Search launched for Gourock swimming club's old trophies

John Howieson, Anne-Margaret Lawson and Alison Clark are trying to locate old trophies given out by Gourock Amateur Swimming Club in the hope of displaying them at the Watt Institute in Greenock.

The club, which was founded in 1906, folded in recent years following a period of steady decline, having once boasted a membership of more than 100 people.

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Former club president John, 80, told the Telegraph it would be a tragedy if the records of the club’s competitions that were engraved on the various shields and trophies were not recovered.

He said: “When I found out that Gourock Amateurs had ceased to exist I started to wonder what had happened to the trophies.

“There was a trophy for every event, all hallmarked and proper quality.

“There were also trophies given out for lifesaving as well and I’m annoyed to see them just disappear.

“The club goes back over 100 years, and we can’t let that history be lost."

The trio have so far managed to retrieve 13 of the 64 trophies they believe were handed out.

They hope that many people will have held onto the trophies after they were last contested in 2011.

They are urging those who have the silverware to get in touch and help them in their search. 

John added: “After we had decided we needed to get them all back together the next question was what we could do with them.

“I went and met with the Watt Institute and they were quite interested in our trophy book with the details of the winners in it and the trophies.

“They told me that they might not be able to display everything but they were open to the idea of taking them.

“Ideally, they would put them on a permanent loan type of display that would be open for anyone to come along and look at.

“It’ll take a while for them to get something like that organised, which gives us time to find more of the trophies.

“It’s history, it’s Gourock heritage, we’re talking about a group that survived two world wars.

“There used to be an annual gala that was a big event, it was held at the Hector McNeil baths and the trophies would be handed out by someone like the provost.

“It’s a tragedy that the club isn’t here anymore. We just can’t have this disappear.

“We would ask anyone who’s got these cups, whether they’re in a cupboard, a box or broken, to bring them back or let us know where they are.

“That way we can enter it in the trophy book and preserve that history.”

Over its long history the club helped scores of locals earn lifesaving certifications and taught many more how to swim.

They also produced a number of west of Scotland champions and had several members who competed at national level.

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Former club secretary Anne-Margaret said:  “From the records you can see that at stages in the 1980s and 90s the amateurs had over 100 members with lots of cups that would have been donated or bought.

“I think losing access to the pool at the old St Columba’s High School in Gourock was what finished the club off.

“While we did pay a nominal fee at St Columba’s it was nothing like what the Waterfront Centre were having to charge us when we moved there.

“In the 70s, 80s and 90s we were going to galas constantly, we had mini galas and we were in a league going to places like Oban.

“We’d hire coaches and off we’d go, it was a really big deal.

“It was very much a family, over the years you’d come across people you’d taught when they were younger and you’d get so much back.”

Anyone with information about the trophies is asked to contact the former club members by emailing gasctrophies@outlook.com.

A full list of the missing trophies can be found on our website for anyone wishing to check if silverware they own could have once belonged to the club.