Louis Charles Baillon (5 August 1881 – 9 September 1965) was an English

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, who won a gold medal with the Great Britain team at the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

Personal life

Louis Baillon was born in

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

at the house of his grandmother, Julia Williams. His father, Louis Augustine Baillon emigrated to the Falklands in the mid-1800s to become a

sheep farmer Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. It is a branch of animal husbandry. Sheep are raised principally for their meat (lamb and mutton), milk (sheep's milk), and fiber (wool). They also yield sheepskin an ...

. In 1888, he and his family returned to England and settled in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. In 1910, Louis married Mildred Isobel Green and they had 5 children together. He then joined the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and do ...

in 1914 and saw service in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and later left the army in 1920. After leaving the army, Baillon joined the Phipps Northampton Brewery Company where he rose to the rank of director. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, two of Louis's sons, Paul and Mark were

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

Sports career and later life

When Louis and his family returned to England, he established himself as an excellent sportsman excelling at hockey, football, and tennis. Baillon played as a full-back for

England men's national field hockey team The England men's national field hockey team competes in most major international tournaments except the Field hockey at the Summer Olympics, Olympic Games. England's only appearance at the Olympics was at Field hockey at the 1908 Summer Olympic ...

at the

in London. The team subsequently won their first and only gold medal to date making him the only Falkland Islander to win a gold medal at the

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 ...

. Louis played football at Wandsworth AFC and was still a member of the Northants County Lawn Tennis at the age of 50. He would ultimately remain in

for the rest of his life. Louis died aged 84 on 9 September 1965.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baillon, Louis 1881 births 1965 deaths English male field hockey players Field hockey players at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic field hockey players for Great Britain British male field hockey players Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Falkland Islands sportspeople People from Brixworth People from Fox Bay Olympic medalists in field hockey English Olympic competitors Falkland Islands sportsmen Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Royal Army Service Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I People from Stanley, Falkland Islands