Fifty Plus Fifty

Bedford School 1st VIII of 1964 – recreated 10 May 2014. Standing left to right: David Warbrick-Smith, John Osbourne, Hugh Maltby (Bedford Regatta Secretary and son of 1964 boatman - Bill Maltby), Mike Harper, Andy Peake; seated, Richard Harrison, Mike Goodfellow, Coach - Neville Andrews, Captain - John Beresford, Peter Harpham; front, Anthony Joseph.

Greg Denieffe writes:

Last week, in a post called The Tale of a Boat, a Crew and a Summer of Long Ago – (To Say Nothing of a Regatta), HTBS brought you news of the forthcoming reunion of the Bedford School Boat Club crew of 1964, which was to be held in conjunction with the 150th Bedford Regatta. I had the pleasure to be there and see the ‘boys’ recreating their crew photograph – right down to the Cox’s socks.

The caps worn proudly by the Old Bedfordians in the above photograph bare the slogan ‘Fifty Plus Fifty’ in reference to the fiftieth anniversary of their victory in the senior eights at Bedford Regatta and the fact that their boat, all those years ago, was called Fifty Plus; which itself was a reference to the fifty year connection between the stroke of the ’64 crew, John Beresford, and his father Jack Beresford, who learned to row at Bedford School in 1914. In Tales of Gold (1989), you can see John discuss his father’s distinguished (five Olympic medals) rowing career.

The highlight of the day for me came about as a result of a conversation I had with John. I admired his rowing blazer which I had assumed was a 1964 vintage, only to be told that it had originally belonged to his father, who wore it in 1916, when he was Captain of Boats at Bedford and stroke of the first eight when they raced Shrewsbury School, an event covered on HTBS in a post called Jack Beresford – The Early Years, Part 1.

The Ousel 27 July 1916

This information allowed me to 'recreate' a photo of my own. In 1916, Jack Beresford was one of the Bedford School crew to be photographed wearing an upturned collar. To show what a gentleman John is, he readily agreed to pose for a photograph and you can see the result below.

Same Blazer a century apart: Jack Beresford, 22 June 1916 – John Beresford, 10 May 2014

The Tale of a Boat, a Crew and a Summer of Long Ago – (To Say Nothing of a Regatta)

A postcards depicting the Bedford Regatta in 1905.

Greg Denieffe writes:

Now is the summer of our sweet content. Yes, regatta season is here and after our winter of discontented weather, rowers up and down the country are looking forward to a glorious season of side-by-side racing. Why, this week, I even purchased a straw hat! First up for me will be Bedford Regatta which takes place on Saturday, 10 May. And a very special regatta it will be – the 150th to be held since the first “official” regatta took place in 1853.

Regatta Secretary, Hugh Maltby, has written a splendid history of the regatta and rowing in the town of Bedford for the British Rowing website. You can read his article here.

Another postcard depicting the 1905 Bedford Regatta.

HTBS also has news that links rowing in Bedford from 1914 to 1964 to 2014. John Beresford (son of Jack, who learned to row at Bedford School) was kind enough to alert us to a reunion of his school crew also taking place at this year’s regatta. The Bedford School Boat Club VIII of 1964 is having a 50th anniversary dinner on Friday, 9 May and recreating the crew photograph (below) at the regatta the following day.

Bedford School 1st VIII of 1964. Standing left to right: David Warbrick-Smith (59-65), John Osbourne (60-65), boatman - Bill Maltby, Mike Harper (60-65), Andy Peake (55-65); seated, Richard Harrison (59-64), Mike Goodfellow (61-65), Coach - Neville Andrews (Staff 58-68), Captain - John Beresford (59-64), Peter Harpham (60-64); front, Anthony Joseph (60-64).

The ’64 crew is travelling from near and far to be reunited – John B. has calculated a total of 27,960 miles, with Mike Harper coming from Melbourne, John Osborne from Quito in Ecuador, Andy Peak from Johannesburg and Anthony Joseph from Los Angeles. They and the rest of the crew will commemorate a fifty-year and a hundred-year connection with Bedford School Boat Club. Peter Harpham who rowed ‘six’ that year wrote an article for the School magazine, The Ousel, and has kindly agreed to allow HTBS to reproduce it below:

Bedford Regatta, 1964, saw the culmination of months of hard work both on and off the water by the School 1st VIII. The crew chosen from a talented pool of Trial VIII oarsmen, turned out to be taller and heavier than most school crews of the time, weighing in at Henley at an average 12st 6lbs and about 6’2’’ average height.

