...And See's Badge

In my entry on 22 November, I neglected to mention an important thing. On a recent visit to England, Hart Perry, Executive Director of the NRF (seen in the picture below), brought back a Doggett’s badge, which he had borrowed from the Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames. It is now on display together with Dick Pocock’s coat and cap (see also previous entries on 10 and 11 October) at the National Rowing Hall of Fame and the exhibit “Let Her Run” at Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic.

The silver badge once belonged to John See of Hammersmith who won the Doggett’s Coat and Badge Race on 3 August 1899. In the picture on top, taken in the beginning of the 1900s, you see winners of the Doggett’s Coat and Badge between 1868 and 1904. Unfortunately, John See is not included.

Mr. Richard Goddard, recent Master of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames, and retired Secretary of the Henley Royal Regatta, has very generously made it possible for the NRF to have See’s badge on a long-term loan.