Greg's Email Begins:
Digging through some notes for the Ward Bulletin, I came across the notes I wrote for my talk at Doral's funeral. Actually, I wrote the notes after the funeral 'cause I spoke extemporaneously. Sorry about that. I had no idea what I was going to say until I stood up to speak. Anyway, as near as I can remember, from the notes, this is what I said:
Chariots of Fire was a film about the British track and field team that competed in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. The film focussed on three members of the team, Lord Lindsay, Harold Abrams and Eric Liddell.
Lord Lindsay was a hurdler. The film shows him training on his estate, with a full glass of champagne perched on top of each hurdle. I am sure his staff were pleased when he trained. After all, what would you do with the left over champagne when he finished training for the day.
Lindsay was a true sportsman. He understood the importance of sport. He stood aside letting Liddell run in his place so that Liddell would not break the Sabbath.
The second team member featured in the film was Harold Abrams, a sprinter. He was very competitive. He wanted to win every race he entered and even hired a coach to help him, something that was just not done. It was not considered appropriate for an English gentleman.
The third member of the trio was Eric Liddell, a middle distance runner. He was very religious and said he felt God's presence when he ran.
After the games, the three athletes, medals in hand, along with the other members of the team returned home to continue their studies. After graduating, they each went their separate ways with Liddell returning to China where he was born.
In one of those cases where truth is stranger than fiction, or in this case, truth is stranger than truth, one of my colleagues mentioned over coffee one day that he knew Eric Liddell. Like Liddell, my colleague was born in China. His parents, like Liddell's, were missionaries in China.
My colleague said he remembered as a little boy Liddell visiting his parent's parish and talking about his experiences at the Olympics. However, unlike Liddell, my colleague left China with his family when the Japanese invaded. Liddell stayed in China and died in an internment camp.
When I graduated from university, I convinced Wyona that we should visit Europe, thinking it might be the only time we would be able to go. We lived in Paris for 6 months and then travelled for three. While in Paris we had the opportunity to visit museums and art galleries as well as the many sites. We visited the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, Versailles and many other places.
When we travelled we visited many of the great European museums and galleries. We visited the Prado in Madrid, the Uffizi in Florence, the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, the Vatican in Rome, the National Gallery in London, and Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria.
We also visited Amsterdam. While there, we visited the Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House and went on a ride. But then we took a side trip, not one many tourists take while visiting Amsterdam. I remember the tram driver who gave us directions after dropping us off wondering why we would want to visit, visit an empty stadium.
There was graffiti on the walls of the entrance. The gates were open. The only sound was the noise of the traffic on the streets surrounding the stadium. As we sat in the empty stands, I tried to imagine what it was like there in the summer of 1928 when it was Amsterdam's turn to host the Olympics.
Canada fielded on of its strongest teams in those Olympics. The leading Canadian was Percy Williams. He was a gold medal winner. Williams had a roommate at those games. The roommate was an all-round athlete. He was a boxing champion. He played baseball. He played a mean game of tennis and badminton. In Amsterdam he threw the javelin.
The roommates was a true sportsman, understanding in importance of sports in people's lives. He was a keen competitor as anyone who played tennis or badminton against him will tell you. He was also a deeply religious man, serving a lifetime in many callings. If you will indulge me, today we say goodbye to another chariot of fire."
PS. There were two more things I wish I would have included, but I only thought of them after speaking, one was the Athenia and the other was the Canadian women's track team. 1928 was the first time women were allowed to compete in the Olympics and the Canadian women's team were multiple medal winners. They were dubbed, "the Matchless Six".
I should have said that women did not compete in track and field events until 1928. I made it sound like women didn't participate in the Olympics until then which of course is untrue. (http://www.canadasports150.ca/en/canadian-women-in-international-sport/matchless-six/14)
The Olympics may have saved the lives of Doral and Wyora. At the conclusion of their visit to the UK in 1939, they were scheduled to sail home on the Athenia. At the last minute, they decided to delay their departure from Europe and visit Amsterdam. The Athenia was torpedoed on its way to Canada, the first ship sunk in WWII.
