Ivy Hawke

Ivy Hawke (12 April 1903 – 1970) was a British swimmer, swimming instructor, and the fourteenth person to successfully swim across the English Channel.

Early life and career Hawke was born on 12 April 1903 and lived in Surbiton. Her father, Charles Hawke, was a carpenter and her mother, Emma Hawke, ran the Spread Eagle Coffee Tavern in Surbiton. Hawke first aspired to swim the Channel aged 11.

In 1917, Hawke won the Thames Race aged 14. Hawke worked at the Spread Eagle Coffee Tavern with her mother and was a swimming instructor for the London County Council.

Channel-crossing attempts

Hawke made her first attempt at crossing the Channel in 1922 when she was 19. She started the crossing from Dover but had to withdraw due to rough seas. In total, she swam 17 miles in four and a half hours. Hawke's next attempt in 1927 was made at the same time as five other people. She was forced to quit after 10 hours in the water. All of the other participants were also forced to abandon their attempts due to poor weather and illness.

Hawke's third attempt at crossing the Channel was in 1928 when she was aged 25. She became the first successful Channel swimmer of 1928 and the 14th person to ever swim the Channel. During the crossing she was accompanied by Bill Burgess and her manager Joe Costa in a boat.

Hawke made another attempt on 31 August 1929 to swim to France from Dover, aiming to be the first person to swim the Channel from both sides. In preparation, she trained at Deal with her pilot Captain Harry Pearson and Gladys Wiggens, captain of Surrey Ladies' Swimming Club. Hawke entered the water at 9:17pm at South Foreland. She was forced to withdraw from the attempt at 1:17am after 16 hours due to heavy waves and fatigue. She was less than three miles from the French coast. After abandoning the attempt she stated "If Captain Pearson had not made me give up I would have carried on till I sank." It was reported that this unsuccessful attempted demonstrated the difficulty in swimming from England to France compared to in the opposite direction. +Channel-crossing attempts and times She married Edward Crocker, a coal merchant, in Surbiton in September 1931. In 1934, Hawke was part of a display marking the opening of Surbiton Lagoon.