The First Englishman….

A rare photograph of Hermann Barrelet, France, the first Olympic champion in the single sculls.*

On 25-26 August, 1900, was the first Olympic rowing regatta. Saint George Ashe of Thames RC wrote history when he, as the first Englishman, represented his country in the first ever Olympic rowing regatta, held on the river Seine in Paris. (There was supposed to have been a rowing regatta at the Olympic Games in Athens four years earlier, but it was cancelled due to bad weather.) Saint George Ashe, who was the only English oarsman competing in Paris, easily won his first heat in the single sculls. In the third heat, Louis Prével, who had rowed in the Diamond Challenge Sculls at Henley earlier that summer, just like Saint George Ashe who was the runner up that year, won his heat. Both scullers advanced to the semifinals. In his semifinal heat, Ashe came in third, which technically meant that he was kicked out of further advancement. However, he protested – no records are telling us why – whereupon the French organisers allowed him to advance to the final. Prével also won his semifinal heat and proceeded to the final, where he was interfered and capsized before crossing the finish line. The Frenchmen Hermann Barrelet and André Gaudin took the Olympic gold and silver, respectively, while Ashe took the bronze medal – Great Britain’s first rowing medal in the Olympic Games. Although, it is probably more correct to say that the Englishman took the third place as no bronze medal was handed out at the Olympics at that time.

Saint George Ashe competed several times in the Diamonds, but never took the cup. He did, however, take the Wingfield Sculls in 1904. Read more about him here (correction, he was 51 when he died, not 49 as the Wikipedia text says).

*There seems to be no photographs of Saint George Ashe, therefore a picture of the first Olympic champion in the single sculls will have to do!

1898 Wingfields: ‘a most extraordinary contest’

The start at the 1898 Wingfields. Closes to the camera is Harry Blackstaffe (Vesta RC) and in the background his opponent, Hunting Howell (Trinity Hall).

It is 25 July, 1898, and the location is the River Thames above Putney Bridge. Harry Blackstaffe (Vesta RC), the holder of the Wingfield Sculls, the amateur championship of the Thames and Great Britain, is getting ready to defend his title against B. Hunting Howell (Trinity Hall, Cambridge), who three days earlier had won the trial heat by beating C. H. R. Thorn of London RC. The day before the trial heat, 21 July, Blackstaffe had taken the London Cup at the Metropolitan Regatta. The previous year, Blackstaffe had easily won his first Wingfields in 23 minutes 58 seconds, four lengths in front of Howell, who was six lengths ahead of A. F. G. Everitt (London RC).

In the photograph on top, Blackstaffe is closest to the camera and in between the stake boats we can see the Vesta oarsman’s pilot boat, an eight, getting ready to follow their man and ‘pilot’ him the whole championship course from Putney to the finish line at Mortlake. In the background are Howell and his pilot boat. As usual the pilot boats are missing their bow men, instead the ‘pilots’ have taken that seat and will face forward to guide their scullers over the course.

The race ‘produced a most extraordinary contest’ The Times wrote in a report the day after the race, on 26 July. Blackstaffe went out quickly at the start and got a good lead, while Howell, or as The Times wrote, ‘the Cantab’, was not used to the quick tide at Putney Bridge. At Putney Reach, Blackstaffe was two boat lengths ahead, which at the Mile Post had become three and a half lengths. Passing the Hammersmith Bridge, the Londoner’s time was 8 minutes 53 seconds while Howell’s was 9 minutes. At Barnes Bridge, Blackstaffe was four lengths in front. To the on-lookers, including the umpire Gilbert Kennedy of Kingston RC (winner of the 1893 Wingfields) on the paddle steamer that followed the race, it looked like the sculler from Vesta RC had the championship title in the bag.

With half a mile to go, Blackstaffe began to look a little unsteady in his boat and had a slight problem with his steering, but Howell was still three lengths down. Suddenly, the Hall man began a tremendous spurt, rapidly gaining on Blackstaffe, who could not respond and was ‘quickly failing in strength’. All of a sudden, the Vesta man stopped rowing with 50 yards to go, totally exhausted. Howell passed him, got a couple of lengths lead, and stopped rowing, too, all pumped out. Nonetheless, the speed of his boat took him over the finish line in the new record time of 22 minutes 57 seconds. This was the second time a Trinity Hall man had won the Wingfields. The first one was James Bayford, who was the first winner of the Henry Wingfield’s Silver Sculls in 1830. James’s brother, Augustus Fredrick Bayford, who also rowed for the Hall, was in the first Cambridge crew in the Boat Race in 1829.

Wingfields: Champions of the Thames 2013

An impromptu pre-race gathering of Wingfields Champions from each of the last six decades outside London Rowing Club. From left to right: Bill Barry (1963-66), Alan Campbell (2006, 09, 10, 12, 13), Guy Pooley (1991, 92), Wade Hall-Craggs (1993), Graeme Mulcahy (1976) and Chris Baillieu (1981-84). Mulcahy was this year’s umpire.

Here is Tim Koch’s report from this year’s Wingfield Sculls:

The 173rd Wingfield Sculls and the 7th Women’s Wingfields (previewed by HTBS here) took place on Putney to Mortlake course on 8 October in deference to the founder’s wishes that the prize silver sculls be held ‘by the best’ and that the event should continue ‘for ever’.

In the men’s race, Jamie Kirkwood of Leander drew the Surrey station. The 24-year-old lightweight spent much of 2012 recovering from glandular fever. At the 2013 World Rowing Championships he was 8th in the lightweight single and in the World Cup he was 5th in Sydney, 7th at Dorney and 4th in Lucerne.

Jonny Walton of Leander drew the Middlesex station. During the 2013 World Cup season he was 4th in the single in Sydney and 7th at Dorney. At Lucerne he was 4th in the quad.

Alan Campbell of Tideway Scullers got the centre station. He is Britain’s best heavyweight sculler in many years, a fact proven by his bronze in the single at the London Olympics. A four-times Wingfields Champion, Campbell is a great advocate for the race. His race biography says that ‘he sees the Wingfields as a test of his strength, determination and watermanship which 2000m racing lakes cannot provide’.

Campbell tries a new hat. A boater?

Going off at around 40, Campbell took a very early lead and within the first minute he was able to move into the Surrey station while Kirkwood sculled very wide of the other two, missing the fastest water. Campbell passed Thames Rowing Club two to three lengths up on Kirkwood who was under a length up on Walton. Along Putney Embankment the leader pulled way from the others and gained a three to four length lead. Between the Black Buoy and Harrods, Walton, despite a higher rate and better water, battled to move up on Kirkwood but managed to move into second place in the fifth minute.

