Former British national team player John Murray passed away on 18 November in a hospital in Miami after he fell sick during a cruise. He was 93 years old.

Born in Hampstead in the London area, John “Johnny” Murray started to play ice hockey when he was 11 and the famous Wembley Arena opened. He played for the Wembley Lions between 1939 and 1968. During his era he made the national team at several occasions including the 1948 Olympic Winter Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland, when Great Britain was for the last time represented at Olympics with an ice hockey team. Murray was the last surviving member from the 1948 team.

He also played at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships in 1950 where Team GB finished in fourth place and in 1962 when the British were promoted back to the top level for one season. Murray became captain of the team that competed in Colorado Springs and Denver but after winning just one out of seven games the British were relegated and didn’t return except for one Worlds, in 1994. Murray also played in two World Championship B-Pool tournaments and in some of them had a triple function as captain, coach and manager of the team.

After retiring as a player, Murray was involved with the British Ice Hockey Association where he served as Vice President and he was also working for the British Olympic Committee.