1938 British Empire Games

3rd British Empire Games
Host city	Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Nations participating	15
Athletes participating	464
Events	71
Opening ceremony	5 February
Closing ceremony	12 February
Main Stadium	Sydney Cricket Ground

The 1938 British Empire Games was the third British Empire Games, the Commonwealth Games being the modern-day equivalent. Held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia from February 5-12 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary (150 years since the foundation of British settlement in Australia). Venues included the Sydney Cricket Ground (the main stadium), the Sydney Sports Ground, North Sydney Pool and Henson Park. An estimated 40,000 people attended the opening ceremony. A competitors' residential village was established within the grounds of the Sydney Showground.

The star of the games was the Australian athlete Decima Norman, who won five gold medals in track and field. Margaret Dovey, the future wife of the former Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam, finished sixth in the 200 yards breaststroke.

Participating teams

Countries which participated

•  Australia
•  Bermuda
•  British Guiana
•  Canada
•  Ceylon
•  England
•  Fiji
•  India
•  New Zealand
•  Northern Ireland
•  Southern Rhodesia
•  Scotland
•  South Africa
•  Trinidad and Tobago
•  Wales

Medals by country

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Australia	25	19	22	66
2	England	15	15	10	40
3	Canada	13	16	15	44
4	South Africa	10	10	6	26
5	New Zealand	5	7	13	25
6	Wales	2	1	0	3
7	Ceylon	1	0	0	1
8	Scotland	0	2	3	5
9	British Guiana	0	1	0	1
10	Southern Rhodesia	0	0	2	2
Total		71	71	71	213

Medals by event

Athletics

Men's events

Event	Gold		Silver		Bronze
100 yards	Cyril Holmes (ENG)	9.7	John Mumford (AUS)	9.8e	Ted Best (AUS)	9.9e
220 yards	Cyril Holmes (ENG)	21.2	John Mumford (AUS)	21.3e	Ted Best (AUS)	21.4e
440 yards	William Roberts (ENG)	47.9	Bill Fritz (CAN)	47.9e	Denis Shore (SAF)	48.1e
880 yards	Pat Boot (NZL)	1:51	Frank Handley (ENG)	1:54.0e	Bill Dale (CAN)	1:54.2e
1 mile	James Alford (WAL)	4:12	Gerald Backhouse (AUS)	4:12.3e	Pat Boot (NZL)	4:12.6e
3 miles	Cecil Matthews (NZL)	14:00	Peter Ward (ENG)	14:06	Scotty Rankine (CAN)	14:24.0e
6 miles	Cecil Matthews (NZL)	30:14	Scotty Rankine (CAN)	+180 yd	Wally Hayward (SAF)	+250 yd
Marathon	Johannes Coleman (SAF)	2'30:15	Bert Norris (ENG)	2'37:57	Jackie Gibson (SAF)	2'38:20
120 yards hurdles	Tom Lavery (SAF)	14.0w	Larry O'Connor (CAN)	14.2ew	Sid Stenner (AUS)	14.4ew
440 yards hurdles	John Loaring (CAN)	52.9	John Park (AUS)	54.6e	Alan McDougall (AUS)	55.2e
High jump	Edwin Thacker (SAF)	1.96	Robert Heffernan (AUS)	1.88	Doug Shetliffe (AUS)	1.88
Pole vault	Andries du Plessis (SAF)	4.11	Les Fletcher (AUS)	3.97	Stuart Frid (CAN)	3.88
Long jump	Harold Brown (CAN)	7.43	Jim Panton (CAN)	7.25	Basil Dickinson (AUS)	7.15
Triple jump	Jack Metcalfe (AUS)	15.49	Lloyd Miller (AUS)	15.41	Basil Dickinson (AUS)	15.28
Shot put	Louis Fouché (SAF)	14.47	Eric Coy (CAN)	13.96	Francis Drew (AUS)	13.8
Discus throw	Eric Coy (CAN)	44.75	David Young (SCO)	43.04	George Sutherland (CAN)	41.47
Hammer throw	George Sutherland (CAN)	48.71	Keith Pardon (AUS)	45.11	James Leckie (NZL)	44.21
Javelin throw	Jim M. Courtright (CAN)	62.8	Stan Lay (NZL)	62.21	Jack Metcalfe (AUS)	55.5
4×110 yards relay	Canada Jack Brown John Loaring Larry O'Connor Pat Haley	41.6	England Cyril Holmes Ken Richardson Sandy Duncan Lawrence Wallace	41.8e	Australia Alf Watson Teddy Hampson Ted Best Howard Yates	41.9e
4×440 yards relay	Canada John Loaring Lee Orr Bill Dale Bill Fritz	3:16.9	England Brian MacCabe Frank Handley Henry Pack William Roberts	3:19.2	New Zealand Alan Sayers Arnold Anderson Graham Quinn Harold Tyrie	3:22.0