We had reasonable success in the Easter Term, coming first out of the schools at the Bedford Head and the Cambridge Head and third at the Reading Head, having pushed Winchester all the way into second place, whilst we needed binoculars to see the crew behind us. These results gave great optimism for the summer regatta season.

Training that was to reach a different level began with a few days on the water at Henley, at the tail-end of the Easter holidays. John Beresford (59-64) had been appointed Captain of Boats and Stroke of the eight and, through the kindness of his father, Jack Beresford CBE (13-17); the crew was able to camp on his lawn at Shiplake for this exercise.

Our coach Neville Andrews (Goldie and Star Club), in conjunction with the late P.R.O. Wood and Company Sergeant-Major, Andy Middleditch BEM, brought in a regime of weight training, circuit training and interval training on the water for the first time at the School. This was innovative thinking in that era, at least for school rowing. The ARA Director of Training was apparently mightily impressed by what he saw on a visit and that quiet, hard and humble man of British Army and Bedford School boxing, swimming and gymnastics C.S.M. Middleditch must have taken great satisfaction in the physical development of his charges. He wanted to do more, but no further time could be spared off the water.

First up in the summer was Wallingford Regatta. Three members of the crew were classed as ‘seniors’, having won an event in that category the previous year. Unfortunately, ARA rules meant entering for the senior event rather than the junior-senior one, so we found ourselves up against some pretty classy outfits – Leander, Kingston, Staines, to name a few. Bedford disposed of Merton College by one length and Staines by 1¼ lengths, only to come up against the very powerful Kingston crew (who had beaten Leander by half-a-length causing great excitement along the way) in the final. There is no need to pursue the details of that race any further other than to say that we rowed neck and neck for the first minute! Nevertheless, it was great experience for the crew and a fine effort to get to the finals in that company.

The new boat had arrived, built by Sims of Putney; very sleek, a different rigger set-up, shortened in the stern with the rudder/fin underneath the cox’s seat. This boat was arguably the first of its kind in the country and at Henley was of great interest to the Soviet Union crew who were easy winners of the Grand – spies were everywhere in those days! She was christened Fifty Plus by Jack Beresford CBE, in recognition of the 50-odd years’ span between himself and son, John, in the Bedford School Boat Club. However, for all her fast pedigree she was a difficult craft for this particular crew to balance and just maybe with a retro-fitted fin, the lurch every now and again to one side or other would not have occurred, thereby saving precious distance and time over the longer courses. Who knows?

The first race in Fifty Plus was against Bedford Modern School who had very kindly agreed to this, over a Marlow-length course to the boathouses. The School won by one and a half lengths in a time of 3 minutes 29 seconds, which was believed to have been the quickest time by any Bedford School crew. Somehow we managed to lose to Oundle the very next day, dropping a length early in the first half, posting a slow time and losing by one-foot at the Three Trees! The time was a whopping eleven seconds slower to the finish at the Suspension Bridge than the previous day against BMS.

Reading Regatta saw the eight still having to race above its class, drawn in the Thames Cup event against Nottingham University and University of London. Going off at 44 and striding at 38 and with the crews dead-level, London veered close – a clash of blades and Nottingham squeezed away to a half-length lead. The umpire stopped the race (interference by a pleasure craft) and the crews returned to the start and set off again. After one minute, with Bedford striding at 38, Nottingham gained a half-length. Past the enclosures the eight came back, now rating 40, to close down to within a canvas of Nottingham with UL in third place. The time was one second quicker than the winners of the event where all the usual suspects were (Radley, St. Edwards et al), and having rowed half the course for a practice run!

Henley was up next and is probably best forgotten – a mishap at the start saw Bedford miss their explosive start against Pangbourne to finish a length behind. Pangbourne went out the next day to one of the three American semi-finalists, Washington-Lee High School; the American crews of the day in a different league to all the English schools.

Cambridge Regatta provided the lift that the crew needed after a disappointing performance at Henley. Disposing of St. Neots by two lengths, a fresh Star Club by one-and-a-half lengths and a multiple-winning Staines B.C. by one length in the quickest time of the day in pretty atrocious conditions. It was now apparent that this crew had reached their top performance level in terms of physical fitness and oarsmanship, and whilst other crews faded throughout the day’s racing, this lot seemed capable of coming back and dishing out more medicine!

