Henley Literary Festival 2014

Greg Denieffe writes:

The 8th Henley Literary Festival beginning 29 September and running to 5 October is now open for bookings. The exciting news for rowing enthusiasts is that there are three opportunities to catch up with the authors of recent publications on the subject. Dodd, Carlson and Mowbray may sound like the name of a dodgy firm of solicitors but the only thing dodgy about their contribution to the world of rowing literature is that Chris Dodd touches on some dodgy dealings in his book Bonnie Brave Boat Rowers.

Dodd will be the first of the trio to grace the festival when on Monday 29 September he literally takes to the water on board Hibernia to discuss Geordie Rowers.

A canny good read!

From the festival programme (FP):

As fitting an author to appear at Henley (and on the Hibernia) as you can imagine. Christopher joins us from the River & Rowing Museum to recall the rowing culture that thrived in the north east of England through the 19th and early 20th century. Rowing was a professional sport inspiring innovative design of racing boats, while the music hall roared with songs to honour the oarsmen’s prowess.

You can read HTBS editor Göran Buckhorn’s review of the book here, order a copy here and read a review of Chris’ 2012 appearance at the festival here.

Also on Monday 29 on the Hibernia immediately after Chris, Jack Carlson will tell the story of his book Rowing Blazers.

Rowing Blazers, British edition

Rowing Blazers, American edition

Cambridge University’s Lady Margaret Boat Club has the honour of wearing the first blazers, so called as they were (and still are) bright red. But the jacket has gone on to become a worldwide rowing uniform and one that brightens the Thames banks during our Royal Regatta in July. So join Jack, winner of last year’s Regatta, aboard the Hibernia with his stunning book on the history and development of the rowing blazer, featuring designs from around the globe. He is wonderfully qualified as an oarsman who has represented the USA at the World Rowing Championships and rowed [sic] for Oxford in the University Boat Race. So that is two blazers he is entitled to wear! (FP).

Tim Koch recently reviewed the book for HTBS. He also features within its pages. Read his review here and watch a video that tells the story of the authentic striped, piped, trimmed and badged rowing blazer, through the oarsmen and women who wear them here.

Whilst these two events follow each other on board the Hobbs & Sons Hibernia, separate bookings which can be made here are required for each.

If these two rowing events can be said to top the festival, you will have to wait until the final day (Sunday 5 October) for the tail. It is an event that I am particularly looking forward to as I have already received a ‘pass out’ for the day and my ticket is booked!

Recipe book?

Alison Mowbray won a silver medal in the women’s quadruple scull at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Her autobiography Gold Medal Flapjack, Silver Medal Life was the first rowing book published in 2014, with a publication date of 2 January.

From the official press release:

“Alison Mowbray wasn’t a sporty kid and thought that being good at sport was a pre-requisite for going to the Olympics. She thought she might be a doctor, a teacher, a Blue Peter presenter or maybe the first ever female naval submariner.

Then at 18 I discovered rowing. From that point on, for the next 15 years, I didn’t have a choice anymore. She made the British team at 27, by which time she had already lived a whole other life.

I never planned to be inspiring so really this is just the story of how I did the things I love, the very best I could do them, and how very far it took me. You don’t choose to go to the Olympics. You lay out everything you have and let the Olympics take it no deals, no bargains, no questions asked, no hope of return. Maybe it will be enough and the Olympics will choose you, and maybe it won’t.

That’s what you do. That is this story. This is a Silver medal life of achievement, addiction, alcoholism, anorexia and Alzheimer’s. But a Gold medal story of passion and perseverance, and not letting anything or anybody get between yourself and your dream. And of what happens next perhaps the most Olympian journey of all after the blaze of glory with the medal held high. Because what do you do when you’ve achieved everything you ever wanted to achieve? Where do you go from there?

This started out as a recipe book with a few stories from my life, and then the story took over. It also became really important to me to write this as a history of British women’s rowing because I don’t think many people on the outside really understand how incredibly self-motivated and tough us women have had to be pull ourselves up, often in defiance of the first fledgling attempts at some sort of system”.

Alison will once again take to the water on the beautiful river Thames on the final day of the festival as the Hibernia is also the setting for her talk. Martin Cross, aka The Blogging Oarsman gives his take on the book in a short video which you can watch here.

Rowing in Circles

First copies in the delivery room! Photograph © Row360

Greg Denieffe writes:

Row360 is born at just the right moment. It’s written by rowers for rowers. We are well and truly on the road to Rio now, with an exciting two years ahead. Our plan is to present the sport in a new light; to excite, invigorate and enlighten.

So writes Fergus Scholes, publisher, in his introduction on page 1, issue 001, of the new global rowing magazine ROW360. Thousands of printed copies were given away free, gratis, and for nothing at Henley Royal Regatta. I spied rowing folk of all ages enjoying their copies over their early morning iced coffees, lunch time champagne and afternoon Pimm’s. Not me; my copy was safely tucked away, magpie like, for later indulgence when I had returned to my nest.

So what’s it like? Well it’s the classiest launch edition of a rowing magazine that I’ve come across. Its coverage is truly global with articles by the Australian High Performance Director, Chris O’Brien, Maclom Scholes on the Devon Boathouse and rowing centre in Oklahoma City and Rachel Quarrell AKA The Rowing Voice. In fact, Quarrell contributes four articles that cover this year’s U.S. Selection Regattas, Henley Royal, World Cup II in Aiguebelette and the Belgrade European Rowing Championships. 

There are, as Row360’s Facebook page suggests, ‘interviews, news, articles, chat, lifestyle and all the trimmings from the world of rowing’. The cover features a photograph by Ben Duffy of Pete Reed, who is interviewed by Pete O’Hanlon. Reed has had a torrid year but has gained even more respect (if that is possible) in the way he has handled the whole dog allergy affair and his commitment to the GB eight. There are some additional photos of the shoot on Duffy’s website.

