Andrew Murray Charlton (1907 - 1975)

Biography

Andrew Charlton is Notable.

Andrew represented Australia at the Olympic Games in 1924, 1928 and 1932

Andrew 'Boy' Charlton was an Australian freestyle swimmer of the 1920s and 1930s. He won the gold medal in the 1500m freestyle at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, as well as three silver medals and one bronze medal in his three Games appearances: 1924 Paris, 1928 Amsterdam and 1932 Los Angeles. During his swimming career he set five world records. He was a legend and the man best known for making Australia known in international swimming.

Andrew Murray 'Boy' Charlton

Formative years

Andrew Charlton was born in New South Wales, Australia

Andrew Charlton has Irish ancestors.

Andrew Murray Charlton was born on 12th August 1907 in Crows Nest, New South Wales, Australia. He was the only son of Oswald Charlton and Ada Moore and had two older sisters. ^[1] Andrew was raised at Manly, New South Wales, attending Manly Village Public School and, later, Sydney Grammar School. His mother passed away in 1920. His father married again in 1925, to Alice Parkyns, however he passed away in 1929.

Andrew was a member of North Steyne Surf Life Saving club in his mid-teens, before transferring to Manly Life Saving Club in 1925.

Swimming

Andrew first came to public attention in 1921 when he won a 440yd freestyle race in the open division at a New South Wales Swimming Association competition. It was his youth (13 years of age) that led to his nickname 'Boy'. In 1923, the 15-year-old swam for the first time against (later Sir) Frank Beaurepaire, who had won 35 Australian championships, set 15 world records in his career, and first attended the Olympics when Andrew was an infant. The Manly Baths was filled to capacity for the 440yd race, with Andrew winning the race by two yards in a time of 5m 20.4s, which led to Beaurepaire predicting that fitness permitting, Charlton would break world records in 1924.

Andrew was selected for the Australian team for the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. In the 1500m freestyle final he defeated Swedish world record holder Arne Borg by 40m, while lapping the remainder of the field, to win Gold in a new world record time of 20m 6.6s. In the 400m freestyle final, he again lined up against Borg and Johnny Weissmuller (United States). He progressed to the final, finishing second to Weissmuller in both his heat and semi-final. In the final, Andrew finished a close third to Borg and Weissmuller, making up seven metres in the last half of the race; winning the Bronze medal.

• Charlton could only manage third place, but brought the crowd to their feet when he "flew" down the final 50 yards to finish close behind Weissmuller and Borg. ^[2]

He then combined with Ernest Henry, Moss Christie and Beaurepaire to claim Silver in the 4 × 200m freestyle relay behind the United States.

Following the Games, he resumed studies at Hawkesbury Agricultural College, but did not graduate and subsequently became a station-hand at Kurrumbede Station in Gunnedah, in western New South Wales.

After a two-year absence from competition, Andrew returned to the New South Wales championships in 1927, setting a world record of 10m 32s in the 880yd (800m) on his return. He was also victorious in the 440yd (400m) in an Australian record time of 4m 59.8s. The following year he qualified for the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam by once more winning the 440yd (400m) New South Wales championships. In Amsterdam, he claimed the Silver medal in both the 1500m and the 400m.

After shelving his swimming career for four years, Andrew broke the Australian records in both the 440yd (400m) and 880yd (800m) freestyle events at the 1932 New South Wales championships to gain selection for the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles; the oldest member of the team at 25 years of age. Sadly, he contracted influenza a fortnight before the Games, after arriving in the United States. He made it to the final of the 440yd freestyle, finishing sixth, but was eliminated in the semi-final of the 1500m. While in Los Angeles, Andrew was offered the chance to audition in Hollywood but refused the offer as he 'didn't fancy swimming around with his head out of the water, looking for baboons and alligators and things chasing him' (fellow Olympian, Johnny Weissmuller had made twelve Tarzan movies and was then Jungle Jim).

Although Andrew never won an Australian title, to Australians in the 1920s he was a popular idol and national hero.

Post swimming

Andrew was a pastoralist

Boy Charlton retired from swimming upon his return to Australia from Los Angeles. Together with friend and former Manly swimmer John L Davies, he opened a pharmacy in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory in 1934. In 1936 Andrew returned to the land, raising sheep with another friend, John Hyles, on Woolowolar Station, near Tarago, New South Wales.

Andrew married 'radiant country girl' Jessie Hyles, older sister of John on 20th March 1937 in St Mark's Church of England (Anglican Church), Darling Point, New South Wales. His uncles, Canon William Charlton and Reverend Leo Charlton, officiated. ^[3] Their wedding breakfast (reception as known today) was held nearby in the historic Elizabeth Bay House. ^[4] The couple settled on a 12,000-acre (49 km²) property, Kilrea, at Boro near Goulburn, New South Wales, where they had their son, Murray, and daughter, Patricia. They later retired to Avalon, on Sydney's Northern Beaches.

Aged 68 years, Andrew passed away as a result of a heart attack on 10th December 1975 at home in Avalon. He was in poor health, with emphysema. ^[5] Andrew was survived by Jessie, son and daughter, and grandchildren.

Honours

• The Sydney Domain Baths were re-named in 1968, Andrew 'Boy' Charlton Pool (popularly known as the ABC Pool), in Andrew's honour.
• The swim centre in Manly has also been re-named the Manly Andrew 'Boy' Charlton Aquatic Centre.
• He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1972.
• The Sport Australia Hall of Fame inducted Andrew in 1985 (together with Sir Frank Beaurepaire), associating his folk hero status with Don Bradman and Dawn Fraser.

World records

Andrew set the following World records, listed chronologically:

• 880yd freestyle, in Sydney 1923, 11:05.2.
• 880yd freestyle, in Sydney 1924, 10:51.8; breaking his own record.
• 440yd freestyle, in Sydney 1924, 5:11.8; equalling Arne Borg's world record time in defeating Borg by twenty yards.
• 1500m freestyle, at the Olympic Games 1924, knocking some 65 seconds off the previous time to set 20:06.6. Arne Borg took the record back in 1926.
• 880yd freestyle, in Sydney 1927, 10:32.0; re-taking his previous record from Arne Borg.

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales Birth Index #29064/1907; registered at St Leonards
2. ↑ Jacob, Tom. "The Boy who Swam like a Man," The Age (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), Fri, 12 Dec 1975, pg. 44; digital images, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com; accessed 9 Dec 2021)
3. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #9896/1937; registered at Woollahra
4. ↑ The Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal (NSW: 1888 - 1954) Fri 26 Mar 1937 Page 1 WEDDING; accessed 27 Jul 2021
5. ↑ New South Wales Death Index #31531/1975

See also

• Walsh, G P. 'Charlton, Andrew Murray (Boy) (1907–1975)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1979; accessed online 27 Jul 2021.
• Wikipedia profile: Boy Charlton; accessed 27 Jul 2021.