Henry Stallard. Credit Moorfields

British ophthalmologist Henry Stallard (1901–1973) was a multi-talented eye surgeon with an Olympic medal to his name.

Competing at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, Stallard won the bronze medal in the 1,500 metres (3:55.6). The race was won by Paavo Nurmi, known as ‘The Flying Finn’, with a world record 03:53.6. Stallard also competed in the 800 metres, finishing fourth. He achieved these impressive results despite having sustained a stress fracture in the right foot in the 1,500m heats.

Stallard’s life as a runner was portrayed by actor Daniel Gerroll in the 1981 Oscar-winning movie Chariots of Fire, based on the true story of two British athletes – Cambridge University running mates of Stallard’s – in the 1924 Olympics.

Alongside his athletic achievements, Stallard worked at St Bartholomew's Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital, where he pioneered cobalt plaque radiotherapy for the treatment of ocular tumours, particularly in children. He was elected president of the UK’s Ophthalmological Society in 1972.

Stallard’s Olympic bronze medal and his numerous other national running medals are on display in the Moorfields Museum in the Joint Library of Ophthalmology.