Gerald Ian d'Acres Backhouse (6 December 1912 – 28 December 1941) was an Australian

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

who competed in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

. In 1936 he finished eighth in the Olympic 800-metre event. In the 1500 metre competition he was eliminated in the first round. At the 1938 Empire Games he won the silver medal in the 1 mile contest. In the 880 yards event he finished seventh. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Gerald Backhouse was a Sergeant in the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

, serving on attachment with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. He died in a practice bombing flight in England on the 28 December 1941. He was buried at Sulloth (Causeway Head) Cemetery, Holme Low,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, England.https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2695857/GERALD%20IAN%20DACRES%20BACKHOUSE/ CWGC casualty record.

References

External links

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Gerald Backhouse
at Australian Athletics Historical Results
Gerald Backhouse
at Virtual War Memorial Australia 1912 births 1941 deaths Australian male middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1938 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force airmen Australian military personnel killed in World War II 20th-century Australian people Medallists at the 1938 British Empire Games Place of birth missing Australian Athletics Championships winners {{Australia-athletics-bio-stub