Frank Prout

Francis Prout (7 July 1921 Greenwich, Greater London, England – 23 February 2011 Woodbridge, Suffolk, England) was a British canoe sprinter who competed in the early 1950s. He was eliminated in the heats of the K-2 1000 m event at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki.[1]

Francis moved to Canvey Island as an infant with his parents, Margueritte, a native of Switzerland, and Geoffrey Prout, a writer and boat builder. During World War II Prout served as airframe fitter with the RAF in southwest Asia and then went to Rhodesia where he became a flying instructor.[2] After the War, he married Erica Hawks and had two children, Jane and Stephen. Together with his brother Roland Prout, in the family firm of G. Prout & Sons (founded in 1935 by their father, Geoffrey Prout), he developed the pioneering Shearwater III racing catamaran in 1956 and several later designs.[3][4] He set a Guinness record for having the most title wins in a year.[5]

References

  1. ^ Frank Prout's obituary
  2. ^ "Francis Prout, Eulogy".
  3. ^ "Prout Catamarans – a History". Katamarans. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  4. ^ McCave, Fred. "The Prout Story". CanveyIsland.org. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Francis Prout, Eulogy".


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