Children from the Prestige Sports Club who received awards for swimming proficiency from Acting Chief Constable N Greenwood in the police station on Tuesday. With them is swimming instructress Jennifer Haslam.
Awards for swimming proficiency were presented to 15 children at Burnley police station on Tuesday afternoon by Mr Newton Greenwood, Acting Chief Constable. They were children of Prestige Ltd employees, whose sports and social committee organise swimming instruction at the Central Baths. Instructress is 18 year old Miss Jennifer Haslam, a line checker at Prestige Ltd, who is an expert swimmer and enjoys teaching the children. In his speech welcoming the children and their parents, Mr Greenwood said “A police station is the very last place anyone in another country would dream of giving a presentation.”
“So, I think we should be glad that the police and the public in this country are on such good terms with each other.” He went on to thank the Prestige group for having invited him to present the certificates and prizes. He thought it was extremely important for children to be able to swim well, and reminisced about learning to swim himself-but not until he was grown up. The children, aged 8-12, received certificates for swimming one or two lengths, and each child was also presented with a pen and pencil set.
Among the award winners were two brothers, Michael and David Brooks, aged 12 and 10, who live at 96 Brunshaw Avenue Burnley. Michael was once thrown into the water by another boy, and he never forgot the experience. He resolved he would learn to swim and David soon followed his example. Now they are both proficient swimmers and are not afraid of the water.
With the children and their parents at the presentation were Miss Jennifer Haslam and the secretary of Prestige Sports and Social Committee, Mr E W Lown.