Dedicated Sussex swimmer surprised and overjoyed to get British Empire Medal after 81 years with club

Audrey Taylor from Ditchling was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to amateur swimming in East Sussex.

Audrey, 88, was overwhelmed by the award, saying: “I was very surprised. When I opened the letter I burst into tears.”

The dedicated Brighton Dolphin Swimming Club member said she is still active with the club after joining 81 years ago when it was Brighton Ladies.

In the 1970s the club moved to its current home, the Prince Regent Swimming Complex. It started accepting all swimmers regardless of gender in 1980 when it became Brighton Dolphin Swimming Club. Visit www.bdsc.co.uk.

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“I’ve been gala swimming secretary, minutes secretary, masters secretary and I finished up as treasurer,” said Audrey, adding that she was not a member of any other swimming clubs during this time.

She has been swimming competitively throughout this time too. She said: “And I still hope too. I’ve got a hip problem, mind you, so whether I’m able to swim in September or not, I’m hoping too, even if I only do the one-length races.”

At the moment Audrey goes to the club three times a week and swims once a week. She said: “We have a masters session on the Sunday morning and I swim in that session.”

Audrey recommends swimming as one of the best forms of exercise, saying: “It’s certainly very good and it's certainly good that I can still swim and compete at my age. It’s good exercise. It is probably preferable (to jogging) because you’re weightless in the water, so if you’ve got any aches and pains you can still manage to swim.”

She said she likes seeing children and young people getting involved in the sport. Audrey said: “I’ve seen them even from a long time ago. They started off in the teaching pool, they’ve now moved up, they’ve gone to uni and they’re coming back.”

“We’ve even got grandmothers bringing their grandhildren in,” she said. “We’re sort of a family club. We encourage the parents of children swimming on a Sunday and we have a lane for the parents if they want to swim.”

Audrey also won Sussex Sports’ outstanding volunteer of the year award in 2005.