ENGEngland

Thomas William Burgess

Second successful Channel swimmer · 22 hours 35 minutes

Also recorded as Thomas Burgess, Bill Burgess.

Also known as: Bill Burgess
Born: 15 June 1872
Birthplace: Rotherham, England
Olympic club: Libellule de Paris · 1900
Olympic medal: Water polo bronze · Paris 1900
Died: 5 July 1950

Biography

Thomas William ‘Bill’ Burgess was an English swimmer, Olympic competitor and coach, born in Rotherham on 15 June 1872. He settled in Paris and represented the French club Libellule de Paris at the 1900 Olympics while retaining British nationality. His Olympic programme included fourth place in the 4,000 metres freestyle and a bronze medal in water polo.

After years of unsuccessful Channel attempts, Burgess completed the England-to-France crossing on 5–6 September 1911 in 22 hours and 35 minutes. He became the second person to succeed, 36 years after Matthew Webb. He departed from South Foreland and arrived at Le Chatelet, accompanied by the motorboat Elsie and rowing boat Orchid.

Burgess subsequently helped other swimmers prepare for the Channel. His pupils included Gertrude Ederle, whose 1926 crossing made her the first successful woman, and several further pioneers. His contribution therefore extended from his own endurance achievement to the development of later Channel swimmers.

Selected Channel swim records

Second successful English Channel swim

Sources disagree

Burgess followed Matthew Webb as the second successful swimmer. The published witness declaration records a shore-to-shore swim without boat contact, with nourishment supplied in the water. A contemporary report reproduces Burgess’s account of using overarm sidestroke with some backstroke. It names Weidman as a companion swimmer and describes rowing support after motorboat wash became troublesome.

The witness declaration gives 5–6 September and 22h35m; the museum’s surrounding narrative instead prints 8 September. The date inconsistency remains unresolved.

Elapsed swim time · 22h 35m

Duration of the complete swim

Started · Tuesday, 5 September 1911 · 11:15 · Witness declaration as transcribed by Dover Museum; time zone not specified

Finished · Wednesday, 6 September 1911 · 09:50 · Witness declaration as transcribed by Dover Museum; time zone not specified

Timing note · The displayed 5–6 September dates and 11:15–09:50 clocks follow the museum’s witness-declaration transcription, supported by the contemporary 7 September report. The museum’s surrounding narrative instead prints 8 September. That inconsistency is retained here; the declaration and the CSA 22h 35m elapsed time are the preferred evidence. No time-zone offset is inferred.

Format · Solo · 1-way

Direction · England → France

Departure · South Foreland, England

Arrival · Le Chatelet, east of Cap Gris-Nez, France

Stroke · Principally overarm sidestroke, with periods of backstroke — reported by Burgess in a contemporary interview

Pilot / piloting team · Henry William Pearson

Escort vessel · Elsie (motorboat) and Orchid (rowing boat)

Ratification / historical recognition · Historical swim; predates modern ratifying bodies

How this record was checked

CSA record 2462 supplies name, England, direction and 22:35. Dover Museum publishes the witness declaration supplying the departure, arrival, clocks and support craft. Its narrative date conflicts with that declaration. AthRecs has inspected the published transcription, not the original document in person. The Poverty Bay Herald’s London-datelined report of 8 September, published 11 October 1911, separately gives 22h35m and attributes the stroke account to Burgess. Its publicly available transcription was inspected; the original scan was not legible or available for confirmation.

Channel Swimming Association: Thomas Burgess, 1911

Checked 2026-10-30

Dover Museum: Burgess biography and witness declaration

Checked 2026-10-30

Morning Register, 7 September 1911: contemporary report

Checked 2026-10-30

Poverty Bay Herald, 11 October 1911, page 8 — The Channel Swim

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Contemporary London-datelined report reproduces Burgess’s stroke account and Weidman’s companion-swimmer account; gives 22h35m.

Limitations · Public searchable transcription inspected; original article images were unavailable. The report’s 8 September is its London dateline, not a stated swim date; the OCR landing-clock phrase is garbled. Attempt count and distance estimates are not adopted.

Other events & swims

Paris Olympics — men’s 4,000 m freestyle

Open-water swimming · Race

Sunday, 19 August 1900 (event date)

River Seine, Paris, France

Finished fourth in the final in 1:15:07.6.

Published distance · 4,000 m

Placing / category · 4th — men’s final

Historical account checked

How this event was checked

Olympedia’s final table identifies Bill Burgess and explicitly links him to the second successful English Channel crossing. The race was swum downstream in the Seine; it is not a pool time.

Olympedia — Paris 1900 men’s 4,000 m freestyle

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Final date, fourth-place time and explicit Channel identity.

Olympedia — Bill Burgess

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Thomas William/Bill identity, Olympic entries and Channel career.

Paris Olympics — men’s 200 m backstroke

Open-water swimming · Race

Sunday, 12 August 1900 (event date)

River Seine, Paris, France

Finished fifth in the final in 3:12.0.

Published distance · 200 m

Placing / category · 5th — men’s final

Historical account checked

How this event was checked

Olympedia’s 12 August final table and linked Thomas William/Bill Burgess biography identify this result. Although a short stroke race, it took place in the Seine, not a swimming pool.

Olympedia — Paris 1900 men’s 200 m backstroke

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Final date, fifth-place result and river venue.

Olympedia — Bill Burgess

Checked 2026-10-31

Supports · Thomas William/Bill identity, Olympic entries and Channel career.

Career milestones

Paris Olympics

1900

Fourth in the 4,000m freestyle and bronze in water polo with Libellule de Paris.

Years of Channel attempts

1904–1911

Repeated unsuccessful attempts preceded his successful crossing; historical sources differ on the total number.

Second successful Channel swimmer

5–6 September 1911

South Foreland to Le Chatelet in 22 hours 35 minutes.

Coaching Gertrude Ederle

1926

Helped prepare Ederle for the first successful Channel crossing by a woman.

Recordings & media

No reviewed recording is available for this entry.

English Channel questions

Which English Channel swims are included for Thomas William Burgess?: This profile includes 1 selected solo performance for Thomas William Burgess. It is a selected history, not a complete career total. A continuous multi-way swim counts as one performance.
When was Thomas William Burgess’s featured English Channel swim?: The featured swim started on Tuesday, 5 September 1911 and finished on Wednesday, 6 September 1911. Conflicting details are identified in the crossing record.
How long did Thomas William Burgess’s featured Channel swim take?: The featured solo crossing has a published elapsed time of 22 hours and 35 minutes. The witness declaration gives 5–6 September and 22h35m; the museum’s surrounding narrative instead prints 8 September. The date inconsistency remains unresolved.

Biography sources