Barry John Middleton (born 12 January 1984) is a British

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

player. He played as a midfielder and forward for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and is the most capped British hockey player in history and captained his country for many years. Middleton was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to hockey.

Biography

Middleton played club hockey for Cannock in the Men's England Hockey League and while at the club made his international debut, aged 19, in April 2003 against Belgium and was a member of the

squad that finished ninth at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

in Athens. He represented

at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

in Melbourne. After moving from Cannock to Dutch club HGC he participated in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

in Beijing. He was part of the England squad that won the 2009 Eurohockey Nations Cup. He was named in the International Hockey Federation's All-Star team in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and was shortlisted for 'Player of the Year' in those three years. He also played in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Middleton was playing for

East Grinstead East Grinstead () is a town in West Sussex, England, near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders, south of London, northeast of Brighton, and northeast of the county town of Chichester. Situated in the northeast corner of the county, bord ...

when he was selected to captain Great Britain at his third Olympic Games, playing in the 2012 men's tournament in London. On 24 May 2014 he became the most capped English hockey international when he played his 308th international game. (203 for

, 105 for

). The match was against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Bisham Abbey Bisham Abbey is a Grade I listed manor house at Bisham in the English county of Berkshire. The name is taken from the now lost monastery which once stood alongside. This original Bisham Abbey was previously named Bisham Priory, and was the t ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. The previous record holder was Russell Garcia with 307 GB/England caps. He also captained the England squad that won bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and represented Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. On 4 December 2017 he played his 400th international match. (255 for

, 145 for

). The match was against Australia in the 2016–17 Men's FIH Hockey World League Final,

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

, India. He represented England and won a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. On 19 December 2018 it was announced that he is taking a break from international hockey in 2019. On 8 April 2019 he announced his retirement from international hockey. On 28 June 2021 he was appointed Director of Hockey for Holcombe, whilst continuing to play for them and on 2 February 2022 it was announced that he would be an Assistant Coach for

for some of the FIH Hockey Pro League matches, in the coming months. He joined Surbiton Hockey Club as a player coach for the 2024–25 season and helped them win the league title.

References

External links