WW1 Olympians

[The Ibis]

If you're on the Twitter gimmick, type #WW1Olympians into the search function. There is a guy called Nicolai Eberholst (https://twitter.com/PikeGrey1418) who is posting stories and photos about Olympians who fought in the First World War. There is some interesting stuff. Here are a few Tweets as examples

 

 

 

[AOK4]

Oh, I get annoyed again. I remembered researching one of the German Olympians, Hanns Braun. According to the internet (after some half-done research), he is buried in Vladslo. However, the athlete was an airman, born in 1886, who died on 9 October 1918 in Croix-Fonsomme in France, while the man buried in Vladslo is Leutnant Hans Braun of Matrosen-Regiment 4, born on 2 January 1897.

And everyone has now accepted this wrong information... I get extremely annoyed by such incompetence.

A search on the website of the Volksbund shows a rare example of extra information (uncommon for them), making the difference between both men very clear for anyone doing a search:

The man buried in Vladslo: https://archiv.volksbund.de/graebersuche/detailansicht.html?tx_igverlustsuche_pi2[gid]=5a25bda3c3b3a4162ee30d456c27463e&cHash=bc04608e5b182ff822186e4164aa7ab1

The Olympian: https://archiv.volksbund.de/graebersuche/detailansicht.html?tx_igverlustsuche_pi2[gid]=08adf41af89ae04e8c1522b3d9e4a112&cHash=eaac865cc9a8d546f153f9e15ef23ce3

Note how they even underlign "vermisst" (missing).

Jan

[James A Pratt III]

The US had George Patton

Russia had Grand Duke Dmitri P Romanov best known for his involvment in the murder of Gregory Rasputin

[JWK]

To my utter surprise I found the "Forgotten Olympic Games 1916"!

Held in Amsterdam and dubbed "The National Olympic Games 1916"

https://www.ru.nl/letteren/faculteit/over-de-faculteit/departementen/geschiedenis/vm/cultuurgeschiedenis/collectief-project-sportcultuur/nieuwsbrief4/nationale-olympische-spelen-1916/

Only open for Dutch athletes. Not a great success, mainly due to the weather (it rained buckets most days). Low point was a fieldhockey match where only 39 spectators turned up (0,1 % of the stadium's capacity), and at the athletics-for-officers no athletes turned up at the starting-line.

 

Link with WW1 : a cricket match.

Supposed to be between 2 Dutch cricket-clubs, but when they were told their British (interned officers) players were not allowed to play (as it was the "National" Olympic Games), they withdrew.

So, for some reason, the Games organisation then arranged a match between a Dutch military team and a team consisting of English interned officers!

At 178 runs for the Dutch "rain stopped play", and the match was resumed the next day.

Then *I think*  "them English" won, but cricket-scores are like Chinese for me.....

Full matchreport (in Dutch) on www.delpher.nl

 

 

 

Edited 29 July , 2021 by JWK

[James A Pratt III]

Post WW I 

future US Admiral Willis Lee 1920

future General Philip Neame VC in WW I 1924 wins a gold medal only man in history to have both awards

[Terry_Reeves]

Charles Howard Foulkes, team silver medal in the 1908 Olympics for hockey, representing Scotland. He was serving  as a Captain in the Royal Engineers at the time. In WW1 he was given the task of forming the Special Companies which became the Special Brigade. He retired as a Major General CB CMG DSO.

 

TR

Edited 2 August , 2021 by Terry_Reeves

[michaeldr]

Also winning at the 1908 Olympiad:

Lt-Cdr F. S. Kelly DSC, RNVR who fought at Gallipoli and on the western front with the RND. He was killed on 13^th November 1916 at the Ancre.

His Olympic sport was rowing and his other great love was music. He was an accomplished performer, conductor and composer.

See https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/249694-in-memoriam-rupert-brooke-fs-kelly/

and https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/291844-lt-cmdr-frederick-s-kelly-dsc-rnvr

In 1916 he even conducted a performance of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture close to the front line and accompanied by the authentic sounds of the guns.

[TullochArd]

Front Cover of the 1983 biography of “Johnny Won’t Hit Today” (which apparently is the Australian interpretation of the English counter-interpretation of "Johnny Will Hit Today"). Gold medal Middleweight boxer winner at the 1908 London Olympic Games and international cricketer (23 Tests with 18 as Captain). Died at sea when the Oberon, capsized on 19 December 1930.

John William Henry Tyler Douglas was CO 20 Liverpool Pals in 1917.  Originally an officer in the 2^nd Bedfordshires, who were part of 89^th Brigade at this time, he served throughout the War finishing his service as Major (A/Lt Col).  When the his Battalion attacked Pilckem Ridge on 31st July 1917 he had handed over to his 2IC and was playing cricket against the Australians at Lords.....which surely seems almost too bizarre to be anything but a cunning deception plan.

........ there is another story he played international football for England – but there is no surviving record of this.  Can anyone confirm this or otherwise?

 

Edited 3 August , 2021 by TullochArd