Geoff Cutter

Welsh international hockey player Geoff Cutter was the son of Tommy Cutter, also a Welsh international, and later hockey umpire. Geoff first attracted attention as a centre-forward while playing for the Bristol Grammar School first XI. Cutter went on to play for Old Bristolians and Winnington Park in Cheshire, after getting married and moving to Altrincham in 1958. Following a move to Yorkshire, Cutter then played for Ben Rhydding in the 1960s. He played county hockey for both Wiltshire and Cheshire.

Cutter went on to appear in two Olympics, but his début at outside-right against Malaya in Britain’s opening match of the 1956 Games ended after just 13 minutes, when he broke his left ankle. At the time of those Games, Cutter was serving his two years National Service as a lieutenant in the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) in Aldershot. He played hockey for his regiment, Aldershot Services, The Army, and the Combined Services.

It would be eight years, at Tokyo 1964, before Cutter played in the Olympics again. He scored one goal in the 1-0 group match win over Japan but, by then, Britain was already eliminated from the competition. A few months before the 1968 Olympics, Cutter was appointed Great Britain team manager and coach. The team disappointed in Mexico, however, wining just two of their seven group matches and were classified 12th.

By profession, Cutter worked for the agricultural division of ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries). His son David was also a fine hockey player, and his cousin was the Indian Test cricketer Ajay Jadeja.