Vindication Swim

On Brighton beach Mercedes Gleitz (Edie Thompson) stands at the water's edge gazing out to sea. Eastbourne Pier on Grand Parade, Eastbourne, East Sussex. Eastbourne Pier was also used to represent an older version of Brighton's Palace Pier in 'Brighton Rock' (2010) and 'Brighton'.

It's me who is gazing out to sea today.

Even as a girl Mercedes Gleitz had a longing for the water. Eastbourne beach, facing Eastbourne Pier, with Marine Parade in the background. Eastbourne Pier was also seen in '84 Charing Cross Road', 'Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging', 'The Embezzler', 'The Hangman Waits', 'Half a Sixpence', 'The Looking Glass War', 'The Look of Love' and 'Made in Dagenham'.

The underside of the 155 year old Eastbourne Pier.

Heinrich Gleitze watches over his daughter. Eastbourne beach with the Burlington Hotel, Grand Parade in the background.

Adjacent to the Burlington Hotel was the Claremont Hotel which burnt down in 2019.

Seen on Newsreel, American swimmer Gertrude Ederle (Melodie Tyrer) becomes the first woman to swim the English Channel. Hove beach, opposite Hove Deep Sea Anglers Club, Western Esplanade, Hove, East Sussex.

Melodie Tyrer was also credited as Swimming Technical Advisor. The cinema in which the Newsreel was being shown was the Theatre Royal, New Road, Brighton.

Mercedes Gleitze (Kirsten Callaghan) now lives in London and is employed by T.J. Eaton & Co where she works as a stenographer. Old College House, 8-10 Richmond Terrace, Brighton, East Sussex.

Old College House was formerly Brighton College of Technology. The Victorian Municipal Technical College building was converted into luxury apartments in 2004.

After work Mercedes catches the bus home. Amberley Museum, New Barn Road, Amberley, West Sussex. Also seen in 'Person Unknown' and 'A View to a Kill'.

This is the Fire Station at Amberley Museum which represents a typical 1950's station.

Boarding the bus Mercedes buys a ticket to Camberwell. The bus has changed position and is now outside the Southdown Bus Garage at Amberley Museum. This is Southdown bus 125, a preserved 1920 Leyland 'N' Type.

The Southdown Bus Garage was constructed to a design typical of bus garages from the 1920s.

Mercedes posts a letter to the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) asking for sponsorship. Palmeira Square, Hove, with Palmeira Mansions, Church Road in the background.

This post box is from the reign of King George V.

On Newsreel Mercedes Gleitze waves to the cameras as she prepares for her seventh attempt at swimming the English Channel. West Quay beach, Newhaven, East Sussex. with the breakwater on the left.

My camera avoided capturing the swimmers here today.

On Newsreel Mercedes is shown with her former trainer Leonard Clay (Justin Hayward). Newhaven Promenade, with the breakwater in the background.

This area is used as a car park so I was fortunate to get a clear shot.

Holburn Public Baths where Mercedes trains every evening. Lewes Flea Market, 14a Market Street, Lewes, East Sussex.

Back to being an antique market. The pool interior was filmed at the Aston University Swimming Pool, Woodcock Street in Birmingham.

Mercedes leaves the office at the end of another dull day. Old College House, 8-10 Richmond Terrace, Brighton.

The office interiors were filmed at Brighton Town Hall and Worthing Town Hall.

Outside her Camberwell flat a postman hands Mercedes a letter from the ASA. Courtenay Gate, Kingsway, Hove, East Sussex. A wide shot of Courtenay Gate, viewed from the promenade, can be seen in 'Mona Lisa'.

No postal deliveries when I was here.

Mercedes thanks the postman (Alexander Smith) who responds with a cheery smile. Courtenay Gate, with Kings Gardens in the background.

Kings Gardens, at the corner of Fourth Avenue, viewed from the entrance to Courtney Gate.

Holding the letter from the ASA, Mercedes crosses the road. Central Hub Primary School, 9-11 Connaught Road, Hove.

Built in 1884 as the Connaught Road Council School.

