Maurice "Moss" Lane Marshall (12 January 1927 – 16 May 2013) was a New Zealand middle-distance

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

Early life and family

Marshall was born in

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

on 12 January 1927, the son of Henry Horace Marshall and Constance Marshall (née Hill). In 1954, he married Elizabeth Mary "Betty" Conradi at All Hallows Chapel,

Southwell School Southwell School, is an independent co-educational Anglican boarding and day school set in 32 acres of park like grounds in central Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. Southwell offers education to children aged 5 to 13 years. A numbe ...

, Hamilton, and the couple went on to have three children.

Athletics

Marshall represented New Zealand at the 1950 British Empire Games in

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 ...

, where he won a bronze medal in the 1 mile. The following year, he won the first of his two New Zealand national athletics titles, winning the 1 mile in a time of 4:17.7. In 1952, he won his second 1-mile championship, in a personal best time of 4:11.8. Marshall competed for New Zealand at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics in both the 1500 m and the

800 m The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

, but did not progress beyond the heats.

Teaching career

A schoolteacher, Marshall joined the staff of Southwell School in Hamilton in 1953. After a period of teaching in Fiji and at

Ngongotahā Ngongotahā is a town on the western shores of Lake Rotorua in New Zealand's North Island. It is 10 kilometers northwest of Rotorua city, and is part of the Rotorua metropolitan area. Its population was as of Its name is derived from a legend ...

, he returned to Southwell, and was appointed headmaster in 1972. He retired in 1988, but served as caretaker headmaster for a term in 1994. During his tenure as head, the school roll grew from 160 to 325.

Honours

In the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours, Marshall 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 education and sport. Parallel streets in Hamilton, Marshall Street and Holland Road, were named after Marshall and his Olympic teammate, John Holland.

Death

Marshall died at his home in Hamilton on 16 May 2013, and his funeral was held in All Hallows Chapel at Southwell. He was buried in Hamilton Park Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Maurice 1927 births 2013 deaths Sportspeople from Thames, New Zealand New Zealand male middle-distance runners Olympic athletes for New Zealand Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1950 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics New Zealand schoolteachers Burials at Hamilton Park Cemetery Medallists at the 1950 British Empire Games