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| Swimmer put his long life down
to Heath dips |
Heath pond regular Percy Craske |
PERCY Craske, a regular at Hampstead Heath’s men’s
pond, who swam every morning has died at the age of 89.
He was born in Paddington in 1916. His father was killed on active
service during World War I.
Mr Craske later recalled his first swim at the men’s pond on
Good Friday, 1932.
He said: “I had come to visit the fair and as I walked back
over the hill I saw all these people in the pond. I thought: that’s
a bit unusual.
“There was an old gent called Mr Cox and he barked at me ‘What
do you want?’ I asked if I was allowed to go for a dip. I said
I didn’t have a costume or a towel so he supplied me with one
and I’ve been hooked ever since.”
World War II took him away from the ponds for a time, but he still
managed to swim regularly.
He served for six years with the RAF and was posted to Iceland,
where he worked as a physical fitness instructor. He said: “I
swam in the Arctic Circle while I was there, so coming back to the
pond seemed a little less severe, no matter what time of year it
was.”
After the war, he moved to Jersey in the Channel Islands and managed
the Pomme D’Or hotel in St Helier. It was there he met his
wife, Doreen.
They married in 1950 and returned to London to work for Truman Brewery
as relief managers for pubs in the East End.
Their first child, Barry, was born in 1951, followed by Ann in 1952.
The couple then managed an off-licence on the North Circular Road,
with Percy rising at 6am so he could get to the ponds for 7am before
going on to open his shop.
He befriended a wealthy regular at the ponds, a Mr Fairlie who was
known to other swimmers as The Gent.
A keen gardener, Mr Craske spent every Monday helping Mr Fairlie
with his large garden, which backed onto Dulwich golf course.
When Mr Fairlie died, he was left some money as thanks for his help.
Mr Craske invested it in the off-licence he was managing.
A keen runner, he would think nothing of covering 25 miles over
a weekend, and regularly walked to and from the Heath ponds from
his home in West Hendon. He also followed Chelsea Football Club.
Speaking to the New Journal last year, he revealed the secret of
a long and happy life – his regular dips in fresh water.
He said: “Not much has changed since I first came to the pond.
It’s a bit tidier and we used to only have one cold shower.”
Mr Craske considered that the best time for a swim was before breakfast.
He said: “Do it on an empty stomach. It’s pretty good
for the appetite.”
Highgate Lifebuoys secretary Chris Ruocco was 10 years old when
he first met Percy.
He said: “I was taken to the ponds by the boxing coach Georgie
Francis. We were bunking off school and Percy came over and said
hello.
“He was a very nice chap. He used to talk politics with everyone
and enjoyed a good discussion.”
• The funeral takes place at 10.45am today (Thursday) at
Golders Green crematorium followed by a wake at the Old Bull and
Bush in North End Road, Golders Green.
DAN CARRIER
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