Volunteer Spotlight: David Baumann
From competitive swimmer to community archivist, David Baumann has spent a lifetime at Govanhill Baths. In this Volunteer Spotlight, he shares memories of the Zenith Swimming Club and his ongoing work with the Baths' Archive and Heritage project.
David Baumann, Govanhill Baths Archive & Heritage
Interview by Molly Adams | Photos by Laura Vroomen
I volunteer at Govanhill Baths & Heritage project helping to digitise the Zenith Amateur Swimming Club collection.
I was taught to swim at Govanhill Baths when I was five, but my connection to the Baths goes back to 1945. I was born at 106 Calder Street, directly across from the Baths. I was told that when my mother took me out in my pram I would point over to the Baths – even then I was keen to go inside! In 1950, when I was five years old, my father arranged for me to have swimming lessons there.
He took me to join the Zenith Amateur Swimming Club which operated out of Govanhill Baths in 1956. At that time the club was focused on training and technique. David Lyall, the Zenith Coach, told us he was entering us in the Western District Amateur Swimming Associations swimming league for 13-14 year old boys.
There were five boys in the team and we were excited as this was our first competitive race. Ten clubs entered and amazingly Zenith came first. This was a major achievement; Falkirk were the firm favourites as they had Bobby McGregor on their team and six years later he won a silver medal in the 1964 Olympics.
I later completed my Scottish Amateur Swimming Association teaching certificate which allowed me to coach the B Squad. When David Lyall indicated he wished to retire, he suggested that with my organisational skills, and with the help of my colleague Robert Jackson's coaching experience, we could take the club to a higher level – if we could obtain more training time, which we did.
I spent 25 years there until 1974 when the Zenith was forced to close by Glasgow City Council. We were informed that they wanted to form their own City of Glasgow Club and were told we had to join or we would have to cease training all together. This effectively put us out of business. The Zenith was always been run on a voluntary basis. It was a tremendous amount of work but it gave us a lot of satisfaction.
In 2001 when the council decided to close Govanhill Baths I went down to join the protest. My name was passed on to the committee because of my knowledge of the history of the Baths and this is when I started to assist with the archives. Shortly after that Paula Larkin, the Archive and Heritage manager at the Baths, got in touch and I have been involved as a volunteer ever since. Next year I will have completed a further 25 years of involvement with the Baths.
