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A. C. Gautier
| A. C. Gautier | |
| Born | Albert Collard Gautier February 22, 1892 London, England |
|---|---|
| Died | December 30, 1939 (age 47) Leeds, England |
A. C. Gautier (1892-1939), a journeyman, military man and swimmer, would do escapes billed as "The Houdini of the Water"
Biography
His father, Jules Gautier (1856-1919), would do exhibitions of Manacle Swimming.
He commenced his swimming career at the age of six, when he travelled the music halls with his father and did a glass tank turn. At the age of 15 he entered the Long Distance Championship of England Race. He won the Southern Counties Mile Competition and the Championship of Ramsgate and Harringay. Gautier afterwards took to trick swimming, and before he received injuries in the great war he used to dive 80 feet with his arms and feet shackled. He set a world's record by swimming two hours in East Hull Baths with hands and feet manacled, covering a distance of over three miles.
He served in World War I and was awarded the Victory Medal, the British War Medal and the Silver War Badge given to those wounded in action.
By 1921 Gautier was inviting spectators to tie him up , then diving into the sea to free himself whilst in the water.[1]
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