Is Pete Reed about to do what many of us long to do with the ergometer? Photograph from Row360 © Ben Duffy.

There is certainly something for everyone in this edition, from coxswains to coaches and those they train. I particularly enjoyed the articles, “Blazer Glory” by Jack Carlson, “Fluid Dynamics of Rowing” by Carl Douglas and the “Performance section” with results from the 2013 World Rowing Championships set alongside those of the 2014 European Championships and the first two World Cup Regattas of 2014. The headings for the men’s pair and men’s double sculls results may be a bit muddled, but with the addition of a legend setting out the venues and dates of the events, this section could be a real boon for rowing statisticians who are short of time.

There is even a short historical piece (more please!) by Simon Rostron, “Henley: A View from the Banks, Hats off to Hansa”, about the day in 1989 that the HRR course record fell below the six-minute barrier (checks old programmes – yes, I was there).

The Row360 team are continuing to enthusiastically promote the magazine with copies available at last weekend’s World Cup Regatta in Lucerne and copies will be up for grabs at the U.S. Rowing Club National Championships being held on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, between 16 and 20 July.

You can read the full 28-article, 112-page July/August edition for free here. The subscription rates for Great Britain and Europe will be released soon. At the American launch of the American edition of the magazine, which happened yesterday, the subscription rate for six issues for the U.S. and Canada is $79, which includes an e-magazine.

Perhaps the first 360 degree row as depicted by The Far Side.

The Birth of Modern Olympic Rowing

Greg Denieffe writes:

In July 2012, in a post called 1948 Olympics And The Thin Green Line, Part 2, I identified Terence Sanders as first man born in Ireland to win an Olympic rowing medal for Great Britain; he was the stroke of the British coxless four that won the gold medal at the 1924 Paris Games. It was also in Paris that the first Olympic rowing regatta was held in 1900, and it was at those Games that the first Olympic rowing medal was won by an Irishman. His name was William Carr and I will return to him later.

Had things gone to plan, the inaugural Games of the modern era, held in 1896, would have seen the first Olympic rowing champions crowned in Athens, but the weather intervened and the rowing events were cancelled. Peter Mallory touches on the subject in The Sport of Rowing (2011):

The rowers assembled, but rough water in Piraeus Harbor forced the postponement and eventual cancellation of the regatta. Therefore, rowing competition was not actually included until the second modern Games in Paris in 1900, and as a consequence, French became the language of international rowing from that time forward until quite recently.

Promotional Poster for the 1900 Paris Olympic Games – Genuine Antique or Fake?

In the poster/programme (above) the rowing events are listed under the heading Sports nautique and are shown as follows:

Aviron:
Un rameur: 2000 metres sans virage (Skiffs).
Deux rameurs de pointe: 2400 metres san virage (Outriggers).
Quatre rameurs de pointe: 2400 metres san virage (Outriggers).
Huit rameurs de pointe: 2400 metres san virage (Outriggers).

The regatta took place on the River Seine between Courbevoie and Asnières on 25 and 26 August 1900 and all the events were over a shortened course, believed to be 1,750 metres, and not as suggested in the Poster above. Throughout the regatta there was wrangling, protests, crew changes and the farce of two finals in the coxed fours event, both of which count in the official International Olympic Council (IOC) medal table.

Whilst the results of the regatta are readily available, books on rowing history only briefly mention the event and therefore this article is an attempt to put faces to the first Olympic rowing champions and gather the story of those two days in August 1900 into one place.

Un rameur (Skiffs)/Single Sculls
Twelve scullers entered, nine from France and one each from Great Britain, Italy and Spain. The four heat winners; Saint George Ashe (GBR), Hermann Barrelet (FRA), Louis Prével (FRA) and Georges Delaporte (FRA) were joined by the four runners-up in two semi-finals, with the first two in each semi advancing to the final. Barrelet won the first semi by ten seconds with André Gaudin (FRA) taking the second qualification spot. In the second semi, Prével had nearly as much to spare over Robert d’Heilly (FRA).

Ashe who had finished third in the first semi-final was eliminated but protested the result; Barrelet and Gaudin objected and refused to race if Ashe was allowed to take part in the final but they eventually relented and took their places in a five boat final. Read more about Ashe in Göran Buckhorn’s post from November 2012, The First Englishman....

Barrelet won the final beating Gaudin for the third time in two days. Ashe finished third, 40 seconds behind the winner! Prével failed to finish after falling in the water and of course protested but this time the protest was rejected. Perhaps good Anglo-French relations were the reason; the Entente Cordiale would be signed within four years.

Hermann Barrelet – Swiss born and 1900 Olympic Champion for France.

St. George Ash (sic) as portrayed by Ogden’s Cigarettes 1902. Ashe was born in Malta, which along with England has Saint George as their national saint.

Louis Prével European Champion in 1899 and 1900 but out of luck at the Olympics.

Deux rameurs de pointe/Senior Coxed Pairs
Only three countries entered for the coxed pairs event; France had five crews; Belgium and the Netherlands had one each, giving seven crews split into two semi-finals. Even today, not only rowing historians but sports historians and especially Olympic historians discuss the possibility that the youngest ever Olympic medallist took part in this event.

The French crew from Société Nautique de la Marne won the first semi-final beating the Dutch crew from Minerva Amsterdam who also qualified for the final. In the second semi-final Rowing Club Castillion (FRA) had an ‘easily’ verdict, beating Cercle Nautique de Reims (FRA) by 27 seconds!

The Dutch crew had been coxed by Hermanus Brockmann (60 kg) in their semi-final and had nine seconds to make up on their French conquerors in that race. They decided to copy their rivals and use a much lighter coxswain in the final and recruited a young French boy whom some believe to be that youngest ever Olympic medallist. The final was a very close affair but the change of coxswain made the difference with the Dutch crew (now with a French coxswain) reversing the result of the semi-final and winning by 0.2 seconds.

