Henry Martineau

Henry Martineau was born Henry Schwab, Jr, but his mother divorced Henry C. Schwab, Sr, his father, in 1911 and married Hubert Melville Martineau in 1915. He adopted the name of his stepfather, a Major in the Swiss Army and president of the St. Moritz Bobsleigh Club from 1922 to 1969. He came to England as a boy and was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. Here, he was active in the University’s dramatic club, which later led to a successful co-operation with C. B. Cochran, the most successful theatrical manager and impresario at the time. When he came to St. Moritz in the 1920s, he became a successful bobsledder and Cresta Run rider, winning the prestigious Heaton Gold Cup. In 1927 he won the European Championships in St. Moritz as the pilot of the British bob, beating the US teams of Jennison Heaton and Billy Fiske. At the Olympics, he was fifth after the first run but crashed in the second. Although he managed to continue the run, he lost speed and finally ended on 9th place. Later, he became President of the Cresta Run. During World War II, he initially served as a pilot in the RAF and later in the Welsh Guards as a special operations agent in France and Belgium. After the war he bought a farm in Norfolk and in a short spell created a first class herd of Friesian cattle. His cattle won a record number of prizes at agricultural shows.