Cecil Haig

Cecil Haig was educated at Clifton College, Bristol, and then Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. A fine fencer, he reached the final pool of the 1908 Amateur Épée Championship, won by Leaf Daniell, and followed that with a team épée silver medal at that year’s London Olympics. He reached the final pool of the individual event and finished joint fifth. Haig also competed in the Amateur Foil Championship, making his début in 1909 at the age of 47. He represented England many times in the prestigious Ostend Tournament and, in 1911, had the honour of captaining the Cambridge University veterans against their Oxford counterparts. He was also a fencing judge at the Royal Military Tournament and several national championships.

During World War I, Haig served firstly as a private in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve before joining the Westminster Dragoons, where he became a lieutenant and saw service in Egypt, Flanders and Paris.

Haig was a partner in the Salutaria Water Company of London, the family business of distilled and mineral water manufacturers run by his father and brothers. He was also a partner in Haig and Co., wine merchants. A retired district councillor, Haig died just two weeks short of his 85th birthday.