The finish of the pairs final next to Asnières Bridge. François Brandt and Roelof Klein (NED) just ahead of their French rivals Lucien Martinet and Waleff - both coxswains unknown.
The same scene through the eyes of Vincent van Gogh in 1877.

Anthony Th. Bijkerk has written two interesting articles about the Dutch pair, their substitute coxswain and the wonderful trophy, called ‘La Chanson’ that they received for their victory. The first in the Journal of Olympic History (Spring 1997) and the second in the Journal of Olympic History (Winter 2001).

This quote is from the latter:

Although the identity of the young French coxswain has never been detected, there does exist a photograph of him and it was published in a Memorial Book from the Dutch Student Rowing Club LAGA, in which François Antoine Brandt, in 1926, published his own story on the events in Paris.

The 1997 article contains an English translation by Bijkerk of Brant’s account of what actually happened in the coxed pairs event. The 2001 article has photographs of the Dutch pair with their French coxswain and another of the pair at Henley Royal Regatta in 1899. There are also two photographs of the trophy presented to them and bearing the inscription:

EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE DU 1900

RÉGATES À L’AVIRON DU 26 AOÛT

2 RAMEURS SENIORS

1er PRIX

François Brandt and Roelof Klein with the mystery coxswain, but how old was he?

Gold medals were not given at the 1900 Games; a silver medal was given for a first place and a bronze medal was given for second. The International Olympic Committee has retroactively assigned gold, silver, and bronze medals to competitors who earned first, second, and third place finishes respectively, bringing early Olympics in line with current awards.

Quatre rameurs de pointe/Senior Coxed Fours
French crews made up half the 10 entries with Germany providing three and both the Netherlands and Spain one each. The regatta jury ‘tore up’ their rule book following protests that crews eliminated in heats two and three had posted better times than the winner of heat one. They announced a further qualifying round but failed to notify all the crews. Despite the course having only four lanes they then announced that there would be a six-boat final. More protests followed and eventually two finals were raced; one for the winners of the three heats and one for the three crews involved in the original protest.

The winners of the three heats were as follows:

Ludwigshafener Ruder Verein (GER), time 6:14.0; Minerva Amsterdam (NED), time 6:02.0 and Germania Ruder Club, Hamburg (GER), time 5:56.2. These three crews should have been joined in the final by the runners-up to ‘Germania’ as this was a four-boat heat. 

The runners-up in the first heat, Réal Club Barcelona (SPA) posted a very slow time of 6:38.4 and therefore there had been no reason for ‘Ludwigshafener’ to push themselves to race any quicker. The runner-up in the second heat, Club Nautique de Lyon (FRA), time 6:06.2 and the third crew from the final heat, Favorite Hammonia (GER), time 6:03.0 did not see it that way and so the protests began.

Eventually the jury went with the option of two finals, perhaps the least satisfactory of all the options available to them.

The final for the losers with the three quickest times from the heats, took place on Sunday 26 August and was won by Cercle de l’Aviron Roubaix (FRA), time 7:11.0. They had finished second in the four-boat heat and were automatic qualifiers for the final by right if the original programme had been followed. ‘Lyon’ finished second and ‘Hammonia’ last.

Germania Ruder Club - Olympic Champions in 1900.

Winning crew: Gustav Gobler, Oskar Gobler, Walter Katzenstein, Waldemar Tiegens & Carl Gobler (Cox).

The second final in this event was held over until the following day, Monday 27 August. The form of the crews in the heats was upheld with ‘Germania’ winning in a time of 5:59.0, ‘Minerva’ were four seconds behind and Ludwigshafener a close third in 6:05.0.

Bijkerk in his 1997 article includes a report by Dr. Meurer, the coach of the Dutch crews (participating under the patronage of Minerva Amsterdam). It was published in August 1900 in a Dutch sports magazine and it provides us with much valuable information about the organisation of the ‘Minerva’ crews, about the coxed fours event(s) and a reason why the ‘A’ final was held over until the following day: the original three prizes had been given to the crews in the first final and new prizes had to be supplied before the race could take place. Dr. Mauer did not mince his words when he expressed his opinion on the organisation of the regatta:

It is completely clear for me that the Netherlands should not any longer compete in rowing races in France; the conception of sport and the organization of races are more than 25 years outdated here!

There is a short slide show on the film website onlinefootage.tv that shows the coxed-pairs and coxed-fours as they line up to race on the River Seine. View the 44 second clip here. Included is a picture of a coxswain with his arm raised. He certainly looks younger than the boy recruited by Brandt and Klein.

Huit rameurs de pointe/Senior Eights
Five crews from five countries raced two heats. The first two crews in each heat were to advance to a four boat final. Minerva Amsterdam (NED) won the first heat in 4:59.2; Club Nautique de Gand (BEL) were second, time 5:00.2 and Germania Ruder Club, Hamburg (GER), time 5:04.8, finished third of the three. In the second heat which was effectively a row-over Vesper Boat Club (USA) finished alone in a time of 5:15.4, Société Nautique de la Marne (FRA) failing to finish. ‘Germania’ was thus allowed to take the fourth place in the final. The times quoted (Wikipedia) are fast, even for a course of 1,750m.

The American Eight on the River Seine, Paris, 1900.

The final was won by the American crew in a time of 6:07.8. The Belgians finished second, time 6:13.8 beating the Dutch (6:23.0) and the Germans (6:33.0). Alfred van Landeghem (Cox) and Oscar de Somville were members the Belgian crew and you can read more about their exploits at Henley Royal Regatta (1906-09) and the 1908 Olympics in The Mysterious Affair of 'Les Braves Belges'.

