From military service to the world stage, New Zealand's veteran Olympians exemplify resilience and dedication. Athletes like Darcy Hadfield (Olympian #8), Harry Wilson (Olympian #10), Jack Macdonald (Olympian #35), and Harold Nelson (Olympian #57) also served their country during war time. Fifteen New Zealand military veterans have had the privilege of representing New Zealand at the Olympics. Let’s celebrate their stories as we reignite the Olympic flame. 

DARCY CLARENCE HADFIELD
Olympian #8 | WWI service number 40552

World War I Veteran Darcy Clarence Hadfield was born for the water. Growing up in a cottage nestled on the banks of the Awapoto River in the Tasman District, Hadfield began his rowing career out of necessity, travelling across the Awaroa Inlet to reach the mainland. It was only after moving to Auckland that Hadfield turned his primary mode of transport into sport and began to compete at a high-performance level. By 1916, Hadfield was the three-time national single sculls champion and on his way to international representation. However, everything changed when New Zealand joined WWI.  

Hadfield joined the 1st Auckland Infantry Battalion in 1917 and was deployed to Belgium where they would serve in the Battle of Broodseinde, an early offensive within the Battle of Passchendaele. On October 4th, Hadfield’s Battalion stormed the Strombeck valley under heavy gunfire. By the time they were relieved, 200 men were wounded and 57 had lost their lives. Hadfield was mistakenly reported as "killed in action" after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head.¹ Fortunately, this was an error in the chaos of battle and was transferred to a hospital in eastern France for rehabilitation.  

Upon resuming service, Hadfield contracted bronchitis, a respiratory illness that can have lasting effects on the lungs and heart. These challenges could have ended his athletic career. However, through determination and rehabilitation, Hadfield was able to return to rowing. He competed in wartime competitions such as the Inter-Allied Games, the Kingswood Cup, and regattas held by the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) to entertain demobilising troops. 

In 1920, Hadfield went on to compete in the Antwerp Olympics, where he won a bronze medal in the men’s single sculls Rowing – the first Olympic medal won under the New Zealand flag. ²  

HARRY ERNEST WILSON
Olympian #10 | WWI service number 37204

As one of the top medal prospects, Wilson would be named Team New Zealand’s flagbearer for the 1920 Olympic Games, where he was competing in the 110m hurdles. Wilson’s performance did not disappoint, as he placed 4th, finishing only 0.5m behind the bronze medal winner.³ Unfortunately, Wilson’s athletic career would come to an end in 1924, when he broke his leg at the Australasian Championship. However, that didn’t stop him from serving New Zealand once more during WWII.  This time he would join as a second Lieutenant in the New Zealand Territorial Force.  

Aside from Olympian #2, Henry St Aubyn Murray, Wilson is New Zealand’s only Olympian to serve in both World Wars. 

JOHN 'JACK" HOANI MACDONALD
Olympian #35 | WWII service number NZ433801

A notoriously prolific athlete, John ‘Jack’ Macdonald (Rangitāne) was one of the first Māori athletes to represent New Zealand at an Olympics.⁴ Macdonald’s first experience representing New Zealand was in rugby union as a Māori All Black – an achievement shared by his father, Jack Senior, and brothers, Manny and Enoka. Also proficient at rugby league and tennis, Macdonald would later play in many Defence Force tournaments representing the Royal New Zealand Air Force. ⁵ However, it was ultimately on the water that Macdonald would become the most well-known. In 1932, Macdonald was selected to represent New Zealand at the Los Angeles Olympics in the men’s eight rowing team, along with fellow future World War II-veteran George Cooke (Olympian #25) who would eventually lose his life in a Prisoner of War hospital in Crete, Greece. Not only would Macdonald lead Team New Zealand by carrying the flag during the Opening Ceremony but he would also partake in the first Haka in Olympic history.⁶ 

After the Olympics Macdonald, along with several other notable rugby union players, switched sporting codes and moved to England to play rugby league in the professional club leagues. Macdonald would remain in the United Kingdom until the outbreak of WWII, when he enlisted to serve the Commonwealth in the Royal Air Force (RAF) – although he would later serve in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). Sporting leagues were run throughout the war to allow soldiers from different countries and branches of the Allied defence forces to compete against one another. As many veteran Olympians and national representatives did during World War II, Macdonald represented the RAF and RNZAF in rugby union, rowing, and tennis.  

