present Day
Roughly three decades on, Brighton is once again going to have a surf life saving club on its beach. A surf life saving club affiliated with Surf Life Saving Great Britain (SLSGB).
Aims and Objectives of Brighton Surf Life Saving Club are:
- to promote beach safety
- to engage in patrol and intervention with an aim to prevent injury or loss of life
- to develop beach lifesaving methods in all respects
- to serve and educate the local community
- to providing opportunity in the wider community
- to improve and maintain lifesaving skills through competition
- to provide a conducive social environment to all members
- aspire to excellence
If you wish get involved in some way, please visit the rest of the website and contact us with further queries.
Location is currently Brighton Sailing Club on the seafront. This is temporary until the club is more established and can receive funding for its own club house.
