Derek Gleave

Derek Gleave was educated at Cheadle Hulme School, Cheshire, where he first took up playing lacrosse. However, World War II put his sporting career on hold as he firstly joined the Home Guard before enlisting in the 39th Cheshire Regiment. He transferred to the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1941 and after training in England and Canada Gleave was promoted to flight sergeant and the following year went to Gibraltar for his first operational post with the 48 Squadron Coastal Command. He was later involved in the dropping of troops over France for the D-Day landings. However, while on a supply mission over Arnhem in 1944 his plane was shot down and crashed in German-held territory. He was initially reported as missing but was actually in a German military hospital, Gleave was then held as prisoner-of-war at Stalag VIIA. Towards the end of the War, Gleave and two other prisoners escaped Stalag and ended up in Paris on VE Day. He returned to England and was discharged from the RAF in October 1946.

After the hostilities, Gleave resumed his sporting career and played lacrosse for Old Waconians. He made his début for Lancashire in 1947, and for the North in 1950. He also played at cover point for Great Britain at the 1948 London Olympics when he was one of seven Old Waconians in the British squad of 18.

In 1954, Gleave married Jean Heaton, a leading tennis player in the Cheshire area.