Macdonald’s legacy in the sporting world survives to this day through the family’s persistent presence within New Zealand sporting communities. Along with his brothers and father, Macdonald’s great-nephews Hoani, and Leon Macdonald, and Jamie Joseph also played for the Māori All Blacks, with the latter two earning selection for the All Blacks too. Further, Macdonald’s nephew Enoka captained the Tall Blacks to their first win against Australia. However, the most like Macdonald’s level of sporting diversity appears to be his niece Lynne, who is a rare triple representative of the Fern in netball, basketball, and softball.⁷ 

WILLIAM 'HAROLD' NELSON
Olympian 57 | WWII service number NZ4211801 

Nelson quickly became a tough competitor on the Junior athletics circuit, but the emergence of WWII soon brought his running career to a standstill. Although Nelson continued to compete in Allied Service competitions after joining the Royal New Zealand Air Force, an unfortunate accident whilst deployed saw him invalided home with the fears that he might never run again.⁹ Thankfully, surgery to repair the damage done would be successful and his Olympic dream eventually became a reality.  

In 1948, Nelson was selected to represent New Zealand at the London Olympics – the first Olympics held after the war. As New Zealand’s most promising prospect, he was privileged enough to be named Captain and flag bearer for Team New Zealand. Although he did not receive any medals, his return to high performance sport after service alone was an achievement and the start of a long and promising career. Nelson would go on to win gold and silver on home soil at the 1950 Auckland Commonwealth Games, as well as multiple national titles.¹⁰  

The Paralympics: A Legacy of WWII  

At the same time Nelson carried the New Zealand flag into the 1948 London Olympics Opening Ceremony, a small gathering of British WWII veterans would take part in the first ever variation of the Paralympics – the Stokes-Mandeville Games.  

Hadfield and Nelson would ultimately recover from their debilitating injuries, but many servicemen's lives were changed by the injuries they sustained during the war. Ludwig Guttmann, a Jewish Neurologist at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, changed many soldiers’ lives when he introduced an alternative form of rehabilitation to those with spinal cord injuries: sport.¹¹ Guttmann believed that "If [he] ever did one good thing in [his] medical career, it was to introduce sport into the treatment and rehabilitation programme of spinal cord sufferers and other severely disabled.”¹² Having witnessed the psychological and physical improvements in the veterans, Guttmann wanted to give them something to work towards in the form of a competition. Thus, the Stoke Mandeville games were born.  

Running parallel to the Opening Ceremony of the 1948 London Olympics, Sixteen disabled athletes competed in archery. Although the event was small, it was a success, and the Stoke Mandeville Games expanded to become an annual competition featuring multiple teams and sports. By 1960, the games were large enough that the International Olympic Committee recognised its significance in both disabled and general sporting communities and merged it with the Olympic Games and into the four-year cycle. Thus, the Paralympics were born in Rome 1960. These games would feature 400 competitors from twenty-three countries, competing across seven para-sports.¹³ New Zealand would only join the Paralympic Games in 1968 but would find immediate success when Eve Rimmer won four medals in athletics and swimming.  

Nowadays, the Paralympics have evolved from the grassroots purpose of rehabilitation and integrating disabled WWII veterans back into post-war society, into its own global phenomenon. The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will host around 4,400 athletes from 172 National Paralympic Committees across 549 medal events. ¹⁴ While most Paralympic contenders today are civilians with disabilities present from birth or acquired later in life, there remains a notable number of athletes with disabilities acquired through war, such as Melissa Stockwell (USA), Jon-Allan Butterworth (Great Britain) and Jean Rukondo (Rwanda). The continued presence of war-affected athletes speaks to the enduring legacy of WWII in the Paralympics' history and underscores the importance of adaptive sports in fostering resilience and community among individuals with disabilities. This foundational spirit of the Paralympics has extended beyond a single quadrennial event to inspire more veteran-specific competitions such as the Invictus Games which have become a recurring highlight in the calendars of high-performance veteran athletes.¹⁵ 

Conclusion 

The journeys of New Zealand’s veteran Olympians, such as Darcy Hadfield, Harry Wilson, Jack Macdonald, and Harold Nelson, highlight the transformative power of sport. Their stories exemplify dedication and perserverance, both in their military service and athletic achievements. The experiences of WWII veterans were pivotal in the creation of the Paralympic Games, initially aimed at rehabilitating injured soldiers. This initiative evolved from a grassroots effort into a global phenomenon, alongside the rise of competitions like the Invictus Games, underscoring the importance of adaptive sports in fostering resilience and community. The continued presence of war-affected athletes in these events speaks to the enduring legacy of WWII and the role of sport in rehabilitation. Overall, these competitions share the same mission – to inspire and change lives through sport.
 

