Nostalgia: Brave swimmers dig deep for dips in the icy Forth

LORRAINE Stewart couldn't believe her eyes when she opened the Evening News last Saturday and saw a picture of her one-armed grandfather staring back at her.

The late James Chestnut, from Broxburn, was celebrated in our Remember When section for having made it across the Firth of Forth, from North to South Queensferry, in a staggering 48-and-a-half minutes in September 1933.

Although Mr Chestnut was something of a legend in his day, he died before his grandchildren were born, meaning Lorraine had only ever heard stories about him and never seen a picture.

"I phoned my brother and he phoned my sister, who phoned our younger brother, and the news just exploded through the family," said Lorraine, 60, from Broxburn, in Tuesday's Evening News.

Of course, her grandfather was one of many people to have braved the icy waters of the estuary over the years, although it is doubtful many will have had only one arm or done so quite as quickly.

In July 1955, John Smith, from Bathgate, was just 19 when he made his way across the Forth from Granton to Burntisland.

At the time, he became the youngest person ever to do so and was only the fourth known to have attempted that route.

He was joined by 58-year-old science teacher Ned Barnie, from Portobello, who had previously made four single crossings but was keen to attempt a double with his swimming partner.

The pair completed the seven-mile challenge in an impressive four hours and 20 minutes, pulling up alongside their coach's boat after an hour for a "strong tea laced with glucose".

A crowd of well-wishers met the swimmers as they arrived in Burntisland, with a report from the day describing Ned looking as though he had only "done a length at Portobello baths".

Four years later, in 1959, First World War soldier Ned completed the challenge again despite terrible weather, using every last drop of energy to pull himself on to dry land, cutting his knees, but eventually enjoying a mug of hot tea.

Perhaps not as energetic, but possibly far colder, George Laidlaw, from Musselburgh, decided to celebrate the arrival of 1970 in the waters of the Forth with a New Year dip at Cockenzie.