Women's events

Event	Gold		Silver		Bronze
100 yards	Decima Norman (AUS)	11.1	Joyce Walker (AUS)	11.3e	Jeanette Dolson (CAN)	11.4e
220 yards	Decima Norman (AUS)	24.7	Jean Coleman (AUS)	25.1e	Eileen Wearne (AUS)	25.3e
80 metre hurdles	Barbara Burke (SAF)	11.7w	Isabel Grant (AUS)	11.7ew	Rona Tong (NZL)	11.8ew
High jump	Dorothy Odam (ENG)	1.6	Dora Gardner (ENG)	1.57	Elizabeth Forbes (NZL)	1.57
Long jump	Decima Norman (AUS)	5.8	Ethel Raby (ENG)	5.65	Thelma Peake (AUS)	5.55
Javelin throw	Robina Higgins (CAN)	38.28	Antonia Robertson (SAF)	36.98	Gladys Lunn (ENG)	36.41
110-220-110 yards relay	Australia Eileen Wearne Decima Norman Jean Coleman	49.1	Canada Barbara Howard Aileen Meagher Jeanette Dolson	49.9e	England Dorothy Saunders Kate Stokes Winnifred Jeffrey	51.3e
220-110-220-110 yards relay	Australia Decima Norman Jean Coleman Joan Woodland Thelma Peake	1:15.2	England Dorothy Saunders Ethel Raby Kate Stokes Winnifred Jeffrey	1:17.2e	Canada Barbara Howard Aileen Meagher Jeanette Dolson Violet Montgomery	1:19.0e

Boxing

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Flyweight	Johnny Joubert (SAF)	Joe Gagnon (CAN)	Hugh Cameron (SCO)
Bantamweight	William Butler (ENG)	Hendrik Knoesen (SAF)	Jack Dillon (AUS)
Featherweight	Ceylon Barney Henricus (CEY)	James Watson (SCO)	Kenneth Moran (NZL)
Lightweight	Harry Groves (ENG)	Harry Hurst (CAN)	William Fulton (RHO)
Welterweight	Bill Smith (AUS)	Arthur Heeney (NZL)	Andrew Tsirindonis (RHO)
Middleweight	Denis Reardon (WAL)	Maurice Dennis (ENG)	Rex Carey (CAN)
Light heavyweight	Nick Wolmarans (SAF)	Cecil Overell (AUS)	Joseph Wilby (ENG)
Heavyweight	Thomas Osborne (CAN)	Claude Sterley (SAF)	Leslie Harley (AUS)

Cycling

Track

Event	Gold		Silver		Bronze
Time Trial	Bob Porter (AUS)	1:15.2	Tasman Johnson (AUS)	1:15.7	Ernest Mills (ENG)	1:15.9
Sprint 1000 yd	Dunc Gray (AUS)		Bob Porter (AUS)		George Giles (NZL)
10 mile Scratch	William Maxfield (ENG)	24:44.0	Ray Hicks (ENG)		Syd Rose (SAF)

Road

Event	Gold		Silver		Bronze
Time Trial	Hennie Binneman (SAF)	2'53:29.6	John Brown (NZL)	s.t.	Ray Jones (ENG)	s.t.

Diving

Men's events

Event	Gold		Silver		Bronze
3 m springboard	Ron Masters (AUS)	126.36	Doug Tomalin (ENG)	124.78	George Athans (CAN)	117.90
10 m platform	Doug Tomalin (ENG)	108.74	Ron Masters (AUS)	102.87	George Athans (CAN)	98.93

Women's events

Event	Gold		Silver		Bronze
3 m springboard	Irene Donnett (AUS)	91.18	Lynda Adams (CAN)	88.27	Marie Sharkey (CAN)	81.66
10 m platform	Lurline Hook (AUS)	36.47	Lynda Adams (CAN)	36.39	Irene Donnett (AUS)	34.57

Lawn Bowls

All events were for men only.

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Singles	Horace Harvey (SAF)	Frank Livingstone (NZL)	Jack Low (AUS)
Pairs	Walter Denison and Lance Macey (NZL)	Percy Hutton and Howard Mildren (AUS)	D.A. Adamson and J.R. Appleford (SAF)
Fours	NZL Alec Robertson Ernie Jury Bill Bremner Bill Whittaker	South Africa F. Stevenson J. G. Donaldson Norman Walker T. H. Samson	Australia Aub Murray Charlie H. McNeill Frank Murray Tom Kinder

Rowing

All events were for men only. The double sculls competition was an invitation event and originally no medals were awarded nevertheless these medals were counted nowadays. The bronze medal is listed as won by New Zealand.

