Kingston Athletic Club and Polytechnic Harriers

Founded	1883
Ground	Kingsmeadow Athletics Stadium
Location	Kingston Road, KT1 3PB
Coordinates	51°24′17″N 0°17′02″W / 51.40472°N 0.28389°W
Website	kingstonandpoly.org
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The Kingston Athletic Club and Polytechnic Harriers or Kingston & Poly AC for short is an athletic club based in Kingston upon Thames in England.

History

The club was founded by philanthropist Quintin Hogg in 1883, and they were known for four years as the Hanover United AC, and were the athletics arm of Quintin Hogg's Regent Street Polytechnic.^[1] The Polytechnic Harriers were based at the Chiswick track and their history with racing events predated "the Poly" since they oversaw walking races from London to Brighton as far back as 1897.^[2]^[3]

The club has long ties to what is now the London Marathon. In 1908 they oversaw the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1908 Olympics, the Game's marathon, and played a large part in the development of the Polytechnic Marathon, which ran from 1909- 1996.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

In 1920, Harry Edward became Great Britain's first Black medalist at the Olympic Games.^[8]

In 1985 The Polytechnic Harriers merged with The Royal Borough of Kingston AC, a women's club founded in 1982, to become the Kingston AC and Polytechnic Harriers (Kingston & Poly). The Royal Borough of Kingston AC had been formed when Surrey AC disbanded that year. The male athletes from Surrey AC joined Belgrave Harriers.^[9]

The Polytechnic's Kinnaird and Sward Trophies are still contested annually at Kingston & Poly's home track, which was originally constructed as a cinder track in 1961^[10] and is adjacent to the football stadium at Kingsmeadow. The Polytechnic Marathon is no longer held, having been superseded by the London Marathon. Kingston & Poly's men now compete nationally in the British Athletics League and, at area level, the men and women operate jointly in the Southern Athletics League, although they were relegated to lesser divisions in 2016.^[11]

Olympic athletes

^[12]

Athlete	Club	Games
Henry Barrett	Polytechnic Harriers	1908, 1912
Jack Butler	Polytechnic Harriers	1908
George Nicol	Polytechnic Harriers	1908, 1912
James Barrett	Polytechnic Harriers	1908
Michael Collins	Polytechnic Harriers	1908
Charlie Davies	Polytechnic Harriers	1908
Oswald Groenings	Polytechnic Harriers	1908
George Hawkins	Polytechnic Harriers	1908
Guy Holdaway	Polytechnic Harriers	1908
Georg Lind	Polytechnic Harriers	1908
Henry Murray	Polytechnic Harriers	1908
Edward Spencer	Polytechnic Harriers	1908
Jimmy Tremeer	Polytechnic Harriers	1908
Timothy Carroll	Polytechnic Harriers	1912, 1920
Willie Applegarth	Polytechnic Harriers	1912
James Barker	Polytechnic Harriers	1912
Victor d'Arcy	Polytechnic Harriers	1912
Percy Mann	Polytechnic Harriers	1912
Douglas McNicol	Polytechnic Harriers	1912
Clive Taylor	Polytechnic Harriers	1912
Arthur Treble	Polytechnic Harriers	1912
Larry Cummins	Polytechnic Harriers	1920
Harry Edward	Polytechnic Harriers	1920
Albert Hill	Polytechnic Harriers	1920
Eric Robertson	Polytechnic Harriers	1920
Guy Brockington	Polytechnic Harriers	1924
Fred Gaby	Polytechnic Harriers	1924, 1928
John Odde	Polytechnic Harriers	1924
Richard Ripley	Polytechnic Harriers	1924
Frederick Chauncy	Polytechnic Harriers	1928
Cyril Gill	Polytechnic Harriers	1928
Jack London	Polytechnic Harriers	1928
Arthur Muggridge	Polytechnic Harriers	1928
Lorna Frampton	Polytechnic Harriers	1936
Bert Norris	Polytechnic Harriers	1936
Aubrey Reeve	Polytechnic Harriers	1936
Stan West	Polytechnic Harriers	1936
McDonald Bailey	Polytechnic Harriers	1948, 1952
Paul Crosfield	Polytechnic Harriers	1948
Charles Denroche	Polytechnic Harriers	1948
Rene Howell	Polytechnic Harriers	1948
Stan Jones	Polytechnic Harriers	1948
Leslie Laing	Polytechnic Harriers	1948, 1952
Ron Pavitt	Polytechnic Harriers	1948, 1952
Martin Pike	Polytechnic Harriers	1948
Doug Wilson\|	Polytechnic Harriers	1948
Arthur Wint	Polytechnic Harriers	1948, 1952
Peter Hildreth	Polytechnic Harriers	1952, 1956, 1960
Brian Shenton	Polytechnic Harriers	1952, 1956
Jeannette Bailey	Polytechnic Harriers	1960
Tim Graham	Polytechnic Harriers	1964
Colin Campbell	Polytechnic Harriers	1968, 1972, 1976
Alan Pascoe	Polytechnic Harriers	1968, 1972, 1976

