France to England
Ratifying body's record checked
Trained by Thomas William Burgess; escort Alsace is reported by Dover Museum.
Recorded swim date · Friday, 5 August 1927 · Start or finish date not specified by the source
Elapsed swim time · 14h 29m
Duration of the complete swim
Started · Exact start date not confirmed · Clock time not confirmed
Finished · Exact finish date not confirmed · Clock time not confirmed
Timing note · 5 August is the recorded swim date; no independently verified phase clocks. Dover Museum names Abbots Cliff as the landing, while TIME names Lydden Spout, so no single exact finish locality is assigned.
Format · Solo · 1-way
Direction · France to England
Departure · Cap Gris-Nez
Stroke · Trudgeon, according to the contemporary TIME report
Escort vessel · Alsace
How this record was checked
CSA individual record /swim/2239 identifies Edward H Temme, England, successful solo France–England, 1927, 14:29. Dover Museum gives 5 August. Olympedia links the Channel swimmer to the full name Edward Harry “Ted” Temme and Olympic career. Contemporary TIME corroborates 14:29, Cap Gris-Nez and coaching by Burgess. The public record was inspected, not the original observer log.
CSA: Edward H Temme, 1927
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Individual successful record: England, solo France–England, 1927, 14:29.
Limitations · Year only. The contemporary observer report and original ratification date were not inspected.
Dover Museum: Between Wars
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Named historical sections for Toth, Michel, Helmi and Temme, including selected dates, routes, coaches and support vessels.
Limitations · Retrospective collection research. Several timings, attempt counts and landing descriptions differ from other sources; disagreements are retained or the uncertain detail omitted.
Olympedia: Ted Temme
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Full name, birth/death facts, swimming and water-polo career, Olympic appearances and later baths-management work.
Limitations · Scholarly retrospective biography. Its speculative explanation of missing the 1932 Olympics is not adopted.
TIME, 15 August 1927: Frog v. Eagle
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Contemporary account of the first swim: insurance employment, Cap Gris-Nez departure, trudgeon stroke, 14:29 and Burgess’s coaching.
Limitations · It names Lydden Spout for the landing, whereas Dover Museum names Abbots Cliff. No single landing point is normalised; comparisons with Ederle’s time are not adopted.
England to France
Sources disagree
This completed reverse crossing followed the 1927 swim by seven years. The pair establishes success in both directions, not a continuous two-way Channel swim.
A contemporary report places completion on 18 August and gives 15h54m; later listings include 19 August and 15h34m.
Recorded swim date · Saturday, 18 August 1934 · Start or finish date not specified by the source
Elapsed swim time · 15h 34m
CSA-recorded duration; contemporary report gives 15h54m
Started · Exact start date not confirmed · Clock time not confirmed
Finished · Saturday, 18 August 1934 · Clock time not confirmed
Timing note · Record date 18 August is retained. The Daily News dispatch dated Monday 20 August explicitly describes the crossing as accomplished on Saturday, supporting finishDate 18 August without deriving a phase from elapsed time. Dover.UK’s 19 August remains an unresolved alternative; no overnight start/finish reconciliation is invented. The newspaper reports 15h54m, whereas CSA and the later listings publish 15h34m. Departure day and clocks remain unknown.
Format · Solo · 1-way
Direction · England to France
Departure · South Foreland, Dover
Arrival · Cap Blanc-Nez
Pilot / piloting team · H. W. Pearson
Escort vessel · Lady Brassey
How this record was checked
CSA individual record 2464 publishes England–France, 1934, 15:34. Dover Museum and the CS&PF historical table give 18 August; Dover.UK gives 19 August. The original Daily News, St John’s, 21 August 1934, page 6, reports in a London dispatch dated 20 August that Temme accomplished the reverse crossing on Saturday, 18 August, in 15h54m. The explicit completion wording supports the displayed finish date, but neither the alternative date nor the duration discrepancy is reconciled. No original observer report or ratification manuscript was inspected.
CSA: Edward H Temme, 1934
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Individual successful record: England, solo England–France, 1934, 15:34.
Limitations · Year only; day-level discrepancy arises between historical sources.
Dover Museum: Between Wars
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Named historical sections for Toth, Michel, Helmi and Temme, including selected dates, routes, coaches and support vessels.
Limitations · Retrospective collection research. Several timings, attempt counts and landing descriptions differ from other sources; disagreements are retained or the uncertain detail omitted.
CS&PF: historical solo-swim statistics
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Channel crossing-records table: Michel 9 September 1926, France–England 11:05; Temme 18 August 1934, England–France 15:34.
Limitations · The page attributes its statistics to Julian Critchlow’s database. It is retrospective historical recognition, not a newly inspected CS&PF ratification decision. Zero-padded historical times do not establish second precision.
Dover.UK: Edward H Temme, 1934 individual swim
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Named England–France 15:34 completion, pilot H W Pearson, escort Lady Brassey, South Foreland–Cap Blanc Nez, trainer Storey.
Limitations · Its 19 August date differs from the 18 August date in Dover Museum and CS&PF historical statistics. Neither date is explicitly a phase date.
Channel Swimming Dover: Edward H Temme biography
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · Both successful directions, four intervening failed attempts, Dover Gold Cup, water polo and 1950 race supervision.
Limitations · Both directions were completed in separate years; this is not evidence of a continuous double crossing.
The Daily News, St John’s, 21 August 1934, page 6 — Two Swimmers Cross Channel
Checked 2026-10-31
Supports · London dispatch dated 20 August says Temme accomplished the reverse crossing on Saturday, from South Foreland to Blanc Nez, in 15h54m.
Limitations · Original Memorial University Digital Archives scan visually inspected. Saturday is 18 August in the dated dispatch. Conflicts with CSA’s 15h34m and a retrospective 19 August listing; it is not a ratification decision. The estimated 38-mile track is not adopted.
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