Ronald Sanderson

Olympic medal record
Men's rowing

Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Harcourt Sanderson (11 December 1876 – 17 April 1918) was an English rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics for Great Britain.^[1] He was killed in action during the First World War.^[2]

Early life and rowing career

Sanderson was born at Uckfield, Sussex, the only son of Rev. Edward Sanderson of Uckfield. He was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge.^[3] Sanderson rowed for Cambridge in the Boat Race in 1899 and 1900 which were two victories for Cambridge.

He became a member of Leander Club and was a crew member of the Leander eight, which won the gold medal for Great Britain rowing at the 1908 Summer Olympics.^[4]

Sanderson joined the Royal Horse Artillery in May 1900,^[5] and served as Second Lieutenant in the Second Boer War in South Africa. He was promoted to lieutenant on 8 March 1902.^[6]

Sanderson served in the Royal Field Artillery during the First World War. He was mentioned in despatches and was awarded the Chevalier, Legion of Honour by France. He was a lieutenant colonel when he was killed in action near Ypres in April 1918, aged 41. He was buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery nearby^[7] and there is a memorial brass in Ripon Cathedral.

^ "Ronald Sanderson". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
^ "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.
^ "Sanderson, Robert Harcourt (SNDR895RH)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ronald Sanderson". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
^ "No. 27196". The London Gazette. 25 May 1900. p. 3335.
^ "No. 27431". The London Gazette. 6 May 1902. p. 3013.
^ Sanderson, Ronald Harcourt, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, retrieved 17 November 2017