At Hammersmith Bridge, Campbell leads followed by Walton and then Kirkwood.

Going through Hammersmith Bridge, Alan Campbell led Jonny Walton by four lengths and Walton in turn led Jamie Kirkwood by the same distance. These positions were maintained until just before Chiswick Steps when Kirkwood fell back and Campbell increased his lead.

At Chiswick. The launches to the left of the umpire’s boat carry the ‘steerers’ for each competitor (though some scullers seem to forget that they are there).

Between Barnes and the finish at Chiswick Bridge the scullers were fairly widely spaced out across the river, Kirkwood often in the slower water.

Going through Barnes Bridge – less than four minutes to the finish.

At the finish at the finish downstream of Chiswick Bridge, the times were Campbell 21.15, Walton 21.32 and Kirkwood 21.44. It was Campbell’s fifth Wingfields win.

The Finish.

Kirkwood recovers.

There was an impressive six entries in the women’s race. Counting from Surrey, the stations were taken by:

Louisa Reeve (Leander). The only sweep rower and a veteran of the last two Olympic games.
Imogen Walsh (London). ‘Imo’ was 4th in the lightweight double at the 2013 Worlds and won gold in the lightweight quad at the 2011 Worlds.
Beth Rodford (Gloucester). Wingfields Champion last year, Beth won gold in the quad in the 2010 Worlds.
Francis Houghton (Leander). A competitor in the last four Olympics, Francis won silver in the quad in the 2004 and 2008 Games.
Vicky Thornley (Leander). Vicky was 7th in the single at the 2013 Worlds and in this year’s World Cup was 4th at Dorney and 10th in Lucerne.
Vicki Meyer-Laker (Leander). Racing in the double scull in 2013, Vicki was 4th at the Worlds and won Gold at Dorney in the World Cup.

The competitors in the women’s race, left to right: Beth Rodford, Imogen Walsh, Vicky Thornley, Louisa Reeve, Vicki Meyer-Laker and Francis Houghton. A clue as to the winner – she is the one whose feet do not properly reach the floor.

Racing six abreast on a river that was not closed to other users had the potential for problems especially as the scullers were widely spread across the river at the start. While this may have initially made the umpire’s life a little easier, it disadvantaged Houghton, Thornley and Meyer-Laker on Middlesex who were in the slower water (though Houghton and Thornley made the move to Surrey very soon off the start). By the end of Putney Embankment only Reeve and Meyer-Laker were on their original stations and Meyer-Laker led with Thornley second, Walsh third, Houghton fourth, Reeve fifth and Rodford sixth.

Entering Barn Elms reach, left to right: Reeve, Houghton, Thornley, Rodford, Walsh and Meyer-Laker.

In the next two minutes along Barn Elms reach, Houghton and Thornley swapped their second and fourth places. The following two minutes took the scullers to the Harrods buoy by which time Meyer-Laker had lost the lead and dropped to fourth place making the leading pack Houghton followed by Walsh, Thornley and then Meyer-Laker. By Harrod’s Wall, Walsh had overtaken Houghton for first place. In less then two minutes the now second place Houghton was out of the race when her stroke side blade clipped the buoy 300m downstream of Hammersmith Bridge and she overturned.

Houghton has buoy trouble.

The first three positions going through the bridge were to remain unchanged for the rest of the race, that is Walsh in front, several lengths ahead of Thornley who was several lengths ahead of Meyer-Laker.

And then there were five. Going through Hammersmith Bridge, Walsh is followed by Thornley, Meyer-Laker, Reeve and then Rodford.

On the big Hammersmith bend, Reeve and Rodford did not help themselves by staying in the slow water over to Surrey. At Barnes Bridge the leaders remained unchanged with Rodford now fourth and Reeve fifth and all the boats were well strung out with clear water between each.

At the finish.

The final times were Imogen Walsh 21.44, Vicky Thornley 21.53, Victoria Meyer-Laker 21.57, Beth Rodford 22.01, Louisa Reeve 22.09 and a wet Francis Houghton 26.32. It was a splendid win for the lightweight Walsh against considerably taller and heavier opposition (she is 162 cm/5 ft 4 ins tall and weighs 57 k/125 lbs). She wrote on Twitter:

Holy shmoly. I just won Wingfields! Very surprised, very happy, and feeling a little bit sick...

Later she added: Thanks everyone for your messages! Had to get up twice last night to eat something... Defiantly worked hard yesterday!

The 2013 Champion Imogen Walsh at the finish –  ‘surprised, happy and a little bit sick...’

Both Walsh and Campbell steered the best course in their respective races. This was not the deciding factor in either win this year but it is an annual frustration to me that so many top competitors do not know how get the best out of the Championship Course. This frustration is compounded by the fact that in the Wingfields it is perfectly legal to have ‘steerers’ signalling to their competitor from a following launch.

This year’s entry (especially in the Women’s Wingfields) illustrates the increasing strength of British sculling, a discipline that the country has not excelled in for many years. However, the true mark of improvement will come when the outcome of both events is not decided by Hammersmith and the race is fought through to the finish at Mortlake.

Champions of the Thames: Walsh and Campbell.

My apologies for taking so long to post this. Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging. T.K.

Wingfields Postscript
The British Rowing Facebook page has some nice pictures of this year’s Wingfield Sculls taken from their headquarters at 6 Lower Mall overlooking Hammersmith Bridge. The best photograph is reproduced below and shows Imogen Walsh going under the bridge.

Imogen Walsh at Hammersmith Bridge. Picture: British Rowing.

Tim Koch: Wingfields - The Race of Champions

WD Kinnear’s Wingfields Medal with bars for 1910, 1911 and 1912.

Tim Koch writes:

Tomorrow, Tuesday, 8 October 2013, will see the 173rd race for the Wingfield Sculls and also the 7th Women’s Wingfields. It is strange that an event that carries the grandiose titles of ‘The British Amateur Sculling Championship and Championship of the Thames’ should be so obscure, even within the sport of rowing and sculling.

The Wingfields started in 1830 when Henry Colsell Wingfield presented a pair of miniature silver sculls ‘to be held by the best’ as long as they agreed to race in single sculls on his birthday, 10 August, ‘for ever'. The course is the 4 ½ mile (6.8 km) ‘Thames Championship Course’ (most famously used by the Oxford–Cambridge Boat Race) from Putney to Mortlake complete with tide, bends, shallows, rough water, wind, driftwood and other river users. Patrick Kidd of The Times has written:

(The race is) above all... about athletes being taken out of their comfort zone. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, once said that rowing was the ideal sport because it was so hard for people to watch and thus worth doing purely for its own sake. In the Wingfield Sculls, that vision of glorious amateurism remains alive…

Kidd also quotes Wade Hall-Craggs, winner (‘Champion’) in 1993 and the current Wingfield’s Secretary:

Top class rowers today are used to racing on plastic lakes where so many of the variables have been taken out and it is just a battle of limb and lung size. This is a different challenge.

