Bantham Surf Life Saving Club
History
Although the beaches at Bantham and Bigbury are used by tens of thousands of families every summer in perfect safety, it was not always that way. In older days - and some not so long ago - Bantham had a dreadful reputation for deadly currents. Tombstones - "Drowned bathing at Bantham", - in nearby churchyards show that the risk to swimmers was not exaggerated by locals warnings.
All that changed in 1960 when Mr Maitland, the local expert on beach safety, formed the Bantham Surf Life Saving Club. A small number of local residents and strong swimmers joined at once and started training. At first they had to learn from established surf life saving clubs. A team from Perranporth, Cornwall, came to Bantham to demonstrate the latest use of the Reel and Line. Gradually the members became expert in all methods of saving lives at Bantham.
