Opening Ceremony of the 1970 Empire & Commonwealth Games: John’s first big Games.

We are fortunate to have John’s own account of his career as Team Manager (Scotland and Great Britain) and Admin Officer (Scotland and Great Britain – a career that went from 1979 to 1996.   John speaks:

My first Scotland team was in 1979 as Admin Officer , a match against England and Sweden at Crystal Palace.   I had further Scotland teams in 1980, ’81, ’82 & ’83.   January 1984 I was appointed as Team Manager through to the end of the 1986 season which included the XIII Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh.   A total of 17 Scotland teams , three as the team Admin Officer and fourteen as Team Manager.   Jan ’83 I gained my first Great Britain & Northern Ireland team.  As Manager of a team of 33 to the famous Bislett meeting in Oslo.   Little did I realise that I was now setting out on an adventure that would subsequently lead to being a member of some seventy three GBR teams between 1983 and 1996.   Of these teams only two were as Team Manager, the other being the 10th Nikiai Games, Nice, France on Tuesday 18 July 1985 when Steve Cram set one of his several world records for 1500 metres.   A team of only nine, including myself and one coach.   A night never to forget.   

My forte lay as the Team Administrator and in January 1985 I was appointed Admin Officer for the GBR senior track and field team for the following four years taking in the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988.   However this appointment was subsequently extended twice to take in the Olympic Games at Barcelona and Atlanta.

May 1983 I moved from the Regional Council Architect’s office in Dumbarton to Headquarters in Glasgow, where I would remain for four years.