Ernest Frederick Housden (1892–1974) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
athletics coach, pole vaulter and a 2012 inductee of the
England Athletics Hall of Fame
The England Athletics Hall of Fame was launched in 2008 with a panel of experts selecting a list of potential inductees for athletics fans and members of the public to vote on. The Hall of Fame honours those who have made an outstanding contributi ...
.
Early life and military service
Housden was born in 1892, and attended
The King's School, Canterbury
The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...
from 1906 to 1911, playing in the school cricket team.
He fought in the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, rising to
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
in the
Royal Field Artillery
The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...
, and was awarded the
Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.
The MC i ...
in the
1919 Birthday Honours for "distinguished service in connection with military operations in France and Flanders".
He was a
Master
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
at King's from 1919 to 1920, when he moved to
Harrow School
(The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God)
, established = (Royal Charter)
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school
, religion = Church of E ...
, where he worked until 1952, including a spell as acting Headmaster.
After retiring from Harrow, he devoted himself full-time to his athletics coaching.
Sporting career
Housden represented his country in the 110m hurdles and long jump,
and was the national pole vault champion in 1925 and 1928. However, he is perhaps best-regarded for his coaching, where his proteges included
Pat Pryce
Patricia Anne "Pat" Pryce (née Nutting; born 4 January 1942) is a retired English hurdler.
Athletics career
She competed in the 80 metres hurdles event at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1968 Summer ...
and
David Hemery
David Peter Hemery, (born 18 July 1944) is a British former track and field athlete, best known as the winner of the 400 metres hurdles at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
Early life
Hemery was born in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, but ...
. Hemery credits Housden with improving his hurdling technique, and once revealed that Housden would write him poems about his races; he went on to win gold at the
1968 Mexico City Olympics.
Housden was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(OBE) in the
1959 New Year Honours.
[United Kingdom list: ] In 1961, he collaborated with Geoff Dyson on the book ''The Mechanics of Athletics''.
He died in 1974.
References
1892 births
1974 deaths
People educated at The King's School, Canterbury
Royal Field Artillery officers
English male pole vaulters
English male hurdlers
English male long jumpers
English athletics coaches
Teachers at Harrow School
Head Masters of Harrow School
Recipients of the Military Cross
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
{{England-athletics-bio-stub