Charles Palmer is fondly recalled as the ‘father of modern judo’.
A talented judoka who once captained the British team, Palmer would go on to change the course of the sport after retiring from competition. In 1961 the flamboyant Briton was elected Chairman of the British Judo Association a post which he held for the next 24 years. In the 1965 he was elected as the first non-Japanese President of the International Judo Federation.
He was appointed OBE in 1973, and was awarded the Key of the City of Taipei in 1974 and the Key of the City of Seoul in 1981.
In 1983, he was elected to the post of Chairman of the British Olympic Association (BOA) and fulfilled that role until 1988. In 1999, he was awarded his 10th Dan by the IJF to widespread acclaim. Palmer died aged 71 in 2001.