Dining Hall in Decay

 

Swimming Pool

This is the dining hall; just in front here was the outdoor swimming pool. The pool was open to all the elements as it did not have a cover. During the winter it was drained, and in the summer much effort by the boys was needed to clean it and wash down the walls in readiness for any use. Problem was of course, it was not heated, and the only time it could be used was during the height of the summer, but as we all know, summers were longer, dryer hotter and generally balmier than they are now, in spite of global warming. Even so many of us were barred from outdoor swimming; it was believed that as some of us were so delicate, and so prone to immediate pneumonia, that should we catch a cold after a little dip in the pool, we would instantly explode.
The National Media Museum has a nice video clip of the pool area while in use, dating from the 1940s, well before the school was acquired by Bradford Education Department. The clip shows the then Lord mayor of Bradford on a visit to the Camp. Out of interest are the dormitory ends, which still had their original veranda’s, I do recall these being in situ when I had my very first stint at Linton around 1957/8.