Brenda Fisher; the “Guy Fisher” Perpetual Trophy, first presented in 1946.

On the reverse of the trophy, the engraving reads: “The Royal School of Dancing Club Championship.” The School was located within the Theatre Royal, Cleethorpes.

Brenda Fisher BEM (1927–2022) was a Grimsby-born swimmer who, in 1951, broke the women’s world record for swimming the English Channel. She achieved international recognition for this and other long-distance swimming challenges, and in 1956 she was awarded the British Sportswoman of the Year. Brenda was born at 154 Scartho Road and lived there for all of her life. She married Irish footballer Christopher Patrick “Paddy or Pat” Johnston (1924-1971) in 1954.

Brenda was the daughter of Grimsby skipper Albert Henry Fisher MBE and Enid Fisher (née Winship). She had two older siblings: Guy “Buster” Fisher (1922–1943) and Jessie Fisher (1923-1994). Both Guy and Jessie were also accomplished swimmers. Guy “Buster” Fisher joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and rose to the rank of sergeant. He was killed on 27 April 1943 when the Handley Page Halifax II bomber in which he was flying was hit by flak and crashed at Kottenforst, near Meckenheim, Germany. All members of the crew were killed. The aircraft had taken off from RAF Snaith, Yorkshire, and was participating in a raid on Duisburg.

This silver-plated trophy was first presented in 1946 in memory of Sergeant Pilot Guy Fisher, RAFVR. The inaugural championship winners in 1946 were Bill Leckie and Brenda Fisher. Bill Leckie, a Scottish friend of the Fisher family, later became a teacher at the Royal School of Dancing in the Theatre Royal Ballroom, Cleethorpes.

Additional winners are recorded on shields around the base of the trophy: John Precious and Mary Croft – 1947 Don Beedie and Dawn Broadey – 1949 Syd Pearce and Pauline Brumby – 1952 Anthony and Betty Scott.