We had found our form as St. Paul’s, Thames RC and poor old Star Club would find out at Bedford Regatta. St. Paul’s, who had been chosen to represent GB at a European Regatta the following week, were disposed of by half a length having been two feet up at Town Bridge, in a time of 3 minutes 30 seconds, breaking the record by six seconds! Thames suffered the same fate to the tune of one-and-a-half lengths in a time of 3 minutes, 32 seconds – four seconds quicker than the standing record – and in the final, Star went down by two lengths in 3 min 34 seconds – two seconds inside the old record. Conditions were not fast, they were neutral – no breeze, verging on the thundery. It was unfortunate that nobody in the crew was aware of the records only being taken in the finals; I suspect that another second or two could have been trimmed off the final race time particularly had Bedford met St Paul’s in the final – they were unable to cope with the pressure of an extremely fit and strong crew in their first race, but would have provided a stiffer challenge than the others, although Hampton and Latymer had been put out in the heats.

That record would be long gone; however, there is one record that probably still stands to this day and that is the feat of a Bedford School VIII that rowed faster than the standing record three times in the one day. And that incidentally was the first time since 1949 that the Eight had won their event at Bedford Regatta, a gap of fifteen years.

But the credit must go as well to those men on their rickety bikes and that man in his Gymnasium. To the indomitable coach, Neville Andrews, to the late CSM Andy Middleditch, the late P.R.O. Wood, Bob Carlisle and J. Hope-Simpson and Bill Maltby, boatman and craftsman of critical eye and acerbic tongue. Bedford School rowing would have been a poorer show without them.

‘Spanner’ Lee and the 1964 VIII paddle into history.

There remained one last hurrah for this Eight: to row the retiring Deputy Head V.F.D. Lee, after forty-two years at the School, in an eight on the river with him standing on the cox’s seat as he used to do when coaching the Bedford Henley-winning crews of the 40s and 50s. A clinker eight was used to minimise the chances of ‘Spanner’ (‘things need tightening up around here!’), Lee being hurled into the water by one of the Eight’s spectacular lurches. The outing was a success and we stowed our blades for the last time; somehow ‘Spanner’ had remained dry!

What I like about this photograph, is that the whole crew is rowing whilst Mr Lee is steering by holding the long rope-like rudder strings, the ones you had to tie up after every outing! However, this is not the first time that a ‘standing coxswain’ has appeared on HTBS. The Eton College ‘Procession of Boats’ has featured several times and in Etonians And Their 'Boaters', a post from 2010, there are two videos showing the whole crew ‘on their feet’. And the final post of 2013 showed the cox of a working men’s club, Orwell Rowing Club, posing for a photograph from c.1903.

John Beresford: My Dad as an Inspiration

Greg Denieffe writes from England: Jack Beresford’s son, John, was the guest speaker at the Christmas Dinner for the boys and members of staff of the Upper Sixth Form of Pemberley House, Bedford School, held on 13 December, 2012. He has kindly given HTBS the following report on his talk with the theme of ‘Inspiration’.

John Beresford.
Photo: Pemberley House Blog.

After my father Jack, my uncle Eric and my cousin Michael, who were all successful oarsmen, I was the fourth Beresford to board at Pemberley and I last dined here in 1964. The food tonight is excellent (unlike 48 years ago!) and the camaraderie and spirit evident here is a great tribute to you all and particularly to Peter Sherwin and his wife, Roz, who are an inspirational House Master and wife. You boys are lucky!

My contact with Bedford School was rekindled by Mr Sherwin when he proposed naming the Pemberley House games room, ‘The Jack Beresford Room’. As I was abroad Michael Beresford opened the Room. This was held during the 150th Boat Club Anniversary, which I was sorry to miss, as I had stroked the 1st VIII for two years and been Captain of Boats.

Dad was keener on rugby than rowing at school, playing in the 1st XV for three years and as captain. I would like to give you his 1st XV blazer badge, mounted in a shield, to pair with the 1st VIII one I previously gave you.

(I then referred to the HTBS blog, which Peter Sherwin has a copy of and which aptly describes Jack’s life at Bedford as ‘The making of a man’. I then read the ballad about the Bedford v Shrewsbury race taken from the blog, which went down well).

I want to give you his inscribed 1916 Bedford 1st VIII oar, which is really a return home for it. I also want to give you his 1932 Los Angeles Olympic gold medal winning oar. These Peter Sherwin has told me will make a good pair to be hung in ‘The Jack Beresford Room’.

The 1932 Olympic champions: Felix Badcock, Jack Beresford, Jumbo Edwards and Rowland George. Jack is holding the oar that his son John donated to Pemberley House, Bedford School. Photo: River and Rowing Museum.

