Ralph Johnson

Épéeist Ralph Johnson started fencing at the age if 13 when a fencing club was started at his school, St. Dunstan’s. From that beginning, he went on to become the seventh ranked épéeist in the world at one time. Johnson made his Great Britain début at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, and between then and 1984, when he was as épée captain, he appeared in four Olympics. Had he not chosen to boycott the 1980 Games, despite Britain sending a fencing squad to Moskva (Moscow), he could have been a five-time Olympian.

Despite failing to medal at the Olympics Johnson did win gold on the international stage, with the England team at the 1970 British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Edinburgh. Despite that, Johnson´s finest achievement was in winning the national épée title a record six times between 1968 and 1990. By profession, Johnson was a solicitor based in Tunbridge Wells and in 1992, at the age of 49, he won the Kent épée title for the seventh successive year.