An 89-year-old former swimming teacher from Rainham is proving that age really is just a number - swimming 30 lengths and hitting the gym three times a week at Rainham Leisure Centre.
Iris Tolley, who has lived in Rainham all her life, walks to and from the centre each week to keep fit and stay mobile. “I’ve always told myself to keep moving,” she said. “I love the feel-good feeling after I’ve exercised.”
After the Second World War, Iris taught herself to swim in a flooded sandpit near her home with her brothers – sparking a lifelong passion that became her career.
Once her six children were all at school, she began teaching for Barking Swimming Club before spending more than 25 years as a swimming teacher at Chaffords School in Rainham, where she also founded Rainham Lifesaving Club.
“I loved the feeling of teaching someone to swim – you’re giving them a life skill,” she said.
Even now, Iris continues to live by the same belief that’s guided her for decades. “If you don’t move and use your body, you could lose it,” she said. “Just because you retire doesn’t mean you have to stop.”
As well as swimming and stretching in the gym, Iris joins a local walking group once a week, covering up to seven miles at a time. She’s also travelled across Europe, Kenya and Cuba on cycling tours and even took up skiing at the age of 50.
Asked what she’d say to others her age who might feel nervous about getting started, Iris said: “Just give it a try – you’ll love it!”
Tom Fletcher, Area Contract Manager at Everyone Active, which manages Rainham Leisure Centre in partnership with Havering Council, said: “Iris is an incredible example of what it means to stay active for life. Her story embodies the spirit of our Age is Just a Number campaign – showing that our centres are here for everyone, no matter your age or ability. She’s proof that movement, confidence and community can make a huge difference at any stage of life.”
Councillor Gillian Ford, Deputy Leader of Havering Council and Cabinet Member for Adults and Wellbeing, said: “I support Everyone Active’s ‘Age is Just a Number’ campaign as the Council wants the borough’s leisure centres to be for everyone, no matter of an individual’s age or ability.
“As demonstrated by Iris’s experiences at Rainham Leisure Centre, our facilities located across the borough, make such a positive contribution to our physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.”
Everyone Active’s Age is Just a Number campaign runs throughout October and November, sharing inspiring stories from across the country to encourage older adults to stay active, independent and connected.