Sudden Heat Wave

Diving from the high board, skipping at poolside and general horseplay – Chiswick’s 1920s bathers cool off in Chiswick’s outdoor pool.

Lovely film of Londoners enjoying respite from a heatwave at the outdoor pool at Edensor Road, Chiswick, which had been built by unemployed labourers in 1910. A flapper-type puffs away on a cigarette, while men perform some impressive – and others less so – dives from the high board. Three women skip on one rope poolside, while others climb on friends’ shoulders. No modern rules goes unbroken. The outdoor pool closed in 1980.