| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John St. Ledger Thornton |
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 6 June 1911 Greasley, England |
| Died | 18 August 1944 (aged 33) Normandy, German-occupied France |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Event | 110 metres hurdles |
John St. Ledger Thornton (6 June 1911 – 18 August 1944) was a British hurdler who competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics.[1] He was killed in action during World War II.[2]
Biography
[edit]Thornton finished second behind Don Finlay in the 120 yards hurdles event at the 1936 AAA Championships.[3][4][5]
One month later he was selected to represent Great Britain at the 1936 Olympic Games held in Berlin, where he competed in the men's 110 metres hurdles competition.[6]
Thornton finished second behind Don Finlay again in the 120 yards event at the 1937 AAA Championships[7][8] and the 1938 AAA Championships.[9][10]
Thornton served as a major in the Seaforth Highlanders during the Second World War.[11] He served at El Alamein and in the Sicily Campaign, and was killed in action on 18 August 1944 during the Battle of Normandy.[1] Thornton is buried at Banneville-la-Campagne War Cemetery.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "John Thornton Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ "AAA Championships begin". Western Mail. 11 July 1936. Retrieved 18 January 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Wooderson wins again". Daily Herald. 13 July 1936. Retrieved 18 January 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
- ^ "Biographical Information". Olympedia. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
- ^ "The Athletic Championships". Liverpool Daily Post. 17 July 1937. Retrieved 18 January 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Six records go by the board at White City". Evening Despatch. 19 July 1937. Retrieved 18 January 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Italian wins six-mile title". Western Mail. 16 July 1938. Retrieved 19 January 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "AAA Championships". Birmingham Daily Gazette. 18 July 1938. Retrieved 19 January 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b "Casualty Details: Thronton, John St. Ledger". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
External links
[edit]
   | This biographical article relating to British athletics is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |