Our look back at the forgotten public baths in Sittingbourne town centre has been stirring up a lot of memories among people who used to use them.

Colin Miles, who is photographed in the armbands in the picture below, says the picture was taken 50 years ago – when he was nine years old.

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The now 59-year-old said: “It was nice to see the story of the old Sittingbourne swimming baths, especially the postcard showing the boy standing on the steps, as that boy was me about 50 years ago.

“My brother and our friends went swimming, but I couldn’t swim even though I was nine years old, so I used to wear armbands. Everybody was splashing me so I got out of the pool and sat on the seats at the end.”

There was a photographer there setting up a big camera, who asked him if he could go and stand on the steps so he could take some photos.

He did, and four weeks later he saw himself on a postcard being sold in WHSmith.

He said: “Mrs Miller taught me to swim when I was 10 at the pool and I was so proud to receive a 12-metre swimming certificate and was also glad to get rid of those armbands.

“The postcard pops up online from time to time and it always puts a smile on my face."

Sittingbourne's swimming pool and public baths were used by thousands of people from generations of local families.

The building stood pride of place in St Michael's Road for almost 100 years before it was closed in the late 1980s and later demolished.

Another person who came forward is Gillian Dunford, whose mother, Georgina Gaiger, worked at the swimming baths for 27 years alongside Andrew McLaren. She started there as a cashier on the entrance desk almost 70 years ago.

Gillian said: “The public baths were used a lot, and my mother would have to clean them as well as be cashier. As she was the only woman on site she also had to keep an eye on the ladies’ swim changing section.

“My mum and Mr McLaren would administer rudimentary first aid for any bumps also – they had to wear many hats. They, Mr Fred Fairclough, and later others, worked very hard in those days, rarely sat down and did long shifts.

“There was a school opposite called St Michaels Primary School and I attended there until age of 11.

“After school I would go across the road, have a swim and wait for my mother to finish. Mr McLaren and his wife had a daughter, Kathleen, who was a little younger than me but we would play together on an area of grass behind the St John’s Ambulance hall opposite, or go swimming.

“Mum would serve a hot beef oxo in a mug and often Mr McLaren would treat us to a bag of Smiths crisps, the sort that had a blue twist of salt.

“I would imagine Mr McLaren taught half the children of Sittingbourne to swim, he was still teaching them when I had grown up and he taught my two boys also.”

On social media, a number of people have reminisced about their memories of the baths.

On Facebook, Caroline Gower recalled going every Friday with school in the 1980s. She commented: “Will never forget the freezing cold foot baths, the spiders in the changing rooms and the cockroaches floating in the pool that the teachers would scoop out with a net.”

Brenda Broady, who is now 86, said that she went to the pool with school for swimming lessons. She said: “The fully clothed teacher put you on a rope and from the full length would pull you towards her.

“I was so scared I just hung on while she pulled me the whole way, mostly under the water. I was terrified of water after that for the rest of my life!”

Valerie Walpole commented: “Loved this place, us kids got on the train from Faversham every Saturday morning, they used to have lovely hot Oxo there.”

Julie Brooks said: “Oh I loved this pool, it may have been small but spent many hours here with my dad and brother.”

As well as this, Patrick Duffy said that the article reminded him of “the carefree days when you could run, dive and bomb to your heart’s content.”

He said: “Trying to swim a length underwater like The Man from Atlantis and diving in to get a brick off the bottom were a right of passage as well as trying get a glimpse into the girls changing rooms.

“The perfect way to spend our time was a swim with friends followed with shopping trolley racing in the multi-storey and then sausage and chips from the West End chip shops. Oh the joys of a simple life.”