Below is a list of those veterans who have competed at the Olympic games.

Results

Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 records

Record ID	Photo	Family name	First names	Force	Wars	Service #		Preliminary
294191		Gedge	Edward Gordon	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945
C137209		Nelson	William Harold	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ4211801
291812		Matthews	Cecil Henry	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ4210090
104122		Foubister	Ronald Gordon	Army	World War II, 1939-1945	82419
C22428		Cooke	George Campbell	Army	World War II, 1939-1945	2431
160979		Black	Stuart Alexander	Army	World War II, 1939-1945	498655
135995		Boot	Vernon Patrick	Army	World War II, 1939-1945	30848
C86795		Hadfield	Darcy Clarence	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	40552
294947		Waters	Edward Arthur	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945
C28631		Lindsay	David Powell	Army	World War II, 1939-1945	621341
291809		Wilson	Harry Ernest	Army	World War I, 1914-1918, World War II, 1939-1945	37204
C13981		Rowland	Albert Edward MacKay	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	32540
294885		Littlejohn	Charles William Berry	Army	World War I, 1914-1918, World War II, 1939-1945	VX14380
248446		Lovelock	John Edward	Army	World War II, 1939-1945
C30123		Murray	Henry St Aubyn	Army	World War I, 1914-1918, World War II, 1939-1945	1658
C130219		Porritt	Arthur Espie	Army	World War II, 1939-1945	125494
291811		Macdonald	John Hoani	Air Force	World War II, 1939-1945	NZ433801
C37079		Wilding	Anthony Frederick	Navy	World War I, 1914-1918
C57807		Wallingford	Jesse Alfred	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	12/1125
C133625		Borrie	John	Army	World War II, 1939-1945	37751

REFERENCES
 

[1] HADFIELD, Darcy Clarence – WW1 40552 - Army (Military File) “Casualty Form – Active Service” Archives New Zealand. Image 5-6.

[2]  New Zealanders competed on a combined Australia-New Zealand team called Australasia in the 1908 and 1912 Olympics where Harry Kerr (1908), Malcom Champion (1912), and WW1 veteran Anthony Wilding (1912) won medals.

[3]  International Olympic Committee. (2024). Antwerp 1920 Athletics 110m Hurdles Men Results. https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/antwerp-1920/results/athletics/110m-hurdles-men 

[4] Macdonald (Rangitāne) and fellow men’s eight rower Lawrence Jackson (Ngāi Tahu) represented NZ at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics as the first Māori Olympians.

[5] Moody, S. (1 October 2019). On the wing – Rugby in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.  

[6] New Zealand Olympic Committee. (2016, May 12). The Black Singlet: Defining New Zealand athletes 1928-1948. ; New Zealand athletes performing a haka, Los Angeles, 1932. (2024). Te Ara.Retrieved 22 July 2024.

[7] Marshall, T. (December 2020). Without you I was nothing: What Māori have given the game of rugby. North & South 

[8]  De Ruyter, Martin. (2009, January 31). Flame Still Burns Bright. Stuff.co.nz. 

[9]  Sport Tasman. (2006). Nelson Legends of the Sport – W. Harold Nelson MBE.  ; "Champion runner once invalid". Cootamundra Herald. 2 April 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 16 July 2024.

[10]  Harold Nelson. (2024). New Zealand Olympic Committee.

[11]  Ian Bonhôte & Peter Ettedgui. (2020). Rising Phoenix [Film]. 

[12] As cited in Scruton, J. (1979). Sir Ludwig Guttman: Creator of a World Sports Movement for the Paralyzed and Other Disabled. Paraplegia, 17, 52-55.

[13]  Paralympics New Zealand. (2024). Why Were the Paralympic Games Created? A Journey from Inclusion to Inspiration.

[14]  International Paralympic Committee. (2024). Paris 2024 – Qualification and Regulations. (Retrieved 17/07/2024) – NB: Numbers may change once the Paralympics begin. ; Wikipedia. (2024). 2024 Summer Paralympics. (Retrieved 17/07/2024) 

[15]   Aims and Origins. (2024). Invictus Games Foundation. https://www.invictusgamesfoundation.org/aims-and-origins (Retrieved 19/07/2024)