Certainly the history of the race has numerous examples of winners who probably would not have beaten their opponents had they been on a straight, still water course. Racing on a ‘living river’ requires watermanship, something that cannot be learned on an ergo.

HTBS has previously covered the Wingfield Sculls in 2010, 2011 and 2012.  Two years ago, we produced a video record of this splendid contest:



Like other well run rowing contests such as Henley Royal Regatta and the Doggett’s Coat and Badge, the Wingfields is not a democratic organisation, it is organised by a committee of former winners. One of its few sources of income is from shares in the brewers Guinness, which were donated by Lord Iveagh (Rupert Guinness, Wingfields Champion in 1896). In recent years there has also been generous support from the Wingfield Family Society.

The 2012 Women’s Wingfields winner Beth Rodford sculling in the 2010 race. She is watched by the senior surviving Wingfields Champion, Doug Melvin, who won in 1955 and 1958.

In the 2013 race, both the reigning champions, Alan Campbell (Bronze medalist, London 2012) and Beth Rodford, and all their challengers have recently returned from representing Britain at the World Rowing Championships in South Korea. The women are Louisa Reeve (Leander), Imogen Walsh (London), Beth Rodford (Gloucester), Francis Houghton (Leander), Vicky Thornley (Leander) and Victoria Mayer-Laker (Leander). The male competitors are Jonny Walton (Leander), Alan Campbell (Tideway Sculler’s School) and Jamie Kirkwood (Leander).

The Women’s Wingfields starts at 1.30. Wade Hall-Crags writes:

Beth Rodford returns to defend her title against many of her team mates. She is challenged by both members of the double scull, Vicky Meyer-Laker and Frances Houghton. Francis trained out of the University of London for many years so will look to put her Thames Tideway experience to good use. Vicky Thornley was the single sculler at the Worlds and won the B final and wants to test her single sculling on the Tideway. Imogen Walsh’s season went from strength to strength last year after racing Beth in the Wingfields, culminating in fourth in the lightweight double at the Worlds. Lou Reeve is the only sweep rower [...] and enters the Wingfields for the first time.

Alan Campbell, Wingfields Champion 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2012.

The men’s race is an hour later. Of these competitors Hall-Crags says:

This year [....] all the male single scullers from GB’s World Championship team (will) race. Jonny Walton has been doing much of his training with Alan (Campbell) as he was the spare sculler at the Worlds, presumably this has inspired him to challenge. Jamie Kirkwood was the lightweight single at the Worlds and has spent the last few years training on the Tideway at Imperial so feels he has the Tideway experience to challenge Alan. This is the first time Jamie and Jonny have challenged.

The umpire will be Sophie Hosking (Champion 2008 and 2009), who won lightweight double sculls at the London Olympics.

Throughout its long history, the standard of racing in the Wingfields has been very variable. This is probably beacuse in Britain sculling has traditionally been regarded as somehow inferior to sweep rowing. This year’s entry reflects the steady improvement that British sculling is currently undergoing. A list of former winners is here.

As a ’curtain raiser’ to this year’s races, following is a splendid newsreel film that I recently found online. It shows Richard Burnell beating Bertram Bushnell in the 1946 Wingfields. Of course, two years later ‘Bert and Dickie’ won a famous victory in the double sculls at the 1948 London Olympics. The bigger Burnell had previously beaten Bushnell earlier in 1946 in the Diamond Sculls at Henley but it is interesting to see that the highly competitive smaller man never gave up in this second encounter and sculled himself to the point of exhaustion. The final part of the film shows his limp body been lifted into the umpire’s launch at the finish. You could say that there were in fact two ‘Champions’ that day. View the newsreel here.

Rowing History Footnote: Towns Followed by Mishaps in London

George Towns

In April 1897, the 28-year-old professional sculler George Towns of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, who had learned to scull on the Hunter River, arrived to England. At the time, he was regarded as a ‘coming man’ and his financial backers back home in Newcastle had been eager to send him to England to be able to prove himself worthy to row for the World Professional Sculling Championships in a year or two.

Australian oarsmen had dominated the professional sport of sculling since August 1884, when William Beach beat the Canadian Ned Hanlan on the Parramatta River. But in September 1896, the World title went back to Canada when Jake Gaudaur of Ontario, defeated Jim Stanbury of New South Wales on the River Thames in London. In Australia, the hopes were set for Towns to reclaim the World title. In a race on 21 September, 1898, William ‘Bill’ Barry of Putney (Ernest Barry’s older brother) beat Towns on the Championship course between Putney and Mortlake for the Championship of England. Then, on 1 May, 1899, Towns beat Barry for the title, which should, if Towns and his backers played their cards right, open the doors for Towns to challenge Gaudaur for the World title.

 Jake Gauduar

However, Towns’s stay in England was followed by mishaps, the Australian newspaper The Star reported to its readers in an article published on 24 July (but dated 9 June), 1899. The paper’s correspondent wrote that Towns had been run into by an eight when he was training for his first meeting with Barry. Luckily, Towns only received minor injuries, though his boat got badly damaged. Then Towns had to pay foreit to William Haines of Old Winsor as the Australian was ill in influenza and could not race Haines. In another race Towns rowed into a big lump of wood which damaged his boat so he had to abandon the race (and by that losing money in stakes and bets).

In the beginning of June 1899, Towns could do with some extra cash. This was easily picked up by giving private lessons to amateur scullers who could pay his fees. One of these scullers was the young sculler Benjamin Hunting Howell (of New York, USA), who could do with some technical hints on a warm, nice day on the Thames. The article incorrectly mentioned him as a member of Trinity Hall, which he had rowed for between 1894 and 1898, but now rowed for Thames RC. The paper at least gave his championship titles correctly: ‘English amateur champion and holder of the Diamond Sculls.’

 Hunting Howell

Towns and Howell set off from the Leander boathouse in the afternoon, sculling up the river against the tide, rowing side by side, with Towns closes to the Surrey shore. At Barn Elms, a coxed four came down with the tide, and before anyone understood the dire situation, the four ran into Towns. The larger craft’s ironshod bow hit the Australian sculler in the back and missed his spine with a couple of inches, but broke two of his ribs. Towns fell overboard but managed, despite that he was half unconscious, to grab hold of an oar in the four. The oarsmen in the boat managed to pull him into their boat, while Hunting gave them order to row to Thames boathouse. We can only imagining what went through Howell’s mind at this point, as he had a scar on his right lower part of his leg to remind him about his own accident in October 1897. Then another sculler had rowed right into Howell, who had got the other sculler’s bow right through his calf of his right leg just below his knee.

