Pioneering Friendship
I was sorry to read of the death of Sir Roger Bannister last weekend for he was truly one of life’s gentlemen. Having lived opposite him for six years, I feel I can claim this with a fair degree of insight. He was a pioneer, initially in athletics when he became the first man ever to break the four minute mile, and then in the medical field of neurology where he led a distinguished career. It is important to note though that he considered his medical work to be far more significant than anything achieved on the track because of his breakthrough research into the responses of the nervous system.
To the wider world however Sir Roger will forever be remembered for his running and an achievement that transcended sport, let alone athletics. His run came less than a year after Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay conquered Mount Everest and both were achievements that spread optimism and aspiration to a post-war Britain still feeling the effects of rationing. Interestingly, there are more people who have climbed Everest than run a mile under four minutes which highlights the difficulty of Bannister’s challenge. Sir Roger would always oblige willingly with starting races for me on Sports Day or at athletics events at Iffley Road and his generosity of spirit was always in abundance. And it is this that I will remember: the fact that he was such a people person. His family summed it up best when they said, ‘He banked his treasure in the hearts of his friends.’ Something we should all emulate!
When asked what piece of wisdom he would pass on to a child, Sir Roger answered, ‘Always read every exam question three times. When I was fourteen I didn’t do that and it cost me dearly.’ I hope the Year 8s have been heeding that advice this week as they have sat their mock Common Entrance and scholarship examinations. They certainly seem to have been applying themselves.