Rowland George Rowland David George DSO OBE ( 15 January 1905 – 9 September 1997 ) was a British rower who won gold in the 1932 Summer Olympics . As a World War II wing commander he was the only member of the Royal Air Force Equipment Branch to be awarded the Distinguished Service Order . Until his death he was the oldest surviving British Olympic gold medallist . Early life and Olympic success . George was born at Bath , Somerset , the third son ( fourth child ) of John Ellis George and May Louise George . He was educated at Wycliffe College and Lincoln College , Oxford . He started rowing at Oxford , but was not yet at a standard to compete in the Boat Race . After one race a doctor ordered him never to set foot in a boat again as he was so exhausted . He entered business with E . S . & A . Robinson ( later part of Dickinson Robinson Group ) , a firm of printers and packing manufacturers in Bristol , and in 1929 he was transferred to the London office in Colliers Wood , which gave him the opportunity to start rowing again . In 1930 he joined Thames Rowing Club . In 1931 at Henley Royal Regatta , he was in the winning Thames coxless four in the Wyfold Challenge Cup and in the Thames eight that lost narrowly in the final of the Grand Challenge Cup . In 1932 at Henley he was in the runner - up Thames eight in the final of the Grand again and was also the winning Thames crew in the Stewards Challenge Cup . The Thames coxless four was then chosen to represent Great Britain rowing at the 1932 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal in a hard race against the German crew . George married Hon . Sylvia Beatrice Norton , daughter of Cecil Norton , 1st Baron Rathcreedan and Marguerite Cecil Huntington , at St Mary ' s Henley on 22 April 1933 and had three sons and a daughter . World War II . In World War II , George joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve serving in the Equipment Branch as he was too old for flying training . He was commissioned as an acting pilot officer on 9 November 1939 , promoted pilot officer on 8 January 1940 flying officer on 1 December 1940 , and temporary flight lieutenant on 1 March 1942 . In late 1942 , as an acting squadron leader , he commanded the RAF unit responsible for supplies passing through the harbour at Bone , Algeria , as part of the Operation Torch landings . He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1943 King ' s Birthday Honours in recognition of his efforts supporting the operation while under considerable harassment from the Luftwaffe . In 1943 as an acting wing commander , and due to the reputation he had gained in Algeria , he was appointed to the staff planning the Allied invasion of Sicily . He was in charge of the supply system from the beaches to the airfields during the Salerno landings . He landed on the beaches with the first assault troops on 10 September 1943 and came under fire on the beaches and on the way to the supply dumps and airfields . He carried on even though he was wounded when his tented camp was hit by two bombs . He was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Order , and the citation published on 26 May 1944 read : He was also Mentioned in Despatches on 14 January 1944 , and again on 8 June 1944 . Though an acting wing commander , his substantive rank was still flight lieutenant , he was promoted war substantive squadron leader on 18 June 1944 . He was also awarded the US Legion of Merit ( degree of Officer ) in 1944 . Later life . After the war George returned to work for Robinsons , becoming Managing Director of their subsidiaries in Colliers Wood and , later , Ipswich . He retained an RAFVR commission and on 13 April 1948 transferred to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force as a squadron leader in the Aircraft Control Branch . He became commanding officer of the County of Suffolk Fighter Control Unit , relinquishing the post on 1 June 1951 when he transferred to the reserve . He also returned to Colliers Wood at this time . In 1959 George took early retirement as he wished to return to his roots in Bath . Here he was active as a Christian Scientist , and was also chairman of the Bath Council of Social Services , the Bath Society for the Blind and secretary of the Bath Preservation Trust . He was increasingly affected by deafness resulting from his war service , but this did not prevent him learning Spanish when he was invited to the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona , a guest of the British Olympic Association 60 years after winning in Los Angeles . George died at the age of 92 and was buried in the cemetery at Berkeley , Gloucestershire . Sylvia had died in 1984 , one son also predeceased him .