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Frederick Miller Athlete

Frederick Miller is still an all round athlete at 83 years old! He is a regular at Swalwell Gym where they made him an honorary life member three years ago.

Frederick who has won medals for swimming, also teaches jujitsu, boxing and running and still finds the time to fit in the occasional round of golf. Frederick thinks nothing of getting a bus from his home in Rowlands Gill up to Chopwell Woods and walking round the woods then back home on foot. 'We have a car', said Frederick, 'but it's not out much'.

Out of all Frederick's sporting achievements it is running that deserves a special mention. You could say that running runs in the Miller family. Frederick’s father, Thomas, was a professional handicap runner and ran under the professional name of 'Lawson of Felling'. Handicap running was a popular, and potentially profitable sport in the mining communities of Durham and Northumberland in those days. In his youth, Frederick followed in his father’s footsteps and also ran successfully in handicap races and he can tell some amusing tales about some of the things that went on behind the scenes.

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At this time, Frederick showed real promise as a runner but he was destined for something other than handicap running. His finest moment was during the Second World War when, as a young man, he ran for Britain at the 1946/7 British Games at White City. Frederick was serving his apprenticeship at Greenside Pit when he was sent down to London to do emergency repair work on the damage resulting from the blitz bombings. It was hard work under difficult conditions but Frederick still managed to fit in his running. He trained with Belgrave Harriers and had his amateur status reinstated. His talent shone through and it was then that he was asked to run for his country. 'I was very proud to run for my country. It was a marvelous experience', said Frederick.