Norman Holroyd

The son of an auctioneer’s cashier, Norman Holroyd went on to become one of the many successful Yorkshire weightlifters in the 1930s. He started a weightlifting club of his own with some friends in a nearby cellar, before joining the Bradford College Physical Culture Club. From there he won the Yorkshire and Northern Counties featherweight titles on many occasions, and in 1936 won the first of nine British freestyle titles. Holroyd also set many British records, and in 1937 became the first man in Britain to lift twice his own body weight when he weighed around 60 kg at the time. At the 1937 World Championships in Paris, he was just edged out of a medal position into fourth place.

During World War II Holroyd served on minesweepers, and after the hostilities, resumed his weightlifting career and was selected for the 1948 London Olympics. However, an injury forced him out of the Games and he eventually quit the sport in 1950. Holroyd originally worked as a cloth processor in his hometown of Elland, but for more than 30 years was the chief quality controller for the fire safety specialists Nu-Swift from 1946, until his retirement in 1979.