Jack’s rugby career ended in 1918, after he was shot in the leg in the trenches. Part of his recuperation at Fowey was rowing a dinghy round the coast and as his father ‘Berry’ had won silver at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912 in the IV, this set him on the path to five consecutive Olympic medals, three gold and two silvers. I won’t go into his achievements here except to say that he described his 1936 gold in Berlin as ‘the sweetest race he ever rowed’.

It wasn’t until Sir Steve Redgrave’s fifth consecutive Olympic Gold medal win in 2000 that I fully appreciated what my father had achieved. I’d simply grown up with his success and there wasn’t the media coverage or interest in those days that there is today.

I know from Peter Sherwin that ‘The Jack Beresford Room’ has been a great inspiration to many of his boys. Having been to the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics and witnessing the immense success of these Games, I now fully understand what he said.

Do you think the London Olympics and Paralympics can justly be referred to as ‘Inspiring a Generation’? (There was general agreement to this).

There were so many inspiring aspects about the Games in addition to the incredible sporting achievements of the athletes. To name a few: the Olympic Park regeneration, the architecture, the on-time completion, the Games-Makers, the transport system and the Opening and Closing ceremonies.

This surely showed that Great Britain has the talent and ability to do many things supremely well and to be truly world class. It is boys like you here this evening who will make this happen in the future.

I’d like to end by saying that sport, at whatever level you play, is a vital basis for life’s enjoyment, for health and for building confidence. It will always give you friendships through common interests which you are less likely to find through your work.

I’m so delighted that my Dad, Jack, has helped to give you some inspiration for your future lives.  He was always keen to help younger people. Thank you for creating a Games Room here at Pemberley where he will long be remembered.

John Beresford

Greg's comments: HTBS readers may like the following links as they contain a few interesting photographs:

The Bedford School website also has a short report on the dinner, with the title Olympic Legacy. It also has a 1923 photograph showing Jack in a single in the colours of Thames Rowing Club.

The Pemberley House Blog has a photo journal of the Christmas Dinner and you will find a fine photograph of John Beresford (no. 23 and on top of this entry) entertaining the guests.

World Rowing Magazine has a bilingual article about Jack in the Fall 2006 edition, simply called Hero of the past: Jack Beresford and in French Un héros du passé: Jack Beresford. There are three nice photographs showing Jack at the Olympics, in a single (1920), in the eight (1928) and in the double (1936).

Greg Denieffe: Bedford School B.C. v Shrewsbury School B.C., Part 2

Greg Denieffe continues here his story about Jack Beresford and Bedford School:

Bedford School, founded in 1552, and their annual race against Shrewsbury School mentioned in yesterday’s HTBS post was celebrated in verse and published in the School Journal, The Ousel. It followed their victory in 1915 by 3½ lengths. The programme for the 1916 race, in which Jack Beresford had stroked Bedford to victory by 8½ seconds, had the results of previous races between the schools printed on the back page. The first race, in fours, was in 1895 and the 1897 race was the first in eights. The 1915 victory was therefore achieved in the school’s 364th year (CCCLXIIII).

The 1919 publication Annals of Public School Rowing (1919) included the results, updated to for the races from 1916 to publication. In 1918, the schools met again over a part of the Henley course. This race also included Eton College, who won by a fifth of a length with Bedford finishing second, four-fifths of a length ahead of Shrewsbury.

There was no private race between the schools in 1919, but they met in the final of the Elsenham Cup at the Henley Peace Regatta. The qualification for which was similar to the Ladies’ Challenge Plate, being open to schools and universities. They both had beaten three college crews on the way to the final which Shrewsbury won by 1¼ lengths. Rowing at ‘four’ in the winning Shrewsbury crew was A. C. (Sandy) Irvine, who was a member of the Oxford Boat Race crews in 1922 and 1923, winning in 1923, the only occasion upon which Oxford did so between 1913 and 1937. He is most famous for being part of the 1924 British Mount Everest Expedition in which both he and George Mallory lost their lives. Julie Summers, who wrote the 2012 Shire publication Rowing in Britain, also wrote Fearless on Everest: The Quest for Sandy Irvine (2000).

Bedford versus Shrewsbury
(With apologies to Lord Macaulay)

[A lay sung at the meeting of Shrewsbury and Bedford, at the Summer Solstice, in the year
Of the School CCCLXIIII.]

Ho! Umpire, sound your trumpet,
  Ho! Third VIII, clear the way!
The boats will ride in all their pride
  along the course to-day.
To-day our School and Shrewsbury
  Will race to win renown
from the rushes near the Main Bridge
  to the island by the town.

