Kingston Athletic Club and Polytechnic Harriers

(Redirected from Polytechnic Harriers)

The Kingston Athletic Club and Polytechnic Harriers or Kingston & Poly AC for short is an athletic club based in Kingston upon Thames in England.

Kingston & Poly AC
Founded1883
GroundKingsmeadow Athletics Stadium
LocationKingston Road, KT1 3PB
Coordinates51°24′17″N 0°17′02″W / 51.40472°N 0.28389°W / 51.40472; -0.28389
Websitekingstonandpoly.org

History

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The club was founded by philanthropist Quintin Hogg in 1883, and they were known for four years as the Hanover United AC, and were the athletics arm of Quintin Hogg's Regent Street Polytechnic.[1] The Polytechnic Harriers were based at the Chiswick track and their history with racing events predated "the Poly" since they oversaw walking races from London to Brighton as far back as 1897.[2][3]

The club has long ties to what is now the London Marathon. In 1908 they oversaw the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1908 Olympics, the Game's marathon, and played a large part in the development of the Polytechnic Marathon, which ran from 1909- 1996.[4][5][6][7]

In 1920, Harry Edward became Great Britain's first Black medalist at the Olympic Games.[8]

In 1985 The Polytechnic Harriers merged with The Royal Borough of Kingston AC, a women's club that evolved from Surrey AC, to become the Kingston AC and Polytechnic Harriers (Kingston & Poly). The Polytechnic's Kinnaird and Sward Trophies are still contested annually at Kingston & Poly's home track, which was originally constructed as a cinder track in 1961[9] and is adjacent to the football stadium at Kingsmeadow. The Polytechnic Marathon is no longer held, having been superseded by the London Marathon. Kingston & Poly's men now compete nationally in the British Athletics League and, at area level, the men and women operate jointly in the Southern Athletics League, although they were relegated to lesser divisions in 2016.[10]

Olympic athletes

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Albert Hill
 
Arthur Wint

[11]

Athlete Club Games Medals/Ref
Henry Barrett Polytechnic Harriers 1908, 1912
George Nicol Polytechnic Harriers 1908, 1912  
James Barrett Polytechnic Harriers 1908
Charlie Davies Polytechnic Harriers 1908
Oswald Groenings Polytechnic Harriers 1908
George Hawkins Polytechnic Harriers 1908
Guy Holdaway Polytechnic Harriers 1908
Georg Lind Polytechnic Harriers 1908
Henry Murray Polytechnic Harriers 1908
Edward Spencer Polytechnic Harriers 1908  
Jimmy Tremeer Polytechnic Harriers 1908  
Timothy Carroll Polytechnic Harriers 1912, 1920
Willie Applegarth Polytechnic Harriers 1912   
James Barker Polytechnic Harriers 1912
Victor d'Arcy Polytechnic Harriers 1912  
Percy Mann Polytechnic Harriers 1912
Douglas McNicol Polytechnic Harriers 1912
Clive Taylor Polytechnic Harriers 1912
Arthur Treble Polytechnic Harriers 1912
Larry Cummins Polytechnic Harriers 1920  
Harry Edward Polytechnic Harriers 1920   
Albert Hill Polytechnic Harriers 1920    
Eric Robertson Polytechnic Harriers 1920
Guy Brockington Polytechnic Harriers 1924
Fred Gaby Polytechnic Harriers 1924, 1928
John Odde Polytechnic Harriers 1924
Richard Ripley Polytechnic Harriers 1924  
Frederick Chauncy Polytechnic Harriers 1928
Cyril Gill Polytechnic Harriers 1928  
Jack London Polytechnic Harriers 1928   
Arthur Muggridge Polytechnic Harriers 1928
Lorna Frampton Polytechnic Harriers 1936
Bert Norris Polytechnic Harriers 1936
Aubrey Reeve Polytechnic Harriers 1936
Stan West Polytechnic Harriers 1936
McDonald Bailey Polytechnic Harriers 1948, 1952  
Paul Crosfield Polytechnic Harriers 1948
Charles Denroche Polytechnic Harriers 1948
Rene Howell Polytechnic Harriers 1948
Stan Jones Polytechnic Harriers 1948
Leslie Laing Polytechnic Harriers 1948, 1952  
Ron Pavitt Polytechnic Harriers 1948, 1952
Martin Pike Polytechnic Harriers 1948
Doug Wilson| Polytechnic Harriers 1948
Arthur Wint Polytechnic Harriers 1948, 1952      
Peter Hildreth Polytechnic Harriers 1952, 1956, 1960
Brian Shenton Polytechnic Harriers 1952, 1956
Jeannette Bailey Polytechnic Harriers 1960
Tim Graham Polytechnic Harriers 1964
Colin Campbell Polytechnic Harriers 1968, 1972, 1976
Alan Pascoe Polytechnic Harriers 1968, 1972, 1976

Archives

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The Club's archives are still held at the University of Westminster.[12]

References

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  1. ^ Kingston Athletics Club & Polytechnic Harriers History of the club 03-07-2007 Archived June 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Bryant, John (17 April 2009). The Marathon Makers. Kings Road Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84358-228-1. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  3. ^ Clapson, Mark (1 November 2014). "Global Sport in the Suburbs: The Regent Street Polytechnic's Sports Facilities at Chiswick, 1888–1938". The London Journal. 39 (3): 265–280. doi:10.1179/0305803414Z.00000000052. ISSN 0305-8034. S2CID 144590927.
  4. ^ Polley, Martin (1 July 2009). "From Windsor Castle to White City: The 1908 Olympic Marathon Route" (PDF). The London Journal. 34 (2): 163–178. doi:10.1179/174963209X442441. ISSN 0305-8034. S2CID 162023260.
  5. ^ Hill, Dave (23 April 2016). "London Marathon: 35 years of change in 26.2 miles". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  6. ^ Usborne, Simon (23 October 2011). "Timeline: The marathon". The Independent. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Poly History – Harriers Athletic Club – Polytechnic Football Club". Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  8. ^ Dawkins, Sarah (16 October 2020). "Harry Edward: The Berlin-born POW who became Britain's first black Olympic medallist". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  9. ^ https://kingstonandpoly.org/archive/id28-History%20of%20the%20Club.html Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  10. ^ "Athletics: Kingston & Polytechnic Harriers fall at final British League hurdle". Your Local Guardian. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Polytechnic Harriers, Westminster (GBR)". Olympedia. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Polytechnic Harriers Athletic Club - University of Westminster › Records and Archives". westminster-atom.arkivum.net. University of Westminster. Retrieved 2 July 2021.