Great Britain at the 1956 Summer Olympics

Infobox Olympics Great Britain
games=1956 Summer
competitors=
sports=
flagbearer= George Mackenzie
gold=6
silver=7
bronze=11
total=24
rank=8

The United Kingdom competed as Great Britain at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. British athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games.

The Melbourne Games saw an improvement on Great Britain and Northern Ireland's performance at the two preceding Games. British athletes won six gold medals (up from just one in 1952). Overall, they won twenty-four medals, finishing eighth.

Medallists

Gold

*Chris Brasher — Athletics, Men's 3.000m Steeplechase
*Terence Spinks — Boxing, Men's Flyweight
*Richard McTaggart — Boxing, Men's Lightweight
*Bertie Hill, Laurence Rook, and Frank Weldon — Equestrian, Three-Day Event Team
*Gillian Sheen — Fencing, Women's Foil Individual
*Judy Grinham — Swimming, Women's 100m Backstroke

Silver

*Derek Johnson — Athletics, Men's 800m
*Gordon Pirie — Athletics, Men's 5.000m
*Jean Scrivens, Heather Armitage, June Foulds, and Anne Pashley — Athletics, Women's 4x100m Relay
*Thelma Hopkins — Athletics, Women's High Jump
*Thomas Nicholls — Boxing, Men's Featherweight
*Arthur Brittain, William Holmes, and Alan Jackson — Cycling, Men's Team Road Race
*Robert Perry, David Bowker, John Dillon, and Neil Kennedy-Cochran — Sailing, Men's 5½ Meter Class

Bronze

*Derek Ibbotson — Athletics, Men's 5.000m
*Michael Wheeler, Peter Higgins, Derek Johnson, and John Salisbury — Athletics, Men's 4x400m Relay
*Nicholas Gargano — Boxing, Men's Welterweight
*John McCormack — Boxing, Men's Light Middleweight
*Thomas Simpson, Donald Burgess, Michael Gambrill, and John Geddes — Cycling, Men's 4.000m Team Pursuit
*Alan Jackson — Cycling, Men's Individual Road Race
*Frank Weldon — Equestrian, Three-Day Event Individual
*Peter Robeson, Patricia Smythe, and Wilf White — Equestrian, Jumping Team
*Margaret Edwards — Swimming, Women's 100m Backstroke
*Terrence Smith and Jasper Blackall — Sailing, Men's Sharpie 12m²
*Graham Mann, Ronald Backus, and Jonathan Janson — Sailing, Men's Dragon

Results and competitors by event

=Athletics=

Men's 110m Hurdles
*Peter Hildreth:* Heat — 14.5s (→ did not advance)

*Frederick Parker:* Heat — 14.8s (→ did not advance)

Men's Marathon
*Harry Hicks — 2:39:55 (→ 15th place)
*Fred Norris — did not finish (→ no ranking)
*Ron Clark — did not finish (→ no ranking)

=Boxing=

Men's Light Flyweight (– 48 kg)
* Owen Reilly

Men's Flyweight (– 51 kg)
* Terence Spinks

Men's Bantamweight (– 54 kg)
* Thomas Nicholls

Men's Featherweight (– 57 kg)
* Richard McTaggart

Men's Light Welterweight (– 63.5 kg)
* Nicholas Gargano

Men's Light Middleweight (– 67 kg)
* John McCormack

Men's Middleweight (– 75 kg)
* Ron Redrup

=Cycling=

Men's 1.000m Scratch Sprint
*Keith Harrison — 15th place

Men's 1.000m Time Trial
*Alan Danson — 1:12.3 (→ 5th place)

Men's 2.000m Tandem
*Eric Thompson
Peter Brotherton — 4th place

Men's 4.000m Team Pursuit
*Donald Burgess
John Geddes
Michael Gambrill
Bronze Medal)

Men's Team Time Trial
*Alan Jackson
Arthur Brittain
William Holmes — 23 points (→ Silver Medal)

Men's Individual Road Race
* Bronze Medal)
*Arthur Brittain — 5:23:40 (→ 6th place)
*William Holmes — 5:23:40 (→ 14th place)
*Harold Reynolds — 5:24:44 (→ 19th place)

=Diving=

Men's 10m Platform
*Peter Tarsey :* Preliminary Round — 68.34 (→ did not advance, 14th place)

*Roy Walsh :* Preliminary Round — 62.56 (→ did not advance, 20th place)

*Raymond Cann :* Preliminary Round — 60.08 (→ did not advance, 21st place)

Women's 10m Platform
*Phyllis Long :* Preliminary Round — 49.15 :* Final — 76.15 (→ 7th place)

*Charmain Welsh :* Preliminary Round — 46.55 :* Final — 69.05 (→ 12th place)