The Dutch crew, Minerva Amsterdam, contained the winning coxed pair of Brandt and Klein. They were coxed by Hermanus Brockmann who lost his seat in the final of the coxed-pairs but was the coxswain of four that finished runner-up to ‘Germania’. As the IOC recognizes him as a winner in the pairs, as a runner-up in the fours and a bronze medallist in the eights, he is, without ever knowing it, the first multi-medallist in Olympic rowing.

Olympic Champions - Vesper Boat Club representing the USA. Missing from the photo is the coxswain, Louis Abell. Is that their trophy in the foreground?

The First Irishman …
In the four-seat of the victorious American crew was 24-year-old William John ‘Bill’ Carr. He was born on 17 June 1876 in Gortnagrace, near Castlefin, County Donegal, Ireland. He went to the United States in the 1890s where he worked initially as a carpenter, and later as a building inspector in Philadelphia. His parents were Robert Edmund McIlcar of Gortnagrace, Castlefin and Jane Doran of Alt, also near Castlefin; they were married when they were 20 and 21 years-old respectively at Melmount Catholic Church, Strabane, County Tyrone on 11 February 1873. It wasn’t unusual for immigrants to simplify or change their name on entering the United States.

In November 2000, Vesper Boat Club honoured this crew by hosting a celebration of their achievement a century before. Bill Lyon wrote a preview of the event in the Philadelphia Inquirer on 2 November 2000:

So there they sat, the nine of them in a wooden boat, bobbing about in the choppy waters of the River Seine, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, waiting for the start. Eight sturdy Philadelphians and a coxswain, come to Paris to represent America and the Vesper Boat Club, in the 1900 Olympics.

A fierce head wind raged at them, but they dug grimly in and after a dozen strokes opened a lead they would never yield. They covered 1 mile and 153 yards (1,750 meters) in 6 minutes, 7 4/5 seconds, six full seconds ahead of runner-up Belgium.

The crew of eight: John Exley, Henry de Baecke, James Juvenal, John Geiger, William Carr, Ed Hedley, Edward Marsh and Roscoe Lockwood. The cox: Louis Abell. The coach: Pat Dempsey, who took no salary. Rowing, in the minds of its devotees, is its own reward.

A full century later, descendants of the Vesper Olympic champions are gathering tonight, 72 of them, at the newly restored club on gleaming Boathouse Row. Great-grandchildren and great-nephews are coming, bringing with them mementos - a medal, statuary, even one of the original oars.

It is being billed as a history flashback. Not many reunions link 100 years.

Although Olympic rowing did not have the most auspicious start, the fact remains that it has been on the Olympic programme since Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the modern Olympics, and rowing is the only Olympic team sport to be included in every modern summer Games.

Footnote:
Some historians and websites suggest that there were six events for rowing at the 1900 Olympics. This is not the accepted position by the IOC who recognize four events, albeit with two sets of prizes awarded in the coxed-fours category. The event that causes confusion is a coxless-pairs event won by Belgium. The eminent Olympic historian, Bill Mallon in his work The 1900 Olympic Games (1998) lists four criteria that should be considered in determining whether an event held during the Exposition Universelle of 1900 was an ‘Olympic’ event or one held in conjunction with the Exposition. The four criteria are: Amateur or Professional, International or National, Handicapped or not and Open or Restricted. He concluded that the single sculls, coxed-pairs, coxed-fours and coxed-eights were all Olympic events because the competitors were amateurs, the events were international, the races were not handicapped and these events were open to all. Four other events were raced at the regatta – three events for juniors; coxless-pairs, coxless-fours and coxed-eights and a coxless-fours event for novices. These four events failed the ‘openness’ criterion and therefore are not judged to be Olympic events by the IOC.

The coxless pairs event was won by Belgium; another Belgian crew was second with France in third place. The winners are given as Van Crombuge and De Sonville. Could they actually be Marcel Van Crombrugge and Oscar De Somville who raced in the Belgian eight that took the silver medal? Now there’s something for Poirot to ponder!

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.

F. Collar ~ Oarmaker

On the cover of the May 2012 issue of Rowing & Regatta, British Rowing's publication, 'Bert' and 'Dickie' were holding sculls made by the oarmaker Collars for the film about the two Olympian champions Bert Bushnell and Dickie Burnell.

Yesterday, Greg Denieffe made a nice find on YouTube, a film about the oar and scull making business F. Collar in Oxfordshire. Frank Collar, whose father and grandfather had been oarmakers, decided in 1932 to leave his accounting work to start building oars and sculls in Oxford, and soon his father joined him. The company still exists today, now also making masts for yachts. Below is the fine film about two museum volunteers who set out to find more information about Frank Collar and Ron Cousins, who joined Collar in the oarmaking business. Enjoy!

1014: Brian Boru Won, Vikings Two

Naval Reinforcements from the exhibition at Trinity College, Dublin, created by Cartoon Saloon.

Greg Denieffe writes:

Ireland is now in the decade of centenaries, which is a programme of commemorations relating to the significant events in Irish history that took place between 1912 and 1922. Arguably, a more significant commemoration took place last weekend; that of the Battle of Clontarf which took place 1,000 years ago today, on 23 April 1014.

The Battle of Clontarf was a battle between the forces of Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, and an alliance of the forces of Sigtrygg Silkbeard, king of Viking Dublin; Máel Mórda mac Murchada, the king of Leinster; and a Viking contingent led by Sigurd, Earl of Orkney; and Brodir of the Isle of Man. It lasted from sunrise to sunset, and ended in a rout of the Viking and Leinster forces. Over 10,000 people were killed in a single day and after the battle the Vikings of Dublin were reduced to a secondary power. Brian was killed in his tent after the battle.

The beauty of having a mission statement that states: This blog covers all aspects of the rich history of rowing, as a sport, culture phenomena, a life style, and a necessary element to keep your wit and stay sane, is that even the faintest link to rowing allows the HTBS elves to indulge themselves. Here’s the rub, Brian Boru may have died 800 years before rowing as we know it began to be documented (Rowing at Westminster from 1813 to 1883) but there is a link that permits your scribe to indulge himself, again!

