Harold Tyrie
Tyrie, c. 1937
Personal information
Birth nameHarold Joffre Tyrie
Born(1915-08-03)3 August 1915
Dunedin, New Zealand
Died22 February 2007(2007-02-22) (aged 91)
Christchurch, New Zealand
Weight90 kg (198 lb)[1]
Spouse
Phyllis Mary McClelland
​
​
(m. 1940; died 1998)​
Sport
CountryNew Zealand
SportAthletics
Achievements and titles
National finals440 yd champion (1936, 1939, 1940)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  New Zealand
British Empire Games
Bronze medal – third place 1938 Sydney 4 x 440 yard relay
Rugby union career
Position(s) Second-row forward
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
– Southern RUFC ()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1938, 1941 Otago 2 ()

Harold Joffre Tyrie (3 August 1915 – 22 February 2007) was a New Zealand track and field athlete who won a bronze medal at the 1938 British Empire Games. He also played representative rugby union for Otago.

Early life and family

Born in Dunedin on 3 August 1915, Tyrie was the son of William Leslie Tyrie and Annie Tyrie (née Miller).[2][3] He was educated at Otago Boys' High School from 1929 to 1932.[4] On 27 September 1940, he married Phyllis Mary McClelland at St John's Church, Millers Flat,[3] and the couple went on to have three daughters.[5]

Athletics

Representing Otago, Tyrie won the New Zealand national 440 yards title three times: in 1936, 1939, and 1940.[6] At the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney, he finished sixth in the final of the men's 440 yards, and was a member of the New Zealand quartet in the men's 4 x 440 yards relay that won the bronze medal.[7]

He later turned to coaching, and trained athletes including Don Jowett and Robin Tait.

Rugby union

A second-row forward from the Southern Rugby Football Club in Dunedin,[1] Tyrie played two representative rugby union games for Otago, in 1938 and 1941.[4]

Military service

Tyrie graduated from the 12th Officer Cadet Training Unit in September 1942 and was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the New Zealand Infantry.[8] Later, in 1944, with the rank of corporal, Tyrie was wounded in Italy while serving with the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force.[9][10]

Later life and death

In later life, Tyrie was a ceramic artist of some note.[5][11] He died in Christchurch on 22 February 2007.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Southern beats Linwood 17–10". The Press. 22 August 1938. p. 6. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Birth search: registration number 1915/15303". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Tyrie–McClelland". Mt Benger Mail. 2 October 1940. p. 2. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "Gone but not forgotten". Otago Boys' High School Foundation. Archived from the original on 7 February 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2017.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ a b "Family with flair". The Press. 13 August 2002. p. 2.
  6. ^ Hollings, Stephen (December 2016). "National champions 1887–2016" (PDF). Athletics New Zealand. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  7. ^ "Harold Tyrie". New Zealand Olympic Committee. 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  8. ^ "New Zealand, World War II appointments, promotions, transfers and resignations, 1939–1945". Ancestry.com Operations. 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Roll of honour". New Zealand Herald. 14 April 1944. p. 5. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  10. ^ "General sports news: H. J. Tyrie among wounded". New Zealand Herald. 21 April 1944. p. 2. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  11. ^ "Blue promotion to mark Show Week". The Press. 10 November 1997. p. 25.
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