Shelagh Browning
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 October 1917 Stroud, England |
| Died | July 1976 (aged 59) Glamorgan, Wales |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | freestyle |
| Club | Newport S.C. |
Shelagh Leslie Browning (24 October 1917 – July 1976)[1] was a Welsh competitive swimmer, who specialised in long-distance freestyle swimming. She represented Wales at the British Empire Games (now Commonwealth Games).[2]
Biography
Browning was born in Stroud, England but swam for the Newport Swimming Club in Wales.[3] In 1936 she was the three-times holder of the Welsh long distance championships (known as the Taff Swim).[4]
She also won the English long-distance championship for three successive years from 1934 to 1936,[5] aged 17 at the time of her first win.[6] Her success at multiple championships had already propelled her to fame at the age of 19.[7]
In 1937, she set a target of reaching the Empire Games. However, her speciality was one mile and further and the longest race at the Games for women was 440 yards.[8] She subsequently represented the Welsh team in the 440 yards freestyle event at the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney, Australia but failed to reach the final due to the short distance for her.[9] At the time of the Games, she was employed in a drawing office in Newport as an Electrical Engineer Tracer (somebody who copied engineers drawings) and lived at St Woolos Lodge, 103 Stow Hill in Newport.[1]
After the Games she moved to Yeovil and joined a drawing office there.[10]
World War II effectively ended her career and in December 1940, Browning married Welsh Olympian Leslie Palmer.[11]
See also
References
- ^ a b "UK and Ireland, Incoming Passenger Lists, Brisbane to London Arrival - 1 Apr 1938". Ancestry. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "Wales Sydney 1938". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "Who dares, swims - in the 1930s these intrepid young Newport women braved the chilly waters of the River Usk for races watched by thousands". South Wales Argus. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "Strenous Programme". Western Mail. 20 June 1936. Retrieved 31 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "For The Third Year". Reynolds's Newspaper. 19 July 1936. Retrieved 31 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Gossip of the Day". Daily News (London). 15 July 1936. Retrieved 31 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Miss Shelagh Browning, the famous swimmer...". Gloucester Journal. 22 August 1936. Retrieved 31 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Shelagh Browning's Aim". Western Mail. 28 July 1937. Retrieved 31 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Swimmig Empire Games". Western Mail. 21 January 1938. Retrieved 31 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Welsh Girl Swimmer's New Post". Western Mail. 10 May 1938. Retrieved 31 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Leslie Palmer". Olympedia. Retrieved 31 August 2025.