Brian Boru Esqr. proclaim’d the winner of the Boat-race for a Cow. London. Published by Jones & Co. March 30, 1822. Courtesy of the River & Rowing Museum (Thomas E. Weil Collection).

Thanks to Thomas E. Weil, this engraving was brought to my attention at the first Rowing History Forum in England, which was held at the River & Rowing Museum in 2007. It appeared in the catalogue accompanying the 2005 exhibition Beauty and the Boats – art & artistry in early British rowing - illustrated from the Thomas E. Weil collection. Tom expressed his desire to learn more about Irish rowing (other than Brian Boru). Personally, I think he learned all he needs to know at Dublin Metropolitan Regatta in 1970, where he raced in the Yale University’s four before sampling Dublin’s finest tipple.

Yale’s lightweights with TEW at bow raced in Ireland in 1970.

The exhibition catalogue notes read:

One of a series of caricatures of Mr. Boru (the principal character in Pierce Egan’s ‘The Real Life in Ireland’ (1821), named after that country’s legendary first king), this image lampoons the practice of the time of awarding wherries to the winners of boat races. That wherries were big, heavy, and of little use to anyone but a waterman, may have inspired this satirist to suggest a cow as a prize of comparable bulk and higher utility.

Pierce Egan was born in 1772 in or around London to Irish parents. He established himself as a leading reporter of sporting events (mainly prize-fights and horse-races). He is more famous for his work Real Life in London but surprisingly, it is in his Real Life in Ireland that you will find his ‘rowing’ cartoon. This was republished in 1904 as Real Life in Ireland by a Real Paddy and a download of this version is available to purchase here.

Not a real Viking – No 2 daughter photographed at the RRM last Saturday.

As the 23 April 1014 fell on a Good Friday, the bulk of the commemorations and re-enactments took place last Friday with 40,000 people attending the Dublin event. There is a handy interactive map of the battle in The Irish Times article "How the Battle of Clontarf unfolded". Not been able to attend the event in Dublin did not deter us from staging our own re-enactment in the River and Rowing Museum on a family visit to Henley last Saturday.

New Editions of ‘The Boys’

Greg Denieffe writes:

Regular readers of HTBS will know that Daniel James Brown’s The Boys in the Boat is held in high esteem in both the USA and in Britain. This month (April 2014) sees the release of the latest edition of the book – in French. The cover is similar to that of the UK hardcover (published by Macmillan, 6 June 2012). I like the colour of this new edition, the picture is clearer and the gathering clouds behind the crew hint at the menace of the war – the gathering storm – that was only three years away.

The French title Ils Etaient un Seul Homme translates word-for-word as They were One Man. Admittedly, it loses something in translation, but rowing people will certainly know what the publisher is saying. When Brown was interviewing Joe Rantz about his experiences at the Berlin Olympics and seeking his consent to tell his story, Rantz insisted that the book should be about ‘the boys in the boat’. For sure he was no ordinary Joe.

The sub-title L'historie vraie de l'equipe d'aviron qui humilia Hitler translates as The True Story of the Rowing Crew that Humiliated Hitler. Of course, this is an attempt to convey the sentiment of the English sub-title, An Epic Journey to the Heart of Hitler’s Berlin, which is a little more subtle. Published in paperback on 5 April by La Librairie Vouibert, you can buy a copy here.

This is not the first foreign language edition of Brown’s book. Last year (25 July 2013), a Dutch edition was published in paperback. Translated by Joost Mulder, it is called De Jungens in de Boot – De Legendarische Acht Van 1936. Typically Dutch, it is understated and straight to the point, The Boys/Guys in the Boat – The Legendary Eight 1936.

The cover is very simple in design; the photograph of the crew on the dock is timeless and the addition of the eagle flying overhead is the only hint of Nazism on display. If a new rowing book in Dutch is your ‘kopje thee’, you can buy a copy here.

A British paperback edition of the book was published by Pan on 2 January 2014. This is a slightly revised to include a few corrections as suggested by the HTBS team. It also includes an additional photo of the Huskies in 1929 sawing a giant log as part of their training. This was spotted by Brown when he read last August’s book review by HTBS editor Göran Buckhorn. The first thing you notice with this edition is the wonderful velvety feel of the cover. The picture of the boys on the dock has been darkened; the blood red sky and the inclusion of the Brandenburg Gate draped in Nazi flags should broaden the appeal of the book to those with a general interest in the Second World War.

Photograph courtesy of Thomas E. Weil.

The American paperback is due to be published on 27 May by Penguin Books. At this stage it looks like it will have the same cover as the American hardcover published by Viking (4 June 2013). The photograph used on these editions is in stark contrast to the European ones. The crew is rowing, in warm-up routine, but there is no connection with Berlin or the Olympics.

If you’re still reading, you must be a real bibliophile! So for you, here are a few other editions to look out for:

UK Hardcover - Macmillan (6 June 2013).

UK Large print - W. F. Howes Ltd (1 July 2013).

Audiobook - Penguin (4 June 2013).
                                              
Whichever edition you decide to opt for, remember this great book is a success story not only for Daniel James Brown but for OUR sport, whatever you call it!  #Aviron #Canottaggio #Rámhaíochta #Remo #Rodd #Roeien #Rowing #Rudern

The Mysterious Affair of 'Les Braves Belges'

Postcard correctly identifying the 1907 winners of The Grand Challenge Cup.

HTBS's Agatha Christie, aka Greg Denieffe, writes:

Hercule Poirot is in his office sitting at his desk. In front of him is a strange contraption at which he is staring. It is the latest computer, the RAM-ING Speed 4X. There is a knock on the door.

Poirot: Come in, Come in.

Hastings enters and is surprised with Poirot’s demeanour.

