Sir Christopher John Chataway (31 January 1931 – 19 January 2014) was a British middle- and

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

, television news broadcaster and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician.

Education

Chataway was born in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an area in West London, England, due south-west of Kilometre zero#Great Britain, Charing Cross by approximately . It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the SW postcode area, south-western p ...

, the son of James Denys Percival Chataway (died 1953) and Margaret Pritchard, née Smith (died 1988). He spent his childhood in the

Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ') was a condominium (international law), condominium of the United Kingdom and Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day South Sudan and Sudan. Legally, sovereig ...

as his father was a district commissioner in the

Sudan Political Service The Sudan Political Service was the name given to the cadre of officials of the Sudan Civil Service who were mainly engaged in administrative functions in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan between 1899 and 1955 (or 1956). They were distinguished from those m ...

. He was educated at

Sherborne School Sherborne School is a full-boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 located beside Sherborne Abbey in the Dorset town of Sherborne. The school has been in continuous operation on the same site for over 1,300 years. It was founded in 705 AD by Ald ...

— where he excelled at rugby, boxing and gymnastics but did not win a race until he was 16. — and

Magdalen College Magdalen College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and one of the strongest academically, se ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, where he gained a

philosophy, politics and economics Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate academic degree, degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in P ...

degree,Sir Chris Chataway: Former British athlete dies Chris Chataway dies at BBC Sport
Retrieved 19 January 2014 His studies were outshone by his success on the athletics track as a long-distance runner.

Athletics career

Chataway had a short but distinguished athletics career. At the

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

of 1952, in the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

final, after being passed on the last bend by the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

long-distance runner,

Emil Zátopek Emil Zátopek (; 19 September 1922 – 21 November 2000) was a Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final ...

, France's

Alain Mimoun Alain Mimoun, born Ali Mimoun Ould Kacha (1 January 1921 – 27 June 2013), was a French long-distance runner who competed in track running, track events, cross-country running and the marathon. He was the 1956 Summer Olympics, 1956 Olympic champ ...

, and

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

's Herbert Schade, Chataway's foot brushed the curb and he crashed headlong to the ground. Chataway managed to finish the race in fifth place. On leaving university he took an executive job with

Guinness Guinness () is a stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at Guinness Brewery, St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in the 18th century. It is now owned by the British-based Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic bever ...

. When Sir

Hugh Beaver Sir Hugh Eyre Campbell Beaver, KBE (4 May 1890 – 16 January 1967) was an English-South African civil engineer, industrialist and bureaucrat, who founded the ''Guinness World Records'' (then known as Guinness Book of Records). He was Dire ...

of Guinness came up with the idea for the ''

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'', it was Chataway who suggested his old university friends Norris and

Ross McWhirter Alan Ross McWhirter (12 August 1925 – 27 November 1975) was, with his twin brother, Norris, the cofounder of the 1955 ''Guinness Book of Records'' (known since 2000 as ''Guinness World Records'') and a contributor to the television programm ...

as editors, knowing of their liking for facts. Chataway continued with his running. When

Roger Bannister Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister (23 March 1929 – 3 March 2018) was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub- 4-minute mile. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres and ...

ran the first sub-four-minute mile on 6 May 1954 at Oxford University's Iffley Road Track, Chataway and

Chris Brasher Christopher William Brasher CBE (21 August 1928 – 28 February 2003) was a British track and field athlete, Olympic champion, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon. Early life and education Born in Georgetown, British Gui ...

were his pacemakers. He finished in second place in the 5000m at the European Athletics Championship of 1954, 12.2 seconds behind the winner

Vladimir Kuts Volodymyr Petrovych Kuts (, , 7 February 1927 – 16 August 1975) was a Soviet long-distance runner. He won the 5000 and 10000 m races at the 1956 Olympics, setting Olympic records in both events. Biography Kuts was born in Oleksyne, Ukrainia ...

, but two weeks later turned the tables at a London v. Moscow athletics competition at White City, setting a

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 organizatio ...

time of 13 minutes 51.6 seconds. The contest was televised via the Eurovision network and made Chataway a sporting celebrity: that December he won the first

BBC Sports Personality of the Year The BBC Sports Personality of the Year is an awards ceremony that takes place annually in December. Devised by Paul Fox in 1954, it originally consisted of just a single award of the same name. Several new awards have been introduced, and cu ...

award. After competing in the

1956 Olympics 1956 Olympics refers to both: *The 1956 Winter Olympics, which were held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy *The 1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were ...

, Chataway retired from international athletics, though he continued to race for Thames Hare and Hounds.

Broadcasting and politics

Soon after leaving Oxford with a degree in politics, philosophy and economics, he decided to aim for a political career. He thought a suitable job in the rapidly expanding world of television might help. He refused offers in sports TV and with panel and quiz shows but secured a job in August 1955 with

ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based media production and broadcast journalism company. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, New York City, New York, Paris, Sydney and Washin ...

. He,

Robin Day Sir Robin Day (24 October 1923 – 6 August 2000) was an English political journalist and television and radio broadcaster. Day's obituary in ''The Guardian'' by Dick Taverne stated that he was "the most outstanding television journalist of ...

, and

Barbara Mandell Allada Barbara Grenville Wells (15 July 1920 – 25 August 1998), known professionally as Barbara Mandell, was a British journalist, broadcaster, newsreader and travel writer. She became the United Kingdom's first female newsreader after she wa ...

