Volunteering 

Regarded as the “face” of the Olympic Games, volunteers perform a wide variety of roles, such as welcoming visitors, transporting athletes, and keeping scoreboards updated.

Though volunteers had been used at previous Olympic Summer and Winter Games, the scale of the 1948 Games – 136 events were held in the British capital and at venues across the country – and the restrictions imposed by post-war austerity meant that some thought and planning had to go into the recruitment and deployment of volunteers.

The British Olympic Association (BOA) recruited helpers with an intimate knowledge of London, reaching out to sports clubs, motorbike squadrons, scout groups and local schools to find people who could perform tasks such as ferrying athletes around the city in ex-army buses and staffing feeding stations in the long-distance events. In assembling its team of volunteers, the BOA tapped into the sense of post-war community and collective spirit, which nurtured a culture of volunteering in the country, particularly prevalent at sporting events. In return for lending their assistance, the London 1948 team of volunteers did not receive uniforms – clothing was rationed at the time – but did eat for free. This was a considerable benefit at a time when food was in short supply.

The spirit of cooperation extended to the owners of sports clubs and holiday camps, who loaned out their facilities free of charge to allow athletes to train. Meanwhile, competing delegations shared food and equipment with each other. For example, the Dutch Olympic Committee brought 100 tons of fresh fruit and vegetables with them and their Hungarian counterparts 20,000 lemons.