Jack Lumsdaine

Jack Lumsdaine was the son of an Australia father and American mother. He was born in Shanghai, China, and moved to England for the first time in 1941 to enlist in the Royal Air Force (RAF). By the time World War II had ended Lumsdaine was a squadron leader and had been decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in 1944. He was also decorated by the Canadian Air Force after seeing service with them.

Talking to an unknown Polish airman in an Officer’s Mess in 1949, Lumsdaine heard about the modern pentathlon for the very first time. Despite not being a good runner or fencer, he won the RAF Pentathlon Championship that year and finished third in the British championship. Before the year was out, Lumsdaine had finished 13th in the inaugural World Championships in Stockholm.

Lumsdaine won the British title in 1950, and was runner-up in 1951 and 1953. He competed in all World Championships between 1950-54, with ninth place finishes at Bern, Switzerland (1950) and Helsingborg, Sweden (1951) being his best overall placings. Between 1949-54 Lumsdaine was regarded as the best British pentathlete. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, he was the highest placed of the three British team members, finishing 15th, with a seventh placing in the riding element being his best result. Lumsdaine lost his life at the age of 43 in 1966 when he ejected too late onto a frozen lake near Québec from a CT-114 Tutor plane he was testing for the Royal Canadian Air Force.