[1] Duncan was educated at Malvern College, where his ability at the long jump was quickly evident — he won the London Athletic Club’s schools championships with a record leap of 22 ft 53⁄4in.

[2][3] Shortly afterwards, he represented England at the 1934 British Empire Games, where finished fourth in the long jump event.

[4] He represented Britain in 1935 and, in July 1936, ran his fastest time of 9.8 seconds for the 100 yards, although a hamstring injury prevented him from being selected for the Olympics.

[1] At the 1938 British Empire Games, he was a member of the English relay team which won the silver medal in the 4×110 yards competition.

He held this post for 26 years, from 1949 to 1975 and served as chef de mission at 12 Olympics, summer and winter, from the 1952 Oslo and Helsinki games to Montreal in 1976.