Each man is robed in colours,
  the colours of his team;
the gallant light-ship under each
  floats proudly on the stream.
While flows our muddy river,
  while stands our old Cleat Hill,
the Great Race versus Shrewsbury
  shall have such honour still.
Gay is a cricket House match:
  a Dulwich match is gay:
but the proud day, when the light-ships sway
  shall be our greatest day.

“Hear,” said the Irish starter,
  “I will say, ‘will you go,’
and if you are not ready
  hands up – or else say ‘no’;
but if I get no answer
  of course you’ll start away.”
All happened quite serenely
  and the best crew drew away.

Of course, that crew was Bedford,
  with three strokes we’re ahead;
quite easily we held them,
  and all their hope is fled.
They raced us to the Town Bridge,
   but after they were ‘done,’
and Bedford did but paddle,
  for the race was almost won.

The Bedford cox quite neatly
  gave Shrewsbury all the wash,
and near the Locks they spurted:
  a “Tommie” said “By gosh,
Oi wish I’d backed ‘em sonny,
  but now my ‘bob’ is ‘losh.’”

Oh, Bedford finished nicely
  three and a half ahead.
They were not pumped like Shrewsbury,
  And now enough’s been said.

Part 3 will be posted tomorrow!

Greg Denieffe: Jack Beresford – The Early Years, Part 1

Jack Beresford is one of the most famous of oarsmen in the history of rowing although it is now 35 years ago he died, in 1977. In a three-piece article HTBS’s Greg Denieffe writes about Beresford and the school that made him a man and an oarsman, Bedford School. Greg writes,

There is a wonderful entry by Christopher Dodd for Jack Beresford in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB). If you have a British library card you can access the online edition for free. Like most reviews of Jack’s life, it concentrates on his remarkable rowing career with Thames Rowing Club and his five Olympic medals. HTBS readers will be familiar with his long international rowing career (1920-1939) and his ten Henley medals, two Olympic silver medals (1920 and 1928) and three Olympic gold medals (1924, 1932 and 1936).

The first paragraph of the ODNB briefly covers Jack’s early years:

Beresford, Jack [formerly Jack Beresford Wiszniewski] (1899–1977), oarsman, was born at 36 St Mary’s Grove, Chiswick, Middlesex, on 1 January 1899, the elder son and eldest of the three children of Julius Beresford Wiszniewski (b. 1868) and his wife, Ethel Mary Wood. *His father, Julius, was taken to Britain from Poland by his governess at the age of twelve, and became a furniture manufacturer. Jack was educated at Bedford School, served with the Artists’ Rifles in 1917, was commissioned in the Liverpool Scottish regiment, and was wounded in the leg in northern France in 1918. At school his sporting ambitions were directed at rugby, but prescribed physiotherapy of rowing a dinghy at Fowey, Cornwall, turned him to rowing. He then entered his father’s business, and began working at the furniture factory Beresford and Hicks, of Curtain Road, London.

LONDON – Roots
In 1903, Jack and his parents moved to The Belfairs, 19 Grove Park Gardens, Chiswick, London W4 3RY and lived there throughout his youth, during his time as a boarder at Bedford School, and throughout his glittering rowing career and up until his marriage in 1940. According to Gillian Clegg, compiler of chiswickhistory.org.uk, the house, the largest in Grove Park, was built in 1898 with its own coach house and rooms above.

English Heritage erected a blue plaque on the wall of the house to commemorate his time at this address. There is a photograph of the house on their website. His birth place lies a few streets away. Thames Rowing Club hosted the unveiling of the plaque in 2005.

BEDFORD SCHOOL – The making of a man
In 1913, Jack started at Bedford Grammar School and whilst there learnt to row, was elected “Captain of Boats” and stroked the first eight. His preferred sport was rugby and he made the first XV in the 1915-1916 season. They played 14 games winning seven and losing seven. Their coach H. A. Henderson quoted in the school journal summed up the season: “We finished the season a better side than we began… We are not now a dangerous side, but we are useful combination. The team is a very young one” (The Ousel, 25 March 1916).

The captain that year was the full back Basil McFarland who later played international rugby for Ireland (1920–1922). He retained the captaincy for the 1916-1917 season but as Bedford had done many times before, they changed their captain for the Easter Term and Jack took over for the rest of his time at the school. The overall results for 1916-1917 mirrored those of the previous year (P14, W7, L7). Owing to frost and raised railway fares the Easter Term was reduced to a single game against a Rolfe-Rogers XV which Bedford won 49-0. Five of the team gained representative honours during season “B A T McFarland, C K Davies, J Beresford, St J B Nitch and E R Peachey played for the Public Schools in the Christmas holidays” (The Ousel, 6 December 1917).

