John Barrington-Ward

John Barrington-Ward had a distinguished military career. He was commissioned into the Royal Artillery from the Sandhurst Military Academy in 1948 and rose to the rank of major. Just before he passed out, Sandhurst was asked to provide two cadets to be part of the 1,500-strong torch relay for the London Olympics that year. Ironically Barrington-Ward, who later became an Olympic yachtsman, ran a two-mile stretch towards Torquey, where the 1948 sailing events were to take place.

At Sandhurst, Barrington-Ward was a fine cross-country runner, and after joining the Royal Artillery he continued running and won the prestigious inter-services title. For the 1952 Olympics, Barrington-Ward, along with Tony Somers and Edward Dyson, competed in the three-man Dragon class in Somers’ boat Sabre. Barrington-Ward had no yachting experience, and Somers deliberately recruited a novice with the purpose of training him to be responsible for the spinnaker on the foredeck and, just four months before the Helsinki Olympics, Barrington-Ward sailed for the first time. The crew performed admirably at The Games to finish 13th.