Kingston Athletic Club and Polytechnic Harriers


The Kingston Athletic Club and Polytechnic Harriers or Kingston & Poly AC for short is an athletic club based in Kingston upon Thames in England.

History

The club was founded by philanthropist Quintin Hogg in 1883, and they were known for four years as the Hanover United AC, and were the athletics arm of Quintin Hogg's Regent Street Polytechnic. The Polytechnic Harriers were based at the Chiswick track and their history with racing events predated "the Poly" since they oversaw walking races from London to Brighton as far back as 1897.
The club has long ties to what is now the London Marathon. In 1908 they oversaw the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1908 Olympics, the Game's marathon, and played a large part in the development of the Polytechnic Marathon, which ran from 1909- 1996.
In 1920, Harry Edward became Great Britain's first Black medalist at the Olympic Games.
In 1985 The Polytechnic Harriers merged with The Royal Borough of Kingston AC, a women's club founded in 1982, to become the Kingston AC and Polytechnic Harriers. The Royal Borough of Kingston AC had been formed when Surrey AC disbanded that year. The male athletes from Surrey AC joined Belgrave Harriers.
The Polytechnic's Kinnaird and Sward Trophies are still contested annually at Kingston & Poly's home track, which was originally constructed as a cinder track in 1961 and is adjacent to the football stadium at Kingsmeadow. The Polytechnic Marathon is no longer held, having been superseded by the London Marathon. Kingston & Poly's men now compete nationally in the British Athletics League and, at area level, the men and women operate jointly in the Southern Athletics League, although they were relegated to lesser divisions in 2016.

Olympic athletes

AthleteClubGamesMedals/Ref
Henry BarrettPolytechnic Harriers1908, 1912
Jack ButlerPolytechnic Harriers1908
George NicolPolytechnic Harriers1908, 1912
James BarrettPolytechnic Harriers1908
Michael CollinsPolytechnic Harriers1908
Charlie DaviesPolytechnic Harriers1908
Oswald GroeningsPolytechnic Harriers1908
George HawkinsPolytechnic Harriers1908
Guy HoldawayPolytechnic Harriers1908
Georg LindPolytechnic Harriers1908
Henry MurrayPolytechnic Harriers1908
Edward SpencerPolytechnic Harriers1908
Jimmy TremeerPolytechnic Harriers1908
Timothy CarrollPolytechnic Harriers1912, 1920
Willie ApplegarthPolytechnic Harriers1912
James BarkerPolytechnic Harriers1912
Victor d'ArcyPolytechnic Harriers1912
Percy MannPolytechnic Harriers1912
Douglas McNicolPolytechnic Harriers1912
Clive TaylorPolytechnic Harriers1912
Arthur TreblePolytechnic Harriers1912
Larry CumminsPolytechnic Harriers1920
Harry EdwardPolytechnic Harriers1920
Albert HillPolytechnic Harriers1920
Eric RobertsonPolytechnic Harriers1920
Guy BrockingtonPolytechnic Harriers1924
Fred GabyPolytechnic Harriers1924, 1928
John OddePolytechnic Harriers1924
Richard RipleyPolytechnic Harriers1924
Frederick ChauncyPolytechnic Harriers1928
Cyril GillPolytechnic Harriers1928
Jack LondonPolytechnic Harriers1928
Arthur MuggridgePolytechnic Harriers1928
Lorna FramptonPolytechnic Harriers1936
Bert NorrisPolytechnic Harriers1936
Aubrey ReevePolytechnic Harriers1936
Stan WestPolytechnic Harriers1936
McDonald BaileyPolytechnic Harriers1948, 1952
Paul CrosfieldPolytechnic Harriers1948
Charles DenrochePolytechnic Harriers1948
Rene HowellPolytechnic Harriers1948
Stan JonesPolytechnic Harriers1948
Leslie LaingPolytechnic Harriers1948, 1952
Ron PavittPolytechnic Harriers1948, 1952
Martin PikePolytechnic Harriers1948
Polytechnic Harriers1948
Arthur WintPolytechnic Harriers1948, 1952
Peter HildrethPolytechnic Harriers1952, 1956, 1960
Brian ShentonPolytechnic Harriers1952, 1956
Jeannette BaileyPolytechnic Harriers1960
Tim GrahamPolytechnic Harriers1964
Colin CampbellPolytechnic Harriers1968, 1972, 1976
Alan PascoePolytechnic Harriers1968, 1972, 1976

Archives

The Club's archives are still held at the University of Westminster.