In memoriam

Over the years we have all lost a number of friends from the sport.  This page provides brief memories of, or links to other tributes to, just a few of those who will be fondly remembered by their many friends in the sport.  [Some of the older links may, of course, no longer be in operation.]

March 2024. Thanks to Robert T-J for the following obit for HRR Steward George Brown: "Cambridge Blue George Brown, who died last December, was a familiar figure at Henley where he was one of the timekeepers on the Chairman’s launch for many years. He had started rowing at Shrewsbury, where his crew won the PE in 1955, before National Service and thence to Trinity Hall, where he rowed twice in the Boat Race. Elected President of CUBC for his second race in 1960, his crew lost again, this time to the Oxford eight that went on to represent GB at the Rome Olympics. After graduation he joined ICI as a management trainee, and moved to Henley, where he was elected Steward in 1970. Further career moves took him to South Wales, and eventually to the Isle of Wight where he was able to indulge his love of sailing and became a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron. He served as President of Leander during this time and was later invited to stand as a candidate for the Isle of Wight Council, where he held the position of Deputy Leader. Declining health in recent years triggered a move to a retirement home in Dorset where George died just before Christmas. A celebration of his life will be held later in the year in Henley."

January 2024. Pauline Rayner, who has died at the age of 83, was a member of Thames RC for over 40 years, and the club's first female captain, chair and president. Obit from TRC, and an earlier CV from Helena Smalman-Smith. Pauline represented GB in the European Champs in 1960, and her nieces Katie and Alex both rowed for GB at the World Junior Champs. She was awarded the MBE in 2008, & posthumously the BR Medal of Honour for 2023, as reported by BR.
Further sad news in January was of the death of Angus Robertson. Angus became a Steward of HRR in 1976, and joined the Committee of Management in 1978. For many years he was the Steward in charge of commentary, and became known as the Voice of Henley. He umpired at the Regatta from 1995 until 2001, and subsequently was a timekeeper. He had stroked the Bedford School crew in the PE in 1954, and was in the crew again in 1955, then represented Bedford RC in the Wyfold in 1958, and Star Club in the Thames Cup in 1960.

December 2023. News of the death of David Maxwell. His Eton crews represented GB at the FISA Junior Championships in 1968 in the 8, then in 1969 in the 4-; in each case they won the silver medal. At Jesus College Cambridge he was a member of an exceptional college four, with Chris Baillieu, Neil James, and Chris Rodrigues, and he was in the winning CUBC blue boats in 1971 and 1972. In 1972 he and Mike Hart, coxed by Alan Inns, won the coxed pairs at the first National Championships to be held at NWSC; their time still stands as the record, and they went on to represent GB at the 1972 Olympics. He then rowed in the GB silver medal winning eights at the World Championships in 1974 and the Olympics in 1976..

November 2023. Sad to hear of the death of Brian Colborne of Kingston RC. For many years Brian ran Kingston Head, and he also spent a long time organising the signals team at HRR. He also did a spell as chief marshal of the Head of the River Race. Condolences to Ann, and to their sons Richard and Philip.
Another loss in November was that of Mike Groom. Mike was an umpire in the Eastern Region and also a multi-lane umpire for many years, and also served for some time as chairman of the Rules of Racing Working Party/ Sub-Committee/ Panel.

October 2023. Very sad news of the death of Pauline Churcher. The extent of her influence on the sport was so wide that it's difficult to know where to start, but Helena Smalman-Smith has a biography of Pauline on her website on the history of GB women's rowing. The first time I worked closely with Pauline was at the World Championships at Nottingham in 1986 where Pauline headed the "Publicity and Information Committee" whose prime responsibility was as a printing works for results and start lists (wearing out a number of photocopiers in the process). She was also chairman of the race committee at Henley Womens Regatta, and (if my memory serves me right) for some years the organiser of the Friends of HWR. She will be sadly missed by her many friends.

