George Weedon, worked as a PE teacher for 21 years, at both John Lyon School and Quainton Hall, between 1950 to 1971. However, prior to teaching our pupils, Mr Weedon was a professional British gymnast - competiting at two Summer Olympics, London in 1948 and Helsinki in 1952, participating in Men's Individual All-Around, Team All-Around, Floor Exercise, Horse Vault, Parallel Bars, Horizontal Bar, Rings, and Pommelled Horse. His love for gymnastics was reciprocated within his family too, as his wife, Joan Airey was also a British Olympic Gymnast.

Whilst teaching, Mr Weedon's three sons Michael (OL 1967), Geoffrey (OL 1969) and Anthony (OL 1970) attended the school.
In Mr Weedon's leaving year, December 1971, the Lyonian magazine read:

"In the Summer, George Weedon left us after 21 years as P.E. Instructor, having joined us in 1950. A really top-class gymnast, having been a member of the Great Britain team in the Olympic Games of 1948 and 1952, he could always pass on his skills to the boys of the School, as was abundantly clear by the Annual Inter-House Gym Displays, which always provided a first-class exposition of gymnastics.

He was always patient and understanding of the hapless lad who found  the gym a place of torture. His unfailing good humour will be much missed, and we wish him and his three Old Lyonian sons all happiness in the future.

In his later years, Mr Weedon was the subject of the award-winning 2011 short film, “Walk Tall”, by filmmaker Kate Sullivan and was a torch bearer during the 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay.

Do you remember Mr Weedon during your time at the School?  As we begin building our digital archive and marking 150 years of John Lyon, we’d love to hear from you. Share your stories, memories, and photos with us, and help bring our shared history to life!
Email us here: lyonianassociation@johnlyon.org