John Albert Pelling 1936 - 2023

It is with great sadness we report the death of club member John Pelling at the age of 87.

John was our longest serving member having been elected to the Epée Club in 1958.

He won a silver medal in the team épée event at the 1960 Summer Olympics along with Allan Jay and Bill Hoskyns. John was a member of the British World Championships / Olympics team from 1957 to 1967 inclusive. He also fenced in the team event at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and was a member of the British épée team that won the silver medal in the team event together with Allan Jay, Bill Hoskyns, Peter Jacobs and Nick Halsted

He represented England and won a gold medal and silver medal in the épée events at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Western Australia. Four years later he repeated the success at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica. He was a twice British fencing champion, winning the épée title at the British Fencing Championships in 1961 and 1965.

He was a member of the Grosvenor Fencing Club.

In his turn, he was also one of the GB Selectors and Epée Club member, like his father.

“I remember John, starting with the first time that I fenced in the Epée Championship, in 1965, which John won. Although I did not get to know John well, I remember him as a very nice man, a real gentleman, and a very stylish and effective fencer”. Teddy Bourne