Wyndham Halswelle

BORN in London in 1882, of Scots parents, Wyndham Halswelle had a notable athletic career at Charterhouse and the RC Sandhurst, before being commisioned into the Highland Light Infantry.

Haleswelle's ability was recognised while the regiment was in South Africa, but it was not until he returned to Britain in 1904 that he took up athletics seriously. In 1905 he won the Scottish and AAA 440 yards titles, and a year later, in the Athens Olympics, he achieved a silver medal in the 400 metres and a bronze in the 800 metres.

On his return to Scotland, he came first in the 100, 220, 440 and 880 yards - all on the same afternoon - at the Scottish championships.

His season was cut short by a leg injury in 1907, but he came back the following year to set a world record of 31.2 seconds for 300 yards. He reached the Olympic final in 1908 with the fastest qualifying time, but fell victim to some rough tactics during the race, and the judges decided on a re-run.

The other three American competitiors involved in the race refused to run so Halswelle appeared alone and completed a lap to win the 400m Olympic title on a walkover, an event which soured his athletic career. He made a farewell appearance at the 1908 Glasgow Rangers Sports and never ran again.

In 1915, at the age of 32, Captain Wyndham Halswelle was killed by a sniper's bullet at the battle of Neuve Chappelle in France, during World War I.