August 2023. Sad news from Molesey Boat Club of the death of their former president Dickie Knight, at the age of 95. He first rowed at HRR in the Wyfold in 1951 for the Royal Engineers, coincidentally against his later club MBC, for whom he reached the Wyfold final in 1953. He was in the Wyfold & Thames in 1955, and Thames Cup in 1956, 1957, & 1958, then won the Wyfold in 1959 winning each round easily. In 1960 he won the Grand for Molesey and the Stewards for Barn Cottage BC, then he rowed in the Grand again in 1961, Grand & Stewards in 1962, then finally in 1964 rowed in the Grand & won the Prince Philip. For GB he rowed in the coxed four at the European Championships in 1959 and the Olympics in 1960, then in the eight at the European Championships in 1961 and at the first World Championships in 1962, and the coxed four at the Europeans in 1964. Obit from MBC. His many friends will remember being greeted by Dickie with a powerful bear-hug, and he will be sadly missed, and commiserations go to his son Ian, and to the rest of his family.

July 2023. Sad news from Worcester Rowing Club of the death of Barrie Burke. Barrie coached countless crews, mainly in the West Midlands, including University of Birmingham, University of Worcester, Worcester RC, Cheltenham College, University of Exeter, & Headington School, and he also coached abroad in numerous countries such as Canada, the USA, and Australia. He was also an umpire for very many years and will be missed by his many friends in the West Midlands and further afield.

April 2023. Sad news from Kingston Rowing Club of the death of Richard Higgins. He will be sadly missed by his many friends at KRC, at Remenham Club, and at the Skiff Club.
Also in April, news of the death of Peter Spurrier. Peter had been an ever-present photographer at regattas around the world, and he will be sadly missed by his many friends in the UK and abroad. Obits from Rowing News, from row2k, from World Rowing, from British Rowing, and from Chris Dodd for HTBS and for the Guardian.

March 2023. Sad news from Hamburg of the death of Gerhard Meyboden, international umpire for many years. Many British umpires will have enjoyed working with Gerhard around the world, including at his home regattas in Hamburg and at various exchange regattas in this country. Obit from the German Federation.

February 2023. News from Walton RC of the death, after a long illness, of Robert Moore, some time Honorary Treasurer and later President of Walton RC. Robert had also been President of Walton Amateur Regatta and Secretary of the Rowing Foundation, and worked at HRR as a race reporter on the back of the launches and also as a commentator for Regatta Radio. See also obit from Walton RC.
Also in February the sad news of the death of Tim Senior who collapsed in the boat, after rowing for Upper Thames in the Henley 4s and 8s Head. Report in the Henley Herald, & a further tribute in the Herald from UTRC. Tim was chairman of the Boat Race Company.

January 2023. News from the Czech republic of the death of Jiri Klemes, who was a FISA umpire for many years. Many British umpires will have enjoyed working with him at various courses around the world, including at the World Cup at Dorney in 2005. See also an obit referring to his scientific career. He worked for some time in England, and umpired in the North West.

December 2022.Friends were sad to hear the news of the death of Vaughan Thomas. He coxed Shrewsbury School to victories in the Special Race for Schools at HRR in 1981 and 1982 and coxed the GB junior 4+ and 2+ respectively in those years. He coxed ULBC in the Britannia in 1984 and 1985, then in 1986 coxed the Nautilus crew which won the Grand, and the GB eight at the World Championships (and also, despite being born in Wales, coxed the English eight which won silver at the Commonwealth Games). He coxed the GB 4+ at the Worlds in 1987, the Olympics in 1988, and the Worlds (with a bronze medal) in 1989. He coxed the 4+ again in 1990, and the eight in 1993, and also Prince Philip fours in 1993 & 1993..
Also in December, Members of Twickenham RC were sad to hear of the death at the age of 81 of Kay Plumtree (widow of George who died almost 15 years ago). As Kathleen Henderson, Kay rowed at Durham University, and then as a member of United Universities she was reserve for the GB eight at the European Championships at the Bosbaan in 1964. At her funeral on 20 December we were told that she was the first woman to be elected a member of Twickenham RC when the club rules were changed in 1979 to allow women to be members. She served the club for many years as membership secretary, treasurer, & then as a vice-president. I first met her when she was a member of my timing team when I was chief timekeeper for the Women's Eights Head..
Further sad news arrived in December when we heard of the death, at the age of 66, of Ian Schofield. Ian had served as an umpire since 1990 in the Thames region, and more recently moved to the WAGS region. When not umpiring, Ian could also be seen from time in a safety boat..

October 2022. News has been received from Zurich of the death, after a short illness, of Debbie Bregenzer. Debbie was a coxswain who was known to many competitors around the world, and will be missed by her many friends. She won as recently as at the World Rowing Masters Regatta last month in Libourne, France. Now also a tribute from Belvoir.

