Desmond Robert Renford MBE (25 August 1927 – 30 December 1999) was an Australian long-distance swimmer who swam the English Channel 19 times from 19 attempts.
[1] At the time of his death, only two other people had swum the Channel more often, Alison Streeter and Michael Read.
Des Renford was born on the 52nd anniversary of the very first Channel swim, achieved in 1875 by Matthew Webb.
In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 12 June 1976, Renford was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).
He went into a coma, was admitted to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, and died there the following evening.