John Hewitt

The son of an the Irish-born surgeon and rear admiral in the Royal Navy, John Hewitt became a captain in the Royal Marines and was a physical training officer at the Marines Commando School in Devon. Hewitt won the 1952 British Modern Pentathlon title at Aldershot, at his third attempt, when, remarkably, he did not win any one of the five events; a fifth place in both the riding and running events were his best finishes. He also helped the Marines to retain the team title that year. Naturally, he was selected to make the trip to Helsinki for the 1952 Olympics and Hewitt finished 30th out of 51 starters in the individual event, and the Great Britain team finished 10th, out of 15.

Hewitt’s son was major James Hewitt, who obtained notoriety for engaging in a much-publicised affair in the 1990s with Princess Diana, when she was still married to Prince Charles. John Hewitt died in 2011 on his 86th birthday.