'Gladder'? Maybe Charles Gladstone?

Malcolm Cook has sent me a new e-mail where he has done some more digging about the mysterious letter recipient ‘Gladder’. Malcolm’s deeper research has made him “wonder whether ‘Gladder’ is actually Charles Gladstone rather than Albert.”

Malcolm continues, “Stanley Garton mentions four oarsmen in his letter: Donald Crum, Lewis Clive and [Lord] Forrester of Christ Church and Maurice Waterhouse of Balliol. It could be just a coincidence, but all four of them went to Eton. Hence all four would have been coached by Charles Gladstone. If Stanley Garton was writing to Charles Gladstone, what would be more natural than to talk about oarsmen who Charles had been coaching at school only a year or two earlier? But I don't suppose we shall ever know for sure whether ‘Gladder’ was Albert or Charles.”

It is such a pity that I do not have the entire letter - a signature of the letter writer would really have solve this mystery!

Who Is 'Gladder'? Albert Gladstone!

Earlier today an e-mail arrived from Malcolm Cook of Quintin Boat Club, U.K. Malcolm has a very good guess whom “Gladder” might have been, the fellow who Stanley Garton wrote to on 4 November 1930 (see entries on 23, 24, and 25 February). Malcolm writes:

“Who is ‘Gladder’, to whom the letter is addressed? At Oxford University in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was not uncommon for students to create nicknames by changing the last syllable of the surname to ‘er’. Various slang terms were created in the same way. This is the origin of words such as soccer (for Association football) and rugger (for Rugby football). So someone with the nickname ‘Gladder’ is likely to have had a surname starting ‘Glad’. The Christ Church eight that won the Grand at Henley in 1908 contained two brothers named Gladstone – Charles at stroke and Albert at 4. Both of them had been at Eton – like Stanley Garton – and so are plausible candidates for ‘Gladder’. Of the two Gladstones, Albert had the more distinguished rowing record, getting a blue for four years from 1906-1909 and winning a gold medal in eights at the 1908 Olympics. In later life he became Sir Albert Gladstone, fifth baronet. He died in 1967. His brother Charles (died 1968) became a housemaster at Eton and coached the Eton eight for some years.”

In this photograph of the famous ‘old crocks’, the 1908 Leander eight that took a gold medal for Great Britain at the Olympics in Henley, Albert Gladstone is in the bow seat.

Malcolm has also found another connection. He continues: “I have also discovered that Donald Crum was Albert Gladstone’s brother-in-law. In 1925 Albert had married Isla Crum, daughter of Sir Walter Crum (Oxford blue 1894-1897). Isla was Donald's sister.”

“In fact”, Malcolm goes on writing, “there may be another family relationship. Another of Sir Walter Crum’s daughters was Elizabeth, who in 1939 married John Garton (Oxford blue 1938 and 1939 and ultimately Chairman of Henley Royal Regatta). I presume John Garton was related to Stanley Garton, although I’m not sure about the nature of the relationship.”

I found this information thrilling, Malcolm. Many, many thanks!

Stanley Garton's Letter

I thought it might interest the readers of this blog to see both the front and the back of Stanley Garton's letter of 4 November 1930, which I wrote about the other day, and which Tim Koch in London so elegantly solved the mystery of. There might have been other sheets of this letter, especially as it is not signed, but I am only in the possession of this sheet. Either way - enjoy!

Stanley Garton: The Letter Writer

Of course, the brilliant Tim Koch (how else can I describe him?), rowing historian and rower at Auriol Kensington RC in London, has solved the mystery with the letter writer, whom I wrote about yesterday.

Tim writes in a message from this morning, that “The letter is from rower and coach, A. Stanley Garton, who has a nice Stockholm connection for you. Arthur Stanley Garton (31 March 1889 – 20 October 1948) was a British rower who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics [see photo]. He was born in Worcester Park and educated at Eton College where he was an outstanding member of the Eton crew and, later, the crew at Magdalen College, Oxford. He rowed in the winning Oxford boats in the Boat Race in 1909, 1910, and 1911. He was also in the Magdalen boat that won the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in 1910 and 1911. He joined Leander Club and in 1912 he was a member of the Leander eight which won the gold medal for Great Britain rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics.”

Tim continues to write that “Garton won the Grand for the third time in 1913, in the colours of Leander. He coached the Oxford eight in 1925 and 1930. Garton's daughter, Jean, married Sir Edward Imbert-Terry, 3rd Baronet and after his death, Lionel Sackville-West, 6th Baron Sackville. Garton's youngest daughter, Helen, married Thomas Gervers, grandson of the infamous Lord Kitchener, while Garton's older daughter, Rosalind, married the famous Dickie Burnell, in 1940. Burnell took a gold medal in the doubles in the 1948 Olympic rowing in Henley. Rosalind’s and Dickie’s son, Peter Burnell, rowed for Oxford in 1962.”

In an old extract from The Times it shows that Garton lived at Wood Lodge, Burgh Heath from (at least) 1920 until 1939, Tim says in his message. Tim has even found an old race report of the coxless fours on 30 October 1930 in The Times, which should be the race Garton mentions in his letter, “I saw him [Donald Crum] race against Balliol last Thursday”.

“I think that the word you cannot read is ‘Fours’ – ‘I have been watching him rather carefully in ‘Fours’”, Tim writes. He goes on saying, “Who was the letter to? I can only speculate. The Oxford President, until January 1931, was D.E. Tinne, perhaps it was him? His successor was P.C. Mallam, another possible contender.”

Many, many thanks to Tim for cracking this case. And doing so, I feel that Tim and I have added a foot note to the rich history of rowing!

Oxford Rowing In The 1930s

In an old rowing pamphlet I bought a couple of years ago, I found an old letter (or the first page of a letter; as it is not signed there might have been more pages) from 4 November 1930. Although, I can make out most of what it says, the handwriting makes it hard to read some names and words. Maybe there is someone out there that might be able to help me to identify the writer of the letter and the recipient?

The writer of the letter is using a sheet with a printed letter-head: “Wood Lodge, Burgh Heath, Tadworth, Surrey.” The writer, who seems to be a coach, maybe for Christ Church College, or the Oxford coach, is addressing the letter to: “My dear Gladder[?]” It goes on by saying: “What do you think about young [Donald Erskine-] Crum? I have been watching him rather carefully in [unreadable] and saw him race against Balliol last Thursday, when they got beaten.”

Donald Erskine-Crum, Eton & Christ Church College, rowed in three losing Oxford boats in the Boat Race in 1931, 1932, and 1933. Lewis Clive, Eton & Christ Church College, is also mentioned, sitting in this boat. Clive rowed in the losing Oxford boat at the Boat Race in 1930 and 1931, but won the Silver Goblets at Henley in 1931 and 1932, both years with ‘Jumbo’ Edwards. Later in 1932, they became Olympic champions in the coxless pair at the Los Angles’ Games (rowing being held at Long Beach).

About Clive, the writer states: “Lewis Clive was heaving himself about like a landslide (which didn’t give Crum a chance), & Forester [?] at ‘2’ was following Lewis in his antics!”

Now, is there anyone who can enlighten me or give me a qualified guess, whom the letter writer and the recipient, Gladder [?] might have been? Thank you in advance!

Below, you will find a newsreel from 1931 from British Pathé showing Oxford training on the Thames at Henley. According to official results from the Boat Race that year, Lewis Clive rowed at No. 6 and Donald Crum in seat No. 7. A blurred photograph in a book is showing Lewis Clive at the Olympic rowing in 1932, that might match the oarsman in 6-seat in the newsreel…

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