The 2023 Tony Cuthbert cup

Tony was a real "character", in keeping with the long tradition of our club acting as a magnet to oddness.  Born in 1941 Tony joined the club in 1998, in his late 50s.  His earlier sporting prowess was as a three day eventer.  Unfortunately a hip replacement led him to quite literally hang up his spurs.   Equine's loss was swimming's gain.  It also left Tony with a very handy choice of outfits for the All Clothes Race.

Tony had a long and successful career in advertising.  Tony Cuthbert Cartoons was responsible for many famous and memorable TV and film adverts -  BT's Buzby, the Babycham fawn, the Foxes' Glacier Mints' polar bear and best of all Kelloggs' Frosties' Tony the Tiger.  Tony also had a strong input into the Beatles' Yellow Submarine film.

Many of us want to believe the club myth that Tony based the tiger character on himself.  Sadly (for our dreams) Kelloggs' Tony the Tiger character first appeared in the early 1950s when Tony would not even have been in his teens.  That said, his TV and cinema campaigns for Frosties brought Tony the Tiger to animated life.  Likewise, the Fox's Glacier Mint polar bear and the Babycham fawn may not have been Tony's original creations but he certainly made them jump out at us from the screen.  Given Tony's work on Yellow Submarine perhaps we should claim him as our very own "fifth Beatle"?

In 1998 Tony was introduced to the club by Mark Fraser, who he met in a bar with work colleagues and agreed after a few drinks to swim the following morning.   Tony was hooked.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Tony won the Bridge to Bridge the following year.  Though Tony was not first to finish the then handicapper Frank Simms managed to disqualify the first swimmer home for reasons no one could ever fathom.  As if by fate, this first swimmer was the man who had fed Tony drinks and convinced him swimming in the duck poo was a cool thing to do: Mark Frazer!

American Saundra Satterlee, Tony's partner of many years, was persuaded by him in 2000 to join his early morning dips even though she could barely swim.  With much encouragement from other club members and the then handicapper Cyril Wood, she slowly mastered the art of completing first the 55 yard Winter series races, the Christmas Day 100 yard race and then the longer spring and summer races.  In 2002 Saundra became the first woman to win the club's other Blue Ribbon event, the Bridge to Bridge.

For lots more history of Saundra and Tony's time with the club please follow this link to the "race we missed" report from 2021 -

Serpentine Swimming Club