A Collection of 12 Funny Vintage Photos of People Learning to Swim

Enjoy these excellent historical photos of people taking (or preparing to take) a dip.

Soldiers training at Aldershot on March 26, 1936.

In 1906, the preferred method of teaching kids to swim looked a lot like fishing. These children are in the River Thames at Wallingford, kept afloat by ropes attached to poles.

Students from Woodthorpe Council School celebrate their new pool taking a swimming lesson in February 1938.

This novice swimmer is instructed on the proper form for a dive during his 1955 lesson.

This woman learned how to float in 1955.

This student, taking a swimming lesson at Falkirk Technical School on November 1, 1935.

In this photo, circa 1955, little Cecelia Novel sure looks like she's enjoying her first swimming lesson in the ocean.

Members of the Pioneer Health Centre in Peckham, south London, learn how to swim on November 19, 1935.

These schoolgirls are clinging to the pool wall, kicking furiously, during a swimming lesson on June 19, 1962.

Fast forward to 1923, when schoolboys had to master their swimming strokes on dry land—and their buddies—before getting anywhere near the water.

Youngsters at Brighton get their feet wet while learning proper form on August 20, 1934.

These girls—pupils at the Virgo Fidelis Convent School—are having a swimming lesson at Crystal Palace Recreation Centre on October 2, 1967. Their names are marked on their swimming caps so they can be easily identified in the water.

(Photos courtesy of Getty Images, via Mental Floss)