A Trans-Atlantic Tale with Gill Donaldson

Athletes: The Other Side

In this 13th outing, Ben speaks to his Great Aunt and former Olympic Champion Fencer, Gillian Donaldson. Now 92, Donaldson (née Sheen) is a seven-time British national fencing champion, and Olympic Gold medallist in the Foil for Great Britain at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. In becoming Olympic Champion in Melbourne, Donaldson was, and remarkably remains so to this day, the only Briton ever to win Gold in Fencing at an Olympic Games.

Whilst competing at an elite level in the early days of her fencing career in England, Donaldson balanced her athletic career alongside her dental surgeon studies at University College Hospital London. Post retirement from fencing, she made the move across the Atlantic to New York with her husband, Bob, a part of the world where she has loved ever since.

Hilary Philbin, President of British Fencing has described Gillian as “an inspiration to a new generation of fencers and remains so to this day.” It is this level of praise as well as her success in competition that lead to Gillian being awarded an MBE, albeit somewhat belatedly, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2019.

Gillian has lived in New York State since the 1960’s, where she put her studies to good use by setting up a dental and orthodontic practice with her husband, and also spent time practicing dentistry on an annual basis on the island of Montserrat, a British Overseas territory in the Carribean with a population of only 5,000 people.

As a self-confessed “huge fan” of Her Majesty The Queen, she remains in regular contact with the UK, flying back for special fencing events, including the 2012 London Olympics and supporting young British fencers.