| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Henry Derbyshire | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname | "Rob" | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | Great Britain | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1878-11-28)28 November 1878 Chorlton-cum-Hardy, England | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 25 November 1938(1938-11-25) (aged 59) St Pancras, London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle,water polo | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Osborne Swimming Club | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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John Henry "Rob" Derbyshire (29 November 1878 – 25 November 1938) was an Englishfreestyle swimmer andwater polo player fromChorlton,Lancashire,[1] who competed in the1900 Summer Olympics (maybe),1906 Intercalated Games,1908 Summer Olympics and1912 Summer Olympics.[2] He andAlice Derbyshire founded swimming clubs in Hammersmith.
At the1906 Intercalated Games inAthens, Derbyshire won a bronze medal as a member of the British 4×250 metre freestyle relay team and also competed in the 100 metre freestyle and 400 metre freestyle events. Two years later, in London, he won a gold medal as a member of the British 4×200 metre freestyle relay team and was second in his heat of 100 metre freestyle and did not advance. Four years later, inStockholm, he was third in his heat of 100 metre freestyle and did not advance. TheInternational Olympic Committee credits him with a gold medal inwater polo at the 1900 Summer Olympics, but this is incorrect as sources contemporary to the Games indicate that he was in England too soon after the tournament to have been in Paris.[3] The Daily Telegraph, dated Saturday, August 11, 1900 reported that Derbyshire did not make the trip and was replaced byThomas Coe, who like Derbyshire, was a member of the Osborne Swimming Club.[4]
In 1921, Derbyshire was a founding member of the Penguin Swimming Club, later becoming the Hammersmith Penguin Swimming Club through their merger with theHammersmith Ladies Swimming Club (which was founded by his wife Alice five years before in 1916).
In 1950, Alice Derbyshire gave a shield to the club she had co-founded in memory of her husband. It was later named the Rob Derbyshire Memorial Trophy and is awarded yearly to the person who has done best for the club.[5]
In 1976, the club he and Alice Derbyshire had created was renamed theWest London Penguin Swimming and Water Polo Club.
In 2005, he was posthumously inducted into theInternational Swimming Hall of Fame.[6]
