Richard Beesly was a British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 rower

Rowing (sport)

Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

 who won an Olympic gold medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics

1928 Summer Olympics

The 1928 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam had bid for the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games, but had to give way to war-victim Antwerp, Belgium, and Pierre de...

.

Beesly was born at Bromsgrove

Bromsgrove

Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England. The town is about north east of Worcester and south west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 with a small ethnic minority and is in Bromsgrove District.- History :Bromsgrove is first documented in the early 9th century...

, the son of Gerald Beesly and his wife Helen (née Chamberlain) who was a cousin of Neville Chamberlain

Neville Chamberlain

Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...

. He was educated at Oundle School

Oundle School

Oundle School is a co-educational British public school located in the ancient market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire. The school has been maintained by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City of London since its foundation in 1556. Oundle has eight boys' houses, five girls' houses, a day...

 and Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

, where he was a member of the First Trinity Boat Club. He rowed at a number four for the winning Cambridge

Cambridge University Boat Club

The Cambridge University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Cambridge, England, located on the River Cam at Cambridge, although training primarily takes place on the River Great Ouse at Ely. The club was founded in 1828...

 crew in the Boat Race in 1927 and 1928. Also in 1928, First Trinity represented Great Britain rowing at the 1928 Summer Olympics

Rowing at the 1928 Summer Olympics

Rowing at the 1928 Summer Olympics featured 7 events, for men only. The competitions were held from August 2, 1928 to August 10, 1928.-Medal summary:-Participating nations:A total of 245 rowers from 19 nations competed at the Amsterdam Games:...

 in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

, where, at the age of 21, he won an Olympic gold medal in the coxless four

Coxless four

A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars.The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on the stroke side and two on the bow side...

 with John Lander

John Lander (rower)

John Gerard Heath Lander was a British rower who competed at the 1928 Summer Olympics. He was killed in action during the Second World War....

, Michael Warriner

Michael Warriner

Michael Henry Warriner was a British rower who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics.Warriner was born at Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire He was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he rowed with the First Trinity Boat Club...

 and Edward Bevan

Edward Vaughan Bevan

Edward Vaughan Bevan was a British doctor and rower who won a gold medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam....

. They recorded a time of 6:36.0 in the final to beat the USA crew by 1 second. He was President of C.U.B.C. in 1929 when Cambridge won the Boat Race again.

In 1932, Beesly joined Guest Keen and Nettlefolds, a firm with which he had strong family connections on his mother's side. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 he served with the Ministry of Supply

Ministry of Supply

The Ministry of Supply was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. There was, however, a separate ministry responsible for aircraft production and the Admiralty retained...

. In 1945 he bought a controlling interest in a light engineering firm which produced mechanical hedge cutters and mobile forestry saws. He lived at Ashford Hall, Shropshire

Shropshire

Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

 where he had a farm. He met his death there when he was attacked and killed instantly by a bull.

One of his brothers, Patrick Beesly

Patrick Beesly

Patrick Beesly was a British author and intelligence officer during World War II.Beesly was the son of Gerald Beesly and his wife Helen who was a cousin of Neville Chamberlain. Beasley attended Oundle School following which he read history at Trinity College, Cambridge...

was an author and intelligence officer.