References

^ Kingston Athletics Club & Polytechnic Harriers History of the club 03-07-2007 Archived June 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
^ Bryant, John (17 April 2009). The Marathon Makers. Kings Road Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84358-228-1. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
^ Clapson, Mark (1 November 2014). "Global Sport in the Suburbs: The Regent Street Polytechnic's Sports Facilities at Chiswick, 1888–1938". The London Journal. 39 (3): 265–280. doi:10.1179/0305803414Z.00000000052. ISSN 0305-8034. S2CID 144590927.
^ Polley, Martin (1 July 2009). "From Windsor Castle to White City: The 1908 Olympic Marathon Route" (PDF). The London Journal. 34 (2): 163–178. doi:10.1179/174963209X442441. ISSN 0305-8034. S2CID 162023260.
^ Hill, Dave (23 April 2016). "London Marathon: 35 years of change in 26.2 miles". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
^ Usborne, Simon (23 October 2011). "Timeline: The marathon". The Independent. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
^ "Poly History – Harriers Athletic Club – Polytechnic Football Club". Retrieved 2 July 2021.
^ Dawkins, Sarah (16 October 2020). "Harry Edward: The Berlin-born POW who became Britain's first black Olympic medallist". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
^ "Remembering Surrey AC". Kingston AC and Polytechnic Harriers. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
^ https://kingstonandpoly.org/archive/id28-History%20of%20the%20Club.html Retrieved 14 December 2024.
^ "Athletics: Kingston & Polytechnic Harriers fall at final British League hurdle". Your Local Guardian. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
^ "Polytechnic Harriers, Westminster (GBR)". Olympedia. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
^ "Polytechnic Harriers Athletic Club - University of Westminster › Records and Archives". westminster-atom.arkivum.net. University of Westminster. Retrieved 2 July 2021.

[1] Kingston Athletics Club & Polytechnic Harriers History of the club 03-07-2007 Archived June 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine

[bryant-2] Bryant, John (17 April 2009). The Marathon Makers. Kings Road Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84358-228-1. Retrieved 2 July 2021.

[clapson-3] Clapson, Mark (1 November 2014). "Global Sport in the Suburbs: The Regent Street Polytechnic's Sports Facilities at Chiswick, 1888–1938". The London Journal. 39 (3): 265–280. doi:10.1179/0305803414Z.00000000052. ISSN 0305-8034. S2CID 144590927.

[polley-4] Polley, Martin (1 July 2009). "From Windsor Castle to White City: The 1908 Olympic Marathon Route" (PDF). The London Journal. 34 (2): 163–178. doi:10.1179/174963209X442441. ISSN 0305-8034. S2CID 162023260.

[Hill-5] Hill, Dave (23 April 2016). "London Marathon: 35 years of change in 26.2 miles". the Guardian. Retrieved 2 July 2021.

[usborne-6] Usborne, Simon (23 October 2011). "Timeline: The marathon". The Independent. Retrieved 2 July 2021.

[phi-7] "Poly History – Harriers Athletic Club – Polytechnic Football Club". Retrieved 2 July 2021.

[dawkins-8] Dawkins, Sarah (16 October 2020). "Harry Edward: The Berlin-born POW who became Britain's first black Olympic medallist". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2 July 2021.

[9] "Remembering Surrey AC". Kingston AC and Polytechnic Harriers. Retrieved 5 September 2025.

[10] ttps://kingstonandpoly.org/archive/id28-History%20of%20the%20Club.html Retrieved 14 December 2024.

[tlg-11] "Athletics: Kingston & Polytechnic Harriers fall at final British League hurdle". Your Local Guardian. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2021.

[12] "Polytechnic Harriers, Westminster (GBR)". Olympedia. Retrieved 16 November 2024.

[uofw-13] "Polytechnic Harriers Athletic Club - University of Westminster › Records and Archives". westminster-atom.arkivum.net. University of Westminster. Retrieved 2 July 2021.

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