We are very pleased (and incredibly proud) to share that William Wyatt, Chair of the Halliwick Association of Swimming Therapy, has been awarded an honour - Member of the British Empire (MBE) - in the King's New Year Honours List 2025. The award is made for services to disabled people.
William has been Chair of the UK’s national Halliwick association, the Halliwick Association of Swimming Therapy (‘Halliwick AST’), since April 2014. In this and other roles, for almost 30 years, William has advocated tirelessly and selflessly for disabled people learning to swim, playing a leading (and inspirational) role at a local, regional, national and international level.
As many of you know, William has Cerebral Palsy but has, for very many years, put other disabled people’s needs ahead of his own. On behalf of the Halliwick family in the UK and worldwide, we would like to thank William for his tireless work on behalf of Halliwick, and to congratulate him on this very well-deserved honour.
Background
William has worked tirelessly to ensure that the Halliwick Association of Swimming Therapy (‘Halliwick AST’) continues to thrive, in keeping with the ethos with which it was originally set up – to promote swimming for disabled people using the Halliwick Concept.
He has been Chair of Halliwick AST since April 2014. In addition to chairing National Executive meetings, he is responsible for the Halliwick AST website (ensuring it is accessible to all users and kept up to date – for example with key information about courses, publications, Covid safety, the Halliwick Community Forum, and signposting to other useful websites). In addition, he has set up Halliwick AST on social media sites, and is active in responding quickly and helpfully to any queries that come up. Many of you will also know of William’s tireless work to ensure a safe return to the pool post-Covid, as well as his invaluable input relating to intellectual property rights, and his ongoing work as Halliwick AST’s Data Protection Officer.
William has also been secretary of Halliwick ASTRA 1 since 1998. Halliwick ASTRA 1 supports clubs and groups within the northern half of London, teaching swimming to disabled people using the Halliwick Concept.
Further afield, William was elected as secretary to the International Halliwick Association (IHA) from 2000 to 2011, when he retired from the role. He continues to play an active role engaging with the IHA on behalf of Halliwick AST.
More locally, until very recently William was Chair of Halliwick Penguins Swimming Club (for over 27 years!), chairing meetings, keeping policies and membership paperwork updated, arranging galas, updating the club’s constitution with the Charity Commission and, very importantly, registering swimmers for each Saturday swimming session at Southgate Leisure Centre. His involvement with Halliwick Penguins Swimming Club goes back much further though: Halliwick Penguins Swimming Club (halliwickpenguins.org) was the first Halliwick swimming club in the world for disabled people, begun in 1949 by the late James McMillan MBE and the late Phyl McMillan MBE. William first attended Halliwick Penguins Swimming Club (then in Arnos Grove, now in Southgate, London) as a disabled swimmer in 1982, at the age of 11. He and his twin brother, George, were introduced to the club by their foster parents, Joan and Alex. William went on to swim for the club in many galas and was one of a team of swimmers from UK to attend the first International Gala in Denmark, where the team won the overall trophy!
Article written by Dr Martyn Saville, Treasurer, Halliwick AST