After Towns received first aid at Thames RC, he was taken to the professional sculler Tom Sullivan’s house at Battersea to be examined by a doctor. Beyond the broken ribs, the part of the back where he was hit was bruised and swollen. The Star wrote: ‘The accident caused a tremendous sensation at Putney, where, by reason of his good nature and gentlemanly behaviour, Towns has become a great favourite amongst ‘wet-bobs’ of all classes.’ The author of the article goes on by speculating how this accident might effect Towns's future career. He even goes on saying that ‘it is quite possible that his career as a first-class sculler has closed.’

Luckily, Towns career as first-rate sculler did not come to an end that day in June. A year later, on 10 September, 1900, he defended his English championship title on the Championship course against his countryman J. Wray. The next year, on 7 September, 1901, Towns beat Gaudaur for the World championship title on Lake of the Woods, Canada.

Wingfields on Cigarette Cards

With three entries about this year's Wingfield Sculls, 29 October, 4 November and 7 November, let's round up this rowing event by posting a cigarette card from 1902: Wills's Cigarettes "Wingfield Sculls" "Vanity Fair, 2nd Series No. 48". Easily recognised on this card is the famous oarsman, Guy Nickalls (1866-1935). He had won the Wingfields in 1887, 1888, 1889 and 1891 - and to this can be added twenty-two won events at Henley and an Olympic gold medal in the eights in 1908. The special pose shows how Nickalls was depicted by SPY in the magazine Vanity Fair in 1889.

While there is a lot of sportsmen (and others) from Vanity Fair shown on Wills's Cigarette, I am not sure how many of the sixty oarsmen who was published in Vanity Fair actually made it to a these particular cigarette cards.

2012 Wingfield Sculls: A Truly Tough Trial by the Thames

Photograph: Tim Koch

To add to Tim Koch’s short report on the 2012 Wingfield Sculls – British Amateur Sculling Championship and Championship of the Thames on HTBS on Sunday, 4 November, here is a longer, more detailed report about the races by Oliver Wade Hall-Craggs, Hon. Secretary of the Wingfield Sculls. O.W. Hall-Craggs, winner of the Wingfields in 1993, writes.

With the withdrawal of Adam Freeman-Pask, who was ill after the Armada cup, and Mahe Drysdale, who was struck down with gastroenteritis on his return from Sri Lanka where he was promoting rowing, Alan Campbell (Tideway Scullers School) had a row over. The umpire, Sophie Hosking, asked all the competitors if they could switch the races around to give the women the faster water and wider river to accommodate them, land water and spring tides combined for a slow turn of the tide. She also warned them of the very obvious signs of the Olympic legacy with several junior crews out on the water.

Alan Campbell was unopposed in the men’s race, and sculled over to win the trophy. Photograph: Robert Treharne Jones

Alan Campbell set off at a great rate on his own despite some bumpy water on the start line, he was still at 40 at the boats and passed London RC still at 39, by the Black Buoy he smoothed out and reduced his rate to 34. After the Mile post, he dropped his rate and paddled over to claim the title Champion of the Thames for the fourth time, at 24.0. Here are his times at different stations: Mile Post 4.40; Hammersmith Bridge 8,47; (Chriswick Steps no time); Barnes Bridge 19.46; and Finish 24.00.

The morning sunshine gave way to hailstorms and a striking rainbow but that did not improve the water for the women, the spring tide against the wind and land water made for very uncomfortable water along the Putney reach. The new champion today was the most consistent performer in a wide variety of conditions, a champion of all the Thames could throw at her. None of the scullers got off at a very high rate, but Debbie Flood was most determined and got clear. Jess Eddie went for shelter under the Fulham wall and never recovered from that decision, whilst Imogen Walsh and Beth Rodford battled it out level all at 31 except Rodford at 27 along the boats. At the Black Buoy, Flood set off to join Eddie under Fulham and Rodford just got through Walsh.

Beth Rodford won the women’s race after overhauling Debbie Flood, the early leader. Photograph: Robert Treharne Jones

All the scullers were cheered on vigorously at Barn Elms by their juniors, Rodford at 25 was half a length up on Walsh at 29 while Flood led and Eddie began to come back into the stream. It was calm at the Mile post which Flood passed first. Rodford and Walsh were still very close but line astern. Rodford steered better past Harrods and closed on Flood so at Hammersmith Bridge Flood’s lead was much reduced but Walsh was still in touch. Conditions turned considerably worse after St Pauls which had favoured Flood earlier but as all the scullers tucked into the Surrey shore, Rodford drew level with Flood at the Ship, then led along the Eyot where Flood maintained contact. At Chiswick pier the water flattened out again and Rodford began to draw away at 26 to Flood’s 28 and Walsh’s 29. Both Rodford and Flood tried to hit the PLA’s navigation buoys at the crossover and after Barnes Bridge where once again the water picked up nastily. Rodford maintained her steady rate and Flood dropped back, Rodford winning at 23.32. Several of the scullers raced with poppies on their all-in-ones. The 2012 race will not be one they forget in a hurry. All of the scullers deserve credit for finishing a truly tough trial by the Thames.

The Wingfield Family Society continues to support the championships and were represented by Clare Morton, Henry Wingfield’s closest living relative. The silver sculls were presented by two of the committee’s Olympic Champions, Alan received the silver sculls and date bar for his medal from Sophie Hosking (Olympic champion in LW2x) and Beth Rodford received her silver sculls and medal from Mahe Drysdale (Olympic champion in M1x). The secretary thanked all the competitors and hoped those unable to race will return, and thanked Tideway Scullers School and London RC for their hospitality and above all Max for services beyond the call of duty flagging the markers recovering from a severe crash following Alan to return and flag all the female scullers.

Here are the women’s times at five stations: Mile Post, Hammersmith Bridge, Chiswick Steps, Barnes Bridge and the Finish.

Beth Rodford (Gloucester RC): 5.08; 8.51; 14.18; 19.15; 23.32
Debbie Flood (LC): 5.01; 8.49; 14.24; 19.22; 23.43
Imogen Walsh (LRC): 5.10; 8.54; 14.35; 19.33; 24.02
Jess Eddie (ULWBC): 5.16; 9.16; - ; - ; 25.30

Umpire Sophie Hosking (2008 and 2009 Champion)
Aligner Phil Rowley (TSS)

Record times Women
Mile post: 4.44 A Watkins, 2011
Hammersmith: 8.29 A. Watkins, 2011
Chriswick Steps: 13.30 A. Watkins, 2011
Barnes Bridge: 18.11 A. Watkins, 2011
Finish: 21.53 A. Watkins, 2011

Record times Men
Mile post: 4.12 M.W. Wells, 2005
Hammersmith Bridge: 7.32 M.W. Wells, 2005
Chriswick Steps: 12.06 A. Freeman-Pask, 2011
Barnes Bridge: 16.45 A. Freeman-Pask, 2011
Finish: 19.58 A. Freeman-Pask, 2011

HTBS would like to thank O.W. Hall-Craggs for this brilliant report and Robert Treharne Jones for allowing us to post his photographs.

