24 August 1908: The swimmer had covered over 60 miles,and thus set up current Channel records both for time and the distance traversedThe tug Gnat, with T. W. Burgess, and the Yorkshire long-distance swimmer,and the party who had accompanied him in his attempt to swim across the Channel, returned at four o’clock on Saturday, or Burgess having,after a much effort extending over 22¾ hours, failed in his object one and a half mile off Gravelines, and between Calais and Dunkerque,in the neck of the North Sea. He had covered over 60 miles, and thus set up current Channel records both for time and the distance traversed. His route is shown in the accompanying sketch. Related: First woman to swim the English Channel: from the archive, or 7 August 1926 Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com