Freddie Dunkelman

A Londoner by birth, Freddie Dunkelman’s family left England for a new life in Canada when he was three years old. Having learnt his hockey in Canada he returned to England at the age of seventeen and signed for Earl’s Court Marlboroughs in the London League. Dunkelman moved to play for Haringey Greyhounds for the 1939-40 and was part of the team that became English champions for that season.

After serving in World War Two he resumed his sporting career and played for a variety of London teams over the next decade and won a second national title with Haringey Racers in 1950. The 1948 Olympic Games were Dunkelman’s only tournament appearance for the national team as a rule change that occurred in 1949 robbed him of his eligibility to play for Great Britain.

Outside the rink Dunkelman was a successful businessman. With the money given to him after leaving the army he set up a business producing hockey sticks. The company soon branched out into producing a full range of hockey equipment and then into footwear. Freddie Dunkelman oversaw Dunkelman and Son’s rise to eventually become a leading producer of shoe care products and only retired at the age of 87 in 2007.