Chariots of Fire was a film about the British track and field team that competed in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. The film focussed on three members of the team, Lord Lindsay, Harold Abrams and Eric Liddell.
Lord Lindsay was a hurdler. The film shows him training on his estate, with a full glass of champagne perched on top of each hurdle. I am sure his staff were pleased when he trained. After all, what would you do with the left over champagne when he finished training for the day.
Lindsay was a true sportsman. He understood the importance of sport. He stood aside letting Liddell run in his place so that Liddell would not break the Sabbath.
The second team member featured in the film was Harold Abrams, a sprinter. He was very competitive. He wanted to win every race he entered and even hired a coach to help him, something that was just not done. It was not considered appropriate for an English gentleman.
The third member of the trio was Eric Liddell, a middle distance runner. He was very religious and said he felt God's presence when he ran.
After the games, the three athletes, medals in hand, along with the other members of the team returned home to continue their studies. After graduating, they each went their separate ways with Liddell returning to China where he was born.
In one of those cases where truth is stranger than fiction, or in this case, truth is stranger than truth, one of my colleagues mentioned over coffee one day that he knew Eric Liddell. Like Liddell, my colleague was born in China. His parents, like Liddell's, were missionaries in China.
My colleague said he remembered as a little boy Liddell visiting his parent's parish and talking about his experiences at the Olympics. However, unlike Liddell, my colleague left China with his family when the Japanese invaded. Liddell stayed in China and died in an internment camp.
When I graduated from university, I convinced Wyona that we should visit Europe, thinking it might be the only time we would be able to go. We lived in Paris for 6 months and then travelled for three. While in Paris we had the opportunity to visit museums and art galleries as well as the many sites. We visited the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, Versailles and many other places.
When we travelled we visited many of the great European museums and galleries. We visited the Prado in Madrid, the Uffizi in Florence, the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, the Vatican in Rome, the National Gallery in London, and Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria.
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| Olympic Stadium Amsterdam 1928 |
We also visited Amsterdam. While there, we visited the Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House and went on a ride. But then we took a side trip, not one many tourists take while visiting Amsterdam. I remember the tram driver who gave us directions after dropping us off wondering why we would want to visit, visit an empty stadium.
There was graffiti on the walls of the entrance. The gates were open. The only sound was the noise of the traffic on the streets surrounding the stadium. As we sat in the empty stands, I tried to imagine what it was like there in the summer of 1928 when it was Amsterdam's turn to host the Olympics.
Canada fielded on of its strongest teams in those Olympics. The leading Canadian was Percy Williams. He was a gold medal winner. Williams had a roommate at those games. The roommate was an all-round athlete. He was a boxing champion. He played baseball. He played a mean game of tennis and badminton. In Amsterdam he threw the javelin.
The roommates was a true sportsman, understanding in importance of sports in people's lives. He was a keen competitor as anyone who played tennis or badminton against him will tell you. He was also a deeply religious man, serving a lifetime in many callings. If you will indulge me, today we say goodbye to another chariot of fire."
PS. There were two more things I wish I would have included, but I only thought of them after speaking, one was the Athenia and the other was the Canadian women's track team. 1928 was the first time women were allowed to compete in the Olympics and the Canadian women's team were multiple medal winners. They were dubbed, "the Matchless Six".
I should have said that women did not compete in track and field events until 1928. I made it sound like women didn't participate in the Olympics until then which of course is untrue. (http://www.canadasports150.ca/en/canadian-women-in-international-sport/matchless-six/14)
The Olympics may have saved the lives of Doral and Wyora. At the conclusion of their visit to the UK in 1939, they were scheduled to sail home on the Athenia. At the last minute, they decided to delay their departure from Europe and visit Amsterdam. The Athenia was torpedoed on its way to Canada, the first ship sunk in WWII.
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