Olympic Cavalcade

IJO OI;YMPIC CAVALCADE of his parents and -the kindness of the American coaches by plaeing 2nd to Bobby Kerr, of Ganac:la~ in the 200 metres Hnal. In the case ofLaytQn, the offiei~ls paid his passage and took him to Paris with the team, but he was not allowed to hurdle in the Olympic Games. - The ·arrival of the American team was the oceasion for a demonstration when she anchored at Che~bourg; b~t a wilder welcome lay in store .for them ~ in Paris when they boarded the seventtbuses which awaited them_ at the Gare St. Lazat:e and took them to the eleven barracks whkh had been erected at .Rocquencourt to house the U.S.A. ~thletes. - At that time the_ Pr~sident of the British Olympic Associatron was His Grace -the Duke of Sutherland; Chairman of the Council, the Rt. Hon. the Earl of Cadogan, C.B.E.; and the Vice-Chairman, Brigadier-General R. J. Kentish, C.M.G., D.S.O., who had ju~t been succeeded as Hon. Secretary by Ev.an A. Hunter: Esq., O.B.E., who had attained the rank of Lieut– Colonel in the war of 1914-18. He has since served through _the Second World War as a colonel on the staffat Washington, B.S.A. - _ ·with such a set-up 9f first-dass leaders tner_e is no doubt that great in$piration -was afforded to the r,eally first-Class team of British athletes~we sent to Paris in 1924. The presence ofH.R.H. the Prince of _Wales; who, on behalf of the British team, laid -a wre§J.th on the tomb of the Unknown -Soldier, was furilier a great inspiration :t9 nis_fellow COl,!.htrymen. - Much work, as J1Sual, fell on the ,Housing Committee fer the VIIIth Olympiad. The name( 'Bousing' is; indeed, a :rp.isno~et,--for this British - Committe~, under the Chairmanship of Mr. F. P. Low, had the responsi– bility of equipping the team, ofar_iangirrg-their assembly in London previous to going to Franee, for their journey ·to and frGth Franee., and when in Pads th_e ~dded responsibility of feeding them, of-transportation and o~her minor matters to do with their comfort. - "' . Negotiations with the ;French were opepecl -up -in January, ---r-c;)2J, and -·carried orycontinuou_sly tilr all problems were. apparently: solved to our satisfaction. -- .-B:i 19; 3· the idea, not to Be _p-~t into e£I:ec1: until _th~. Games ret).lrned to .,.. Ametica~ri 1932, of accommed~ting all fhe competitors) n an -Olympic Y ilJage·was alreaaybeing considered; and the Freneh had, ind-eed,announced .their -i.ntentiDf.l.S-of constru<;;ting such accommodation. But this' ~cheme did nQ.t-;, altogether--meet with $pproval, ana folhwing~ l,lpon many visits to -F ranee ana !DUCh _s:orre~pondence the 'British Housing· Committee .decided to p~ce , the British_athletes in (our hote_ls~ There the 400 -odd sportsmen composing the ·British team were l0dged and tared' fo_r. The sy.:stem worked satisfactorily, as p.o-sfJitable hotel or chateau within_ reasonable_distance of tlie various stadia could be found. -whic& woulCI -loage the whole team lJnder a single-wof. · - ~ ~ .· _ :Yhi~ matte~ was, pet:haps~ cgmplicated by _e -fact that the ~ french Olympic Committee had. so·arranged the sites of th~ vari:ous contests· that