Jack’s exploits with an oar will be of more interest to readers of HTBS. Bedford School Boat Club was founded in 1861 and made its first appearance at Henley in 1879: they won the Public Schools’ Challenge Cup twice (1880 and 1881) rowing as Bedford Grammar School. The school’s next success at Henley would be as the first winners of the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup in 1946. The PE was retained in 1947 and again in 1948 and won for a fourth time in 1951. The First World War put an end to Henley Royal Regatta for five years and Jack did not get to race there for Bedford. Aylwin Simpson writing in his 1986 book Winning Waters, The Homes of Rowing had this to say about the situation:

Important as Henley was, the main event of the year for Bedford started in 1895 with its annual race against Shrewsbury School, rowed alternately on the Great Ouse and the Severn.

By 1916 Jack was stroking the 1st VIII and the race against Shrewsbury took place on the Severn on 22 June. The event that year also included a race for 2nd VIIIs and Shrewsbury produced a race card which gave the crew names and weights and the results of all previous races back to 1895.

In 1919, L. Cecil Smith edited a publication titled Annals of Public School Rowing. The chapter on Bedford School was contributed by the Rev. W. M. Askwith and this is probably the source of the above quote by Aylwin Simpson. However, the earlier work has an important insight to the quality of the Bedford crew of 1916:

In 1916 a challenge came from Eton to row them either at Eton or Henley in a boat borrowed from them, or on the Ouse. Bedford accepted for the last-named course, having already been away to Shrewsbury, but owing to the impossibility of fixing a mutually convenient date the race fell through. The Bedford crew of that year was without doubt the best on record, and would certainly not have disgraced itself even against such redoubtable antagonists. 

Bedford won the race by 8½ seconds in a time of 5.25 and Rev. Askwith also gave the result of the race for 2nd VIIIs:

In 1916 the second eight went over to Shrewsbury and beat the Shrewsbury second eight, but this fixture is not generally feasible.

The results of the Bedford School ‘In House’ fours and pairs events are also listed in the 1919 publication and the crew of R. C. L. White (bow) and J. Beresford (stroke) coxed by E. W. Parkes won the 1916 Crosbie Challenge Pair Oars. There was no race against Shrewsbury in 1917, the year Jack left Bedford, and therefore his 1916 exploits may be assumed to be his highest achievements on the water for the school.

THE OUSEL 1916
The Ousel, The Journal of Bedford Grammar School, covers in great detail the progress of the Boat Club and from this we get a detailed picture of Jack’s progress as an oarsman. He was not in the 1st VIII in 1915 when Bedford beat Shrewsbury by 3½ seconds on home water and he gets his first mention in the ‘Rowing Notes’ section in February 1916:

The weeding out process is gradually taking effect, and it is now possible to make a guess at the probable composition of the Eight for next term, subject always to surprises and disappointments caused by the racing capacity displayed in the House Fours.

BERESFORD’S style is more suited to a pair or sculling boat than to an eight. If he can learn to mark the beginning more firmly and clearly, not to bend his arms too soon, and so to hold out a longer finish, he might make a good seven. He races well, keeps good time, and has a really good idea of watermanship.

In total, the rowing profile of 18 boys is given together with a short report on the number of crews on the water since the previous September and the type of work (some fixed seat) that the boys were doing. (The Ousel, 26 February 1916).

The ‘Rowing Notes’ section of the 25 March 1916 edition of the journal previews the House Fours:

While frost and snow, rain and mist have imposed unwilling activity on mere landsmen, the House Fours have carried out their regular work in spite of considerable discomfort. Successive floods have given opportunities for rowing on livelier water than is usual on our river, and this ought to be a distinct advantage to next term’s Eight.

Each House Fours chances are previewed:

CRESCENT have W. Waldecker (bow), S. Waldecker, Schofiel, Beresford (stroke). They appear to be going in for the so-called ‘Sculling Style.’ They are fairly well together and taking to the eye, but seem to lack the drive of some of the other crews. In practice they already owe a great deal to Beresford, and the races may prove that the debt is still greater.

Following the races the journal reported:

CRESCENT showed to distinct advantage in both their races. It was easy to do this in their heat, but they deserve great credit for the way they kept their form and length when rowing a losing race in the Final. Beresford showed good watermanship and improved rhythm, but if he is going to row stroke in a light eight he must learn to show his crew a much marked beginning.

