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Professor Joan Beck (1936) BEM

Professor Joan Beck BEM was integral in the development of fencers and fencing in Australia. She was the Head Coach of The Swords Club where she trained and inspired many of Australia’s successful fencers and coaches. While living in England, she earned the title Professor of Fencing from the British Academy of Fencing. In her later years, Joan received one of the first Honorary Fellow of Macquarie University awards for her 16 years of dedicated work with the The Rundle Foundation of Egyptian Archaeology.

At Joan's funeral in 2014, many people in the fencing community described the formative role that Joan paid in their development, not only as fencers but in the values she taught alongside excellent technique. Joan had a willingness to give unconditionally of her knowledge, experience and energy and many people describe how they were enriched by the time they spent with her.

Joan Margret Beck BEM¹ (1936) enrolled into Â鶹ÊÓƵ School in 1931 at the age of 13 with her younger sister Marjorie Reedie Beck (1938)². In her final year at Â鶹ÊÓƵ School, Joan was on the Sports Committee, a Senior School Prefect, and winner of both the School Prize and the Old Girls’ Union Prize.

In the mid-1940s, Joan joined the Swords Club and took three fencing lessons a day while continuing to conduct her own physical training classes. That same year, she took out the title of NSW Ladies Foil Champion.

Joan travelled to England to study fencing, which led to a lifelong love of travel. In 1951, she earned the title Professor of Fencing from the British Academy of Fencing, an institution dating back to the days of Henry VIII. To this day, Joan is the only Australian to have held this title.

Back in Australia, Joan trained state and national teams and prepared participants for every Empire and Commonwealth games from 1952 to 1972. Her students also represented Australia in seven consecutive Olympics from 1952.

Working at Royal North Shore Hospital, Joan  introduced fencing to paraplegic athletes. (One of her pupils, Daphne Ceeney, was the only Australian female paraplegic competitor at the 1960 Summer Paralympics Games in Rome. Ceeney won medals in swimming events, and bronze in the women’s foil individual wheelchair fencing in 1964.) Joan worked for a number of successful years for fencing competitions for Paralympians. Her fencing career took her to Budapest, Prague and Moscow, where she continued to gain valuable experience.

After her retirement from fencing teaching, Joan served for 16 years as the Honorary Secretary of The Rundle Foundation of Egyptian Archaeology at Macquarie University. Her work in the Foundation included overseeing continuing education courses and overseas tours of major archaeological sites of the Mediterranean region. In 1992, Joan’s work for the Foundation was recognised with one of the first Honorary Fellow of Macquarie University awards.

Joan’s students, both in the fencing and archaeology worlds, recall that her approach to teaching was always collegial and team focused, underscored by her lively sense of humour and a natural generosity of spirit. Her motto was ‘If it wasn’t fun it wasn’t worth doing’.

Joan’s godson Paul Weingott (a former Â鶹ÊÓƵ School English and Drama teacher) described Joan as having ‘strength of character, a sense of adventure and courage, generosity, quiet modesty, determination, gentleness and respect towards others. She was gracious and paid attention to every detail while at the same time living the big picture of life.’

1. Joan was awarded BEM (British Empire Medal) for services to sport in 1976.

2. During WWII, Joan’s sister, Marjorie Beck (1938) was a member of the VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment). Marjorie completed her nursing studies in South Australia where she graduated top of the state. While in England she trained in neurosurgical nursing and on her return to Australia she joined the staff at the Royal North Shore Hospital in the burns and neurosurgery units, eventually becoming the Supervising Sister.

Marjorie was also a very early member of the Embroiderers Guild of NSW, joining in the early 1960s, eventually becoming Vice President. She was involved in many projects with the Guild. In 1975 she was part of the team that made the Bomerang Quilt wedding gift for Princess Margaret, and she was the State Supervisor for the NSW section of the Parliament House Embroidery. This embroidery now occupies one wall of the mezzanine level overlooking the Great Hall in Parliament House in Canberra.