Today on Oldest Olympians we are finishing our series on missing dates of death for Canadian Olympians born before 1931. Today we have only three individuals to cover, those who competed after the 1948 London Games.

(Rosella Thorne pictured in “A Sporting Chance: Achievements of African-Canadian Athletes” by William Humber)

Rosella Thorne – Member of Canada’s athletics delegation to the 1952 Helsinki Olympics

Rosella Thorne, born December 11, 1930, likely holds the distinction of being the first black woman to represent Canada at the Olympic Games. She was entered into four track and field events at the 1952 Helsinki Games, but only competed in three, the 100 metres, the 80 metres hurdles, and the long jump, and was eliminated in the first round of all of them. At the 1950 British Empire Games, she was fifth in the high jump, seventh in the long jump, and eliminated in the heats of the 80 meters hurdles, while in 1954 she just missed the podium in fourth in the long jump. Thorne later moved to California, where we believe that she is still living, but the last time we were able to confirm this for certain was 2008, which lies just outside when we would list someone as living.

Nick Mohammed – Member of Canada’s wrestling delegation to the 1952 Helsinki Olympics

Indian-born Niaz “Nick” Mohammed moved to Canada at a young age and represented his country as a welterweight wrestler after World War II. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, he competed in the freestyle category, but was eliminated after his first two bouts. By career he was a welder, although he later worked as a wrestling referee. He was still alive and living in British Columbia as recently as 2002, but we have been unable to confirm what happened to him after that.

(Ian Johnston, pictured in the August 29, 1963 edition of The Province)

Ian Johnston – Member of Canada’s field hockey team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics

Born in Dublin on March 3, 1929, Ian Johnston represented Canada in the field hockey tournament at the 1964 Tokyo Games, where the nation was eliminated in the preliminary round. He was a notable figure in the British Columbian and Canadian field hockey scene, but we have been unable to trace his ultimate fate.

This concludes our series on Canadian Olympic mysteries for now, although we want to end on a positive note by acknowledging a case from this series that has been solved: Connor Mah was able to find a month of death of October 1996 for rower Charles Matteson. Next week we will have something new to feature, so we hope that you will join us!

Today on Oldest Olympians we are going to move on to part three of our series of missing dates of death for Canadian Olympians born before 1931. Thanks to the thorough research of Connor Mah and Rob Gilmore, one of the cases was solved during in the interim, and we have plenty of details for the remaining five individuals who competed at the 1948 London Games.

(Bill Hamilton, from a photo taken by boxer Fred Daigle)

Bill Hamilton – Member of Canada’s cycling delegation to the 1948 London Olympics

The only person on this list that may not quite have reached his 90^th birthday is cyclist Bill Hamilton, born c. 1930. He was a member of the team pursuit, 4000 metres squad that was eliminated in round one of the event at the 1948 London Games. At the 1950 British Empire Games, he was 13^th in the time trial and did not finish the road race. Despite the fact that he is a member of the Oshawa Sports Hall of Fame, we have been unable to uncover more information about him.

(Dick Townsend, pictured on the right)

Dick Townsend – Member of Canada’s Swallow class crew at the 1948 London Olympics

Born c. 1929, Dick Townsend was a member of the Swallow class crew, along with John Robertson, that finished seventh in that event at the 1948 London Games. A relative youngster at the time of the Olympics, particularly for a sailor of that era, he later made more of a name for himself in the athletic world as a skier. Research undertaken in the city directories of Hamilton, Ontario, where he was from, suggests that he may have died in 1982, but we have been unable to verify this for certain.

(John Stuart, pictured in the August 20, 1948 edition of the Calgary Herald)

John Stuart – Member of Canada’s weightlifting delegation to the 1948 London Olympics

Scotland-born John Stuart, born c. 1920, moved to Canada in 1923 and represented that country in lightweight weightlifting at three major international events. In 1947, he won silver at the World Championships, in 1948 he was fifth at the London Olympics, and in 1950 he was again fifth, this time at the British Empire Games. During the 1940s he worked at an office equipment shipping company in Montreal, but although we know the dates of death for most of his family members, we have been unable to confirm one for John.

(Vivian King, second from left, from a photo taken by boxer Fred Daigle)

Vivian King – Member of Canada’s swimming delegation to the 1948 London Olympics

Although also seen with a birth year of 1931, most sources show that swimmer Vivian King was born April 4, 1930. She was entered into three events at the 1948 London Games, but only competed in two: the 400 metres freestyle and the 4×100 metres freestyle relay, not reaching the final in either. Her achievements at the domestic level, both amateur and professional, led to her to be inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1984. The last mention we were able to find of her as alive was in 1990, but as we cannot find mention of her death either, we suspect that she is still alive and retired into private life.

(Diane Foster, pictured on the left, at the Toronto Public Library)

Diane Foster – Bronze medalist in the 4×100 metres relay at the 1948 London Olympics

Diane Foster, born March 3, 1928, is the only individual in this post that we know is deceased. She won a bronze medal in the 4×100 metres relay at the 1948 London Games and was eliminated in the first round of the 200 metres. We know that she was still alive in 1991, but was deceased by 2018, and we suspect that she died in the early 2000s. We have, however, been unable to come up with a precise date, or even a year, for her death.

We still have three more individuals who competed after 1948 left to cover, so we will be wrapping up our series on Canadian Olympic mysteries next week. We hope that you will join us!

Today on Oldest Olympians, we are going to continue our inquiry from last week into missing dates of death for Canadian Olympians born before 1931. One of the cases was solved during in the interim, leaving us with five individuals who competed exclusively in the interwar period.