The report concludes by confirming “The Shrewsbury race, on the Severn, has been fixed for Thursday, June 22nd. If all the likely heavy-weights can acquire the necessary quickness and polish, the crew will probably be one of the heaviest that has ever represented the School”. (The Ousel, 5 April 1916).

The focus was now on the forthcoming race with Shrewsbury and May’s journal reported:

The Eight started practice for the Shrewsbury race on Friday, May 5th, in the following order: .... J. Beresford (stroke). On May 10th, the 1912 light ship was used, and there was comparatively little rolling, although, owing to the want of smartness at the beginning, the boat was running away from them a good deal.

BERESFORD is a better hand at moving a boat than he is at stroking one. He has done so much rowing that many of his faults appear almost incurable. The success or failure of the crew largely turns on whether he can learn to give them the necessary steadiness and ease in the swing forward, followed by a crisp and decided “attaque.” (The Ousel, 24 May 1916).

In the June journal there were reports on various timed pieces, and despite a poor performance on 22 May, described as probably the slowest and worst piece of rowing by the School crew for many years, by 2 June they had improved enough so that over the course from the Town Bridge to the Three Trees the previous record was broken by 2½ seconds. The report went on to add that “Beresford and Simpson received their Colours on May 23rd”. (The Ousel, 9 June 1916).

The School journal of 8 July dedicated four pages to the Shrewsbury races. It covered the final preparations on the Ouse and the travel arrangements as well as detailed race reports on both the 1st and 2nd VIIIs.

Along the straight and round the second bend we steadily increased our lead, finally winning, with something to spare by 8½ seconds. The time, 5 mins. 25 secs., was distinctly fast considering that the wind was against the crews until they rounded the final bend.

The School crew rowed right at the top of their form, and Shrewsbury critics confirmed the impression given in the last few days on the Ouse that they are the fastest crew that Bedford has turned out.

Beresford stroked his crew with judgment, he gave them time both at the finish and on the swing forward, and seeing that he had the race well in hand never bustled his crew at any part of the course. (The Ousel, 8 July 1916).

Bedford School 1st VIII – J. Beresford at stroke

BEDFORD SCHOOL B.C.  v  SHREWSBURY SCHOOL B.C.

At Shrewsbury, 22 June, 1916.

The next publication of The Ousel on 27 July, 1916, had a real gem of a supplement; a group photograph of the combined Shrewsbury and Bedford crews that raced on 22 June 1916. Jack Beresford proudly wearing his 1st VIII blazer, collar turned up. No names are given, but none are needed to identify him. One can assume that many of those photographed did not see the end of the Great War that would engulf the world a couple of years later.

Jack Beresford aged 17.

The same issue gives the results of the heats and final of the School Senior Pairs held on 10, 11 and 12 July. As mentioned above Jack and his partner R. C. L. White coxed by E. W. Parkes won the event after racing a heat, semi-final and final over the three days. “The winners were a good pair, and had they been pressed would have beaten the 2.45 done in 1910”.

Under the heading "1st VIII Characters, 1916" the journal has this to say about Jack:

J. BERESFORD (stroke). – A really fine waterman, a strong oar, and when it came to racing, a good and level-headed stroke. In practice, especially in the early stages, he was inclined to try much too fast a stroke, and, in addition, he never had any idea of counting his rate of striking. At the end of practice he was showing his crew the beginning fairly well, and was driving out a fairly long finish, but even then he must have been a difficult stroke to follow.

This edition of the journal has one final mention of Jack Beresford: another victory too, not his most famous but perhaps his most unusual. He coxed CRESCENT to win the House ‘Junior’ Eights beating both ASHBURNHAM in a heat and ST. CUTHBERT’S in the final. (The Ousel, 27 July 1916).

AFTER BEDFORD – Gone but not forgotten
On leaving school he served in the First World War in France where, still a teenager he was shot in the leg. This ended his rugby career and after the war he concentrated on rowing. He joined Thames Rowing Club and his first year there (1919) is described in Geoffrey Page’s 1991 book Hear the Boat Sing: The History of Thames Rowing Club and Tideway Rowing as follows:

Although he did not compete at Henley that year, Berry’s son Jack was beginning to make his mark. He had stroked the Bedford School during the war and had later been wounded in the leg on active service. At 19 [sic] he made his first appearance at Marlow, winning the junior sculls. He followed this up by winning the junior-senior event at Kingston and the senior event at Molesey. He stroked a four and a Thames Cup eight, both of which won at Staines.
 
