History of the Midland Canoe Club The Midland Canoe Club was formed on Sunday, 11th November, 1951 at an inaugural meeting (there is one surviving copy of the minutes of that first meeting, plus a few of the initial committee meetings). It sprang from the Trent branch of the Canoe Camping Club, which was formed in 1946/7 at Bisham Abbey. The first headquarters was an old bungalow at Kegworth on the River Soar, before moving to Bloore's Cafe at Trent Lock, Long Eaton, and thence to Barton Ferry, Attenborough – the building is still there, near the Trent's confluence with the River Erewash. |  The 1st Clubhouse, taken in 2001 | 
The Old Clubhouse at the present site | Early members Tom Hezseltine and Billy Churm were both in the 1952 Olympics. Some time after that the headquarters was moved to a clubhouse behind what was then 'The Fisherman's Rest' pub (now ' The Steamboat Inn ') at Trent Lock, Long Eaton. In late 1972 MCC moved to its present site, formerly the home of the Derwent Sailing Club. For many years Midland CC was regarded as one of the Midlands' premier clubs, with past members reaching high levels of competitive and non-competitive canoeing and kayaking, on river and sea. | For example, in the 1970s, past-President, David Patrick (founder of the P&H Co. Ltd, slalom & sea kayak manufacturers), competed for Britain in 'Canadian Singles' (C1) Slalom, whilst at around the same time MCC members Phil Brown and Albert Woods (now a club Vice President and President of the British Canoe Union) were an international pairing in 'Canadian Doubles' (C2) Slalom. | | | | In 1971 Don Charlesworth – designer of the club's logo – in a single-seat (K1) slalom kayak, and Albert Woods, partnering Jon Goodwin in a C2, were members of the First British Grand Canyon Expedition. On that expedition, a distant member at the time, Mike Goodwin from Rugby, became the first British K1 paddler to successfully shoot the infamous 'Lava Falls' rapid. | In 1972, members George Bazeley, John Chamberlin and Ian Tatam became the first people to complete an unsupported crossing of the St George's Channel, the southern entrance to the Irish Sea, taking 17 hours in single-seat slalom kayaks; and in the following year the same team became the first to complete a non-stop circumnavigation of the Isle of Anglesey, taking 18 hours. Those achievements resulted in the trio, on behalf of MCC, being awarded the BCU North Wales Coaching Panel's, 'North Wales Trophy', a significant honour in its inaugural year, 1973. |  MCC Regatta, 1956 at Trent Lock | 
MCC Slalom, 1955 | Since then John Chamberlin has completed two further Irish Sea crossings in sea kayaks; the North Channel in 1986, and Holyhead to Dunlaoghaire in 1996, with MCC partners Robin Rhodes and Tim Oldrini, respectively. John is the first and only person to have done all three. | Past members who have reached high levels of Premier Division slalom paddling are: Graham and Andrew Gladwin, Helen Barnes (British Team), Leon Bishop and Graham Mulholland. | | In 1995, the Darley Abbey clubhouse and much of the club's equipment was destroyed by a fire. A new clubhouse was eventually acquired and work continues to improve the club's on-site facilities, so enabling Midland Canoe Club to retain its reputation as a premier centre for paddle-sport within Derbyshire. | The new Clubhouse |
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History of MCC 
