'Inspirational' woman from Dewsbury highlighted by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

On the @kensingtonroyal Instagram account, the couple shared a montage of four photographs taken in the course of their duties.

“To mark the day we are celebrating some of the remarkable and inspiring women we have met over the last year,” they said.

A picture showed champion swimmer and life-long volunteer coach Eileen Fenton, of Dewsbury, being awarded an MBE by William in November.

It was captioned: “Eileen was the first woman, at the age of 21, to complete the Cross Channel Swimming Race in 1950, and went on to train scores of first-class long distance and sprint swimmers.”

Ms Fenton, now 90, was a teacher when she came third in the race, in a time of 15 hours 31 minutes, and received a winners cheque of £1,000

Although 27 countries had competed in the gruelling swim, only six finished.

Her achievement attracted world-wide attention and news of her success was relayed on Pathe News broadcasts in cinemas throughout Britain.

More than 15,000 people crowded into Dewsbury town centre to welcome her, and another 3,000 waited outside her home.

Ms Fenton had practised for the swim 10 hours non-stop every Sunday in the old Dewsbury Baths and in local mill dams.

She completed the last few miles of the swim in agonising pain after sustaining an arm injury when she threw an empty mug back into the boat after having a warm drink.

She was in pain for the rest of the swim but struggled on, following the instructions of her trainer Robert Betts.

Later in desperation, Mr Betts begged her to give up, but she refused and shouted back: “I’m not coming out. I’m not giving up. I’ll do it!”

Her navigator, Lt Robert Davidson, tried to keep her spirits up by singing her favourite song The Mountains of Mourne through a megaphone.

A young swimmer from Dewsbury, Mary Bailey, swam the last few miles with her.

Two hours later, to the sound of wild cheering and the hooting of ship sirens, Eileen reached the shore.

Hardened reporters standing on the beach shed tears as she crawled painstakingly up the shingle.

Lt Davidson said: “She is the pluckiest little girl in the world.”

Ms Fenton afterwards admitted the last stretch had been a trial but said: “I couldn’t let all those people back home down, especially the kiddies who were banking on me making it.”

After the Channel swim, she devoted most of her spare time coaching swimmers and travelling the world as chaperone to the British Swimming Team.

She taught thousands of children to swim and was an inspiration to many - never forgetting the generosity of local people who helped finance her Channel swim.

She gave up most of her spare time to working for Dewsbury Swimming Club of which she was secretary, treasurer and coach.

“Dewsbury was my home. I always felt I owed Dewsbury people something for raising the money which made it possible for me to do it, ” she said.