An exhibition at the RAF Museum celebrates the contribution of serving personnel to the Games
11:19am Thursday 2nd August 2012 in What's On By Rosy Moorhead
Sergeant Don Finlay was the British team captain in the 1948 Olympic Games
If almost 24-7 Games coverage still isn’t enough Olympics for you, head to the RAF Museum in Hendon for Athletes and Olympians: Sport in the RAF , an exhibition celebrating the contribution and importance of sports in the Royal Air Force and featuring those athletes who were in the RAF at the time they competed in the Olympic Games.
Learn about the famous hurdler Group Captain Don Finlay, who won bronze in the 110 metre hurdles in 1932 in Los Angeles and silver in 1936, in the now notorious Berlin Games. He was also the British team captain in the 1948 Games in London and was chosen to take the Olympic oath. He joined the RAF in 1935 and flew Spitfires with No 54 Squadron RAF in the Battle of Britain in 1940, and retired from the force in 1959.
Finlay will feature alongside marathon runners, rowers, discus throwers, skiers and members of bobsleigh teams.
The exhibition also examines the contribution that sport makes within the service and in the UK’s relations abroad, where friendly competition often blazes the trail for political contacts designed to diffuse tensions or win over ‘hearts and minds’.
A section of the exhibition will also cover the RAF or former RAF personnel competing in the current Olympic and forthcoming Paralympic Games, as well as the contribution made by RAF personnel who will officiat, referee and organise events this summer.
- Athletes and Olympians: Sport in the RAF is in the Temporary Exhibition Gallery, RAF Museum London, Grahame Park Way, Hendon until September 30. Museum opening hours: 10am to 6pm. Details: 020 8205 2266, www.rafmuseum.org.uk