, were its first newscasters. After six months, when loss-making ITV cut back on its news output, Chataway switched to the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and was for three and a half years one of ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

''s team of reporters with a different assignment each week, sometimes at home but usually abroad. By this time, he was also considering another career, this time in politics. He had been narrowly elected as a

to the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

in 1958 in

Lewisham North Lewisham North is a parliamentary constituency in Lewisham, London which returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was re-established at the 2024 general election by the 2023 perio ...

, and was then selected to stand for Parliament in the same seat. Lewisham North was a highly marginal seat won by Labour in a by-election in 1957, but Chataway won the seat with a majority bigger than it had been in the previous general election. His

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

expressed the hope that the

England cricket team The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...

would refuse to play a tour in

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

South Africa, a highly unusual opinion for a Conservative. In Parliament, Chataway took up the issue of refugees, especially in Africa, and campaigned so hard during World Refugee Year that he was awarded a Nansen Medal. He served as a Parliamentary Private Secretary before being appointed as a junior Education Minister in July 1962. In the 1964 election, his majority was slashed to 343 and the seat looked distinctly vulnerable; in 1966 he lost.

ILEA

In 1967 the Conservatives unexpectedly won control of the

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was the local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. From 1965 to 1986 it was an ad hoc committee of the Greater London Co ...

and the party leadership was horrified to discover that their newly elected councillors were going to try to break up comprehensive schools and replace them with secondary modern and grammar schools. Chataway, with relevant ministerial experience, was persuaded to take over. He was elected an alderman and appointed leader of the education committee. Eventually cajoling his colleagues into a more moderate line, he avoided a head-on collision with Edward Short (the Labour Education Secretary) and proceeded with those schemes for secondary reorganisation that he regarded as well founded.

Heath government

Chataway was keen to return to Parliament, and the opportunity came in a

byelection A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

in May 1969. He then resigned as ILEA Leader. With the return of a Conservative government in 1970, and after refusing the offer of sports minister, he was appointed by Edward Heath as Minister for Posts and Telecommunications and made a privy counsellor. In this post he took charge of introducing commercial radio for the first time, ending the BBC monopoly. He also introduced to parliament the complete end to the restrictions on broadcasting hours on television and radio. The restrictions on broadcasting hours were gradually eased from early 1971 and lifted fully in January 1972. After a reshuffle in April 1972 he was Minister for Industrial Development.

Business career

When the Conservatives were defeated in the February 1974 election, Chataway announced his retirement from politics (at the age of 43) and did not seek re-election in October 1974. He then went into business becoming a managing director of Orion Bank,Roberts, Richard & Christopher Arnander. (2001) ''Take Your Partners: Orion, the Consortium Banks and the Transformation of the Euromarkets''. Palgrave Macmillan. p.14. a consortium bank later acquired by one of its shareholders, the

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; ) is a Canadian multinational Financial institution, financial services company and the Big Five (banks), largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 20 million clients and has more than ...

. He stayed with Orion, later as vice chairman, for 15 years. He held various non-executive directorships and was also the first chairman of Groundwork, the environmental charity, and hon. treasurer of the National Campaign for Electoral Reform. His principal outside interest was

ActionAid ActionAid is an international non-governmental organization whose stated primary aim is to work against poverty and injustice worldwide. ActionAid is a federation of 45 country offices that works with communities, often via local partner organi ...

, a small overseas development charity, of which he became treasurer in 1974 and later chairman. By the time he left the board of trustees in 1999 ActionAid's annual turnover had grown to nearly £100 million. When Chataway's son Adam decided to launch a water project in Ethiopia in memory of his fiancée killed in a road traffic accident he chose to do it in partnership with ActionAid. Vicky's Water Project, opened in 2010, has transformed the lives of 20,000 people. In 1991 Chataway was appointed chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority – a job he relished not least because his father had been one of the early aviators. He supported his friend

when he established the

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

, and was President of the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

Council for England from 1990 to 2009. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the

1995 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1995 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Of ...

for services to the aviation industry.The United Kingdom: In the 2005 general election his stepson Charles Walker was elected as Conservative MP for

Broxbourne Broxbourne is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, England, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 It is located to the south of Hoddesdon and to the north of Cheshunt, north of London. ...

Personal life

He was married twice; firstly, to Anna Lett (1959; divorced 1975), with whom he had two sons and a daughter; and secondly, to Carola Walker (1976 to his death), with whom he had two further sons. His stepson is the Conservative MP Charles Walker and his brother-in-law the former Conservative MP

Peter Hordern Peter Hordern may refer to: * Peter Hordern (politician) (1929–2024), British Conservative Party politician * Peter Hordern (rugby union) (1907–1988), England international rugby union player {{hndis, Hordern, Peter ...

Death

Chataway suffered from cancer for the last two and a half years of his life. He died at St John's Hospice in north west London on 19 January 2014, twelve days before his 83rd birthday.Sir Christopher Chataway dies at Daily Telegraph Sport
Retrieved 19 January 2014

References

External links

*
Sunday Times article 13 December 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chataway, Chris 1931 births 2014 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Athletes (track and field) at the 1952 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer Olympics BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners British broadcaster-politicians British sportsperson-politicians Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Deaths from cancer in England English male long-distance runners British male long-distance runners English male middle-distance runners British male middle-distance runners European Athletics Championships medalists ITN newsreaders and journalists Knights Bachelor Members of London County Council Members of the Greater London Council Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ministers in the Macmillan and Douglas-Home governments, 1957–1964 Olympic athletes for Great Britain Pacemakers People educated at Sherborne School People from Chelsea, London Athletes from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Sportspeople awarded knighthoods UK MPs 1959–1964 UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 World record setters in athletics (track and field) Nansen Refugee Award laureates Medallists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games 20th-century English sportsmen Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics