Shirley Cawley

Shirley Cawley was born and brought up in the Shirley district of Croydon, after which she was named. She attended a local youth club and her high jumping skills were spotted by coach Phil James, who was a coach for Surrey schools. He soon changed her from the high to the long jump and shortly afterwards she finished second in the All England Schools Championship.

Cawley joined Spartan Ladies and in 1948 became part of the team of five athletes assembled to train under the newly appointed national coach Geoff Dyson. He coached many leading British Olympians after World War II, including 1948 silver medallist Maureen Gardner (who Dyson married shortly after the London Games), shot putter Arthur Rowe, and steeplechaser John Disley.

In 1951 Cawley was second to Dorothy Odam-Tyler in the WAAA long jump. That same year, being a Bank of England employee, she represented London Banks in a special meeting organised for athletics clubs in the London area, in what was the first floodlight athletics meeting to be held at the White City stadium.

Cawley won the WAAA title in 1952 and went to the Helsinki Olympics, where she won a bronze medal, after holding on to the silver medal position for the first three rounds. She was relegated to third after the eventual gold medallist Yvette Williams produced her winning leap in the fourth round.

Cawley obtained two more podium finishes at the WAAA, finishing third in 1953, and second in 1954. She also won the 1955 Southern Area title and finished seventh in the European Championship at Bern the previous year.

Personal Best: LJ – 5.92 (1952).