Memories of Droitwich Spa Lido that was more like a youth club

BBC News

14-06-2025

"We all went to the lido and that was where we let off our steam. We let off our energy. We went swimming. We went on the boards, went down the chute. We met girls."In 1962, connection between the young people of Droitwich Spa happened in physical space, where IRL was IPP - in a public pool. The town's lido was like a youth club, then... just a wet one. These were the days before tech tailored to toes. There was no heating. And at the centre of this cold water world was David Sparkes; a 13-year-old earning two shillings and ninepence an hour - about £2.88 in today's money.He's been sharing his memories. Milestones bring it on. The restored art deco attraction is celebrating its 90th year.
Let's go back some of that way in Worcestershire, where young David has moved on from the "hanger room" (in which people used to hang up the clothes). He's become a lifeguard. And it was an offer he could not refuse - not at an extra threepence a week. In the summer, queues were "unbelievable", Mr Sparkes recalled of earning his money. "Sometimes we had to stop letting people in."Things were nippy, though. "In those days there was no heating," he said. "It was a cold pool. [The water] was literally out of the tap."He stayed there until 1973, qualified as a swimming teacher, and eventually became chief executive of British Swimming and the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) – now known as Swim England.
A typical day at the lido in the 1960s and 70s started at 08:00 when staff tided up and wiped down tables, before things opened at 10:00. Swimmers were in the pool until about 20:00 in the summer, with the site staying open until dusk.In those days, workers used a brass instrument to measure density of the water and how much salt was in it, and they added enough brine to replicate sea water."There was a pipe that came in from the brine pumping station which was at the back of the high street in those days, there still is, I think," Mr Sparkes said.
It was while teaching that Mr Sparkes felt a pull towards more advanced roles within the field."I decided I wanted to become a coach so went to Birmingham University... got into coaching and moved away from teaching kids."Eventually I got more into regional swimming which landed me on to the ASA Committee."But now, in the summer of 2025, the focus is more on the Lido's opening of 1935. And it would be unfair to let things pass without making a splash.
The anniversary is being marked with a summer of water-centred celebration, running from June to August.
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