Walter Goodall George was a nineteenth century 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...

 runner from who set a number of world records for the mile

World record progression for the mile run

The world record in the mile run is the best mark set by a male or female runner in the middle-distance track and field event. The IAAF is the official body which oversees the records. Hicham El Guerrouj is the current men's record holder with his time of 3:43.13 minutes, while Svetlana Masterkova...

 as an amateur, but never became a professional athlete.

Early life

Walter Slade was the second son of the stockbroker Adolphus Frederick Slade (1804 to 1875) and his wife Charlotee Amelia Hulme. Walter's paternal grandfather, Henry Slade (1766 to 18?4) was the first cousin of Sir John Slade, 1st Baronet

Sir John Slade, 1st Baronet

General Sir John "Black Jack" Slade, 1st Baronet, GCH served as a general officer in the British Army during the Peninsular War. He lacked talent as a combat leader. Though Slade was praised in official reports, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington criticized his actions privately and finally...

. Adolphus Slade was a stockbroker, born in Battersea in 1804. He was forty years old when he married the nineteen year old Charlotte Amelia Hulme in 1844 in nearby Wandsworth. With Charlotte he had twelve children, seven sons and five daughters. The children were born whilst the family resided at Kemnal House in Kent, leased by Adolphus until 1871. Adolphus sent his sons, including Walter, to study at Tonbridge School

Tonbridge School

Tonbridge School is a British boys' independent school for both boarding and day pupils in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd . It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies...

 and at least four of them, again including Walter, followed him into the stock-broking business. Of Walter's siblings at appears that ten survived to adulthood (his brothers, Adolphus Hulme, Edmund, Ernest, Sydney and Herbert, and his sisters Fanny, Florence, Amy, Ada and Laura). His brother Percy appears to have died in infancy. By 1871, Adolphus claimed in the 1871 census that he was a “Landed Proprietor & Occupier of 246 acres of land – Employing 23 labourers, 5 boys & 3 women”, rather than a stockbroker.

At school Walter was a noted sportsman, being in both the Cricket Eleven (1870-1) and the Football Thirteen, (1870). He was also a noted runner at school and took this forward as an adult into the world of amateur running events.

Athletics

Walter Slade by contemporary accounts was a natural runner who trained very little. In England the professional milers, Lang and Richards, had set an 1865 record of 4:17.25 for the mile. However, the mile was also a popular event in amateur meets and there the 4:30 was still considered a barrier . This was first broken in 1868 by Walter Chinnery on March 14 1868, running in at 4:29.75. Chinnery went on to found the London Athletic Club, but his record was broken on April 3 1868 by Walter Gibbs. This record held until 1874 when a third Walter, Walter Slade, lowered the amateur record by taking over two seconds off the previous best, lowering the record to 4:26.00 at the Civil Service Sports meet in a race he won from scratch. This event was known as the Strangers' Open Mile, and it was at this race that in 1868 Chinnery had set his record previously. Walter Slade had already won the English Amateur Mile Championship in 1873, and went on to win it five years in a row from 1873 to 1877.

In 1874 he was also the Four Mile champion. He lowered the mile record to 4:24.25 in 1875 at a London Athletic Club meet at Stamford Bridge

Stamford Bridge (stadium)

Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London, and is the home of Chelsea Football Club. The stadium is located within the Moore Park Estate also known as Walham Green and is often referred to as simply The Bridge...

. His record was to stand for four years until broken by William Cummings

William Cummings

William J. Cummings was a Scottish professional runner who held the record for the mile in the 19th century and is perhaps best remembered for a series of races against Walter George, a top amateur runner who turned professional in part to challenge Cummings.-Early professional career:Cummings...

 in 1880.

Walter Slade was also on various occasions the fastest amateur on record for the half-mile, two miles and four miles.

Slade, was by conteporary accounts about six feet in height and weighing over eleven stone when in strict training. His style was described by Montague Shearman

Montague Shearman

Sir Montague Shearman was an English judge and athlete. He is most notable as co-founder of the Amateur Athletics Association in 1880.-Early life:...

 thus: "he ran heavily, crunching the cinders as he sped over the path."

Career

Walter followed his father into stockbroking and became a Member of the London Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...

. After moving to Australia he became a Member of the Melbourne Stock Exchange, Victoria and continued in this profession.