Family finally get to see the face of one-armed-swimmer grandfather

HE was a local legend in his day, amazing onlookers with his swimming prowess - despite only having one arm.

• Lorraine Stewart with her grandchildren Rhianna, six, and Caitlyn, ten

But for decades all James Chestnut's relatives had to remember him by were second-hand stories passed down through the family.

That it is until an old photograph appeared in Saturday's Evening News.

The snap from our files showed a Mr J Chestnut who astonished his contemporaries by winning a Ratho Swimming Club race across the Forth despite his disability.

The father-of-five from Broxburn, who died before the birth of his first grandchild, completed his feat on September 3, 1933. And almost 67 years to the day, his descendents' phones were buzzing with news that they could finally put a face to the stories.

Grandaughter Lorraine Stewart, 60, who still lives in Broxburn, said: "It was a very pleasant surprise when I opened the newspaper. This is the first picture I had ever seen of him.

"We heard so many stories from our grandmother and we used to play with his false arm. It was nothing like the prosthetics you get these days, it was just a metal arm with fingers fashioned on the end. We used to roll up our sleeves and run around with it, as children do.

"But apart from his false arm we had no idea what he looked like. When I saw the photograph I phoned my brother, and he phoned my sister, who phoned our younger brother and the news just exploded through the family.

"He had five children, and I'm one of seven, so there are a lot of delighted grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren out there."

One great-great-grandchild, ten-year-old Caitlyn Stewart, could not wait to take the photo to school to show off her famous ancestor to her Kirkhill Primary classmates.

Mr Chestnut completed the 2200m swim from North Queensferry to South Queensferry in 48 and a half minutes, and reached the south shore nearly a minute faster than his nearest opponent.

Mrs Stewart added: "We were told that he lost his arm in World War I and it was only then that they discovered that he was actually too young to have been fighting. He was said to have trained soldiers how to fight in World War II shortly before he died as well.

"We were told that he used to help the police retrieve bodies from the Almond Aqueduct and there was also a story that a newspaper offered to pay him 1000 to dive from the Forth Bridge but the authorities put a stop to it."

While many of these stories will be difficult to verify today, the report of his winning swim across the river - and the photo that accompanied it - is a matter of historical record.

Mrs Stewart said: "We now have something to hold up and say that was our granddad."