At the 1934 British Empire Games in London, England, there were two aquatics disciplines – swimming and diving. There were four diving events contested and eleven swimming events.[1][2][3]
The events were held at the Wembley Empire Pool, which was built specifically for the games on the instruction of Arthur Elvin.[4][5][6]
Medal table
* Host nation (England)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Canada (CAN) | 8 | 4 | 6 | 18 |
| 2 |  England (ENG)* | 4 | 6 | 6 | 16 |
| 3 |  Australia (AUS) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 |  Scotland (SCO) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| 5 |  South Africa (SAF) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 |  Jamaica (JAM) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 |  New Zealand (NZL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Wales (WAL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (8 entries) | 17 | 17 | 17 | 51 | |
Medal summary
Diving
Men’s events
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 m springboard | John Brisco Ray (ENG) |
117.12 | Doug Tomalin (ENG) |
110.50 | Harry Class (CAN) |
106.57 |
| 10 m platform | Tommy Mather (ENG) |
83.83 | Doug Tomalin (ENG) |
83.63 | Louis Marchant (ENG) |
70.64 |
Women’s events
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 m springboard | Judith Moss (CAN) |
62.27 | Lesley Thompson (AUS) |
60.49 | Doris Ogilvie (CAN) |
57.00 |
| 10 m platform | Dot Macready (ENG) |
30.74 | Lesley Thompson (AUS) |
27.64 | Cecily Cousens (ENG) |
27.36 |
Swimming
Men’s events
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 yd freestyle | George Burleigh (CAN) |
55.0 | George Larson (CAN) |
55.6 | Noel Crump (NZL) |
56.2 |
| 440 yd freestyle | Noel Ryan (AUS) |
5:03.0 | Norman Wainwright (ENG) |
5:07.8 | Bob Pirie (CAN) |
5:14.8 |
| 1500 yd freestyle | Noel Ryan (AUS) |
18:25.4 | Bob Pirie (CAN) |
18:28.4 | Norman Wainwright (ENG) |
18:33.2 |
| 100 yd backstroke | Willie Francis (SCO) |
01:05.2 | John Besford (ENG) |
1:05.6 | Ben Gazell (CAN) |
1:06.6 |
| 200 yd breaststroke | Norman Hamilton (SCO) |
2:41.4 | William McCarty (JAM) |
2:42.4 | Bill Puddy (CAN) |
2:42.8 |
| 4×200 yd freestyle relay | Canada George Larson George Burleigh Robert Hooper Bob Pirie |
8:40.6 | England Mostyn Ffrench-Williams Norman Wainwright Reginald Sutton Bob Leivers |
8:52.8 | Scotland George Anderson Harry Cunningham Merrlees Chassels Willie Burns |
9:23.4 |
| 3×110 yd medley relay | Canada Ben Gazell George Burleigh Albert Puddy |
3:11.2 | Scotland Merrlees Chassels Norman Hamilton Willie Francis |
3:15.2 | England Arthur Summers John Besford Mostyn Ffrench-Williams |
3:16.0 |
Women’s events
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 yd freestyle | Phyllis Dewar (CAN) |
1:03.0 | Irene Pirie (CAN) |
1:03.6 | Jean McDowell (SCO) |
1:05.8 |
| 440 yd freestyle | Phyllis Dewar (CAN) |
5:45.6 | Jenny Maakal (SAF) |
5:53.0 | Irene Pirie (CAN) |
5:54.4 |
| 100 yd backstroke | Phyllis Harding (ENG) |
1:13.8 | Margot Hamilton (SCO) |
1:15.0 | Valerie Davies (WAL) |
1:18.2 |
| 200 yd breaststroke | Clare Dennis (AUS) |
2:50.2 | Phyllis Haslam (CAN) |
2:55.4 | Margery Hinton (ENG) |
2:58.6 |
| 4×100 yd freestyle relay | Canada Phyllis Dewar Florence Humble Margaret Hutton Irene Pirie |
4:21.8 | South Africa Jenny Maakal Enid Hayward Kathleen Russell Molly Ryde |
4:34.0 | England Edna Hughes Beatrice Wolstenholme Olive Bartle Margery Hinton |
4:34.4 |
| 3×110 yd medley relay | Canada Margaret Hutton Phyllis Haslam Phyllis Dewar |
3:42.0 | England Phyllis Harding Vera Kingston Edna Hughes |
3:43.0 | Scotland Jean McDowell Margot Hamilton Madge McCallum |
3:50.0 |
Finals
Men (swimming)
100 yd freestyle
- 1 George Burleigh :55.0[7]
- 2 George Larson :55.6
- 3 Noel Crump :56.2
- 4 Reginald Sutton :57.8
- 5 Frederick Dove :57.8
- 6 Mostyn Ffrench-Williams :58.0
440 yd freestyle
- 1 Noel Ryan :5:03.0[7]
- 2 Norman Wainwright :5:07.8
