Graham Symonds

Who is Graham Symonds?

Graham Henry Symonds was a British swimmer who won a bronze medal in the 200 m butterfly at the 1958 European Aquatics Championships. He competed in the same event at the 1956 Summer Olympics, but did not reach the finals.

Symonds was born in Coventry and studied at the Coventry Art School. He was first coached by his father, a semi-professional football player. After retiring from swimming he worked at the technical publications department of the Armstrong Siddeley's aircraft division. He then designed tractors at Massey Ferguson, worked for Chrysler Rootes, and in 1967 joined Ford. In the 1980s–90s he worked in Dearborn, Michigan, US, designing medium and large trucks, such as Ford Transit. During that time he also competed in masters swimming. He returned to UK in 1998 to assume the post of assistant director of design of small and medium Ford vehicles at Dunton Wayletts, Essex. He retired in 2002 an died in 2006 in Essex, leaving wife Ina and children Heather, Brett and Andrea.