80 years ago

... my father attended the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. It was the summer between his finishing his A-levels at Nether Edge Grammar School in Sheffield (and his year as Head Boy), and beginning his degree in German and French at Sheffield University. He stood in the stadium and heard Hitler's address at the opening of the games and witnessed a glimpse of what was to come. But he was there to watch the top sportsmen and women. At school he had won all the track events. At university, in due course, he led the field in the Universities AAA sprinting events. Had there been no war, he'd have competed in the next Olympic games. It was not to be. Instead he was in the RAF working with radar. But he was a gold medal winning dad in my book. Here's his memento of the games - a pin badge of the famous five rings.