Hastings: What’s the matter Poirot? Are you okay?

Poirot: Nothing is the matter mon ami, quite the contrary. Come and see this … this thing on my new computer. It is a ‘blog’ called ‘Ear Ze Boat Sing. I have been working all night to help these poor fellows identify the first ‘Vainqueurs’ whom I am proud to call ‘mes collègues Belges’.

Hastings: Are you sure you are okay Poirot?

Poirot: Ah, my little English friend – I see you are still upset about the results of Le Grand Challenge Cups of 1906, 1907 and 1909. Now, let me tell you what I have found out about ‘Les Braves Belges’.

Sport Nautique de Gand boathouse from 1906 to c.1960.

According to my good friend Jan Martens, one of Ghent’s rowing clubs was founded in 1883 as Sport Nautique de Gand (SNG). The club started out modestly but four years later was a founding member of the Belgian Rowing Federation (BRF). In 1898, their first flag, in their new colours of blue and white, was presented to the club (the initial club colours were black and white). Two years later a different flag, light blue with white lettering “Sport Nautique de Gand 1883” was adopted at the request of the BRF in order to differentiate the club from the local Cercle des Régates. Around 1890 SNG had become the foremost rowing club in Belgium and international successes would follow.

A royal appellation was granted in 1907 after a resounding victory at Henley. Use of the French language was a sign of the times and the club became ‘Société Royale de Sport Nautique de Gand’.

After the Second World War, the club was active in promoting the Watersportbaan, finished and dedicated in 1955. In 1964, a new name was adopted, Koninklijke Roeivereniging “Sport Nautique” Gent, and put on the new flag presented in 1971; three years later, the current name, Koninklijke Roeivereniging Sport Gent, now completely in Flemish, was introduced.

And yes Hastings... I have found photographs of these fine fellows, take a look. What a beautiful moustache has Monsieur Van der Waerden.

Winners of the Grand Challenge Cup 1906.

Official result of the final: Club Nautique de Gand, Belgium, beat Trinity Hall, Cambridge, by three lengths – time 7 minutes, 9 seconds.

Équipage: Urbain Molmans, Albert Heye, Alphonse Van Roy, Guillaume Visser, M. Orban, Réme Orban, Oscar de Somville, Rodolphe Poma (stroke), Raphael Van der Waerden (cox)

Above is another photograph of the 1906 ‘Grand’ winning crew. Was this really a composite crew of ‘Club Nautique’ and ‘Sport Nautique’ as the postcards suggests?

Winners of the Grand Challenge Cup 1907.

Official result of the final: Sport Nautique de Gand, Belgium, beat Christ Church, Oxford, by one length – time 7 minutes, 31 seconds.

Équipage: P. de Geyter, Guillaume Visser, Urbain Molmans, Alphonse Van Roy, François Vergucht, Polydore Veirman, Oscar de Somville, Rodolphe Poma (stroke), Rodolphe Colpaert (cox).

Despite the official result, this postcard gives the 1907 winners as Sport Nautique & Royal Club Nautique de Gand. The royal appellation applying to the official winning club from the previous year.

Two postcards with the winners of the Grand Challenge Cup 1909.

Official result of the final: Royal Club Nautique de Gand, Belgium, beat Jesus College, Cambridge, by one length – time 7 minutes, 8 seconds.

Équipage: Urbain Molmans, Guillaume Visser, St. Kowalski, Réme Orban, François Vergucht, Polydore Veirman, Oscar de Somville, Rodolphe Poma (stroke), Alfred van Landeghem (cox).

Both these postcards identify the 1909 vainqueurs as Royal Club Nautique & Royal Sport Nautique de Gand, the royal appellation now applying to both clubs.

According to Peter Mallory in The Sport of Rowing (2012), writing about the resounding victory of the Belgians (Club Nautique de Gand) in 1906:

The Ghent Eight were led by the dominant international sweep rowers of their day, Guillaume Visser and Urbain Molmans. Before rowing 4 and bow in the winning Grand Challenge Cup Eight at Henley in 1906, Visser and Molmans had rowed to Gold in the coxed-pairs, coxed-fours and eights at the European Championships in 1903, Silver in the coxed-pairs and Gold in the coxed-fours and eights in 1904, along with Gold in the coxed-pairs and coxed-fours and Silver in the eights in 1905.

So, Hastings you can see that there is a mystery to be solved.

Hastings: What mystery is that exactly, Poirot?

Poirot: It was not until 1970 that the venerable Stewards of Henley Royal Regatta changed the rules to allow composites to compete in the Grand Challenge Cup. Did the equally venerable gentlemen of Ghent find a way around this rule? I think so. You see Hastings, Visser and Molmans were docks foremen and members of Sport Nautique de Gand.

Hastings: I say Poirot, that’s just not cricket!

Poirot: Perhaps not Hastings, but I do not think a crime has been committed because in 1906 they must also have been members of Club Nautique de Gand – at least for HRR entry purposes. And, of course, in the following year the entry was made in the name of Sport Nautique de Gand. And yet again, in 1909, the Ghent entry was back in the name of Club Nautique de Gand, which by then was ‘Royal Club Nautique de Gand’. The photographs and postcards do not lie but they do not tell the whole truth.

Hastings: Of course! They rowed under ‘a flag of convenience’. But what happened to them in 1908? I know that the Stewards introduced a rule change excluding overseas entries from the regatta that year owing to the Olympic Regatta being held in Henley in mid-July. Surely, they represented Belgium at the Olympics?

Poirot: Ah! Hastings, is that the time? I must leave straight away for a meeting with Chief Inspector Japp. Perhaps another time, yes? Au revoir.

Hastings (an old Etonian) is determined to find out what happened in Henley-on-Thames at the 1908 Olympic Regatta and decides to use Poirot’s computer. Initially he is foiled by the demand for a password, but eventually he types in felicity4me and sure enough it works! He finds that Great Britain was represented by Cambridge University BC and Leander Club, and it was the latter that beat Belgium, represented by Royal Club Nautique de Gand, to win the gold medal in the eights.

