Bevis Reid

Bevis Reid was an outstanding shot putter and discus and javelin thrower, who uniquely won all three WAAA titles in 1948. She won 12 WAAA titles in total, the first coming in 1938 when she won the shot and discus double at the age of 19. Prior to the 1938 WAAAs, she had set unofficial British records in both events, and went on to break many official records between then and 1951. Reid competed at the 1938 European Championships in Paris, finishing fifth in the shot, and eighth in the discus, and the following year, completed another WAAAs shot and discus double.

Reid’s career was interrupted during World War II, when she served with the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), having joined in 1940. She was one of the first women sent abroad during the War to act as an interpreter in the East. After the hostilities, she resumed her athletics career, and between 1947-51, won four more WAAA shot titles, three more discus titles and also that solitary javelin success. She also placed second in the shot in 1952, discus in 1947 and 1952, and javelin in 1937-38.

Reid competed in her two strongest events (shot and discus) at the 1948 Olympics. The following year she married British Intelligence (MI6) officer Harold “Shergie” Shergold, who was, amongst other things, the “handler” for Oleg Penkovsky, the Soviet double agent who informed the West about the Soviet missiles in Cuba, which led to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. In the early 1950s, Reid lived in Germany and travelled back to Britain to compete at the WAAA Championships.

Personal Bests: SP – 13.25 (1949); DT – 39.88 (1951).