- 3 Bob Pirie :5:14.8
- 4 George Larson :5:20.8
- 5
Peter Foster :5:32.8 - 6 Bob Leivers :5:35.4
1500 yd freestyle
- 1 Noel Ryan :18:25.2[8]
- 2 Bob Pirie :18:28.4
- 3 Norman Wainwright :18:33.2
- 4 Peter Foster :19:57:2
- 5 Robert Hooper :19:58:6
- 6 George Larson :dns
100 yd backstroke
- 1 Willie Francis :01:05.2[8]
- 2 John Besford :1:05.6
- 3 Ben Gazell :1:06.6
- 4 G. May :01:07.4
- 5 Kenneth Scott :1:07.6
- 6 Willie Burns :1:09.6
200 yd breaststroke
- 1 Norman Hamilton :2:41.4[8]
- 2 William McCarty :2:42.4
- 3 Bill Puddy :2:42.8
- 4 Alan Edward Higginson :2:44.8
- 5 Goldup Davies :2:46.4
- 6 A Gourlay :2:47.0
4×200 yd freestyle relay
- 1 Canada :8:40.6 (Larson, Burleigh,Hooper, Pirie)[8]
- 2 England :8:52.8 (Ffrench-Williams, Wainwright, Sutton, Leivers)
- 3 Scotland :9:23.4 (Anderson, Cunningham, Chassels, Burns)
- 4 Wales :10:16.2 (Capon, Davies, Evans, Street)
3×110 yd medley relay
- 1 Canada :3:11.2 (Gazell, Burleigh, Puddy)[7]
- 2 Scotland :3:15.2 (Chassels, Hamilton, Francis)
- 3 England :3:16.0 (Summers, Besford, Ffrench-Williams)
- 4 Australia :3.16.8 (Clark, Higginson, Ryan)
- 5 New Zealand :3.18.8 (Crump, Smith, Whareaitu)
Women (swimming)
100 yd freestyle
- 1 Phyllis Dewar :1:03.0[8]
- 2 Irene Pirie :1:03.6
- 3 Jean McDowell :1:05.8
- 4 Enid Hayward :1:06.4
- 5 Edna Hughes :1:06.6
- 6 Jenny Maakal :1:06.8
440 yd freestyle
- 1 Phyllis Dewar :5:45.6[7]
- 2 Jenny Maakal :5:53.0
- 3 Irene Pirie :5:54.4
- 4 Beatrice Wolstenholme :5.56.2
- 5 Margery Hinton :6.00.0
- 6 Gladys Morcom :6.16.0
100 yd backstroke
- 1 Phyllis Harding :1:13.8[8]
- 2 Margot Hamilton :1:15.0
- 3 Valerie Davies :1:18.2
- 4 Audrey Hancock :1:20.6
- 5 M Moffatt :1:21.8
- 6 Molly Ryde :1:22.0
200 yd breaststroke
- 1 Clare Dennis :2:51.2[8]
- 2 Phyllis Haslam :2:55.4
- 3 Margery Hinton :2:58.6
- 4 Margaret Gomm :3:01.4
- 5 Vera Kingston :3:06.2
- 6 Jenny Maakal :dns
4×100 yd freestyle relay
- 1 Canada :4:21.4-5 (Dewar, Humble, Hutton, Pirie)[8]
- 2 South Africa :4:34 (Maakal, Hayward, Russell, Ryde)
- 3 England :4:34.2-5 (Hughes, Wolstenholme, Bartle, Hinton)
- 4 Scotland :4.44.1-5 (McCallam, Hamilton, Parker, McDowell)
- 5 Wales :4. (Greenland, Evans, Gould, Davies)
3×110 yd medley relay
- 1 Canada :3:42.0 (Hutton, Haslam, Dewar)[7]
- 2 England :3:43.0 (Harding, Kingston, Hughes)
- 3 Scotland :3:50.0 (McDowell, Hamilton, McCallum)
- 4 South Africa :
Men (diving)
3 m springboard
- 1 John Brisco Ray :117.12 Pts[7]
- 2 Doug Tomalin :110.50
- 3 Harry Class :106.57
- 4 Peter Beveridge :95.49
10 m platform
- 1 Tommy Mather :83.83 Pts[8]
- 2 Doug Tomalin :83.63
- 3 Louis Marchant :70.64
- 4 Arthur Perrow :46.25
Women (diving)
3 m springboard
- 1 Judith Moss :62.27 Pts[8]
- 2 Lesley Thompson :60.49
- 3 Doris Ogilvie :57.00
- 4 Katinka Larsen :54.10
- 5 Oonagh Whitsett :52.20
- 6 M Stoneberg :46.43
10 m platform
- 1 Dot Macready :30.74 Pts
- 2 Lesley Thompson :27.64
- 3 Cecily Cousens :27.36
- 4 Lynda Adams :27.20
- 5 M Stoneberg :26.90
- 6 N Morales :24.63
References
- ^ “Commonwealth Games Medallists – Swimming and Diving (men)”. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
- ^ “Commonwealth Games Medallists – Swimming and Diving (women)”. GBR Athletics. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
- ^ “Medal Standings London 1934”. Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
- ^ “To-Day’s Programme”. Daily Mirror. 4 August 1934. Retrieved 20 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ “Empire Pool”. Gloucestershire Echo. 23 January 1934. Retrieved 20 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ “Swimming at Wembley”. Liverpool Daily Post. 20 June 1934. p. 13. Retrieved 18 October 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b c d e f “Swimming”. Nottingham Journal. 8 August 1934. Retrieved 20 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j “Swimming”. Daily Express. 7 August 1934. Retrieved 20 August 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