Great Britain leads Belgium over the finish line to win gold at the 1908 Olympic Games in Henley-on-Thames.

There are reports on all the eights’ races at the 1908 Games here.

The 1908 Belgian crew was Oscar Taelman, Marcel Morimont, Rémy Orban, Georges Mijs, François Vergucht, Polydore Veirman, Oscar De Somville, Rodolphe Poma, Alfred van Landeghem (cox).

An analysis the Belgian crews who raced at Henley between 1906 and 1909 prove that ‘Club de Gand’, ‘Sport de Gand’ and the ‘Belgian Olympic eight’ bore remarkable similarities. Of the 15 rowers used in the four years, seven men raced in three or more years, while Oscar De Somville (7) and Rodolphe Poma (stroke) raced in all four years. It is also noteworthy that De Somville and van Landeghem were Olympic silver medallist in the eights in the Paris Games in 1900.

Crews 1906, 1907, 1908 and 1909:
Urbain Molmans: HRR 1906 (Bow) – HRR 1907 (Three) – Olympics 1908 (NA) – HRR 1909 (Bow)
Albert Heye: HRR 1906 (Two) – HRR 1907 (NA) – Olympics 1908 (NA) – HRR 1909 (NA)
Alphonse Van Roy: HRR 1906 (Three) – HRR 1907 (Four) – Olympics 1908 (NA) – HRR 1909 (NA)
Guillaume Visser: HRR 1906 (Four) – HRR 1907 (Two) – Olympics 1908 (NA) – HRR 1909 (Two)
M. Orban: HRR 1906 (Five) – HRR 1907 (NA) – Olympics 1908 (NA) – HRR 1909 (NA)
Remy Orban: HRR 1906 (Six) – HRR 1907 (NA) – Olympics 1908 (Three) – HRR 1909 (Four)
Oscar De Somville: HRR 1906 (Seven) – HRR 1907 (Seven) – Olympics 1908 (Seven) – HRR 1909 (Seven)
Rondolphe Poma: HRR 1906 (Stoke) – HRR 1907 (Stroke) – Olympics 1908 (Stroke) – HRR 1909 (Stroke)
Raphael Van der Waerden: HRR 1906 (Coxswain) – HRR 1907 (NA) – Olympics 1908 (NA) – HRR 1909 (NA)
P. de Geyter: HRR 1906 (NA) – 1907 (Bow) – Olympics 1908 (NA) – HRR 1909 (NA)
Francois Vergucht: HRR 1906 (NA) – HRR 1907 (Five) – Olympics 1908 (Five) – HRR 1909 (Five)
Polydore Veirman: HRR 1906 (NA) – HRR 1907 (Six) – Olympics 1908 (Six) – HRR 1909 (Six)
Rodolphe Colpaert: HRR 1906 (NA) – HRR 1907 (Coxswain) – Olympics 1908 (NA) – HRR 1909 (NA)
Oscar Taelman: HRR 1906 (NA) – HRR 1907 (NA) – Olympics 1908 (Bow) – HRR 1909 (NA)
Marcel Morimont: HRR 1906 (NA) – HRR 1907 (NA) – Olympics 1908 (Two) – HRR 1909 (NA)
Georges Mijs: HRR 1906 (NA) – HRR 1907 (NA) – Olympics 1908 (Four) – HRR 1909 (NA)
Alfred van Langehem: HRR 1906 (NA) – HRR 1907 (NA) – Olympics 1908 (Coxswain) – HRR 1909 (Coxswain)
St. Kowalski: HRR 1906 (NA) – HRR 1907 (NA) – Olympics 1908 (NA) – HRR 1909 (Three)

(Errors and omissions excepted.)

The defeat of the Belgians in the final of the Olympics, which earned several of their members a silver medal, did not merit a mention on the menu of the Banquet held by Royal Club Nautique de Gand to celebrate the club’s achievements during the 1908 season. Six men were elected as ‘membres emerites’ and from this we can identify that Messrs Kowalski, Morimond, Poma, Taelman, Veirman and Vergucht were ‘Club’ men.

Polydore Veirman, the six-man of the 1907, 1908 and 1909 crews featured on the cover of the 1911 menu after claiming the sculling championship of Belgium. He also took a silver medal in the single sculls at the 1912 Olympic rowing in Stockholm.

Poirot never found out that Hastings had cracked his computer!

Play Up, Play Up & Play THE Game

The Army isn’t all Work (1919).

Greg Denieffe writes:

At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the British Army had approximately 710,000 men at its disposal. The years 1914 and 1915 were known as the years of the Volunteer Army, but in January 1916 conscription was introduced for single men aged 18-41. Recruitment posters played an important part both before and after its introduction.

Lord Kitchener (Secretary of State for War) believing that overwhelming manpower was the key to winning the War, set about looking for ways to encourage men of all classes to join up. General Sir Henry Rawlinson suggested that men would be more inclined to enlist in the Army if they knew that they were going to serve alongside their friends and work colleagues. He appealed to London stockbrokers to raise a battalion of men from workers in the City of London and by the end of August 1914, 1,600 men had enlisted in the 10th (Service) Bn. Royal Fusiliers, the first ‘Pals Battalion’ and the so-called ‘Stockbrokers’ Battalion’.

The 1st Sportsmen’s Battalion – The 23rd (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers was formed in September 1914 and was made up of men who had made their name in sports such as cricket, boxing and football. This battalion proved so popular that a 2nd Sportsmen’s Battalion – The 24th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers followed in November 1914. The recruitment poster (above) does not play (pun intended) on the sporting prowess of potential recruits. Perhaps this is why the BBC in the first episode of Britain’s Great War called War Comes to Britain used an Australian Imperial Force (AIF) recruitment poster when discussing the Pals Battalions (28:00-29:30).

