Gerard Rupert Laurie Anderson (15 March 1889 – November 1914), universally known as "Twiggy", was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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, ...

who participated in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics and held the world record for the 440-yards hurdles.

Life

Twiggy Anderson was born in

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

, then a village and parish in Brentford district,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

county in Greater London,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

.ANDERSON, GERARD RUPERT LAURIE

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...

. His parents were the Rev David Anderson, an Anglican

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of th ...

, and Blanche Alice May Anderson (née Laurie). He had two sisters, Gladys and Mona Constance Amabel, and a brother, Arthur Emilius David. He attended

Ludgrove School Ludgrove School is an English independent boys preparatory boarding school. Ludgrove was founded in 1892 at Ludgrove Hall in Middlesex by the Old Etonian sportsman Arthur Dunn. Dunn had been employed as a master at Elstree School, which sent b ...

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

. On graduating he was elected to a Fellowship of All Souls College. He was the AAA champion at the 120-yards hurdles in 1909-1910 and 1912.Laurie Anderson
. Sports-Reference.com On 16 July 1910 at

the Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around th ...

, Anderson set the IAAF

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

in the 440-yards hurdles with a time of 56.8 seconds. Anderson took part in the Stockholm Olympics in 1912 and was favored to win a medal, but had an accident during the Men's 110 metres and was disqualified. Anderson's brother Arthur was also a noted track star and competed in the 100 metres competition as well the 200 metres event. After graduating university, Anderson became a manager at the Cammell Laird shipyard in

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

. During the

First World War 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 ...

, Anderson joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and gained a commission as a Second Lieutenant. On 16 October 1914, he joined the 3rd Battalion, attached to the 1st Battalion of the

Cheshire Regiment The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. ...

, and he saw action with this unit in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

ENGLAND LOSING ATHLETES; Many Prominent in Sporting Circles Die on Battle Fields.

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

. 1 December 1914 On 7 November, Anderson was shot and mortally wounded in the heart, aged 25, at Hooge, near

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality c ...

. Also killed were Captain George Bertram Pollock-Hodsoll, a footballer who had played for Casuals and

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...

(who had, on occasion, captained the Army team), and four enlisted men. Anderson's unit successfully repelled a German attack and captured twenty-five enemy troops. There are differing accounts of Anderson's death from his wounds. Battalion records state he was killed on 7 November, the day he was wounded. A sports biography places his death on 9 November and records from the

place his death on 11 November.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Gerard 1889 births 1914 deaths British male hurdlers British military personnel killed in World War I Sportspeople from Brentford Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Great Britain Sportspeople from Twickenham People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford People educated at Ludgrove School

Life

See also

References