Ever since the first Commonwealth Games in 1930, England have been a dominant force in the pool, hoovering up a staggering 409 medals.

Among those have been a total of 113 golds, second only to Australia, each one an artefact of the talent and dedication of those who worked so hard to achieve them.

Here are some of the most memorable of those moments.

Bill Trippett - 1930

Yorkshireman Bill Trippett became England’s first ever Commonwealth Games gold medallist in the pool when he roared to victory in the 100 yards backstroke event in 1930.

The inaugural ‘British Empire Games’, as they were then known, were held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and featured 400 athletes from 11 nations.

Trippett had narrowly missed out on qualification for the 1924 Paris Olympic Games and worked as a police officer in Sheffield.

He later became the Chairman of Derby County Council before his death in 2002.

Joyce Cooper - 1930

Joyce Cooper was born on a Sri Lankan tea plantation, but kicked off a successful swimming career when her family moved to England, as she learned to swim in Bognor Regis.

Her breakthrough came at the Amateur Swimming Association Championships in 1927 and within a year she had scooped three medals at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam across freestyle and backstroke events.

Then at the 1930 Commonwealth Games in Canada, where swimming and diving were the only sports open to women, Cooper swam to four gold medals in her five events, including three individual titles.

Her four golds were unmatched by an Englishwoman until gymnast Claudia Fragapane in 2014.

Cooper went on to break the world record twice before her retirement in 1934.

Anita Lonsbrough - 1962

At just 16 years old, Anita Lonsbrough became a national treasure by winning two gold medals at the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff.

Two years later she became Olympic champion in the 200m breaststroke, Britain’s last female champion in the pool until 2008, but perhaps her finest moment came at the 1962 Commonwealths.

She ended the swimming programme with three gold medals in the 110 yard breaststroke, 220 yard breaststroke, and 440 yard individual medley, as well as a silver medal in the 4x110 yard medley to help England to 23 medals.

Astonishingly, Australian freestyle swimmer Dawn Fraser grabbed four gold medals as the Aussoes topped the medal table.

Rebecca Adlington - 2010

Despite becoming a double Olympic champion in 2008, Rebecca Adlington had to wait until 2010 for her first Commonwealth Games, having contracted glandular fever ahead of the 2006 programme.

In New Delhi, she dominated her two favoured events, the 800m and 400m freestyle, coming close to the Commonwealth record despite an upset stomach.

Adlington even earned bronze in her first international 200m freestyle race, as well as appearing on the podium for the 4x200m freestyle relay.

Just three years later, Adlington would retire from the sport, aged 23. 

Fran Halsall - 2010

Another star of the Games in New Delhi was 20-year-old Fran Halsall. 

The Southport-born swimmer stunned the world by setting a national record of 26.19 seconds in the 50m butterfly final, winning the gold medal ahead of much-fancied Australians Marieke Guehrer and Emily Seedbohm. 

Halsall returned to the pool for her favourite 100m freestyle event and held on for bronze despite being visibly ill.

And 20 minutes later, despite being almost too weak to stand, she even returned for the 100m butterfly semi-finals.

Thankfully, Halsall recovered to take three more silver medals, in the 50m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, and 4x100 metre medley relay.

Adam Peaty - 2014

The 2014 Commonwealth Games marked the beginning of one of England’s greatest ever international careers.

A 20-year-old Adam Peaty finished just 0.02 seconds behind South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh in the 50m breaststroke, but he wasn’t satisfied with silver.

Instead, he blew the competition away in the 100m breaststroke, setting a Commonwealth Games record in the heats, semi-finals, and final to take gold, ahead of the favourite, van der Burgh.

The Uttoxeter native topped the meet off with another gold medal in the 4x100m medley relay alongside Chris Walker-Hebbon, Adam Barrett, and Adam Brown.

He would go on to break world records 14 times and claim six Olympic medals.

4x100m medley relay team - 2022

Australia and England had a history of knocking ten bells out of each other in the 4x100m medley relay events.

The Aussies had embarked upon a 16-year unbeaten streak at the Commonwealth Games until they were usurped by the English quartet in 2014, but they reclaimed their title in 2018 by just 0.09s on home soil.

However, England found home comforts of their own in Birmingham four years later.

Brodie Williams, James Wilby, and James Guy built a lead of almost a second, before Australia’s Kyle Chalmers chased down Tom Dean on the anchor leg.

Dean held Chalmers off to take gold by a margin of just 0.08 seconds in a glorious end to the swimming programme.

Remarkably, It was Dean’s first gold medal of the Games, despite picking up six silver medals across the competition, including in the 4x100m and 4x200 freestyle relay.

Alice Tai - 2022

Just months after the amputation of her right leg, Alice Tai lined up for the S8 100m backstroke event. 

She had suffered from clubfoot as a child, and worsening pain had demanded she use a wheelchair, before the area was removed entirely the January before the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Yet Tai stormed to the gold medal in 1:13:64, over four seconds faster than second-placed Tupou Neiufi of New Zealand.