In Australia, the outbreak of the War was greeted with enthusiasm. Even before Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, it had pledged its support alongside other states of the British Empire and almost immediately began preparations to send forces overseas to participate in the conflict. Like Britain, as the war went on, casualty rates increased and the number of volunteers declined but unlike in Britain, the issue of conscription was put to a public vote, firstly in October 1916 and again in December 1917. On both occasions the country voted ‘No’ to conscription.

The 1916 AIF enlistment poster featured in the BBC documentary Britain’s Great War.

In 1916 the AIF launched a poster campaign aimed at recruiting a battalion of sportsmen into the defence forces to be known as The Sportsmen’s 1000. The artwork featured a portrait of Lieutenant Albert Jacka with images on each side of the portrait of cricketers, men playing bowls, golf and tennis; sculling and yachting, horse and car racing, hockey, boxing and Australian rules football. Jacka was the first Australian to receive the Victoria Cross during the First World War for his bravery at Gallipoli. The VC appears on his chest with the words: “Sports” The medal of medals.

It was said that one of the reasons Jacka was such a good soldier, and had such a fighting attitude, was that he had been a boxer before the war. The campaign to enlist sportsmen was fuelled by a strong belief that by playing sport, young men developed specific skills and qualities that could be used on the battlefield.

Albert Jacka’s military career was one of outstanding bravery. He enlisted in September 1914 in the AIF and landed in Gallipoli on 26 April 1915. For his action on 19 May 1915 he was awarded the Victoria Cross, the first for the AIF in the First World War, instantly becoming a national hero. He quickly rose through the ranks and on 29 April 1916 was commissioned second lieutenant. He received a Military Cross for action at Pozieres in August 1916 and a bar for action at Bullencourt in April 1917. He received his commission as captain on 15 March 1917. Wounded twice and then gassed in May 1918, he saw no more action. He returned to Melbourne to a hero’s welcome in 1919. He was demobilised in 1920 and died at the age of 39 on 17 January 1932. At his funeral, Jacka was described as ‘Australia's greatest front-line soldier’.

You can see why he won his VC in this short video:

AIF enlistment poster produced in 1917.

This poster, published by the State Parliamentary Recruiting Committee, depicts Lieut. Jacka VC, as a role model for a huge campaign to enlist more sportsmen into the Australian Imperial Force in 1917. It features two common recruiting devices used in Australia, a well-known local soldier and a target number of men required for a specially named group. In the centre is an oarsman, carrying his oar like of a pikeman of old, surrounded by other sportsmen as they are summoned by Jacka to ‘Enlist in the Sportsmen’s Thousand’ and ‘Show the enemy what Australian sporting men can do’. It is interesting to see that the word ‘thousand’ has replaced the number ‘1000’ from the earlier poster.

In another AIF enlistment poster (below), probably from 1917, the number ‘1000’ is back on the poster; in the upper right hand corner are attributes of sportsmen, among them also an oar.

It may be stretching poetic licence to suggest that the following poem by Australian C. J. Dennis is using the word ‘rowing’ as we on HTBS are wont to do, but it sums up the spirit that the recruitment posters tried to convey.

From The Moods of Ginger Mick – IV. “The Push” (1916):
But they took ‘im an’ they drilled ‘im an’ they shipped ‘im overseas
Wiv a crowd uv blokes ‘e never met before.
‘E rowed wiv ‘em, an’ scrapped wiv ‘em, an’ done some tall C.B.’s,
An’ ‘e lobbed wiv ‘em on Egyp’s sandy shore.
Then Pride o’ Race lay ‘olt on ‘im, an’  Mick shoves out ‘is chest
To find ‘imself Australian an’ blood brothers wiv the rest.

Back in Blighty, the Sportsmen’s Battalions continued to advertise for recruits but their enlistment posters continued to be dull and uninspiring.

This could not be said about the battalions formed primarily with the aim of recruiting professional footballers in both Scotland and England. In Scotland in November 1914, the full football team from Heart of Midlothian, players from Hibernian, Raith Rovers and Dunfermline, together with golfers, rugby players and their fans joined what became known as MacRae's Battalion, officially the 16th Royal Scots. They were also known as ‘The Sporting Battalion’.

1914 Scottish recruitment poster aimed at footballers and other sportsmen.

December 1914 saw the formation of The Football Battalion (The 17th Service Battalion, Middlesex Regiment). There is a fine example of their recruitment poster in a previous HTBS post called 'Lions not Donkeys'. Players from Clapton Orient (now Leyton Orient) were the first English Football League club to enlist together. Following the example of club captain, Fred Parker, around 40 players and staff volunteered and it soon went on to attract players from other clubs.

Recruitment poster for The Football Battalion, similar to the one above with the words ‘on the Field of Honour’ replaced with ‘and Join the Football Battalion’.

‘This is not the time to play games’ was the theme of a speech by Lord Roberts seeking to persuade sportsmen to enlist. This poster depicts a Rugby Union player with a cheering crowd behind him, mirrored by a soldier holding a rifle instead of a rugby ball.

1919 ‘Sportsmen and Smart Men’ wanted for the RMF.

When the First World War finally ended in 1918, the world had changed forever. What hadn’t changed was the use of images of sportsmen to entice young men to ‘join up’. This is a nice example of a recruitment poster from 1919 for the Royal Munster Fusiliers, one of eight Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. It uses images of soccer and hockey, boxers and athletes, a tug-of-war team and a cricketer; hardly traditional Irish sports – there was no room for sports like hurling, Gaelic football or handball. The tag line A Good Clean Sporting Life is offered with an Assured Future was also to prove short-sighted as in 1922 five of the eight were disbanded on the establishment of the Irish Free State. It wasn’t only the world at large that was changing.