1948
LONDON
OLYMPICS
In the London Olympics of 1948, the Poly
again opened its facilities to Olympic
athletes from abroad. The preliminary
rounds of the Olympic hockey
championships were played at the
Quintin Hogg Memorial Sports Ground,
Chiswick. Several Club members also
officiated at the Games including Horace
Mansbergh, Honorary Secretary of the
Boxing Club, who was in charge of the
Olympic boxing championships.
More than 20 Polytechnic members
competed at the 1948 Olympics, not
just for Great Britain but also for Eire,
Switzerland, Greece and Jamaica.
The British basketball team included
three Poly athletes; the British team will
compete in the Olympics for the first time
since 1948 when the Games return to
London in 2012.
Most notable among the medal winners
was Arthur Wint, who ran for Jamaica
and received a gold and a silver. Johnny
Wright, a medal weight boxer, won silver
while David Ricketts achieved bronze as
part of the British 4,000m pursuit team.
Mary Glen-Haig was the only British
finalist in the women’s fencing.
Images from top: Arthur Wint setting a British record over 440 yards at
the Polytechnic Stadium, Chiswick, a month before his Olympic success; a
member of the Polytechnic Ladies Fencing Club, c.1940s;
David Ricketts’ Olympic bronze medal
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