George Frederick William de Relwyskow (18 June 1887 – 1942) 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 ...

sport wrestler Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...

who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics for Great Britain.

Biography

Born in Kensington in 1887, the son of immigrants from the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, de Relwyskow took up wrestling as a means of keeping fit while a student in London training as an artist and designer. By 1907 he had won thirty-five open competitions in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and won the English amateur championships at lightweight and middleweight in 1907 and 1908. Because of his success he selected to represent Great Britain in the 1908 Olympics held in London.George de Relwyskow on the Wrestling Heritage website
On the outbreak of 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 ...

de Relwyskow returned to Britain from South America where he was on a wrestling tour to enlist in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. He served as a gymnastic and bayonet-fighting trainer, and served for a period with the Australian infantry. In France he trained soldiers in the use of unarmed combat. In October 1918 de Relwyskow was based at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

as a Royal Army Physical Training Corps instructor in the Army system of wrestling, a system he created. In 1924 he was appointed trainer to the British Olympic Games team in the 1924 Olympics held in Paris. He enlisted again at the start of

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 opposing ...

and served as an instructor in Unarmed Combat and Silent Killing with the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

(SOE). After serving for a period as an Instructor to the SOE School in Canada - the Special Training School (STS) 103 (which was also known as "Camp X"), de Relwyskow returned to Britain before being sent to the Far East. Relwyskow died at his Leeds home in 1942. He left a wife, Clara, and sons Douglas and George. Douglas was a professional wrestling referee, whose own son, also called Douglas (grandson of the original George), became a regular face on televised professional wrestling in the UK under the name Barry Douglas (and briefly as the masked Battle Star). The younger George de Relwyskow pursued a career in professional wrestling cut short by an injury in World War II. He later became a successful wrestling promoter and member of

Joint Promotions Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom spans over one hundred years but became popular when the then new independent television network ITV began showing it in 1955, firstly on Saturday afternoons and then also in a late-night midweek slot. ...

and the promotional business was continued after his death in 1980 by his daughter Ann.http://www.oakwoodchurch.info/The%20de%20Relwyskow%20family%20-%20%20A%20forgotten%20Oakwood%20dynasty%20by%20Tony%20Pattison%20V1%2011-04-15.pdf Unlike other Joint members, Ann Relwyskow did not sell her share on to Max Cratbree but remained independent as part of Joint until her retirement in 1994, contributing her own matches to ITV's coverage as well as two later TV tapings broadcast regionally on STV and

Grampian TV Grampian Television was the original name of the Channel 3 service for the north of Scotland founded in 1961 and now named STV. The northern region's coverage area includes the Northern Isles, Western Isles, Highlands (except Fort William and ...

in 1989 and 1991. George de Relwyskow was the youngest winner of an Olympic gold medal for wrestling, a record that was to stand for almost seventy years until the 20-year-old Soviet Suren Nalbandyan won the Greco-Roman lightweight title in 1976.

Publications

* ''The Art of Wrestling''

Gale & Polden Gale and Polden was a British printer and publisher. Founded in Brompton, near Chatham, Kent in 1868, the business subsequently moved to Aldershot, where they were based until closure in November 1981 after the company had been bought by media m ...

, London (1919) * ''My Simple Way to Health'' (1924) * ''The Art of Wrestling'' Naval and Military Press, (2017)

References

External links

George de Relwyskow on the Database Olympics website
*
Detailed biography om CBQ Services website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Relwyskow, George de 1887 births 1943 deaths Military personnel from London Sportspeople from Kensington English people of Belarusian descent Olympic wrestlers of Great Britain Wrestlers at the 1908 Summer Olympics British male sport wrestlers Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics English Olympic medallists Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in wrestling Australian military personnel of World War I Royal Army Physical Training Corps soldiers British Army personnel of World War II British Special Operations Executive personnel People associated with physical culture British Army personnel of World War I