Fred Attenborough

Although born in Derbyshire, Fred Attenborough moved to London and joined the Camberwell Weightlifting Club where he trained with some of the leading lifters of the day. He won many Midlands and British middleweight titles, set countless British records, and in 1926 set a world record at Derby for a one-handed lift of 77kg (170lb). He also set five Olympic records in two appearances (1924 and 1928) and, at a trial for the 1924 Paris Olympics at Holborn, Attenborough set two British records, which enhanced his selection for the Games.

A wages clerk by profession, Attenborough returned to the Midlands where he was in big demand to give exhibitions of weightlifting and muscle control, and he also performed with Maurice Surgey in an act known as The Serge Brothers.