Denis Pearce

Not only did Denis Pearce have a long and successful fencing career, he also had the distinction of being the first person from Smethwick to hold a pilot’s licence in Great Britain. He obtained his licence in December 1915 at the age of 19, and was serving as a second-lieutenant with the 12th Royal Warwickshire Regiment at the time. He then moved to a military flying school, where he became an instructor. He then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and, in 1923, was on the RAF reserve list as a pilot officer.

Educated at the George Dixon Academy near Edgbaston, Pearce studied engineering and was offered a placement of a good job prior to joining the City Battalion at the outbreak of World War I, prior to his move to the Warwickshires. Pearce attained the rank of major and after Army life worked in the aircraft industry as a manager and engineer.

A left-handed fencer, Pearce’s career saw him appear at two Olympics eight years apart and, as a member of the Birmingham Fencing Club, he won the 1927 British Foil Championship ahead of two Cambridge undergraduates Emrys Lloyd and John Winder, who tied for second place. Nine years later, in 1936, Pearce finished runner-up to Christopher Hammersley, which earned him a call-up for his second Olympics. Pearce later emigrated to Canada.