The Veterans' race, followed by the Alan Titmuss cup

Alan became a member of the Serpentine Swimming Club in 1950 aged 13 having been introduced to the club by his uncle, Sid Baker.

On leaving school Alan was apprenticed as a bookbinder.  When called up for National Service he was advised by a club members who had served in the forces to opt for the Royal Marines “rather than spend two years square bashing and peeling spuds in some anomomous  unit”.  Alan thoroughly relished his time as a marine.

After leaving the Royal Marines Alan worked in local authority building departments and studied his way part-time to become a fully qualified architect and a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Alan took on the role of club Secretary and Treasurer in 1964, on the retirement of Bill Reed.  Alan served as President from 1986 to 1989 and also performed the role of Hon. Handicapper during the mid-2000s. 

The Brew Brothers operated a car showroom in the Old Brompton Road and presented the Serpentine SC Veterans' cup in 1935.  They continued to have a close connection with the club for many decades.  In the 1970s we used their showroom floor for our AGMs.  Members were somewhat distracted from the deep discussion and debate on club matters by the presence of high-end vintage, classic and modern luxury motors that we could but dream of driving one day.

We still race each year for the Brew Bros. cup, even though there is no longer a family connection.  Until 2018 members had to be over 50 to qualify as a vet.  That changed in 2019 when the qualifying age was raised to 60 at the suggestion of the then committee member and now immediate past President Rob Ouldcott.

Other than swimming in our lake, Alan competed in judo and was also a swim coach in the 1960s.  Alan learnt to ski in the Royal Marines and retained his love of slopes, convincing many club members to take up the sport and join him on Alpine breaks.

Alan followed Arsenal in his early years, going to Highbury with his uncle and father in the late 1940s and early 1950s.  In later life he became a season ticket holder at Queens Park Rangers, being "converted" by friend and work colleague Chris Hatcher, who Alan had introduced to the club.  For Alan, following the Arsenal was relegated to an armchair distraction.  Alan held his first season ticket at Loftus Road in 1981 and was a regular across three decades.

Alan had a good record on Christmas mornings. He was second in his first race in 1950, then won the 1963, 1978, 1989 and 1999 races. Alan thus won a Peter Pan cup in four of his six decades with the club.

Though not a Peter Pan victor in the new millenium, Alan did win the Bridge to Bridge race in 2006. We can thus confidently say he won a "Blue Ribbon" race in five of his six decades swimming at the Serpentine.  Quite an achievement.

Those who knew Alan will not just remember him as the life and soul of the club, but also its driving motor and energy.  You name it he was involved in it.  In the early 1980s, and again in the 1990s, when swimming in the Serpentine was threatened with closure due to budget pressures on The Royal Parks (the Health and Safety angle was always a red herring and an easy diversion) it was Alan that led the campaign and went on prime time national television (Nationwide) to be interviewed.

In the 1980s and 90s Alan organised skiing holidays for club members, some of whom survived the experience and are still with us today: Norman and Lorraine Jones, Chris Hatcher and Brian Thomas.

Alan learnt to ski whilst in the Royal Marines, in Cyprus of all places (Mount Troodos, at 1,951m, can be skied from January to end March).  Alan said this involved walking up the mountain in full 1950s kit, strapping on what were known as “NATO planks” to his commando boots, and somehow getting down in one piece!  No question of a ski lift.  Style optional.

For lots more information on Alan and his decades with the club please follow this link to the 2021 report -

https://serpentineswimmingclub.com/news/51098/alan-titmuss-cup-15-may-2021