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Alexander 'Jock' Sturrock MBE
1962 Award
Skipper of America's Cup Challengers
Raised in a sailing family, Sturrock won his first championship at 12 years of age. In his late teens he was a pioneer skipper in the international Star class in Australia, winning the first eight national championships, 1935 - 47. He represented Australia in four Olympic Games, 1948 - 60, winning a bronze medal in the 5.5 metre class in 1960, and, in the 1950s, was a three-times winner of the Australian Dragon class championships.
Sturrock also competed in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. This versatile yachtsman was a popular choice as skipper of Gretel in Australia's first America's Cup challenge in 1962. This yacht was built by a syndicate headed by Sir Frank Packer, and was named after Sir Frank's wife. The inexperienced Australians managed to win one of the five races. Sturrock retired from competitive sailing after the unsuccessful challenge of Dame Pattie in 1967. He qualified for the award 'as an Australian, a sportsman and a gentleman'. The chairman of the committee, Sir Norman Martin, spoke of 'the plucky attempt, the sporting spirit in which defeat was accepted, the modest and manly bearing of...skipper and crew', which he said were more important than winning.
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