Shipcote Baths Saturday Mornings

A Memory of Gateshead.

Tony Stafford. I lived in Gateshead from 1954 to 1961. For several years my friends and I attended Shipcote Baths most Saturday mornings, we learned to swim, dive, socialise, etc. Abiding memory is of staying in until, teeth chattering with cold, getting dried and hurrying over the road to a small cafe - where for twopence you could buy a bap filled with hot gravy.
I also learned lifesaving there and took the various badges at swimming classes organised by the Royal Lifesaving Society.