Guest post by local historian Philip Grant. Part 2 of a series.
1.
The newly finished Empire
Pool, with the Stadium beyond, 1934. (Source: Britain
from Above)
Welcome back for this second part of this story about Wembley Stadium’s
“little brother”, the indoor sports arena originally known as the Empire Pool.
As we saw in Part 1, it opened just in time to host the swimming and diving events for the
1934 British Empire Games. Its main entrance was at the western end of the
building, accessed from the road which had been Raglan Gardens, but which was
renamed Empire Way.
Although the swimming pool in summer and ice hockey/skating rink in
winter were the main sporting facilities that the building was designed for,
the floored-over pool soon found plenty of other uses. Before the end of 1934,
it had already staged boxing and basketball matches, and a professional tennis
tournament which became an annual feature. The big tennis attraction was
British star, Dan Maskell, taking on top American players in the men’s singles.
2.
A women’s doubles match at
the Empire Pool, 1930s. (Image from the internet)
Spectators at the Empire Pool could also enjoy a meal in its restaurant,
overlooking the action from the second tier. Another attraction, on the same
level, was a dance floor area, where people who had paid for public swimming or
skating could relax for free after these activities, with a dance band playing
each afternoon and evening. Arthur Elvin saw his new venture as a year-round
centre for entertainment!
New sports were added to the programme in 1935, when the Empire Pool
became the annual venue for the English Open Table Tennis Championships. This
event drew in thousands of spectators, making a good profit. That year also saw
the Amateur Athletic Association use the arena for its first indoor athletics
championships, although the flat track with its tight bends was not to the
satisfaction of some runners.
Elvin saw the chance to stage, for the first time in Britain, a new sporting
event. Six-day cycle racing was proving very popular on the continent, but that
would need a special banked track. He got Wembley’s team of craftsmen to build
one for him! They did this in the stadium car park, designed in sections that
could be carried into the building and fitted together for the event. The
complete track was 178 yards (163 metres) in circumference, and cost £5,000 to
construct.
3.
The cycle track under
construction, 1936. (From an old book)
4.
A six-day cycle race in
progress at Wembley, 1930s. (From an old
book)
The race involved fifteen teams, each with two riders (with Dutch and
Belgian professionals at the forefront), at least one of whom had to be on the
track whenever the race was in progress, day and night for 143 hours. As well
as the total distance covered, there were extra points to be gained during
five-lap sprints every hour, as well as prize competitions for money, including
for the fastest mile (ten laps of the track). The German pairing of Kilian and
Vopel won the 1936 race, having ridden 1,939 miles!
Spectators could pay to come and watch the six-day race at any time, and
many did, so that it became an annual event. But what did they do with the huge
track, which filled the arena, for the other 359 days of the year? Just across
the road from the Empire Pool was the former Palace of Arts building, and
Elvin’s Stadium company now owned it, and used it for storage.
5.
European Swimming
Championships programme cover, 1938. (Courtesy of
Geoff Lane)
By 1937, Wembley’s ice rink was welcoming the British Figure-skating
Championships. The pool was being used less of the time, because events at the
sports arena proved more profitable, but it was uncovered and refilled for the
European Swimming Championships in August 1938. Germany, whose flag was then
red, with a black swastika in a white circle, topped the medal table with 14 in
total (including five gold and seven silver).
The following month, Adolf Hitler’s Munich Agreement with Britain,
France and Italy (but not Czechoslovakia, whose territory it gave to Germany)
would pave the way for events that led to the Second World War. The bright
lights that shone through the windows of the Empire Pool would have to be
blacked out, and a new phase of its story began.
6.
The Empire Pool at night,
1930s. (From an old book)
When war was declared in September 1939, the Government ordered
entertainment venues, such as the stadium and Empire Pool, to close, for fear
of bombing raids that could kill thousands of spectators. Arthur Elvin wanted
to keep his facilities going, both to generate income for his business and pay
the wages of his staff, and because he could see the benefit of continuing his
events for the morale of the public. He managed to buy 300 gallons of black
paint, and got his workmen to paint over all 56,000 square feet of the Pool’s glass
roof! Within a month, he was allowed to hold events again, although with a
reduced number of spectators.
Regular greyhound racing meetings resumed at the stadium, but indoor
events were less frequent, and often involved teams from the services, raising
money for charities. In May 1940, both Wembley venues became temporary
dispersal camps for British soldiers evacuated from Dunkirk, then for refugees
from Belgium, Holland and France, fleeing from the German occupation of their
countries, before they too could be found accommodation elsewhere.
7.
Civilians being evacuated
from Gibraltar in 1940. (Image from the internet)
The Empire Pool had now been requisitioned by the Government, and stayed
that way until October 1944. In July 1940 they decided that all civilians,
apart from those already doing essential work for the British armed services,
should be evacuated from Gibraltar, which would become a vital strategic
military base at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. Around 10,000 people
were shipped to London, and for many their home for the next few months would
be a room made of wooden partitions in the Empire Pool, with meals provided by
its restaurant.
Elvin continued to manage the building, and allowed anyone in uniform to
skate on the ice rink for free. He also worked with the Central Physical
Training Council, so that they could use the arena to hold several mass PT
sessions there each week, to help keep Wembley residents fit during the war.
8.
Programme for a Victory Gala
at the Empire Pool in 1946. (Courtesy of
Geoff Lane)
In 1946, events at the Empire Pool gradually returned to normal,
including a Victory Gala (again in aid of a charity) and a Victory Day circus
for children to mark the first anniversary of the end of the war. The ice rink
also welcomed back its regular ice hockey matches, with some new recruits for
Wembley’s teams.
9.
A Wembley Monarchs programme
and photo of three new players. (Images from the
internet)
By 1947, Arthur Elvin had offered Wembley’s facilities so that London
could stage the 1948 Olympic Games. In order promote public interest in the
forthcoming multi-sports competitions, the British Olympic Association staged
an international competition at the Empire Pool in July 1947.
10. Programme for the July 1947 International Sports Contest. (Image from the internet)
A year later, it was time for “the real thing”, with the opening ceremony of the XIVth Olympiad,
London 1948, taking place on 29 July 1948. The swimming pool at the Empire Pool was brought back into use, first
for the swimming and diving events, and the finals of the water polo
competition. Then the Wembley team erected a bridge across the pool, with a
boxing ring at the centre of it, for the Olympics boxing matches. Every day saw
the Pool’s seats packed with spectators, and the BBC’s new cameras used to
broadcast the events (to those in reach of its transmitters, and who were
wealthy enough to afford a television set).
11. Olympic swimming at the Empire Pool, August 1948. (Source: Brent Archives)
12. Olympic boxing at the Empire Pool, August 1948. (Source: Brent Archives)
The 1948 Olympic Games were the last time that the swimming pool here
was ever used. From then onwards the Empire Pool would become just an indoor
arena – but not just for sports! I look forward to sharing the next part of its
story with you, in words and pictures, next weekend.
Philip Grant.