Wingfield Sculls 2012 Results

Alan Campbell who sculled over to win the 2012 Wingfield Sculls. This picture is of him passing the finish post in the 2010 race.

Tim Koch writes from London,

The 172nd Wingfield Sculls, previewed on HTBS on 29 October, was held on a windy and choppy Thames on 1 November. Unfortunately, the expected race between the Olympic Champion, Mahe Drysdale, and the Olympic Bronze Medalist, Alan Campbell, and the defending Wingfields Champion, Alan Freeman-Pask, did not take place as Drysdale and Freeman-Pask withdrew due to injury leaving Campbell to scull over for the title in a time of 24 minutes. The disappointed winner was quoted on the British Rowing website as saying ‘I know what’s it like – last year I suffered from an injury and it’s not a race you can take lightly. Physically it’s very tough’. He had beaten Drysdale when they met in the 2009 race.

2012 Women's Wingfields winner Beth Rodford sculling in the 2010 race. She is watched by the senior surviving Wingfields Champion, Doug Melvin who won in 1955 and 1958.

All four competitors made it to the start of the Women’s Race which turned out to be a hard fought event in tough conditions. Beth Rodford raced and lost in 2010 and 2011 but this year finally won in 23' 32''. She wrote on Twitter: ‘Wind & wash = survival rowing! Good race though’. Rodford was followed by Debbie Flood, 23' 43'', Imogen Walsh, 24' 02'' and Jess Eddie 25' 30''.

The prizes were presented by Mahe Drysdale and the umpire, Sophie Hosking (2008 and 2009 Wingfields Champion and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist).

The Draw for the 172nd Wingfield Sculls

This year's umpire Sophie Hosking (2008 and 2009 Wingfields Champion, 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist, W Lwt 2x) racing in the 2010 Wingfields.

Tim Koch writes from London,

The Wingfield Sculls is a single sculling race run over the Putney to Mortlake course on the Thames in London. It was first held in 1830 and the women’s race was added in 2007. At various times it has included the titles of ‘Championship of the Thames’ and the ‘British (or English) Amateur Sculling Championship’.

Wingfield Sculls. Part of the men's trophy.

A press release from Wade Hall-Crags, the Honorary Secretary of the Wingfield Sculls states:

Thursday, 1st November will see two races of Internationals challenging for the title ‘Champion of the Thames’. This is the 172nd race for the pair of silver sculls presented by Henry C. Wingfield ‘to be held by the best’ as long as they agreed to race on his birthday, 10th August, ‘for ever’. The events are organised by a committee consisting of former winners (‘Champions’), who each meet each year to arrange the races and appoint an umpire from among their ranks.

The 2012 Olympic Regatta saw several former Wingfields Champions win medals. There was Gold for Sophie Hosking in the Women’s Lightweight Double, for Anna Watkins in the Women’s Heavyweight Double and Mahe Drysdale in the Single. Bronze medals went to Greg Searle in the Eight and Alan Campbell in the Single.

Wingfield Sculls Women's Trophy. 

The Women’s Race starts at 12:30 and will be between Imogen Walsh (London RC), Debbie Flood (Leander), Beth Rodford (Gloucester) and Jess Eddie (University of London). Debbie and Beth were in the Quad that came fifth in the Olympics and Jess was fifth in the Olympic Eight. Imogen will be the only new competitor in the race, she won Gold in the Lightweight Quad at the 2011 World Championships.

From the Wingfield Sculls archive. The record of the first eight races.

The Men’s Race starts at 1:30 and sees the exciting meeting of last year’s winner (and course record holder) and the current Olympic Gold and Bronze medalists. Put another way, it is the meeting of the 88th Champion, the 87th Champion and the 86th Champion. Lightweight Adam Freeman-Pask will be defending his title against Olympic sculls winner Mahe Drysdale and London third placed sculler, Alan Campbell. Mahe was Wingfields Champion in 2007 and 2008 and Alan won in 2006, 2009 and 2010. In Alan’s 2009 victory he beat his great rival, friend and clubmate, Mahe, the only time they have raced each other over the Putney to Mortlake course.

In his A History of Rowing (1957), Hylton Cleaver said:

... Henry C. Wingfield... in 1830 presented a prize for a race ‘between gentlemen’ on condition that it was rowed at half flood from Westminster to Putney against all challengers annually on the 10th day of August. Like Thomas Doggett he blandly added the words ‘for ever’... The race is now rowed over a different course, and on any day which is decided upon by the committee, not even necessarily at half flood. But Mr. Wingfield achieved immortality in one respect. The race has gone on a great deal longer than he had any justifiable reason to expect.

The HTBS video of last year’s race is here.

New Book: Rowing In Britain

Afraid of getting a bad reputation after Tim Koch writing on Saturday about a new ‘bonkbuster’ on rowing, HTBS feels that we immediately have to write a review about a real book about rowing. Luckily, just the other day Julie Summers’s lovely little 56-page book Rowing in Britain landed on the editor’s desk.

HTBS briefly mentioned Summers’s book in a post on 8 May in a discussion about the wonderful cover of the book Pieces of Eight by Chris Dodd. In that post I feared that both Dodd’s book and Summers’s book should end up with the same artwork on the cover. So is not the case. Instead, Summers’s Rowing in Britain has a beautiful lithography by Maurice and Jacques Goddet, published in Les Jotes du Sport (Paris, 1932) – see above.

Despite that Summers’s book only has 56 pages, she manage to get a lot of history and information in on rowing and sculling in, if not Britain, so at least England (although, Peter Haining and Katherine Grainger, both from Scotland, are mentioned). The author has chapters on competitive rowing, amateurs v. professionals, the Boat Race, Henley Royal Regatta, Women’s rowing, and Olympic rowing. If you have read any books on these subjects you are not likely to find anything new in Summer’s well-written book, but you will find quite a few grand old and new photographs, and prints, paintings, and more. Summers has also manage to throw in some of the latest champions and some new ‘things’: Katherine Grainger (2011 World Champion in the double sculls), Adam Freeman-Pask (2011 Wingfield Sculls), and a new cup at 2012 Henley Royal (Junior Women’s Quadruple Sculls), and a special text about ‘eating and training’ which is an interesting read.