September 2022. Members of Kingston RC were sorry to hear of the death, on 5^th September at the age of 76, of David Ford. He had suffered a stroke two years ago, from which he never fully recovered. David rowed in the Saxon BC eights in the Thames Cup in 1978 and 1979, but it was for his years of service to the club outside the boat that he was best known. His nick-name years ago was "the bionic broom" and he kept the boathouse clean & tidy, among many other tasks largely unseen. There have been many tributes from club members since his death, and he will be sadly missed.

August 2022. I was sorry, while at the funeral of Jimmy Hopkins on 19 August, to hear that Chris Etherington had died that morning. Chris first raced at HRR for Derby in the Wyfold in 1968, and was a member of the Leander eight which won the Thames Cup in 1970, then he rowed for GB in the coxed fours at the European Championships in 1973, and in the coxless fours at the World Championships the following year. He was appointed a Steward of HRR in 1986, qualified as an ARA umpire in 1996, and umpired at HRR from 2001 to 2011.

July 2022. Friends on the Tideway will be sorry to hear of the death, on 13^th July, of Jimmy Hopkins. Jimmy was president of the Fours Head, was for many years was the leading light of rowing from the Hammersmith clubs, and he was awarded the ARA Medal of Honour in 1991. Thanks to AKRC for their obituary. His ashes will be scattered on Sunday 9 October at AKRC - 2pm for 3pm.

June 2022. News has been received belatedly of the deaths of two members of the rowing community:
Duncan Clegg, who died on 19th May at the age of 80, rowed in the Boat Race for OUBC in 1965 and 1966 and organised the Boat Race each year for the 20 years up to 2004. He was a non-executive member of the board of the PLA for 9 years, finishing as Vice-Chairman in 2006. He was Master of the Watermen's Company in 2010/11, and had been a Steward of HRR since 1994. An obituary from Hugh Matheson is available at HTBS.
Peter Jowitt, who died earlier in the year, was born (during an air raid in Derby) in 1942. He was a FISA umpire from 1971 to 2007 and umpired at the FISA Junior Championships as long ago as 1974. He subsequently continued as a multi-lane umpire and launch driver. He was awarded the ARA Medal of Honour in 2012. A requiem mass, celebrated by Father Mark Jabale (emeritus Bishop of Menevia), was held at Belmont Abbey on 9th March.

February 2022. Sad news from Scotland of the death of George Warnock. Countless generations of Scottish oarsmen & women are grateful to George for his coaching and inspiration. I remember first meeting him when he was working at the World Championships at Strathclyde Park in 1996. He will be sadly missed. Condolences to his family. See this tribute from Sandy Walker.
Further sad news in February, of the death of John McConnell of Thames RC. Condolences to his brother Pete, and to the rest of his family.

January 2022. Sad news of the death of Peter Politzer. He was a stalwart supporter of junior rowing, coached at Pangbourne College and Reading RC, and for 10 years was the chairman of NSR. He had been awarded the ARA Medal of Honour in 1990. Obit fron NSR.
Further sad news in January, of the death of Mac McKendrick, cox of the GB women's 8 in 1960/62/64 and 4+ in 1961/65. I worked with Mac at the World Champs in 1986, & she was a member of my time-keeping team for the Women's Eights Head from 1988 to 1997. See also an obit from Helena Smalman-Smith.

December 2021. Sad news from Henley RC of the death, on Christmas Day, of Roy Spatcher. He was a vice-president, previously captain and secretary of the club, and stalwart supporter of the club and of Henley T&V Regatta.]

November 2021. Friends at Nottingham RC have reported the death of Bill Payne. Bill has been a regular competitor in Masters events (domestically, nationally, and internationally), and was for some time the chairman of BR's Masters Committee.
More sad news with a Nottingham connection came with news of the sudden death of John Ball. John was for many years the technical guru who supported all the events at NWSC, and since NSR moved to Dorney John also managed the facilities for the event there. See this obit from BR. John was posthumously awarded the BR Medal of Merit in the 2021 awards.

September 2021. Sad news of the death of Katerina Kleshneva, coach at Maidenhead RC and Marlow RC. Bio & obit.

