John St. Ledger Thornton (6 June 1911 – 18 August 1944) was a British

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

. He competed in the men's 110 metres hurdles at the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was killed in action 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 opposing ...

Personal life

Thornton served as a major in the Seaforth Highlanders during the Second World War. He served at El Alamein and in the

Sicily Campaign The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...

, and was killed in action on 18 August 1944 during the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

. Thornton is buried at

Banneville-la-Campagne War Cemetery Banneville-la-Campagne War Cemetery is a Second World War cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers located close to the commune of Banneville-la-Campagne, east of Caen, Normandy, France. The graveyard contains 2,175 graves of which 140 are unidentif ...

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* 1911 births 1944 deaths Military personnel from Nottinghamshire Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics British male hurdlers Olympic athletes for Great Britain People from Nottinghamshire (before 1974) Sportspeople from Nottinghamshire British Army personnel killed in World War II Seaforth Highlanders officers Burials at Banneville-la-Campagne War Cemetery {{UK-athletics-bio-stub