There are some minor misprints and errors here and there, which is a pity. (Dick Southwood is Southworld in the book; some rowers are missing in the Index; Geoffrey Page was not a historian of London RC, etc.) But never mind.

This is, indeed, a nice little book to give away to non-rowing and rowing friends, to the girl-friend or the boy-friend who wonder what on earth you are up to out on the river, to your local library (because it lacks books on rowing), because it’s soon the Olympics and you still don’t know the difference between sweep-oar rowing and sculling (shame on you), etc.

Rowing in Britain is sold both in Great Britain, in the USA, and Canada. Buy it!

The Wingfields Dinner

The 2010 Wingfield Sculls Dinner menu.

HTBS’s Tim Koch reports from London: What is the collective noun for scullers? Whatever it is, my report on the 2010 Wingfield Sculls showed archive pictures of groups of Wingfields winners at their 1959, 1980, and 2000 celebration dinners.

They were inspired by the famous 1930 Centenary Dinner picture showing the greats of Victorian, Edwardian and inter-War sculling.


Following the dinner of 2000 it was decided that these gatherings of sculling’s finest should be held every ten years. Thus in 2010 seventeen past winners (‘Champions’ in Wingfields speak) met at London Rowing Club for their decennial celebration.

Seated, left to right: Alan Campbell (Winner 2006, 09, 10), Doug Melvin (1955, 58), Anna Watkins (2010, [11]). Standing, left to right: Mahé Drysdale (2007, 08), Rory Henderson (1990), Guy Pooley ((1991, 92), Greg Searle (1998, 99, 2000), Matt Wells (2004, 05), Elise Laverick (2007), Sophie Hosking (2008, 09), John Russell (1959), Bill Barry (1963, 64, 65, 66), Nick Cooper (1967), Tim Crooks (1977, 78), Malcolm Carmichael (1979), Chris Baillieu (1981, 82, 83, 84), and Wade Hall-Craggs (1993). - (Click on the photograph to enlarge it.)

Only seven of the twenty four living Wingfields Champions could not attend. The next dinner will be in 2020 and ‘Hear The Boat Sing’ will (probably) be there to report on it.

Film On 2011 Wingfield Sculls

2011 Wingfield Sculls with Adam Freeman-Pask in the lead, Tom Solesbury on the left, and Henry Pelly closes to the camera.

The 171st Wingfield Sculls - The British Amateur Sculling Championship and Championship of the Thames - took place on Thursday, 27 October 2011, as reported earlier on HTBS by Tim Koch. With great weather conditions it looked as it would be an open affair in the men’s race, especially as last year’s champion, Alan Campbell (winner also in 2006 and 2009), had withdrawn due to injury. It was left to Adam Freeman-Pask of Imperial College, Henry Pelly of London RC, and Tom Solesbury of Leander to fight it out on the Thames. In the end it was Freeman-Park who crossed the finish line first in a new record time, at 19 min. 21 sec.

As Rosamund Bradbury withdrew in the women’s race, it became a match between Anna Watkins of Leander, who won last year, and Beth Rodford of Gloucester. Watkins took an early lead, and did not have a problem finishing the race in a new record time at 20 min. 55 sec., beating the old record by almost a minute.

While Tim was one of the first to write a report about the 2011 Wingfields, HTBS is also proud to present Tim’s film from this year’s two races. Enjoy!!!



(Special thanks to Dr Robert Treharne Jones, press officer at Leander Club, for allowing HTBS to publish his photographs.)

Tim Koch On 2011 Wingfield Sculls

The 171st Wingfield Sculls (‘The British Amateur Sculling Championship and Championship of the Thames’) in 181 years took place on Thursday, 27 October 2011, over the ‘Championship Course’, Putney to Mortlake in London. It was also the fifth year of the Women’s Wingfield Sculls race. My report on last year’s challenge gives the history of this special event and my preview posted last week gives a brief biography of the competitors who had entered. On the day, however, two things happened to make both races notable.

Firstly, mild weather with little or no wind and a strong tide coincided to make a potentially fast race (though times on a tidal river are, of course, no real reflection of ability). Secondly, Alan Campbell, indisputably the fastest British single sculler and a Wingfield’s winner in 2006, 2009, and 2010, had to withdrew due to injury. This left the men’s race wide open. Leander’s Tom Solesbury (98 kg, 200 cm) was the biggest man in the race but with little sculling and Tideway experience. London’s Henry Pelly was a little smaller (92 kg and 188 cm) but had spent a reasonable amount of time in a sculling boat and on the tidal Thames. Adam Freeman-Pask of Imperial College was a lightweight (70 kg and 185 cm) but he knew the course and was a sculler first and foremost.

At the start it was Pelly on Surry, Solesbury on centre and Freeman-Pask on Middlesex. They were not to stay on their stations for long and umpire Elise Sherwell had to do a lot of flag waving in the first few minutes. The water between Putney and Hammersmith had started to get a little rough and the less experienced Solesbury was clearly uncomfortable and started to fall back. Freeman-Pask was always in front but in the first mile he had little clear water between himself and Pelly. Solesbury had gone wide by the end of Putney Embankment but when he started to move back into fast water he began to catch the other two up and this was reflected in the times to the Mile Post (AFP 4'24'', HP 4'25'', TS 4'27''). All three went very close to the large buoy just down from the Post and Pelly missed a few strokes as he had to let his bowside scull pass over it. Solesbury tried to take advantage of this but his efforts caused him to move out of the fast water again. His tragedy (and also to some extent that of Pelly) is that either his steerers were not communicating with him or he had forgotten that, uniquely, this race allows competitors to receive steering signals from someone following in a launch. Had Solesbury remained in the stream it may have been a different race. In contrast, Freeman-Pask steered a very good course throughout. Just before Harrods the river was much calmer and Solesbury found the fast water again and started to overtake Pelly for the first time. Both were about two lengths down on the leader. As soon as the Leander man passed into second place he put on the power and quickly pulled away in pursuit of Freeman-Pask.

Adam Freeman-Pask of Imperial College, the winner in the men’s race.

