Ronald Stedman
(Science, 1951)
Olympic swimmer and science alumnus.
Ron Stedman, born in Beckenham, Kent, passed away peacefully on 16 October 2022 at the age of 95. He swam for Britain in the 1948 Olympics in the 100-metre freestyle, reaching the semi-finals. In addition, he won the 1948 and 1949 National Championships and was the first Englishman to break 60 seconds in that event.
At King’s, Ron was captain of swimming and head of University of London Union sports for a year. He met his wife, Muriel Mayne (French, 1951), while at King’s. They had been married for 69 years.
He turned down an opportunity to go to New Zealand for the Commonwealth Games as it would have taken three months by sea and he had his final university exams.
Following his degree in general sciences at King’s, Ron started a career with ICI Billingham. He project-managed the siting and set-up of the potash mine at Boulby, North Yorkshire, in the 1970s, which is still an active mine today.
Ron will be sadly missed by his wife Muriel, his children Pippa (Pharmacology, 1975), Chris and Janet, his six grandchildren, and his great-grandson.
Thank you to his daughter Pippa for providing us with the details for this obituary.