Mercedes arrives for her appointment at the Amateur Swimming Association headquarters. Stanmer House, East Sussex. The grade I listed manor house in Stanmer Park was also seen in 'The Master Plan'.

The interior of the house was used for the Masked Ball scene.

Mercedes enters the building. The front door of Stanmer House.

Now with the original name plaque back in its place. The interior of the ASA headquarters was filmed at Shoreham College.

Mercedes is given the address of swimming trainer Harold Best. Black Country Living Museum, Discovery Way, Dudley, West Midlands. This is the 1930's Old Birmingham Road which was also seen in 'Stan & Ollie'.

On the left is St James's School where Ollie posed as a lollipop man.

Mercedes checks the address. The Old Birmingham Road at the Black Country Living Museum.

Looking up at the Humphrey Brothers Builders' Merchants building.

Mercedes then makes her way along a passageway. The passageway is between Hobbs and Sons and H. Morrall at the Black Country Living Museum.

The passageway leads to the 1940s-1960s Town.

At 10 Delta Street, Bethnal Green, the landlady (Anne Atkins) suggests that Mercedes tries looking for Mr Best in The Volunteer pub. 31 New Road, Lewes, East Sussex.

No landlady at the window but there is a pub called The Volunteer in Lewes.

Mercedes finds The Volunteer. The Canalside Village, Black Country Living Museum. The costumed demonstrators at the museum volunteered as extras. The pub is the Bottle and Glass Inn, also seen in 'Feast of July' and 'Stan & Ollie'.

The interior of The Volunteer was filmed at the Cricketers, Black Lion Street, Brighton.

Mercedes runs to the bus stop but misses her bus home. The Southdown Bus Garage, Amberley Museum.

The bus she just missed is the preserved 1920 Leyland 'N' Type Southdown bus, number 125, which is now back in the garage.

Two years earlier. Leonard Clay asks the oarsman (James Wingate) for his verdict on the weather conditions before Mercedes makes her seventh attempt at swimming the channel. West Quay beach, Newhaven.

The majority of the channel swimming was filmed two miles out from this beach.

Before Mercedes begins the channel swim, Lanolin is applied to her skin. Hastings Net Shop Museum, Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings, East Sussex. Some of the other Hastings Net Shops were seen in 'Night Crossing'.

The Net Shop Museum is in Net Shop number U3.

In a tea shop, Mercedes asks Harold Best (John Locke) why he changed his mind and agreed to train her. The Bottle and Glass Inn, Black Country Living Museum.

This is the main bar of the Bottle and Glass Inn. It is presented as it would have looked in 1915.

Harold walks along the quayside beside the River Thames holding a stopwatch. The Boat Dock, Black Country Living Museum. This was filmed from the canal and reversed.

Facing Anchor Forge and the Rolling Mill. Photographed from beside the canal and reversed to match.

Mercedes swims in the Thames as part of her training. The River Ouse, Lewes, to the south of the Cliffe High Street bridge.

The scene was filmed from a dinghy, but I took this photograph from Bear Yard.

On the quayside, dockers shout encouragement to Mercedes. Filmed from the canal in a dinghy and reversed. The Boat Dock, Black Country Living Museum. This area was also seen in the TV drama 'Peaky Blinders' as Charlie Strong's scrap yard.

Photographed from beside the canal and reversed. On the left is the Anchor Forge and on the right is the Rolling Mill.

Harold times Mercedes as she rides a bicycle around the park. Hove Park, Goldstone Crescent, Hove.

The modern City Park offices in the background were digitally removed.

Harold stops the watch as Mercedes rides past. Hove Park, Goldstone Crescent.

The chimney in the background is the British Engineerium, an engineering museum housed in a former Victorian pumping station.

Mercedes sits in a tin bath filled with ice. Unidentified location.

Beside the Thames Harold times Mercedes as she continues her training. The Steps beside Canal Street Bridge leading down to the towpath. Black Country Living Museum. This has also been reversed.

Reversed to match, so, on the left is T. Cook's Sweet Shop.

Harold continues to time Mercedes as she swims further along the Thames passing Tower Bridge. Tower Wharf, London EC3N.

A clear view of Tower Bridge.

As Harold walks past, the camera pans down. Tower Wharf, London.

Needless to say I wasn't the only person photographing Tower Bridge.

Edith Gade (Victoria Summer) arrives at the railway station in Dover. Platform 5, Horsted Keynes Station, Station Approach, Horsted Keynes, West Sussex. Horsted Keynes Station was also seen in 'Adolf Hitler, My Part in his Downfall', 'Beast in the Cellar', 'Dracula' (1979)', 'It Couldn't Happen Here', 'Maurice', 'Mr Holmes', 'The Naked Runner', 'Norbert Smith: A Life', 'A Room With a View', 'Savage Messiah', 'The Theory of Everything', 'Tommy', 'The Woman in Black' (2012) and 'The Young Visitors'.

A clearer view of Platform 5.

Harold and Mercedes arrive at St Pancras Station. Horsted Keynes Station on the Bluebell Railway. The subway between platform 5 and platforms 3 and 4.

A much brighter view of the subway.

They climb the steps to the platform. The steps leading to platforms 3 and 4. Horsted Keynes Station.

The white paint was removed from the subway walls approximately three years ago.

Harold and Mercedes pose for the Newsreel camera. The Boats outside Hastings Fishermen's Museum, Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings.

The boat Harold was leaning on was RX10 which was broken up in 2022. A section of the boat can be seen in Hastings Fishermen's Museum. The replacement boat is FE144.

The Newsreel shows Mercedes training for the cross channel swim in Folkestone Harbour. Newhaven West Beach, facing the breakwater.

The West Beach was closed in 2008 due to safety concerns over the poor condition of the breakwater and harbour steps.

Mercedes passes a shop on the way back to her hotel. A. G. Hendy & Co. 36 High Street, Hastings.

A clearer view of the unique home store.

Mercedes stands on the beach as waves crash against the harbour arm. Newhaven breakwater viewed from West Quay beach.

The breakwater on a much calmer day.

At Dover Harbour Harold and Mercedes prepare to cross the channel to France. Hyde Street Pier, 2905 Hyde Street, San Francisco, California, USA.

Harold and Mercedes pose for the Newsreel camera at Dover Harbour. Hyde Street Pier, San Francisco. In the background is the 1890 steam ferry boat Eureka.

Cap Gris-Nez, France. Minster Leas, Isle of Sheppey, Kent. The boat on the left is Edith May, a Thames Sailing Barge, and the boat on the right is Thistle, a Whitstable Oyster Smack.

On the beach at Cap Gris-Nez Harold makes his way past the fisherman's huts and fishing boats. Net Shop U3, with Hastings Fishermen's Museum on Rock-a-Nore Road, in the background.

The Fishermen's Museum was, from 1854-1939, The Fishermen's Church of St. Nicholas. In 1956 it re-opened as a museum.

Mercedes also makes her way between the huts. Net Shop U3, facing Net Shop V4 and V5. Hastings.

On the right is the Edward and Mary RX74, the first Hastings fishing boat to be built with an engine.

Mercedes stands at the end of a jetty in Cap Gris-Nez. Sussex Yacht Club, 85-89 Brighton Road, Shoreham by Sea, West Sussex.

The boat, which is moored at the jetty, is Speedwell, a 1901 Oyster Smack.

On the evening before the swim, Harold informs Mercedes that conditions the next day should be perfect. Fort Hill, Newhaven.

Viewed from the western gun position. Not quite as late in the day, but almost.

At St. Margarets Bay, the Newsreel camera is there as Mercedes Gleitze completes her cross channel swim. Cuckmere Haven. East Sussex.

Cuckmere Haven at low tide.

The Newsreel camera captures the cheering crowds at St. Margarets Bay. Cuckmere Haven and The Seven Sisters. The view of The Seven Sisters from Cuckmere Haven was also seen in 'Atonement' and 'On the Double'.

A much clearer view of The Seven Sisters.

Mercedes Gleitze meets with Home Secretary William Joynson Hicks (Tim Loughton) at his offices in Whitehall. The Chapel of St. John the Evangelist, Hurstpierpoint College, College Lane, Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex.

