Charles Foden (1868 – 14 October 1908) was a British

tug of war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certa ...

competitor. At the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

, he won a silver medal in the

event as the captain of the British team, ''Liverpool Police'', for whom he worked as a

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

. Charles was also a superb

marksman A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-than-u ...

and often practised in his spare time with a miniature rifle. On 14 October 1908, his body was discovered on the police athletic grounds in Liverpool with a gunshot wound through the heart, and his rifle was found nearby. An inquest into his death was held, but it could not be determined if he had committed suicide. At his funeral, his coffin was carried to its final place of rest by six members of the tug of war team.

References

1868 births 1908 deaths Olympic tug of war competitors for Great Britain Tug of war competitors at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in tug of war category:British police officers {{tugofwar-bio-stub Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Liverpool