Sport: England’s Channel

Captain Matthew Webb in 1875 and William Burgess in 1911 had demonstrated that if you really felt like it you could swim across the English Channel. So that was that. But when various women from the U. S., and fat bakers from the continent began playing hob with the time-record, Lord George Riddell, owner of News of the World (London daily), saw that it would be suitable for a subject of King George’s to swim along with them, faster, at least than the U. S. women. He posted £1,000 ($4,870) to that end. Last week, puffing and panting, swimmer Norman Leslie Derham of Southend waded ashore at Dover to collect Lord Riddell’s money. His time was 13 hrs.: 56 min.—35 min. faster than Miss Ederle, but 171 min. slower than Baker Michel of France. British hardihood was somewhat vindicated.