Better known as Margaret Feather, at the age of 17, she was the youngest person to attempt to swim the English Channel.
After three tries, she finally won him over in 1954.
Born in April 1933, the daughter of George and Elsie Feather, who owned the Feathers Hotel on Blenheim Terrace, Margaret began her distinguished swimming career as a member of the Scarborough Swimming Club from the late 1940s.
Her early achievements included the Castle Foot and Scarborough to Filey swims in the late 1940s.
At 17, she was the youngest person to attempt to swim the English Channel in 1950.
Margaret was part of Team GB in the Butlin’s International Channel Swim Race in 1954 and finally swept the English Channel in 1954 in 16 hours and 23 minutes.
At the age of 21, she placed fourth in the race, finishing second in the race. She failed in the 1950, 1951 and 1953 races.
One of her daughters, Kim Abdu, said: “She was the first to swim across the English Channel without covering herself in sheep fat to fight the cold. She trained in the North Sea at Scarborough and is used to the cold water.”
About five years ago, she donated her English Channel Swimming Silver Cup to the Scarborough community as a token of gratitude for the support throughout her career. It is on display at Scarborough Town Hall.
In 1955, Margaret was awarded the Royal Society for the Humane Bronze Medal for successfully rescuing a 16-year-old girl from the Scarborough Sea after she ran into the sea fully clothed. Unfortunately, a beach patrol man drowned trying to save the girl; he also received a bronze medal.
Margaret has completed many other swims in the UK and abroad. Her accomplishments also included swimming the Nile in Egypt in 1953, where she won the women’s section, and again in 1955.
In 1955, she became the first woman to complete the swim from Capri to Naples.
For this event, she was also awarded the title of world champion in long-distance swimming.
After retiring from long distance sailing, Margaret moved to Chelmsford in Essex and then emigrated to Australia in 1965 where she raised her family of five daughters and two adopted children.
Margaret had quite an adventurous life in Australia as she continued to pursue her passion teaching swimming and managing swimming pools.
She also had an old English bakery and an esoteric gift shop called Nefertiti Crystals.
Margaret was married to another English Channel swimmer, the Egyptian Abdel Moneim Abdu, but divorced a few years later and later married a Chelmsford man, Edward (Ron) Dixon.
Margaret is survived by five daughters, who all live in Australia, as well as a stepson and stepdaughter, 14 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren. Margaret has three siblings - Albert (in Australia), Doreen and Jennifer, who still live in Scarborough and Filey respectively.
Kim Abdu said: “During my mother’s swimming career, in addition to her grueling training of four hours of continuous swimming a day, eight hours every second Sunday and an additional 14 hours every month, she worked as a swimming teacher in Scarborough, Hull and Chelmsford.
“She continued to teach swimming at the swimming pools she ran in Australia.
“In Australia, my mother lived in many places in Victoria and New South Wales.
“In the last years of her life, she lived in a beautiful nursing home called Andrews House in Trafalgar, Victoria.
“During the era of her swimming career, she always said that her greatest achievement was rescuing a girl on Scarborough beach.
“Margaret’s courage and determination led future generations of women to success in sports.”