Broughton and Scotland swimming legend David Wilkie will reopen Edinburgh’s lavishly refurbished Royal Commonwealth Pool on 21 March.
Remembered for his 200-metre breaststroke Gold at the Montreal Olympic Games in 1976, Wilkie is better known hereabouts for his name’s appearance on a cup proudly displayed in Broughton Primary School (see below). We Broughtonians love to celebrate a local's success.
Stand by for disappointment.
Contrary to popular belief, David Wilkie neither lived nor attended school in Broughton, and there is no record of him ever having visited this area in the periods when he was not at home in Sri Lanka, boarding at Daniel Stewart's College in Edinburgh, or in training at sun-soaked Miami University. Or at any other time.
Strictly speaking, therefore, his local celebrity status may have been a little overstated.
Spurtle took a long, careful look at the cup recently, and discovered that it was awarded to the school for a team win at the 'Swimalong with David Wilkie' competition held by Warrender Baths Club on 1 December 1978. We believe it may have been for completing the greatest number of lengths in 10 minutes.
It is not clear whether David Wilkie attended, so if any readers were there or participated and can remember what happened, please let us know.
The David Wilkie 'Swimalongs' – held across the country – are not entirely obscure, however. Commemorative button badges like the one shown top-right are still keenly traded online, some good examples fetching as much as £9.50.
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Scott Papa-Lazarou Reed: 'I was in the cub scouts with the 74th Waverley based in St Phillip's Church on Logie Green Road near where TESCO is now. David Wilkie visited us one night and showed us his medals he won at the Commonwealth Games, Christchurch New Zealand. That would be 1976[img_assist|nid=2725|title=|desc=|link=node|align=none|width=480|height=640]