Trailblazing Geordie Olympian honoured with historic plaque

One of Britain’s first black athletes to win an Olympic medal is being honoured in Newcastle with a commemorative plaque.

John Edward London, better known as Jack, secured silver in the 100m sprint in the Amsterdam games in 1928. He was Britain’s third black Olympian.

He lived for a while in a house in Lilly Crescent, Jesmond, where a plaque was unveiled today.

It was installed by Newcastle City Council after it received a nomination from Historic England supported by the North East of England African Community Association, and unveiled on the wall of a house.

Deputy Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Cllr Henry Gallagher, who unveiled the plaque said: “Jack was a trailblazer in every sense of the word. He was the first black person to win a silver in the 100m for Britain and then went on to win bronze in the 4x100m relay.

“Although mostly he lived in London, he stayed in a house in Jesmond when his mum Beatrice moved in with her sister - so we are claiming him as one of our own.

“He led a very interesting life. After athletics he moved into the film industry and then became a hospital porter in London. Sadly, he died relatively young from a stroke, but his amazing legacy endures today.”

Don O’Meara, Science Advisor with Historic England who nominated Jack, said: “The placement of this historic plaque to Jack London is a reminder that stories of remarkable people with national and international achievements can live on any street in England.

“Caring for our heritage at a local and national level involves not just protecting buildings but also telling the stories of communities and promoting pride in local heritage.

“This plaque joins 134 other heritage plaques around Newcastle which celebrates the noteworthy places and extraordinary people of our city.

“It is fitting that we should celebrate Jack London in this Olympic year as one of our earliest Black British Olympians, and to mark his childhood spent in Newcastle”.

Born in British Guyana in 1905, Jack’s family moved to London when he was a boy so his father could study medicine.

The family returned to the West Indies, but Jack moved back to London and then with his mum Beatrice lived in Lilly Crescent with his aunt. How long he lived there is still being researched.

In London he studied at Regent Street Polytechnic and was spotted training at Chiswick's Polytechnic Stadium by renowned coach Sam Mussabini, who guided athletes to 11 Olympic medals in total, including Harold Abrahams to gold at Paris 1924 depicted in 1981 film Chariots of Fire.

Under his guidance in 1927 Jack clocked 10.7 seconds in the 100m – a British record. He also became an early adopter of starting blocks on the amateur circuit instead of digging foot holes into the cinder running tracks. They were then used in the 1948 London Olympic

More success followed in 1929 when London became the first British sprinter to win the Amateur Athletics Association's 100m title since Abrahams in 1924. He hoped to win gold at Los Angeles 1932, but a leg injury cut short his career, and he was forced into retirement in 1931.

Turning his attention to the world of entertainment, Jack starred as a pianist in the original cast of Noel Coward's musical Cavalcade at the Theatre Royal in 1931, also appearing in the 1938 comedy Old Bones of the River. He also co-wrote a coaching manual in 1948 called The Way to Win on Track and Field. He later worked as a hospital porter at London's St Pancras Hospital.

He died suddenly of a stroke in 1966, aged 61, with his achievements largely unrecognised until his Olympic medals made headlines in 2019 when his great niece put them up for sale at auction, along with two relay batons from Amsterdam 1928 and the 1930 Empire Games.

The collection sold for £8,000, more than double their estimated value.