12 Facts About Sydney Wooderson

Sydney Charles Wooderson MBE, dubbed "The Mighty Atom", was an English athlete whose peak career was in the 1930s and 1940s.

Sydney Wooderson set the world mile record of 4:06.4 at London's Motspur Park on 28 August 1937.

Sydney Wooderson won the British mile title for the five years up to the outbreak of the war in 1939.

Sydney Wooderson joined the Royal Pioneer Corps and was a firefighter during the Blitz and then later, in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers as a radar operator.

Sydney Wooderson's versatility was demonstrated when he won the English National Cross Country Championships title in 1948.

Sydney Wooderson was the natural choice to carry the Olympic torch into Wembley Stadium for the 1948 Summer Olympics.

Sydney Wooderson was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2000 Birthday Honours for services to Blackheath Harriers and athletics.

Sydney Wooderson lived in retirement in Dorset in the South of England.

Sydney Wooderson remained a life member of Blackheath Harriers and was twice its president.

Sydney Wooderson died on Thursday 21 December 2006 in a nursing home at Wareham, Dorset.

Sydney Wooderson's ashes are interred in the churchyard of Lady St Mary's Church, Wareham.

The Sydney Wooderson title was highly acclaimed in the sporting press.