At Hammersmith Bridge the official times were AFP 7'33'', TS 7'34'', HP 7'37''. Unfortunately from here Solesbury hugged the Surrey shore on a flood tide, denying himself the advantage of the deepest part of the river. He corrected this just before Chiswick Eyot and reduced the IC man’s lead considerably. The times to Chiswick Steps were a new record for all three scullers, AFP 12'06'', TS 12'07'', HP 12'20''. The old record was 12'21''. From the top of the Chiswick bend to just before Barnes Bridge, the two leading scullers were almost level and there was some fine side by side racing but this was due to great efforts from Solesbury while Freeman-Pask always looked as if he was in command of the race. Near the band stand umpire Sherwell took the decision to overtake Pelly. Approaching Barnes Bridge, Solesbury suddenly dropped behind, beaten either physically or mentally, with the result that he reached the bridge in 16'34'', seven seconds behind the leader (though both beating the old record of 16'45''). From here the race was really over and Adam Freeman-Pask reached Chiswick Bridge in 19'21'', while Tom Solesbury followed in 19'52''. Both were inside Peter Haining’s 1994 record of 19'58''. It was a fine race and a very good illustration of the various skills need to win the Wingfields, an event were you need more than just a 28 kg weight advantage.

In the Women’s Race, Rosamund Bradbury withdrew so it was a contest between last year’s winner, Anna Watkins of Leander (79 kg, 183 cm), and Beth Rodford of Gloucester (77 kg, 178 cm). In conditions promising a fast time, Watkins went off at 40 (to Rodford's 35) and took an early lead. They settled to 32 and 28 respectively and Watkins had a three length lead by the end of Putney Embankment. At the Mile Post both had gone down to 28 and the Leander sculler recorded 4'44'' (beating the old record of 4'46''), her opponent got there in 4'49''. All the other times were record beaters for both women. The timings at Hammersmith Bridge were: AW 8'03'', BR 8'10'' (old record 8'29''). After Hammersmith Watkin’s lead opened up to five lengths. The other times were: Chiswick Steps, AW 12'48'', BR 12'58'' (old record 13'30''). Barnes Bridge, AW 17'28'', BR 17'37'' (old record 18'11''). Finish, AW 20'55'' and BR 21'06'' (old record 21'53'').

2011 Wingfield’s winner, Anna Watkins of Leander.

Guy Pooley (Wingfield’s Treasurer and Champion in 1991 and 1992) said of the women’s race:

“(It) was a powerful display from last year’s Champion. She went off the start meaning to get ahead and stay ahead and sculled very well indeed..... She had it all, technique, endurance, power..... a worthy winner.”

At the prizegiving at the Tideway Scullers School boathouse, Bill Barry (Champion 1963-1966) praised the efforts of Wade Hall-Craggs (the Wingfield’s Secretary and Champion in 1993) and Guy Pooley in keep the event running and relevant. When Henry Wingfield started the event in 1830, he said that he wished it to continue ‘forever’. Wade and Guy are both working on some innovative ideas to ensure that this will be the case - watch this space.

The 2011 Wingfield's Is Coming Up

This photograph is showing Wally Kinnear’s Wingfield Scull medal with three bars for his victories in 1910, 1911, and 1912.

HTBS’s special London correspondent, Tim Koch, writes about the upcoming Wingfield’s,

The 171st Wingfield Sculls (The British Amateur Sculling Championship and Championship of the Thames) will take place on Thursday, 27 October 2011, over the ‘Championship Course’, Putney to Mortlake. My report on last year’s race gives the history of this special event, a ‘vision of glorious amateurism’, and explains why it is more than ‘just a battle of limb and lung size’.

The women’s race has three contenders. Anna Watkins is last years Wingfield’s Champion and winner of a bronze in the double sculls at the Beijing Olympics and gold in the doubles at the last two World Championships. Beth Rodford won a gold in the quadruple scull at the 2010 World’s and has won medals in various World Cup quad events. Ro Bradbury is the underdog, her best performance has been silver in the quad at the Munich World Cup.

Three-time-winner Alan Campbell will have another go at the Wingfield’s on 27 October.

The men’s race is between five contestants. Alan Campbell has won the Wingfield’s three times and is Britain’s leading single sculler having come first in the GB Senior Trials, 2005-2011. In the World Championships, he won bronze in 2010 and 2011 and silver in 2009. Tom Solesbury, an Oxford Blue and Henley winner, has qualified for the quad in the 2012 Olympics. Adam Freeman-Pask is a lightweight (rarely a good thing on the Thames Tideway) and has raced in the lightweight single in the World Championships, 2008-2011. Henry Pelly is a double Cambridge Blue and won the Stewards’ at Henley in 2008. Alan Sinclair won the Prince of Wales Challenge Cup (men’s intermediate quad sculls) at Henley this summer.

The two races will be umpired by Ellise Sherwell, the winner of the women’s race in 2007, and the prizes will be presented by the Lord Mayor of London elect, David Wootton. HTBS will, of course, be there and we hope to put some video of the races on the blog for all to view.

The Story Of Wally Kinnear, Or ‘Not Tonight...’

One of Great Britain's finest scullers was W.D. Kinnear, who most of his rowing career rowed for Kensington Rowing Club. HTBS's Tim Koch of Auriol Kensington RC tells the story:

The recent HTBS posting, “A Daring German Rowing Book”, quoted a 1907 training manual as advising abstinence from sex in the run up to important regattas. This was not just one person’s eccentric idea. A few years ago I interviewed John Rogers who was Captain of Kensington Rowing Club from 1954 to 1964. He recalled someone that he had known well, Kensington’s most famous son, W.D. Kinnear, winner of the single sculls in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. It seemed that, in his coaching days following the 1914-1918 War:

“[Kinnear’s wife, Lillian] used to go around and tell all the wives that their husbands were in training - no sex! They were going to Henley Regatta, no sex. She would really lay the law down. It was one of the wives who told me this, she said that she put the fear of God into you.”

The picture above shows Wally, Lillian and one of their children in 1910. ‘WDK’ was then in strict training as he was nearing the peak of his sculling career so, presumably, the child was conceived in the winter.

Another one of Kinnear’s training methods relates to a recent HTBS posting on rowing and alcohol. A 1978 letter in the Auriol Kensington archive from John Rogers states:

“In 1912 [Kinnear] was unexpectedly beaten in the Diamond Sculls at Henley. He was over trained (preparing for the Stockholm Olympics in a few weeks time) and told me that part of the remedy for this was to drink ‘Black Velvet’, a mixture of Guinness and Champaign…”

William Duthie Kinnear (1880-1974) was born in Laurencekirk, Scotland. His family called him ‘Bill’ or ‘Billy’ but the rowing world was to call him ‘Wally’ or (inevitably) ‘Jock’. As a young man he went to London to make his career. In 1902 he obtained a post as a salesman for the Debenhams department store. As was common in those days of ‘jobs for life’ and paternalistic employers, the store had its own rowing club (‘Cavendish’) based at the ‘West End Amateur Rowing Association’ boathouse in Hammersmith, West London. This was home to many such clubs including one for the employees of Harrods store. Kinnear’s talent was soon obvious and he won the West End ARA Sculling Championship in 1903, 1904 and 1905. In 1905 he joined Kensington Rowing Club and was to remain a loyal member until his death 69 years later. He had many successes in regattas over the next few years but it was between 1910 and 1912 that he reached his peak. Some credit for this must go to his great friend and informal coach, Harry Blackstaffe, the 1908 Olympic Sculling Champion.

