In this oral history interview, England and Great Britain hockey internationals John Peake (standing) and Anthony “Tony” Nunn (seated) fondly reminisce over their hockey years. Despite being of similar age (a three-year age gap) and hockey-playing contemporaries, their international careers did not cross. Together they reflect on their similar and differing experiences of hockey in 1940s and 1950s England. They discuss their route into hockey, the important impact their years of national service had on their hockey playing career, their memories of Folkestone International Hockey Festival, their experiences of the Olympic Games, the highs and lows of their hockey matches and the friendships they have made over the years.
John Peake is an England and Great Britain international hockey player. He studied mechanical engineering at Cambridge University and, after graduating, he joined the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors where he also played hockey. In 1948, John was selected to represent Great Britain in the London Olympic Games at the age of 23. Despite hardly being able to train together, the squad went on to win a silver medal. Until his death in 2022, John was the last surviving member of this Great Britain Olympic hockey team, living to the grand age of 97. After the Olympic Games, John carried on playing hockey for Lincolnshire County while working on his career with the industrial equipment designing company, Baker Perkins.
Tony Nunn is an England and Great Britain international hockey player. Tony’s hockey playing career started while he was at school and continued when he was called up to complete his national service with the Royal Navy. After his Navy years, Tony played hockey for Hawks Hockey Club, one of the strongest club sides in the south of England in the immediate post-Second World War era. In 1952, Tony was selected to represent Great Britain in the Helsinki Olympic Games. Playing as one of the forwards, the squad won a bronze medal for Great Britain in their game against Pakistan. Tony has the unusual distinction of being selected for Great Britain before playing hockey for England: two years after the Helsinki Olympic Games he received his first cap for England against Wales.
Image: The Hockey Museum
