Obituary: Brian Daley MBE

It is with the greatest regret that British Judo reports the very sad loss of Brian Daley MBE.

Brian was a very modest man who served in the British Army, and had a huge impact in the British Judo community as he spent time as the National Team Coach before becoming the National Fitness Coach of the British Olympic Programme as the team prepared for the Munich Olympics Games in 1972.

The squad will certainly never forget their first trip to Brian’s Army camp. The Regimental Sergeant Major met the team at the gate and escorted them straight into the Guards Room and locked them in there for 30 minutes! That was his way of demonstrating that he would not tolerate any nonsense. The squad all benefitted greatly from the work of Daley as they came away with two Bronze and one Silver medals at the Olympics.

In the words of Colin McIver, “Brian was one of the most influential figures of British Judo in the late 1960s. I remember, as a young judoka, I hated him – purely because his fitness sessions were horrendous as he used to work you so hard!”

He was a key figure in developing judo across the Armed Forces whilst acting as the main liaison between British Judo and the Army.

His family have set up a Much Loved page in memory of Brian to help raise funds for the British Heart Foundation and the Gurkha Welfare Trust. You can donate to the page by clicking here

Brian will be sadly missed by the judo community and British Judo sends our deepest condolences to Brian’s family.