William Beatley

William Beatley’s father Frank (OBE) was engaged in railway construction in Mauritius and later became the general manager and traffic manager of the Sierra Leone railway. William was born while his father was serving abroad but returned to England in 1935 and attended Bedford School, where he started fencing. After Bedford, Beatley went to Cambridge to study medicine and became a two-time fencing Blue. He later went to the University of London and became a medical student at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital.

Beatley joined the London Fencing Club, and in 1950 finished equal fourth in the Junior Foil Championship. Also that year, he was a member of the London University team that won the team title at the Universities’ Championships. In 1951 Beatley reached the final pool of the Amateur Foil Championship, and finished third in that year’s British Sabre Championship. Beatley went to the 1952 Olympics, having won the Universities’ foil and sabre titles. At Helsinki he finished equal fifth with the British sabre team and in the individual competition was eliminated at the quarter-final stage.

Beatley went to the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, and won a team silver medal along with Ralph Cooperman and Michael Amberg. Beatley also took part in the 1957 World Championships in Paris.

Beatley’s older brother Dennis was killed in action while serving as a lieutenant in the army in Italy 1943. He too went to Bedford School and was captain of fencing. William served as a pilot officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and obtained his wings in 1943, just a few months before his brother’s death.