A Fixby man is celebrating 50 years since he swam the Channel by discovering he earned himself a special place in history.
Philip Kaye has just found out that he was the first person to swim the Channel by breaststroke from France to England.
The discovery was made after Mr Kaye was featured in the Examiner last year.
The 79-year-old said at the time that he would love to know where his swim ranked and hoped that records existed to prove his place in history.
Mr Kaye, who has a daughter and two grandchildren, said he was thrilled this information had now been revealed. “It is a real honour,” he added.
The Channel distance is always measured as 21 miles but Mr Kaye – who lost a stone in weight during the swim – actually clocked up 68 miles as he battled the spring tide.
He successfully crossed the Channel from Cap Gris Nez in France to Sandgate near Folkestone on August 17 and 18, 1966, setting off at 8pm.
“It is always better to swim at night because you don’t have trouble with jelly fish, which only come to the top in sunlight,” he said.
He had already had two aborted crossings, one when he was pulled out of the choppy seas just half-a-mile from making it across.
“It was agonising,” said Mr Kaye. “At least I made it third time lucky.”
He completed the crossing in 16 hours and 16 minutes.
Retired engineer Mr Kaye worked for a Halifax firm at the time and his boss gave him £300 and use of the company car, a Vauxhall Victor, to make the trip to the south coast.
Mr Kaye succeeded in the swim despite a painful start when he waded into the sea and cut his stomach on a sharp piece of iron.
“I called for help to the boat and they said to have a feel and if it’s not too bad just get on with it as you’re in saltwater! It cut my trunks, though,” he added.
Mr Kaye, who can only swim breaststroke, also had another shocking experience approaching Folkestone when the Royal Navy picked an inopportune moment to blow up an old wreck as he passed nearby.
He was a keen open water swimmer who took up the sport as a bet when his dad said he couldn’t swim five miles across a Marsden reservoir.
Mr Kaye conquered the reservoir and then Lake Windermere – doing double the length in 17 hours and 10 minutes – before moving on to the Channel.
“It’s certainly an experience that has stood me in good stead,” he said.
On his return home he was given a civic reception at Huddersfield Town Hall.
“It’s an experience that I have never forgotten and never will,” added Mr Kaye.
Last year, another Philip – Philip Yorke, of Mirfield – became only the 12th person in history to swim the Channel by breaststroke.
