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