Harold Kingsford Brainsby (5 December 1910 – 3 April 1975) was a New Zealand field athlete who won a bronze medal in the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

at the

1934 British Empire Games The 1934 British Empire Games were the second edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, held in England, from 4–11 August 1934. The host city was London, with the main venue at Wembley Park, although the track cycling events wer ...

in London.

Early life and family

Born in Handsworth on the outskirts of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England, in 1910, Brainsby was the son of Edith Anna (née Kingsford) and Arthur Todd Brainsby, a Baptist minister. The family emigrated to New Zealand in 1911. Educated at Whangarei High School, Brainsby went on to study at Auckland University College, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1934, and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

and Diploma of Journalism in 1938. On 23 March 1940, Brainsby married Mary Priscilla Wrightson at St Aidan's Church in the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

suburb of Remuera, They adopted a daughter in 1957 and divorced in 1960. Harold remarried Diana Kelly and the couple had one son.

Athletics

Brainsby competed for

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

at the

, where he won the bronze medal in the

, with a distance of . He also competed in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

, finishing in seventh place with a leap of . He won the triple jump title at the national athletics championships in 1934 and 1935, and was second in the same event but the leading New Zealander (behind Japanese athlete Kenshi Togami) in 1937.

Later life and death

Brainsby served with the 21st Rifle Battalion,

2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

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 ...

. He rose from the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

to become a

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 ...

General Freyberg Lieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, (21 March 1889 – 4 July 1963) was a British-born New Zealand soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, who served as the 7th Governor-General of New Zealand from 1946 to 1952. Frey ...

's staff, and returned to New Zealand after the battle of El Alamein. Following a career as an illustrator and journalist for the ''

Auckland Star The ''Auckland Star'' was an evening daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, from 24 March 1870 to 16 August 1991. Survived by its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Star'', part of its name endures in ''The Sunday Star-Times'', created in ...

'', '' New Zealand Herald'', and ''Auckland Weekly News'', in 1952 he joined the Highland Park law firm of Melville Churton, which, in 1962, became Churton Brainsby & Hart. A noted

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions o ...

player, Brainsby was a member of the Auckland four that won the New Zealand championship on several occasions. He also served as president of the Northern Bridge Club. Brainsby died in Auckland on 3 April 1975, and his body was cremated at Purewa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brainsby, Harold 1910 births 1975 deaths New Zealand Army soldiers New Zealand Army officers English emigrants to New Zealand Athletes from Auckland People educated at Whangarei Boys' High School New Zealand male triple jumpers New Zealand male long jumpers Athletes (track and field) at the 1934 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand University of Auckland alumni New Zealand military personnel of World War II 20th-century New Zealand lawyers New Zealand contract bridge players Sportspeople from Handsworth, West Midlands 20th-century New Zealand journalists Medallists at the 1934 British Empire Games Military personnel from Birmingham, West Midlands