The name of Austin Rawlinson is prominently remembered by
the Lifestyles sports centre in Speke which is named after him. An Olympic swimmer
in his youth he continued to support the sport as an administrator, still
writing a column for the Liverpool Echo into his nineties.
He was born at 8 Moss Street L19 in Garston on 7th
November, the son of builder Joseph Henry and his wife Mary. While he was still
a youngster the family moved the short distance to 6 Heald Street L19 and one
can only wonder if the move prompted his subsequent career choice. Looking
across the road from his home he would have seen the imposing façade of Garston
Police Station and he was to spend his working life in the Liverpool City
Police.
At an early age he became a member of the Garston Swimming
Club, an outstanding club which boasted many champions, under the guidance of
notable coach Bill Howcroft. Also a member of the club was a childhood friend
of Austin Rawlinson, Hilda James, who would go onto swim for Great Britain at
the Olympic Games. When Austin was just
10 years-old, at the 1913 Garston Schools gala, he won the freestyle, backstroke
and breaststroke titles. Deciding to concentrate on the backstroke he won the
first of 7 Northern Counties titles in 1921, the same year coming third in the 150
yards backstroke at the ASA Championships. The next year he won the ASA title
and held it until 1927. In this period he broke the British record three times
and represented Great Britain at the 1924 Paris Olympics (finishing 5th)
and the 1927 European Championships at Bologna.
Having joined the police, he was a member of the Liverpool
City Police water-polo team which reached the national championships in 1931.
He served as a police officer until retiring in 1951 as a detective superintendent,
giving much of his spare time to supporting British swimming. President of the
Northern Counties Association, he was coach to the British team at the 1958
World Championships and manager of the team at the 1960 Rome Olympics. In 1961
he was awarded the MBE for services to swimming and in 1965 the swimming baths
at Speke was named after him. In 1968 he became President of the Amateur Swimming Association and in 1994 was
inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Austin Rawlinson married Edna Adair in 1927, the couple
living at ‘Arrochar’ on Greenhill Road L19 (near its junction with Brodie
Avenue) and later 283 Brodie Avenue L19. He died on 25th November
2000 aged 98.
