Walton Athletic Club

Walton Athletic Club

Founded	1942
Ground	Waterside Drive Sports Hub Athletics Arena
Location	Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England

Walton Athletic Club or Walton AC for short, is a British athletics club based in Surrey. The club is based at Waterside Drive Sports Hub Athletics Arena, adjacent to the Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Complex. ^[1]

History

1950 Empire Games 440 yards final, Leslie Lewis (right)

The club was formed in 1942 ^[2] and by 1944 had a membership of 72. ^[3] The club competed at the Stompond Lane Sports Ground. ^[4]

The club grew a reputation of producing successful runners and was a leading club in the country at the time. Les Lewis won silver at the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland, New Zealand and Chris Chataway won gold four years later at 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games held in Vancouver, Canada. ^{[5] [6]}

During 1986 the club launched an appeal for funds to install a £300,000 all-weather track at Stompond Lane ^[7] but the plans dragged on for several years before finally coming to fruition in July 1989. ^[8]

In 1995 the club signed a 25-year lease with Elmbridge Council to remain at the stadium but ^[9] on 19 September 2017, Stompond Lane was used for the last time to host Walton & Hersham F.C.. After this game, the existing structures were demolished to make way for a development of 54 new houses, and the athletic and football teams relocated to the new Elmbridge Sports Hub in Waterside Drive. ^[10]

Notable athletes

Olympic athletes

Athlete	Event/s	Games	Medals/Ref
Les Lewis	400m, 4 × 100 m	1948, 1952	[11]
Bill Nankeville	1,500m	1948, 1952	[12]
Chris Chataway	5,000m	1952, 1956	[13]
Ken Wilmshurst	long jump/triple jump	1956	[14]
Jim Hogan	10,000 metres / marathon	1964, 1968	[15]
Salih Hassan	Rowing	1984, 1988, 1982	[16]
Paul Edwards	Shot put	1988, 1992	[17]

References

1. "Contact Us". Walton AC. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
2. "Local Sport" . Richmond Herald. 25 December 1943. Retrieved 18 September 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
3. "Walton Athletic Club" . Surrey Advertiser. 15 April 1944. Retrieved 18 September 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
4. "Athletic Club Records" . Surrey Advertiser. 16 September 1944. Retrieved 18 September 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
5. "England pick strong team for Empire Games" . Halifax Evening Courier. 22 June 1954. Retrieved 18 September 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
6. "Commonwealth Games Medallists". GBR Athletics. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
7. "Review of 1986" . Sunbury & Shepperton Herald. 31 December 1986. Retrieved 18 September 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "Record start at new track" . Sunbury & Shepperton Herald. 6 July 1989. Retrieved 18 September 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
9. "Walton to demand status quo" . Surrey Herald. 2 May 1996. Retrieved 18 September 2025– via British Newspaper Archive.
10. "Get Surrey". getsurrey.co.uk. 26 July 2017.
11. "Les Lewis, Biographical information". Olympedia. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
12. "Bill Nankeville, Biographical information". Olympedia. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
13. "Chris Chataway, Biographical information". Olympedia. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
14. "Ken Wilmshurst, Biographical information". Olympedia. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
15. "Jim Hogan, Biographical information". Olympedia. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
16. "Salih Hassan, Biographical information". Olympedia. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
17. "Paul Edwards, Biographical information". Olympedia. Retrieved 5 September 2025.