Francis Richard Walter Preston (6 June 1913 – 7 February 1975) was a British

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

. He competed in the 8 Metre event at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

Early life

Preston was the youngest of three sons of the industrialist and politician Sir Walter Preston. His eldest brother,

Kenneth Kenneth is a given name of Gaelic origin. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a byna ...

, was also an Olympic sailor. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

and

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

. Preston was a textile engineer, working for the family company.

Sporting achievements

Having first sailed in 8-metre international events on the Solent aged 17, with his brother Bryan, the Prestons soon met with success, winning regattas. All three Preston brothers were elected members of the

Royal Yacht Squadron The Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS) is a British yacht club. Its clubhouse is Cowes Castle on the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom. Member yachts are given the suffix RYS to their names, and are permitted (with the appropriate warrant) to we ...

. In the 1936 Summer Olympics, Preston was one of the six crew members aboard the ''Saskia'', coming in in sixth place.

References

External links

* 1913 births 1975 deaths British male sailors (sport) Olympic sailors for Great Britain Sailors at the 1936 Summer Olympics – 8 Metre People from Marylebone Sportspeople from the City of Westminster People educated at Rugby School {{UK-yachtracing-bio-stub