As a young man, Harry Freeman’s main sporting interests centered around the river sports to be found in his home town of Staines and he did not take up hockey until 1894 when he was 18 years old. Despite this rather late start he showed a remarkable aptitude for the game and soon commanded a place in the Staines team. It later became apparent that the Freeman family had an unusual talent for hockey, Harry being the first of five brothers who played for Staines, between 1894 and 1922 and his son, Robert, played nine times for England. Freeman first played for England in 1903 and, although he was not a regular choice at fullback, won a total of ten caps never being on the losing side. Following his successful captaincy of Staines, Middlesex and the South he was chose to captain England at the 1908 Olympics when England were comfortable winners. He was also selected to represent England at bandy at the 1908 Games but the event was abandoned due to the lack of any foreign-entries. After the 1908 Olympics, Harry Freeman retired from international hockey but continued to captain Staines and Middlesex until after the war. He later became a member of the International Hockey Board and served as the Honorary Treasurer of the Hockey Association for many years. Despite his successes at hockey, Freeman never forsook his love of the river and in 1897 he won the Amateur Doubles Punting Championship of the Thames with the EHH Green partner. As a solicitor, his services were much in demand by many sporting bodies which had an affiliation with the Thames; at various times he served as Captain of the Staines Boat Club, Honorary Secretary of the Thames Amateur Rowing Association, President of the Thames United Sailing Club, Commodore of the Upper Thames Sailing Club and Honorary Secretary of the Sailing Boat Association.
Great Britain