Norman Borrett

Norman Borrett ranks alongside C. B. Fry and Max Woosnam as one of Britain’s greatest all-round sportsmen, but without the notoriety of Fry or Woosnam. Many times captain of the England hockey team, Borrett was also captain of the silver medal-winning Great Britain team at the 1948 London Olympics. He also captained the England squash team, and won the British Amateur Championship in the first five years after World War II, 1946-50, without dropping a set in any of the five finals. Only a bout of food poisoning prevented a possible sixth consecutive win in 1951.

The son of a farmer, Borrett was educated at Framlingham College in Suffolk where he showed his talent as an all-round sportsman. By the time he left Framlingham, he had captained the cricket, squash, hockey, fives, athletics and swimming teams. He was also secretary of the debating society and was the school captain. Borrett then went to Pembroke College Cambridge in 1936, where he studied geography. He won two hockey and three squash Blues, and captained Cambridge in both sports. He won the first of his 30 full England hockey caps in 1939.

During his time at Cambridge, Barrett played First Class cricket for Essex, but strangely never played for the university. He played one more game for Essex after the War and then played in the Minor Counties with Devon from 1947-59

His sporting abilities extended beyond hockey, squash and cricket. He played golf off a handicap of 4, and won enough tennis tournament ranking events to qualify for Wimbledon, but was too busy to take part. He was also invited by a friend to be his co-driver in the Le Mans 24-hour race, but declined.

After service in the Army during World War II, Borrett became a schoolteacher in Devon between 1945-50, and then at his old school Framlingham from 1950-80. He held some important posts over the years including president of both the Squash Racquets Association and Hockey Association, and was chairman of the England hockey selectors. He also wrote two instructional books on how to play hockey: “Improving Your Hockey” (1950) and “Hockey for Men and Women” (1955). Borrett was also the subject of Richard Sayer’s 2011 book “Master Sportsman: The Story of Norman Borrett.”

The sporting career of Norman Borrett was remarkable, but when one thinks of how much better it could have been had the war years not deprived him from competing between the ages of 22 and 29. Despite being diagnosed with arthritis in both hips at the age of 35, he continued playing international squash until the age of 38 and cricket for Devon until he was 42.