Graham Symonds

In addition to winning the ASA 440 yards freestyle and half-mile titles in 1954, Graham Symonds was also an excellent butterfly swimmer and won the 220 yards title in 1955. Despite only finishing third in 1956 he was chosen for the butterfly event the Melbourne Olympics and was classified 12th.

Symonds enjoyed his most successful year internationally in 1958 when he won the 200 metres butterfly bronze medal at the European Championships in Budapest. At the Cardiff British Empire and Commonwealth Games he went one better and collected silver in the 220 yards. He also added a bronze with the England 4x110 yards medley relay team.

Three consecutive ASA silvers came his way in 1958-60 but Symonds’ career as a design engineer with Ford took preference over his swimming exploits. He moved with his family to Cologne in the mid-1960s before a 10-year spell working in Detroit, during which time he managed to take part in Masters swimming events. In 1987 the British Design Council acknowledged his work as an automobile designer working on the Ford Transit. Symonds retired as a European director of design for Ford in 2002 and died in Essex, where he made his home when last working with Ford.