John Besford

Who was John Besford?

John "Jack" Charles Preston Besford OBE was a British backstroke swimmer.

He was born in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester and died in Spain.

Besford was European 100 m backstroke champion in 1934. He won the bronze medal for England at the 1930 British Empire Games and silver at the 1934 British Empire Games, both in the 100 yd backstroke event. In 1934 he was also a member of the English team which won the bronze medal in the medley relay contest. Besford also competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics where he finished sixth in the 100 metre backstroke event. Eight years later he was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 1936 100 metre backstroke competition.

He studied dentistry at The University of Manchester, and after time as an officer in World War II, he taught dentistry at the University of Beijing, China. He later spent time in Yokohama, Japan before returning to the UK to operate a dental practice in Brighton. He was awarded an OBE in the 1975 New Year's Honours List for services to the British community of Tokyo.