(Ralph Adams, pictured second from the left, from the BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum)

Ralph Adams – Member of Canada’s athletics delegation to the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics

Ralph Adams, born July 9, 1907, took part in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and the 4×100 metres events at the 1928 Amsterdam Games, but was unable to reach the podium in any of them. He had much more success at the inaugural 1930 British Empire Games, where he won gold in the 4×110 yards relay. He was a contender for the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, but was not selected for the final team. Research has suggested that he may have died in 1976 and been buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Simcoe, Ontario, but we have been unable to confirm this.

Al Taylor – Bronze medalist for Canada in the coxed eights at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics

A bronze medal mystery, Al Taylor, born in 1911, helped Canada take third in the coxed eights at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, as well as the 1930 British Empire Games. Despite these successes, there is very little information available on Taylor and his career in contemporary sources. One candidate is police constable Albert Taylor of Hamilton, born May 20, 1911, but he has no known connection to rowing. Another candidate, if the year of birth were incorrect, would be an Albert Taylor born c. 1905 who also lived in Hamilton. Neither individual, however, has a date of death known to us.

(Jimmy Bartlett, pictured at the Oshawa Hall of Fame)

Jimmy Bartlett – Competitor for Canada in the marathon at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

England-born Jimmy Bartlett, born December 29, 1907, represented Canada in the marathon at the 1936 Berlin Games, where he placed 15^th. He was a top marathoner in the 1930s, but seemed to disappear after World War II. We suspect strongly that he is the James Alfred Bartlett, born May 1, 1908, who died on July 30, 1971 and is buried in Oshawa (link here), but we have been unable to confirm this for certain.

(Charles Matteson, pictured fourth from the left, in the August 6, 1936 edition of The Calgary Herald)

Charles Matteson – Member of Canada’s coxed eights squad at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

We know very little of Charles “Tiny” Matteson, born June 8, 1913, who represented Canada in the coxed eights at the 1936 Berlin Games and was eliminated in the semifinals. Aside from the fact that he was a member of the Leander Boat Club of Hamilton, we have no leads on his later life or when and where he might have died.

Aileen Thomas – Member of Canada’s fencing delegation to the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Aileen Thomas, born June 3, 1907, represented Canada in the women’s individual foil fencing competition at the 1936 Berlin Games, but was eliminated in the first round. We believe that she may have died in 1989 in the Toronto area, where she was from, but we have been unable to confirm this fact with certainty.

Next week we are going to look at the six individuals who competed at the 1948 London Games who are missing dates of death. Only two of these individuals are known to be deceased, leaving four who may still be alive – we hope that you will join us as we delve deeper into this topic!

For the past two weeks we have been looking into Australian Olympians who were born before 1931 and who were not known to be living and lacked a date of death. Today, we are moving on to a somewhat bigger challenge: those from Canada who meet that same criteria. According to our lists, there are 31 Canadians born before 1931 missing dates of death or confirmation of them being alive. We have covered 11 of them in the past – nine members of the 1904 Mohawk lacrosse team, Bob Lymburne, and Ralf Olin (who we have now learned died sometime in the early-to-mid 2000s). That leaves 20 Canadians left to cover, which is far too many for a single post. Today, therefore, we are going to look into the five individuals who competed prior to World War I, all of whom, of course, are definitely deceased.

Jimmy Fitzgerald – Member of Canada’s athletics delegation to the 1908 London Olympics

James Frances Fitzgerald, born November 3, 1883, represented Canada in three events at the 1908 London Games – the five mile, the 1500 metres, and the 3200 metres steeplechase – and was also entered in the 800 metres, but did not start. His best result was finishing seventh in the five mile. He was identified previously as John Ebenezer Fitzgerald, born September 8, 1886 and died in 1963, but this has been proven to be incorrect. Although we have evidence of him being alive and living in Boston in 1955, we have been unable to confirm what happened to him after that.

Eddie Cotter – Member of Canada’s athletics delegation to the 1908 London Olympics

Fitzgerald’s teammate Edward Vernon Cotter, born December 27, 1887, was also entered into the five mile event at the 1908 London Games, but only ended up competing in the marathon, which he did not finish. He was a successful marathoner at the national level during this era, but we have been unable to track his later activities. There is a listing at Find-A-Grave of a grave for an Edward V. Cotter, born in 1887, who died in the Waterloo region in 1973, which seems likely to be him, but have been unable to prove this.

Bruce Williams – Bronze medalist for Canada in sport shooting at the 1908 London Olympics

Bruce Williams, born December 1876 in Nova Scotia, won a bronze medal in the military rifle team event at the 1908 London Games. Aside from the unit with which he served, we know almost nothing about Williams, although one researcher has suggested that he is actually Bertram Mills Williams, born December 18, 1876 and died January 24, 1934. While this seems like a promising lead, we have been unable to verify it.

Mylie Fletcher – Silver medalist for Canada in sport shooting at the 1908 London Olympics

Despite his uncommon name, Mylie Fletcher is the only individual that we will be featuring who lacks even a suggested year of birth. He took silver in the team trap event at the 1908 London Games and also finished joint-seventh individually. We again suspect a misidentification here and that he is actually Hamilton, Ontario firefighter Miles Edwin Fletcher, born August 23, 1868 and died in 1959, but we have been unable to confirm it thus far.

George Beattie – Three-time sport shooting silver medalist for Canada

George Beattie is the only individual on this list who competed after World War I as well as before it and, unsurprisingly, is the one that we know the most about. Participating in 1908, 1920, and 1924, he took silver in the team trap in 1908 and 1924 and individually in 1908. A game warden by trade, we were able to confirm that he was still alive and living in Hamilton in 1946. After that point, however, we have been unable to trace him.

Beattie is a good segue into our topic for next week, when we will look into the six Canadians who competed exclusively during the interwar period. We hope you will join us for this continuing series!