This is the Lady Chapel in Hustpierpoint College Chapel. Tim Loughton was MP for East Worthing and Shoreham until 2024.

Mercedes speaks to women workers. The Workers Institute at the Black Country Living Museum.

This is the stage in the auditorium of The Workers Institute. Other rooms were used for the newspaper offices.

Mercedes attends the London premier of the film 'Swim Girl Swim'. The Assembly Hall, Stoke Abbott Road, Worthing, West Sussex. The Assembly Hall was also used as a magistrates court in the TV series 'Cuffs'.

The Assembly Hall is a theatrical venue which opened in 1934.

Bebe Daniels (Sophie Wolff) thanks all the people who turned out for the movie. The Assembly Hall, Worthing. 'Swim Girl Swim' was a 1927 film starring Bebe Daniels and featured Gertrude Ederle as her trainer. The film is now lost.

The top of the steps, at the entrance to the Assembly Hall.

Harold phones Mercedes to tell her that there has been a development. The K1 Telephone Kiosk at Amberley Museum.

This is a 1927 K1 Telephone Kiosk, Mk 236 of which just 17 survive. The kiosk is situated opposite the Southdown Bus Garage.

On the Newsreel, Edith Gade celebrates at St. Margarets Bay after claiming to have swum the English Channel. Hove beach opposite the Hove Deep Sea Anglers Club.

The same section of Hove beach, also at low tide.

After leaving Mr Proud's Cabaret Club, Mercedes and Harold have a disagreement. Adelaide Crescent, Hove.

A much clearer daytime shot of Adelaide Crescent, viewed from Palmeira Square. Identifying this location was made possible after viewing the American colourised version of the film.

The newspapers cast doubt on the legitimacy of Edith Gade's Channel Swim. Old College House, 8-10 Richmond Terrace, Brighton.

The entrance steps to the former college.

After she is discovered to be a cheat, the media descends on Edith Gade. Dudley Mansions, Lansdowne Place, Hove. Dudley Mansions was also seen in 'Under Suspicion'.

No media attention today.

Edith Gade apologises for her deception. Worthing Town Hall, Chapel Road, Worthing.

Looking up from opposite the Town Hall entrance.

The newspapers report that Mercedes Gleitze has to appear before the Swimming Association. W. H. Smith & Son kiosk. Platform 4, Horsted Keynes Station.

The W. H. Smith & Son kiosks would have originally sold books and newspapers, but this preserved kiosk now sells Bluebell Railway souvenirs.

The Newsreel shows Dr. H. W. Phillips (Mike Skinner) leaving the court after giving evidence. Worthing Town Hall.

The entrance to Worthing Town Hall. The courtroom scenes were filmed in the Town Hall Council Chambers.

In Cap Gris-Nez, the Newsreel reports that Mercedes Gleitze has set out on her vindication swim. Newhaven East Pier at the entrance to Newhaven Harbour. Also seen in 'Never Mention Murder'. The boat in the foreground is Taran, a Cornish Pilot Gig.

The only way to view the East Pier at the harbour mouth is from a boat.

The Newsreel reports that Miss Gleitze is determined to swim the channel again. Minster Leas with the Whitstable Oyster Smack Thistle viewed from the Thames Sailing Barge Edith May.

So near to the white cliffs; Mercedes is brought back in the rowing boat. The Seven Sisters, from Cuckmere Haven to Beachy Head.

Thankfully our boat trip was not in a rowing boat.

The rowing boat enters the harbour. Newhaven Harbour with the breakwater lighthouse in the background..

The lighthouse at the end of the breakwater viewed from the tour boat as it also enters the harbour.

They notice a crowd of people lining the harbour arm. Newhaven Harbour, facing the breakwater.

Viewed from the promenade.

The cheering crowds welcome Mercedes home. Shoreham Harbour East Arm, Southwick, West Sussex.

The same section, photographed from the lower deck, with the permission, and under the supervision, of a harbour warden. The extra bar was added as a deterrent to anyone attempting to dive from the Harbour Arm.