Scottish Olympic Heroes: Thomas ‘Ted’ Ranken (18 May 1875
– 27 April 1950)
and Arthur ‘Archie’ James Robertson (19 April 1879 - 18 April
1957)
Here at Deceased Online, we are very much enjoying the
London 2012 Olympic Games and are now looking forward to the fantastic
Edinburgh Festival. To celebrate both, we are highlighting two Scottish Olympic
heroes whose records can be found on the Deceased Online database.
Scottish athletes, Katherine Grainger, Heather Stanning,
Andy Murray, Tim Baillie and Scott Brash, have all won gold at the 2012 Games.
Fellow Scot, Sir Chris Hoy, has entered the record books for winning his sixth
gold medal and becoming Britain’s most successful Olympian. Gold medals were
just as abundant for Scots and other Britons in 1908, when London first hosted
the Olympics.
At the beginning of the Games, the Bishop of Pennsylvania gave a
now-famous sermon at St Paul’s Cathedral, in which he declared, “The important
thing in these Olympiads is not to win, but to take part.”
"The important thing in these Olympiads is not to win, but to take part."
This message may have
been lost on the British athletes, who went on to top the medal table. Held at
the White City Stadium in West London’s Shepherd’s Bush, the Games of the IV
Olympiad were a huge success for Great Britain. The host nation won one hundred
and forty six medals in total, with fifty-six golds – twenty-three more than
nearest rival, the United States.
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| Archie Robertson comes second in the 3200m Steeplechase in the London Olympics of 1908 (Image from the 1908 London Olympic Games Official Report). |
The first Scottish Olympian to win a gold medal in London was Arthur ‘Archie’ Robertson. In 1908, he won gold
as part of the three mile race team, alongside Joe Deakin and William Coales.
Interestingly, Robertson had been born in Sheffield (home city for modern Gold Olympians, Sebastian Coe and Jessica Ennis) but to a Glaswegian doctor.
Previously a strong cyclist, injury led him to take up athletics when he was
25. In the Athletics Stadium at White City, Robertson won silver in the 3,200
Metres Steeplechase and then competed in the Five Miles Final just three hours
later, coming fifth.
After the Olympics, Robertson retired from athletics, and
soon returned to cycling. He died in Peterborough, where he had attended
school, and was cremated on 23 April 1957 at Cambridge Crematorium.
Archie Robertson was inducted in the Scottish Sporting Hall
of Fame in 2004.
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| Details of Archie Robertson's cremation record on the Deceased Online database |
British Army officer, Captain (later Major) Thomas 'Ted'
Ranken is one of a small group of Olympians, now including Andy Murray, who won
two medals on the same day. The 1908 Shooting events took place in Bisley,
Surrey, where Ranken won three silvers in the team event, the Individual Single
Shot and the Individual Double Shot. Sadly, he failed to repeat his success
when he competed in Paris at the 1924 Olympics (now most popularly associated
with the film Chariots of Fire). Major Ranken served with the
Royal Scots in the First World War. He died at a nursing home in Edinburgh and
was cremated on 1 May 1950 at Warriston Crematorium.
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| Ted Ranken's record of cremation from Warriston Crematorium in the Deceased Onlne database |
We would love to hear from anyone who has found other Olympians on the database. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or join the debate on our Facebook page!
Sources:
1908 London Olympic Games Official Report
Medal Card of Major Thomas Ranken
The Times, Saturday April 29 1950, page 1
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