Malcolm Nokes

Malcolm Cuthbert Nokes MC MA BSc (20 May 1897 – 22 November 1986) was a British schoolteacher, soldier, research scientist and Olympic athlete. As an athlete he mainly competed in the hammer throw and discus throw.

He was born in Edmonton, London, and died in Alton, Hampshire.

He competed for Great Britain at the 1924 Summer Olympics held in Paris, France where he won the bronze medal in the men's hammer throw event. Four years later he finished eleventh in the 1928 Olympic hammer throw competition.

He won the gold medal for England in the 1930 British Empire Games in the hammer throw contest and finished fifth in the discus throw event. At the 1934 British Empire Games he won again the gold medal in the hammer throw competition.

Malcolm Nokes was a member of the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) and was chairman of its Coaching Committee, and also a member of the Achilles Club.

Cine footage exists of him demonstrating how to throw a hammer. 

He was a graduate of Magdalen College, Oxford, where he studied chemistry and wrote a thesis on metaphenetidine. MC Nokes served in the Great War in the Royal Artillery in the trenches and then as an observer in the Royal Flying Corps. He was awarded a Military Cross for his service in the Great War, becoming MC Nokes MC. In the Second World War he served as an officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve while a schoolmaster.

He taught chemistry at Malvern College and later at Harrow School, where he was appointed Head of Science. His practical demonstrations of the reaction of sodium with water were popular and famous among his pupils. These often entailed an explosion as MC Nokes put more than the recommended quantity of sodium into the water, and as the smoke cleared and noise subsided, MC Nokes would say "Note the small report." Later he worked at Harwell and then in the CENTO laboratory in Iran. His nicknames included "Glaxo" and "Stally."

His publications include:
 * ''Modern Glass-working and laboratory techniques'.' London, 1937: William Heinemann.
 * Simple Experiements in the theory of flight. London, 1941: William Heinemann.
 * 'Aircraft instruments' in Air training manual; a practical guide to aero-engines, aircraft construction, wireless and electricity, and air navigation for members of the A. T. C. and all interested in modern aeronautics. London, 1943: Odhams Press.
 * Science in education. London, 1949: Macdonald.
 * Demonstrations in modern physics. London, 1952: William Heinemann.
 * 'Throwing the Hammer' (with Lt. Col. C. J. Reidy) in Athletics, by Members of the Achilles Club. (Ed.: Meyer, HM). London, 1955: JM Dent & Sons.
 * Radioactivity measuring instruments: a guide to their construction and use. Melbourne, 1958: William Heinemann.

He married Elizabeth, and is survived by two sons.