Jeffrey Ellis Robson (30 September 1926 – 5 September 2022) was a New Zealand

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player.

Early life and family

Born in

Palmerston Palmerston may refer to: People * Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer * Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston ** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman an ...

on 30 September 1926, Robson was the son of Maurice Alexander Robson, who later served as president of the New Zealand Badminton Federation between 1965 and 1967. He was educated at

King's High School, Dunedin King's High School is a state single-sex boys' secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the city close to the boundary between the suburbs of South Dunedin, St. Clair and Forbury, next to the parallel single ...

, where he represented the school in association football. In 1951, Robson graduated from the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate ...

with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery. In 1953, he married Heather Redwood, who also played international badminton for New Zealand. The couple had one child.

Sporting career

Badminton

As a badminton player, Robson won nine New Zealand singles championships, seven national men's doubles and four mixed doubles titles.

Tennis

In tennis, Robson won the New Zealand men's singles title three times, in 1949, 1952 and 1956. He also won five national men's doubles titles, and twice won the national mixed doubles championship. He represented New Zealand in the Davis Cup for three years, and was later the team captain.

Honours and awards

In the

1976 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1976 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1976 to celebra ...

, Robson was appointed a

Member 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 ...

, for services to tennis and badminton. In 1990, he was inducted into the

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the Hall o ...

Later life

Robson's wife Heather died in Auckland on 11 October 2019. Robson died in Auckland on 5 September 2022, at the age of 95.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robson, Jeff 1926 births 2022 deaths People from Palmerston, New Zealand People educated at King's High School, Dunedin University of Otago alumni New Zealand male badminton players New Zealand male tennis players New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century New Zealand people 21st-century New Zealand people