Louis Charles Baillon (5 August 1881 – 9 September 1965) was an English

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

player, who won a gold medal with the Great Britain team at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

Personal life

Louis Baillon was born in

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

at the house of his grandmother, Julia Williams. His father, Louis Augustine Baillon emigrated to the Falklands in the mid-1800s to become a sheep farmer. In 1888, he and his family returned to England and settled in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. In 1910, Louis married Mildred Isobel Green and they had 5 children together. He then joined the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

in 1914 and saw service in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during

World War I 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 ...

and later left the army in 1920. After leaving the army, Baillon joined the Phipps Northampton Brewery Company where he rose to the rank of director. 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 ...

, two of Louis's sons, Paul and Mark were killed in action during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

Sports career and later life

When Louis and his family returned to England, he established himself as an excellent sportsman excelling at hockey, football, and tennis. Baillon played as a full-back for

England men's national field hockey team The England men's national field hockey team competes in most major international tournaments except the Olympic Games. England's only appearance at the Olympics was at London 1908 when they won gold; since then English players have competed at ...

at the

in London. The team subsequently won their first and only gold medal to date making him the only Falkland Islander to win a gold medal at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. Louis played football at Wandsworth AFC and was still a member of the Northants County Lawn Tennis at the age of 50. He would ultimately remain in

for the rest of his life. Louis died aged 84 on 9 September 1965.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baillon, Louis 1881 births 1965 deaths English male field hockey players Field hockey players at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic field hockey players of Great Britain British male field hockey players Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Falkland Islands sportspeople People from Brixworth People from Fox Bay Olympic medalists in field hockey English Olympic medallists Falkland Islands sportsmen Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Royal Army Service Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I People from Stanley, Falkland Islands