Event	Gold		Silver		Bronze
Single sculls	Herb Turner (AUS)	8:24	Peter Jackson (ENG)		Robert Smith (NZL)
Double sculls	Cecil Pearce and William Bradley (AUS)	7:29.4	Jack Offer and Dick Offer (ENG)		Gus Jackson and Robert Smith (NZL)
Coxed fours	Australia Don Fraser Gordon Freeth Harry Kerr Jack Fisher Stewart Elder	7:16.8	New Zealand Albert Hope George Burns John Rigby Kenneth Boswell Jim Clayton	+1.25 lgths	Canada Donald Davis James Temple James MacDonald Kenneth Jaggard Max Winkler	+0.75 lgths
Eights	England Basil Beazley Desmond Kingsford John Sturrock John Burrough John Turnbull Peter Jackson Rhodes Hambridge J. T. Turner Thomas Reeve	6:29	Australia Joe Gould Alfred Gregory Edward Bromley Frank le Souef Gordon Yewers Richard Paramor William Thomas Bill Dixon Doug Bowden	+0.75 lgths	New Zealand Gus Jackson Cyril Stiles Fred Thompson Howard Benge John Charters Leslie Pithie Oswald Denison James Gould William Stodart	+2 lgths

Swimming

Men's events

Event	Gold		Silver		Bronze
110 yd freestyle	Bob Pirie (CAN)	59.6	Terry Collard (SAF)	60.8	Bill Fleming (AUS)	61.0
440 yd freestyle	Bob Pirie (CAN)	4:54.6	Bob Leivers (ENG)	4:55.4	Robin Biddulph (AUS)	4:55.5
1650 yd freestyle	Bob Leivers (ENG)	19:46.4	Bob Pirie (CAN)	19:59.2	Norman Wainwright (ENG)	20:17.4
110 yd backstroke	Percy Oliver (AUS)	01:07.9	Gordon Kerr (CAN)	1:09.0	Micky Taylor (ENG)	1:09.3
220 yd breaststroke	John Davies (ENG)	2:51.9	Walter Spence (BGU)	3:00.5	Jimmy Prentice (CAN)	3:00.8
4×220 yd freestyle relay	England Frederick Dove Mostyn Ffrench-Williams Norman Wainwright Bob Leivers	9:19.0	Canada George Burleigh Gordon Devlin Robert Hooper Bob Pirie	9:20.2	Australia Robert Wilshire Noel Ryan Robin Biddulph Bill Fleming	9:32.9
3×110 yd medley relay	England Frederick Dove John Davies Micky Taylor	3:28.2	Canada Gordon Kerr Jimmy Prentice Bob Pirie	3:30.5	Australia Ernest Hobbs Percy Oliver Bill Fleming	3:31.8

Women's events

Event	Gold		Silver		Bronze
110 yd freestyle	Evelyn de Lacy (AUS)	1:10.1	Dorothy Green (AUS)	1:11.1	Dorothy Lyon (CAN)	1:12.1
440 yd freestyle	Dorothy Green (AUS)	5:39.7	Margaret Jeffrey (ENG)	5:40.2	Mona Leydon (NZL)	5:42.0
110 yd backstroke	Pat Norton (AUS)	1:19.5	Jeanne Greenland (WAL)	1:22.5	Margot Hamilton (SCO)	1:23.2
220 yd breaststroke	Doris Storey (ENG)	3:06.3	Carla Gerke (SAF)	3:12.1	Joan Langdon (CAN)	3:22.2
4×110 yd freestyle relay	Canada Noel Oxenbury Dorothy Lyon Mary Baggaley Phyllis Dewar	4:48.3	Australia Dorothy Green Evelyn de Lacy Margaret Rawson Pat Norton	4:49.0	England Edna Hughes Joyce Harrowby Margery Hinton Zilpha Grant	4:50.1
3×110 yd medley relay	England Doris Storey Lorna Frampton Margery Hinton	3:57.7	South Africa Carla Gerke Hazel Holmes Molly Ryde	4:07.5	Australia Evelyn de Lacy Pat Norton Valerie George	4:10.0

Wrestling

All events were for men only.

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Bantamweight	Ted Purcell (AUS)	Vernon Blake (CAN)	Ray Cazaux (ENG)
Featherweight	Roy Purchase (ENG)	Larry Clarke (CAN)	Joseph Genet (NZL)
Lightweight	Dick Garrard (AUS)	Vernon Thomas (NZL)	Alfred Harding (SAF)
Welterweight	Tom Trevaskis (AUS)	Felix Stander (SAF)	Jeremiah Podjursky (NZL)
Middleweight	Terry Evans (CAN)	Peter Sheasby (SAF)	Leslie Jeffers (ENG)
Light heavyweight	Eddie Scarf (AUS)	Sidney Greenspan (SAF)	Thomas Ward (SCO)
Heavyweight	Jack Knight (AUS)	James Dryden (NZL)	John Whelan (CAN)

External links

• Commonwealth Games Official Site
• 1938 British Empire Games at the official Guernsey site
• 1938 British Empire Games - Australian Commonwealth Games official website