A member of the Grosvenor Fencing Club, épéeist John Pelling was twice the British champion, in 1961 and 1965. He won a team silver medal at the 1960 Roma Olympics, along with Allan Jay and Bill Hoskyns. Pelling also competed in the individual épée at Roma but was eliminated in the second round. He went to the Tokyo Games four years later and competed only in the team event, but was eliminated in the second round by Hungary.
Pelling made his Great Britain début at the 1957 World Championships and between then and 1967 won two medals. He won team bronze in 1957 and team silver in 1965. Additionally, Pelling twice represented England at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games winning a team gold and individual silver at both the 1962 Perth (Australia) and 1966 Kingston (Jamaica) Games.
When he died in 2023, Pelling was the longest serving member of the Épée Club, having joined in 1958. Pelling´s father Bert was also a member of the Club and he also won two British épée titles and took part in two Olympics. Both father and son competed together in the 1960 British Épée Championship. The two were also Great Britain fencing team selectors.
Great Britain