Les Ablett

An inspector in the Liverpool police, Les Ablett died one month after completing 25 years’ service with the force. He came from a well-known family of Merseyside swimmers, and spent his early days in the baths close to his Birkenhead home with his older brother Charlie. Because he was more than 20 years older than Les, many thought that Charlie was his father. Charlie was secretary of the Birkenhead Swimming Club for over 40 years.

Originally a swimmer, Les turned to water polo and won representative honours as a goaltender with Cheshire before going on to make 18 international appearances, including the 1927 European Championships at Bologna. Apart from two Olympic appearances, Ablett had some memorable moments in the sport. In 1922 he was in the Cheshire side that won the County Championship. Four years later, in 1926, he played in goal for Birkenhead when they beat the famous Hyde Seal club in the final of the Cheshire County Water Polo Championship. When they next won the title, 21 years later, Ablett was again the goaltender as history repeated itself when Birkenhead again beat Hyde. One of Ablett’s proudest moments, however, was probably in helping the Liverpool Police team win the 1931 County Championship. His career nearly came to an end in 1933 while attending a fire at a Liverpool grocer’s shop in his capacity as a police officer, as he fell 15-feet through a trap door and broke his collarbone. Ablett recovered, however, and continued playing for the police team until shortly before his untimely death at the age of 48.