The ‘triple crown’ of sculling in those days was the ‘Diamond Sculls’ at Henley Royal Regatta, the ‘Wingfield Sculls’ (The English Amateur Championship), and the ‘London Cup’ at the Metropolitan Regatta. Wally won the Diamonds in 1910 (beating Rudolph Lucas of Mainzer Club, Germany, easily) and again in 1911 when he had a harder fight against Eric W. Powell. The Times newspaper called it ‘a splendid race and a fine exhibition of sculling’. In the Wingfield’s, Kinnear beat Robert C. Bourne in 1910, was unchallenged and sculled over in 1911 and beat E.D.P. Pinks in 1912. He won the London Cup in 1910 (beating R.C. Bourne) and again the following year.

By 1912 it was clear that Wally Kinnear was ‘world class’. Henley was the closest thing to a regular international competition that existed at the time but the (perhaps) lesser regarded Olympic Games was approaching. There had been four Games previously. In 1896 the rowing was cancelled due to bad weather. In Paris in 1900 there was a reasonable spread of wins among the entries in the Olympic Regatta but in St Louis in 1904 all the competitors were American (save for one Canadian eight) and in London in 1908 the British won most of the rowing medals. The 1912 Games was held in Stockholm, Sweden, and many regard it as the first truly modern Games. The IOC President from 1952 to 1972, Avery Brundage, is quoted in The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games (by Allen Guttermann, 1992) as saying:

“The efficiency and almost mathematical precision with which the events were handled and the formal correctness of the arrangements made a great impression on me.”

In those days each country could enter two crews or scullers in each event. The Amateur Rowing Association chose Kinnear and A.G. McCulloch of Leander Club who had won the Diamonds in 1908 and came second in the Olympic Sculls in the same year. In the event, illness meant that McCulloch did not go to Stockholm.

What is particularly striking by modern standards is how informal the whole thing was. A letter from the ARA Secretary to the Kensington Secretary on 11th May 1912 (just over two months before the Olympic Regatta was due to be held on 18th and 19th July) says:

“I have already sent in an entry of two scullers, one of which will be W. Kinnear. The Swedish Committee are not asking for any names until July 1st. I will send W. Kinnear his entry forms early in June.

P.S.
As it will take some time for a racing boat to reach Stockholm, W. Kinnear may wish to have one sent out before he leaves England. He might perhaps like me to make arrangements with the Captain of Leander Club to have his boat sent out with the Leander eight. If so I will let you know dates etc early in June.”

In the event, Wally’s path to Olympic Gold was a fairly easy one. He beat Stahnke of Germany and then Veirman of Belgium. In the words of The Times, ‘there was no sculler who was able to make W.D. Kinnear extend himself’. This is not to take anything away from the Scotsman – great champions win before the final starts. Only four Britons have won world amateur single sculling titles: Blackstaffe of Vesta (1908 Olympics), Kinnear of Kensington (1912 Olympics), Beresford of Thames (1924 Olympics) and Haining of Auriol Kensington (1993, 1994, 1995 World Championships).

In his 1978 letter, John Rogers recalls that Wally had:

“[...] a very warm and endearing personality. He was always ready with a word of encouragement no matter how new or novice a member and was greatly loved and respected by all [… his rowing career) must have entailed a certain amount of hardship as he was not a rich man.”

Two stories illustrate the fact that WDK was a humble salesman mixing in a world of so called ‘gentlemen’. His great friend was a fanatical Kensington oarsman, George Newby, who was a much wealthier man. Wally was honoured when asked to be ‘best man’ at his wedding and so gave him the most valuable thing he owned – his 1910 Diamond Sculls ‘Pineapple Cup’ (ninety years later the Newby family donated the prized object to Auriol Kensington Rowing Club). As a prequel to that story, shortly after winning the Diamonds for the first time, Wally was asked by Debenhams if they could display the Cup in one of the store windows. In those days you did not refuse a ‘request’ from your employers and so he agreed. Many of the rowing establishment thought this was very vulgar and the story goes that Guy Nickalls snubbed him until he won the Olympic Sculls when he condescended to say ‘Well done, Kinnear’.

George Newby’s son, the travel writer Eric Newby, has slightly different memories of Wally:

“My father […] was an all round sportsman [... who] used to go down to Whitechapel to be ‘pummelled’ by pugilists in order to toughen himself up, and after vigorous outings on the Thames [...] used to bathe, winter and summer, in the [...] river [...] before setting off to work [...] His ambition was that I should win the Diamond Sculls at Henley, and in this ambition he was aided and abetted by my godfather, a crusty old Scot if there ever was one, who had himself won the Diamonds and the Stockholm Olympics (in A Traveller’s Life, Eric Newby, 1982).

Looking at the picture above, taken when Wally was in his eighties, a twinkle in his eye and a bottle of whisky in his hand, I don’t think that I would use the epithet ‘crusty old Scot’. He looks like fun to me.

This was, indeed, many great stories about one fine sculler – thank you, Tim!

Vivian Nickalls: A Successful Sculler

Two of the most famous rowing brothers in Britain are without doubt Vivian and Guy Nickalls. Of the two, Guy (1866-1935) got most attention by contemporary press, mainly because of his frank ways and for being outspoken, which would get him in constant trouble, both at home and abroad. Vivian Nickalls (1871-1947), who was the younger of the two brothers, was maybe not as successful as an oarsman, but through the years he would collect an extensive amount of medals, cups, and awards.

Vivian took the Diamond Challenge Cup at Henley in 1891. He also won the Wingfield Sculls in 1892, 1894, and 1895 (the latter year is when the photo above is taken). Vivian was very successful at Henley in the Silver Goblets and Nickalls' Cup, winning the Cup in 1892 and 1893 with William A.L. Fletcher, and with his brother Guy in 1894, 1895, and 1896. In 1895, to celebrate his two sons second win together in the Silver Goblets, Tom Nickalls donated the Nickalls' Challenge Cup.

Both Nickalls brothers would later in life go to the USA to coach rowing. While Guy would coach Yale - "Their paddling is bad, their rowing, worse." (about his 1916 crew) -, Vivian would coach the University of Pennsylvania and the Detroit Boat Club. Both Vivian and Guy returned to Britain to serve in the Army during First World War. They would also write to highly entertaining autobiographies, Vivian's Oars, Wars and Horses (1932) and Guy's posthumous published Life's a Pudding (1939).