Alan Patterson (athlete)

Not to be confused with the British Olympic high jumper Alan Paterson.

Alan Patterson (12 March 1886 – 14 March 1916) was a British track and field athlete who specialised in the 400 metres and 800 metres. He ran for the Sheffield United Harriers and the Salford Harriers and competed in the 1908 and 1912 Summer Olympics.

Alan Patterson

Personal information
Nationality	British
Born	(1886-03-12)12 March 1886 Deal, Kent
Died	14 March 1916(1916-03-14) (aged 30) Vermelles, Pas-de-Calais
Resting place	Fosse 7 Military Cemetery
Sport
Country	United Kingdom
Sport	Athletics
Event	400m/800m
Club	Sheffield United Harriers
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals	1908 and 1912

Background

Patterson was born in Deal, Kent.^[1]

Army career

Patterson was a lieutenant and then a captain in the British Army. Between the 1908 and 1912 Olympics, he served in India.^[2]

Sports

Patterson ran for the Sheffield United Harriers, and later the Salford Harriers, and competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London and at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm.^[3][4]

In the 400 metres event in 1908, Patterson took second place in his preliminary heat with a time of 50.6 seconds to winner John Atlee's 50.4 seconds. Due to his loss, Patterson did not advance to the semifinals.

Four years later, he was eliminated in the first round of the 400 metres competition as well as of the 800 metres event.

Patterson became the National 440 yards champion after winning the AAA Championships title at the 1909 AAA Championships.^[5][6][7]

Death

Patterson was killed in action at age 30 during the First World War in Vermelles, Pas-de-Calais, serving as a captain with the Royal Artillery near Mazingarbe.^[8] He is buried at the Fosse 7 Military Cemetery nearby.^[9]

See also

• List of Olympians killed in World War I

References

1. "Alan Patterson". Olympedia. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
2. Captain Alan Patterson and Sheffield Connections, Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 25 March 1916
3. "Alan Patterson". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
4. Captain Alan Patterson and Sheffield Connections, Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 25 March 1916
5. "Athletics". Leicester Daily Post. 5 July 1909. Retrieved 24 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
6. "AAA Championships". Manchester Courier. 5 July 1909. Retrieved 24 October 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "AAA, WAAA and National Championships Medallists". National Union of Track Statisticians. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
8. "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
9. Patterson, Alan, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Retrieved 14 September 2008

External links

Media related to Alan Patterson (athlete) at Wikimedia Commons

• Cook, Theodore Andrea (1908). The Fourth Olympiad, Being the Official Report. London: British Olympic Association.
• De Wael, Herman (2001). "Athletics 1908". Herman's Full Olympians. Archived from the original on 27 September 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2006.
• Wudarski, Pawel (1999). "Wyniki Igrzysk Olimpijskich" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 14 June 2006. Retrieved 25 July 2006.
• Alan Patterson. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2014-10-18.
• "Death of Capt. Alan Patterson, a capable officer and fine athlete". Deal, Walmer & Sandwich Mercury. British Newspaper Archive. 25 March 1916. p. 5 col.5. Retrieved 25 August 2022. (Obituary of Patterson)
• "Capt. Alan Patterson, who is reported killed". Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News. British Newspaper Archive. 1 April 1916. p. 5 cols 1–2. Retrieved 25 August 2022. (Obituary of Patterson)
• Alan Patterson at Olympedia