Frederick Humphreys

Who was Frederick Humphreys?

Frederick Harkness Humphreys was a British tug of war competitor and sport wrestler who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, and in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. He was also a constable in the City of London Police, collar number 970, as were two of his brothers.

He was part of the British City of London Police team which won two gold and one silver medal in three consecutive tug of war competitions.

He also competed in wrestling, and took part in demonstration bouts around Europe and the United Kingdom. In the 1908 Olympic Greco-Roman super heavyweight competition he was eliminated in the first round and in the freestyle heavyweight event he was eliminated in the quarter-finals.

In May 2013, some of his medals, including the 1912 silver and 1920 gold, and family photographs, were shown on an episode of the BBC television programme by two of his great-nieces. They stated that the whereabouts of his 1908 gold medal are unknown.