Great show on an amazing Olympian and soldier who I knew nothing about till I watched it. It's incredible to think Finlay never lost his natural sprinting speed over the war and be so competitive at the 1948 Olympics. As the live chat suggested, there was so many pre-war sportstars who lost out on their best years or never achieved more than they could have, because of WW2. So for Finlay to excel, he really had to be exceptional. On that note @WW2TV, may I suggest you contact the authors Aili and Andres McConnon. They wrote the amazing "Road To Valour" which told both the incredible comeback of Italian cycling legend Gino Bartali to win the 1948 Tour de France (10 years after his last win) but also more importantly, his aid to the Italian resistance during the war which saved the life of an Italian-Jewish family from the Holocaust. Bartali has now been honoured as a Righteous Among The Nations by the Yad Vashem museum. A good example of new history revealing more than we thought knew about a person or event. So hence it reinforces your oft-mentioned point on shows - We need to keep researching history because the history is not set in stone. P.S. if you have any interest in war and cycling, I would suggest reading "The Eagle of Toledo: The Life of Federico Bahamontes" by Alisdair Fotheringham. It has a passage recounting Bahamontes (considered the greatest climber in Tour de France history in his time and afterwards) childhood in Toledo (which had the misfortune to be ruined as a battlefield in the Spanish Civil War) and how a propaganda film of the 1946 Vuelta d'Espana (Tour of Spain) unwittingly served to highlight to the world how thoroughly devastated the nation was by the conflict instead of portraying it in the best light. I would recommend reading the book for that alone, it's so harrowing and depressing. P.S. If you have just an interest in cycling only, then read William Fotheringham biography "Put Me Back on My Bike: In Pursuit of Tom Simpson" which having read it, does live up to the hype as the greatest book on cycling ever written.
What a great presentation on a man that needs to be more well known. Don Finlay was a very complex man but someone who gave amazing service to Great Britain! Thank you Mr. White for sharing this story with us!
A very interesting presentation on one of that forgotten cadre of experienced pre war RAF pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain, went on to senior ranks later in the war, and had a remarkable athletic record as well. Well worth watching. #WW2 #RAF #Spitfire #BattleOfBritian
The things a person finds out by listening and watching this channel. Not only did I learn about one marvelous British athlete and soldier I learned about an American athlete, Fritz Pollard, who happened to be in a photo with Don Finlay in the 1936 Olympics. The discussion on what we've learned, how affected people are by war, was very enlightening. When I think we have not learned from the past, we actually have. Thank you Andrew. Thanks Woody for bringing the stories to us.
I so so wish that I could have been lucky enough to meet my Great Uncle Don 😊 Our family are still bursting with pride over this fantastic human and his achievements 😊!! He unfortunately had his awful car accident on his way home from my parents wedding.. I have also competed at the hurdles....Which possibly has taken away my tolerance for suffering fools gladly as well 😜...!! Xx Maybe it i
Hi Lisa; thank you for your comments. It’s always great to find Don’s relatives and hear more of the story. If I gave you my email address, could you drop me a line? Andrew.
Thank you for such for an extremely interesting presentation from Andrew, yet again WW2TV has focused on a person that too to me was unknown. What a fascinating person Don Finlay was, and sadly a tragic end to his life. Thanks Paul and Andrew for such a great presentation. I hope now Don will be remembered and known to a larger audience. Thanks again WW2TV 👍
In Ginger Lacey's book, he mentions a commander of his in Burma who he did not get along with, he referred to this commander only as the "athlete". I wonder if Don Finlay is that commander.
Hi Steven, and thanks for your interest. Yes, ‘The Athlete’ in Lacey’s biography is indeed Don Finlay. Lacey was OC 17 Squadron under Finlay’s command as OC 909 Wing. I cover their relationship in the book - suffice to say, there was no love lost between them! Lacey wasn’t the only person that Don rubbed up the wrong way in Burma…more in the book!
It is so funny to me that I read that book for the first time some 30 years ago and wondered who the Athlete could be. I was watching the stream after the fact and had quite a feeling that a piece of that puzzle had just been solved. Thank you so much for answering that question for me. All the best to you Sir!
