George Cornet

George Cornet of the Inverness SC was the oldest member of the winning British team at both the 1908 and 1912 Olympics, at the ages of 31 and 35 respecitvely. He played 17 times as a back for Scotland between 1897 and 1912, and between 1906-14 helped Inverness to reach five Scottish Championships, winning just once, in 1909, when they beat the top Scottish team of the day, Paisley Amateurs, 4-3. It was Paisley’s only defeat in seven consecutive finals.

Away from the pool, Cornet spent his life working on the railways and was a Secretary for the Highland Railway company, and then, after amalgamation, was the divisional cashier for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company (LMS) in Scotland before moving south to Rainhill, near Liverpool. Cornet stood over six feet tall, and was an all-round sportsman who played football and cricket for local Inverness teams. He was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.