27.06.1927 – 24.06.2024
On Monday 24 June 2024, former Great Britain and Wales international hockey player, David Thomas, passed away peacefully at his home in Abbotskerswell, Devon just a few days before his 97th birthday.
David Frederick Colman Thomas was born in Pontypridd in 1927. He had trained at Loughborough College, served in the Royal Air Force as a physical training instructor, worked as a PE teacher at Haberdashers’ School. He became Director of the National Sports Centre (now called Sport Wales National Centre) in Cardiff prior to its opening in 1971.
He played hockey for Hounslow Hockey Club, Middlesex, Wales and Great Britain.
David’s debut for Wales was on 18 March 1950 in a 2-0 away win against Scotland in Paisley.
In November 1950, he was part of the first Welsh team to take part in a men’s international hockey tournament on foreign soil. Wales was the only team from the British Isles taking part in the tournament in Barcelona which also featured some of the world’s best teams of the time such as the Netherlands and Pakistan.
David played for Wales for 12 years from 1950-1962 having gained 32 caps and scoring 9 goals. He was captain for four years from 1959. He was also coach and team manager from 1961-1965.
David also played hockey for Great Britain. His initial experience was as a 24-year-old playing in the provincial matches as part of the very first overseas tour by a Great Britain & Ireland team which went to South Africa in August / September 1951.
He scored on his full international debut for Great Britain in a 4-2 win against Germany at Newport on 7 April 1956.
He went on to play for Great Britain in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, scoring their opening goal in the 2-2 draw with Malaya.
He scored a hattrick during a 3-3 draw with Spain in 1959. His last game for Great Britain was in May 1960 in the 0-3 defeat to the Netherlands in Amsterdam. Overall, he had gained 14 GB caps and scored 5 goals.
In August 2023, David was presented with his international hockey caps by Sheila Morrow, President of GB Hockey.
