Lieutenant Christopher Sydney Hudson (1 August 1910 – 7 April 2005) was a British

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

. He competed in the men's combined event at the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936, were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 February 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Nazi Ger ...

. 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 ...

, Hudson was also part of the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

(SOE).

Biography

Hudson was born in

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sand ...

, Kent, in 1910, but spent most of his early life in near

Montreux Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...

, Switzerland. As well as skiing, Hudson also played golf and tennis. He would spend the winter skiing in Switzerland, while playing at the Royal Eastbourne Golf Club in England in the warmer months. As a golfer, he was a three-time runner-up in the Sussex Amateur Championship during the 1930s, and in 1932, he reached the fifth round of the British Open Amateur Championship. As a skier, he competed against Peter Lunn, who would also represent Great Britain at the Winter Olympics. Lunn, like Hudson, was also a spy. In 1933, Hudson became the British champion, and was named the vice-captain of the British Olympic team. At the

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; ) is an Northern Limestone Alps, Alpine mountain resort, ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen (district), district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ...

, Germany, Hudson competed in the men's combined event, where he finished in 29th place. After the Olympics, Hudson joined the

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many war ...

. From there, he joined the

, and he began to work with the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

. While in France, he was arrested, and spent 15 months in captivity. He managed to escape, via Spain, and get back to England, before returning back to France. He was honoured with a

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

and the

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

. In the 1950s, Hudson worked for

Shell International Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yor ...

, before returning to Scotland at the end of the 1960s to work for the

Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial bank, commercial and clearing (finance), clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group. The bank was established by the Par ...

. He also worked for the

Confederation of British Industry The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a British business interest group, which says it represents 190,000 businesses. The CBI has been described by the ''Financial Times'' as "Britain's biggest business lobby group". Incorporated by roy ...

(CBI), and became a chairman of CBI Scotland. He also helped to establish the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

in Scotland in the early 1980s. In 2003, Hudson wrote the book ''Undercover Operator'' about his time in the SOE. He died in

Livingston, West Lothian Livingston (, ) is the largest town in West Lothian, Scotland. Designated in 1962, it is the fourth post-war New towns in the United Kingdom, new town to be built in Scotland. Taking its name from Livingston Village, a village of the same name ...

, Scotland, in April 2005 at the age of 94.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, Sydney 1910 births 2005 deaths British male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers for Great Britain Alpine skiers at the 1936 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Royal Tunbridge Wells