Captain Webb: The Shropshire daredevil who attracted the attention of the British Empire
Today (Monday, August 25) marks 150 years since Shropshire-born Captain Matthew Webb, became the first man to swim the English Channel.
On August 25, 1875, as dawn broke over the French coast, a weary figure emerged from the surf at Calais.
His arms heavy, skin raw from salt and jellyfish stings, and body slick with porpoise oil, Captain Matthew Webb had just achieved what the world thought impossible: swimming the English Channel without artificial aids.
Born in 1848 in Dawley - now in Telford - Webb trained as a sailor and merchant navy captain.
During his naval career, Webb was awarded the first-ever Standhope medal after he jumped in the Atlantic Ocean to save a man who had fallen overboard while the ship was travelling at 26.9 kilometres per hour (16.7 mph).
But it was his almost 22-hour channel swim that would turn him into a national icon.
