John Martin-Dye

Although he joined the Penguin Swimming and Water Polo club in Hammersmith at the age of eight, by his own admission, John Martin-Dye did not become a good swimmer until the age of 18. That came after he finished last in both the 220 and 440 yards freestyle trials for the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff. He then decided to dedicate himself to training and it all paid off for him, as he soon won his first international cap, in the relay squad against the Netherlands in 1959. The following year Martin-Dye was in the Great Britain 4 x 200 metre relay squad that finished fourth at the Roma Olympics, and in their heat Martin-Dye, along with Hamilton Milton, Richard Campion and Ian Black, set a European record of 8:26.9 that stood for nearly two years.

At the international match against East Germany at Blackpool in 1961, Martin-Dye enjoyed the rare distinction of being selected for both the swimming events and water polo competition at the same international meeting. International medals came his way in 1962 when he won a bronze medal in both the 4x110 and 4x220 yards relays at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Perth, Australia. That same year Martin-Dye also won a 4x100 metre freestyle relay silver medal at the European Championships in Leipzig. Having competed in his second Olympics at Tokyo in 1964, Martin-Dye rounded off his international career as captain of the England swimming team at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Kingston by adding another bronze medal to his collection, in the 4x110 yards free relay.

On home soil, Martin-Dye, who had more than 40 international caps to his name, won six ASA freestyle titles from 110 yards to one mile. He won his first title (440 yards) in 1960 and the following year had the rare distinction of winning the 110, 220, and 440 yards titles at the same championships. In 1962 he enjoyed podium finishes in the same three distances but without a first place. Martin-Dye added two more titles in 1963 (440 yards and one mile). He also broke the British 220 yards free record three times between 1961-64, and also twice broke the 440 record, and in 1964 took it below 4:30 for the first time.

Martin-Dye took up water polo with the Penguin Club and soon established himself as an England and Great Britain international. His finest moment came in 1965 when he scored five goals in the Penguins 6-5 win over Cheltenham at Walsall in the final to win the National Team Water Polo Championship. Martin-Dye later went on to coach both the Watford Swimming, and Water Polo Clubs. In 1968, he married fellow swimmer Delia Williams, a Watford member and Hertfordshire 100 yards freestyle champion 1961-66

At the time of the Roma Olympics, Martin-Dye was a wages clerk at Kensington Town Hall but later spent 28 years as a textile technologist for Marks & Spencer at their London head office. He later received an honorary degree from Nottingham University for his services to the textile industry. John’s son Graham was also a swimmer and international water polo player.