Roy Garforth

Roy Garforth, the son of a Bradford swimming instructor, attended two Olympic Games. He was an official competitor as a member of the Great Britain water polo team in 1948, and in 1936 represented Britain at the International Youth Rally during the Berlin Games.

Garforth attended the Grange High School in Bradford and, at the age of 12, was a local schoolboy swimming champion. He won a scholarship to Cambridge in 1936, where he studied mathematics at Christ’s College. Having previously played for the Bradford Dolphins water polo team, he became a three times water polo Half Blue (1937-39), and was also captain of the Cambridge University Swimming Club. A centre-forward, and prolific goalscorer, Garforth had a remarkable scoring record in his three Varsity appearances. He scored four goals in the 5-4 win on his début, and the following year scored four goals in the 7-0 rout but, in 1939, he went one better and scored all five goals in Cambridge’s 5-2 win. He was capped by Yorkshire for the first time in 1937, and then scored five goals in the 9-4 win over Gloucestershire that secured Yorkshire’s first county title in five years. Garforth was just 19 at the time.

Garforth made his England début against Scotland in 1938, and scored a hat-trick. He was selected to represent Britain at that year’s European Championships. At the 1948 Olympic Games, Garforth was introduced poolside to Hilda Pryde, a five-time Yorkshire swimming champion. Her father was the president of the English Swimming Association at the time, and in 1950 Garforth and Hilda were married.