Arthur Godfrey Kilner Brown (21 February 1915 – 4 February 1995) was a British

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

, winner of a gold medal in the 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 ...

. He later became Headmaster of the

Royal Grammar School Worcester The Royal Grammar School Worcester (also known as RGS Worcester and RGSW) is an 11-18 co-educational, private day school and sixth form in Worcester, Worcestershire, England. Founded before 1291, it is one of the oldest British independent day ...

, a post which he held from 1950 until his retirement in 1978.

Biography

Born in

Bankura Bankura () is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura district. Etymology It comes from the old Austric word ráŕhá or ráŕho which means “land of red soil”.P.R. Sarkar Rarh - ...

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

, India, Brown was educated at

Warwick School Warwick School is a British Public school (United Kingdom), public school (independent school (UK), independent boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school) for boys, in the market town of Warwick, in Warwickshire, England. Known as ...

, where he was Head Boy from 1933 to 1934. In 1935 he went up to study English and History at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Peterhouse has around 300 undergraduate and 175 graduate stud ...

, and worked after graduation as a history master at

Bedford School Bedford School is a 7–18 Single-sex education, boys Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the county town of Bedford in England. Founded in 1552, it is the oldest of four independent schools in Bedford run by the Harpur Trust. Bed ...

. Because his sight was poor he was not mobilized in the Army, staying as school master at

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

from 1943 to 1950. From 1950 till 1978, Brown was the headmaster of the Royal Grammar School Worcester. He died in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, aged 79. Brown was a highly talented runner at distances from to the half-mile. He won the British AAA championships in in 1936 and 1938 and in in 1939. At the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

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

, Brown was narrowly beaten by

Archie Williams Archie Franklin Williams (May 1, 1915 – June 24, 1993) was an American U.S. Air Force officer, athlete, and teacher. He was the winner of the 400 meter run at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Biography Archie Williams was born in Oakland, Californ ...

in the 400 m individual event, but Brown anchored the British 4 × 400 m relay team to a gold medal ahead of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1937, Brown won 400 m at the World Student Games, with additional gold medals at both relays. At the 1938 European Championships, Brown won the individual 400 m, anchored the British 4 × 400 m relay team to a second place and won the bronze at 4 × 100 m relay. Brown won three

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

titles; two 440 yards titles at the 1936 AAA Championships and

1938 AAA Championships The 1938 AAA Championships was the 1938 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held from 15 to 16 July 1938 at White City Stadium White City Stadium in London, ...

and one 880 yards title at the 1939 AAA Championships.

Siblings

His sister

Audrey Audrey () is a feminine given name. It is rarely a masculine given name. Audrey is the Anglo-Norman form of the Anglo-Saxon name ''Æðelþryð'', composed of the elements '' æðel'' "noble" and '' þryð'' "strength". The literal definition of ...

and brother

Ralph Ralph (pronounced or ) is a male name of English origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Old High German ''Radulf'', cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms are: * Ra ...

were also notable athletes, Audrey winning a silver in

4 × 100 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is tetraphobia, considered unlucky i ...

at the 1936 Olympics and Ralph won the British

AAA championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title in hurdles in 1934.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Godfrey 1915 births 1995 deaths People from Bankura British male sprinters English male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain People educated at Warwick School European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) British sportspeople in British India Schoolteachers from Worcestershire Heads of schools in England Teachers at Royal Grammar School Worcester Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge 20th-century English sportsmen