Tributes have been paid to and from Henleaze Swimming Club to former trustee and honorary life member, Mark Thompson, who recently died aged 69 after a fall during a trip to Sri Lanka.
A key figure at the club, based at Henleaze Lake, since 1988 and a committee member from 1990, Mark took on the challenge of improving the lake’s water quality and biodiversity, having come on board during a particularly difficult time for a club suffering from a greatly depleted membership, frequent vandalism and environmental concerns.
Over the next few years, it was Mark’s drive and enthusiasm which saw the opening of the lakeside sauna in 2013, the creation of a successful winter swimming programme to bring the enjoyment of cold water swimming all year round, and increased community access from 2018, so that more people could enjoy the tranquillity of the surroundings.
His committee membership and subsequent trusteeship were key to great improvements in the club’s fortunes – now enjoying a healthy membership of over 4000 members.
Born in Suffolk, Mark joined the merchant navy at 17, eventually completing a degree in Liverpool in marine engineering, before changing direction to work first in London, then in Bristol, as an IT consultant until retirement in 2005.
Long-time friend and club member, Susie Parr, remembers a further aspect of Mark’s legacy to the club: “Aside from his wider commitment to the lake’s environment, he gathered together all the elements of the club’s archive materials, which were scattered across various parts of Bristol and often in poor condition. Together, we digitised the collection and delivered the materials to the Bristol Archives.
“Using that material, Mark initiated the production of a club centenary book, The Lake (2019), and helped to organise the centenary celebrations, which included mass synchronised swimming and a 1920s tea party.”
Retiring in 2024 from the committee and board of trustees, he was awarded an honorary life membership, which he enjoyed for all too short a time. A gentle, reflective man, he is remembered as “a natural communicator whose unassuming manner belied his strength of character”.
Amy Kinnear, CEO of the Southmead Development Trust, reflects: “At Southmead Development Trust, we run twice weekly social prescribing cold water swimming groups and a new community access model allows many more people to swim. This haven of Henleaze Lake has changed dramatically over the years and one person who was instrumental in these changes was Mark Thompson. He was someone who quietly, carefully over many years plugged away, championing wildlife and community and made a real difference.”