Richard Jeffery

Having competed in the 1947 World Bobsleigh Championships, squadron leader Richard Jeffery was chosen for the St. Moritz Winter Olympics the following year. He competed in the 4-man Great Britain II team, made up entirely of RAF men (as was the Great Britain I squad). The crew finished 15th and last, also finishing last on three of their four runs.

Sadly, Jeffery lost his life at a young age, when he was killed in a plane crash in 1953. A flying instructor at the time, he had concluded a lesson in his 2-man de Havilland Mosquito, and while it was coming in for a routine landing at Brawdy Aerodrome, St. David’s, Pembrokeshire, it struck a chimney on a workshop on its approach. It crashed and burst into flames, killing the two occupants instantly.