The following year, Jack won his first Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley and his first Olympic medal in Antwerp and the rest, as they say, is history. He was a very proud 'Old Bedfordian' and the oak sapling presented to him after his victory at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games was planted in the school grounds. You can read an earlier HTBS post about the Bedford School ‘Hitler Oak’ here.

In 2011, Bedford School Boat Club celebrated their 150th anniversary with a ball on the 5 March, and on display were the cased medals won by Jack Beresford which were on loan from the River and Rowing Museum at Henley-on-Thames. A games room was also named in his  honour  and The Old Bedfordian club reported the occasion in the June 2011 edition of their journal OB Review:

Until Sir Steve Redgrave CBE powered across the finish in Sydney, OB and Pemberley House boy Jack Beresford (13-17) laid claim to the world’s greatest oarsman title, having won three gold and two silver Olympic medals in successive Olympics. But Jack wasn’t the only Beresford to row or the first Beresford at Pemberley (see note below). With both his OB father and nephew Michael Beresford (47-53) Olympic oarsman, the Beresfords are thought to be the only family in history with three generations of Olympic finalists in the same discipline and to have won c.1000 top class races between them. Michael returned to Pemberley in March with his wife, Roma, to help celebrate the opening of the Jack Beresford Games Room and to attend the Bedford School Boat Club 150th Anniversary Ball.

Jack’s son, John, was also invited but he was away for the anniversary, which, John writes, “was a great pity as I also was Captain of Boats in 1964. My cousin Michael took my place in opening the Jack Beresford Games Room at Pemberley, but I have been able to give them some pictures, sculls etc.”

Note - Bedford School has six houses. Each house consists of a day house and a partnering boarding house. Whilst these are the official house names, it is common for boarders to refer to their house by the name of their boarding house. Jack’s house was officially called ‘Crescent’. The day house is situated in a two storey building towards the south of the school site. The boarding house ‘Pemberley’, is situated just off site on Pemberley Avenue. The house colours are black and white.

Beresford Road, Bedford, England.

In 1947, Bedford Borough Council adopted as public highway; Beresford Road. It is very close to The Embankment which runs alongside the stretch of the river Great Ouse on which Jack learned to row. According to the council, the road would have been built shortly after the Second World War and was named in honour of Jack Beresford although they could not say exactly how the name came about.  On 12 August, 2012, Bedford local paper, Bedfordshire on Sunday printed an interesting article about Jack with the title 'Historic Olympic hero shouldn't be forgotten'. It is a sentiment that I, and many readers of HTBS wholeheartedly agree with.

Part 2 will be posted tomorrow.

*See information about Julius Beresford here.

Greg Denieffe: ‘Hitler Oaks’

Jack Beresford and Dick Southwood: Olympic Champions in the double sculls, Berlin 1936.

Yesterday’s HTBS post, which mentioned rowing legend Jack Beresford, reminded HTBS’s Greg Denieffe about a story. Greg writes,

They were possibly the oddest sporting prizes ever awarded. Along with gold medals, the champions of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin were each presented with an oak sapling by Adolf Hitler.

Many of the 130 oaks disappeared without trace, but others were dispersed around the world and planted in the athletes’ home towns so that they would grow into mighty oaks. Among them was the tree won by Jack Beresford, which he donated to Bedford School. He had been a pupil at Bedford from 1913 to 1917. The sapling was planted in the School grounds and was known as the ‘Hitler Oak’.

Many years later when Bedford School was having some building work carried out, the tree had to be removed. The timber was put to good use, and Dean Abraham, a friend of mine and ex-captain of Milton Keynes Rowing Club, showed me the result in November 2009 which I photographed.

Dean Abraham and his partner in the pairs, D. Pinkney, won the silver medal at the 1989 National Schools Regatta and were subsequently selected to represent England in junior pairs at the Home International Regatta between Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales. The regatta was held on 29 July 1989 and England won the junior pairs in a time of 7.22.28.

Bedford School Presentation Plaque photographed 2 November 2009.

The School made a presentation to the crew to mark their achievements that year and the plaque presented was made with the timber of the ‘Hitler Oak’. The crests are of Bedford School (L) and of the England rowing team (R). The inscription “Home International Champions of Great Britain” is misleading as Ireland is also involved. Each country takes it in turns to host the event which was first held in 1962.

Dean Abraham with his ‘Hitler Oak’ plaque.

The crest of the Home International Ties: from top anti-clockwise: Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales.