Raymond Barkway

Raymond Barkway (1924–1956) ran the 110M high hurdles for Great Britain in the 1948 London Olympics. He was killed in a plane crash he was piloting aged only 32 years old.

Barkway was born in Croxley Green and began his athletics career at Harrow County High school. After his father got the job of station master on the Watford metropolitan line the family moved into the station house on Cassiobury park avenue, and the young Barkway arrived at Watford Boys Grammar School in 1937. He went on to win a place at Exeter College, Oxford to read Chemistry.

Whilst at Oxford he became one of the country’s top high hurdlers. He recorded his lifetime best of 14.9s in 1950. A fine victory in the South of England champs in the same year saw him take the victory by less than a foot between all 3 medalists.

Barkway went out in the heats in London 1948, placing 4th in a time of 15.3s although he did go onto win a medal on the world stage when in 1951 he took the bronze medal in the Summer International University Sports Week held in Luxemburg. An event now referred to as the World Student Games, he finished in a time of 15.5s.

During his time at Exeter college he befriended and trained alongside Roger Bannister and was the official starter for Bannisters four-minute mile record breaking run on 6 May 1954. The silver Smith & Wesson revolver used by Barkway is now on display at Clifton College in Bristol, where Barkway worked as Chemistry teacher upon finishing his studies at Oxford. A member of the RAF reserve, and later the Naval Reserve, he reached the rank of Lieutenant and traveled to Canada where he underwent elementary pilot training. By coincidence he was taught his flying skills by the son of his former Maths teacher at Watford Boys.

On 1 July 1956, Barkway was on flying exercises at Tilstock Airfield near Whitchurch, Shropshire. The Grumman TBM-3E Avenger he was piloting crashed and killed both Barkway, and his co-pilot. The inquest into the crash found that the engine failed during a steep turn due to a loose nut in the carburetor. His obituary in the Watford Boys Fullerian journal at that time read he took a "fierce pride in his old school which he would allow to take no second place in comparison with any other". He had only recently turned 32 years old at the time of his death.