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.
