Arthur Willis

Arthur Gilbert de Laval Willis (25 August 1893 – 5 April 1979) was an Anglican clergyman and British athlete. He competed in the men's high jump at the 1924 Summer Olympics. Early life and education The son of Rev. William Newcombe Willis, founder of Ascham St Vincent's School, Eastbourne, East Sussex, he was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge (BA 1926, MA 1929). Career During the First World War he reached the rank of lieutenant in the Royal Navy, He later served with the Tank Corps, holding the rank of lieutenant at the time of his participation in the 1924 Olympics and that of major at the time of his ordination. When his father retired in 1927, Willis took over Ascham St Vincent's School, running it until 1938, when he closed and sold the school and resumed his military career in light of the situation in Europe that led to the Second World War.