August 2021. Sad news from Vesta RC of the death on 5^th August of their ex-President Tommy Thomson. Tommy was a FISA umpire from 1984 to 1999, and was the British umpire at the World Championships in 1995 (when as a nervous candidate for my own FISA exam I was grateful for his support). He was a member of the initial Executive Committee of Henley Women's Regatta when it was founded in 1988. He served the ARA & BR in countless capacities, including as chairman of the Water Safety Committee and of the Magazine Management Committee, and as competition consultant. He was awarded the ARA Medal of Honour in 1998 and the Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. Our sympathy goes to his wife Maureen, who for a number of years was GB team manager. [A much more comprehensive obituary is now available on the Vesta website].
Further sad news of the death on 6^th August of Mike Rosewell. Mike was for many years the rowing correspondent of The Times, and also (for 38 years) of the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times. In earlier years he wrote for the Surrey Herald, Rowing Magazine, and London’s Evening Mail. He moved to Oxford in 1976 to be head of economics at St Edward's School and coached there, having previously coached at St George's College, Weybridge. He will be sadly missed by his many friends in the rowing press (having been a stalwart of BARJ, the British Association of Rowing Journalists), and by the wider rowing community. Further obit from HTBS, and another obit in his own paper, The Times on 1 Sep, the day of his funeral. A memorial lunch was held at St Edward's on Sunday 11^th July 2022, and a recording of the event is now available.

June 2021. Sad news of the death on 4^th June of Bill Parker. Bill was a member of a multiple Durham Grand winning 4+ in the early 1960s, introduced rowing at Consett Grammar School, then established St Leonard's School Boat Club in 1970 and achieved great success over multiple decades as coach at both St Leonard's and Durham ARC. He was awarded the ARA Medal of Honour in 2006, and some of his achievements were summarised when he was awarded the Beryl Crockford Medal in December 2020. He will be sadly missed by his many friends in the North and further afield.

May 2021. News from London RC of the death on May 5^th, at the age of 92, of Doug Melvin. Doug came from Lancaster, and it was for John O'Gaunt RC that he won the Wingfields in 1955. He moved to London, and having reached the semi-final of the Diamonds in 1955 he went on to represent GB at the European Championships that year. He was the first winner of the Weybridge Silver Sculls (in 1956), and then won the Scullers Head in 1957, and the Wingfields again in 1958. He became president of John O'Gaunt from 1966 to 2009 & again from 2011, president of LRC from 2000 to 2004, and secretary of the Wingfields from 1975 to 1998. His sons, John & Simon, were both GB lightweight internationals. Further obit from HTBS.

March 2021. Sad news of the death of Jock McKerrell, former President of Vesta RC. Jock was Vesta's most fervent supporter, and was for many years a member of the commentary team at HRR. He was also a member of the Skiff Club. He will be sadly missed by his many friends in the rowing and skiffing communities. See also this tribute from Vesta. Memorial at VRC from 5pm on 25 Sep.

February 2021. Sad news of the death of John Chapman, President of Marlow Regatta. John was also a vice-President of the Thames Regional Rowing Council. He was awarded an MBE in the 2020 New Years Honours for services to the community in Marlow. See a more detailed obit from the regatta. Sympathies go to his daughters, Lizzi, Penny, and Alyson.

January 2021. Sad news of the death of former umpire Les Fitton of Lea RC.

Also, at the age of 94, of HRR Steward Bill Windham. Bill rowed for Bedford School and Christ's College, and in the winning CUBC crews in 1947 and 1951. In 1949 with Leander he won the Grand & reached the final of the Stewards', then won the Grand again in 1952, & the Grand and Stewards' in 1953. He won bronze in the England eight at the Empire Games in 1950, then in the GB eight he won a bronze medal at the European Championships in 1950, gold in 1951, and was 4th in the Olympics in 1952. He was elected a Steward of HRR in 1953, and we spent many happy hours in the stern of the umpires launch when he was on timekeeping duties. Further detail in an obit by RTJ on HTBS, and more tributes in the video of his funeral. A service of thanksgiving will be held in Powys on Sat 9th July 2022.

Then sad news from Wales of the death of John Hartland, just 4 days short of his 85^th birthday. John was the leading light of Welsh rowing for countless years. After having rowed at Hereford RC, he then became master i/c at Monmouth School, and later founded Monmouth School for Girls RC (Haberdashers’ MSG). He served as chairman of Monmouth RC & helped to acquire the current boathouse in 1969, and also served as regatta secretary. He was div rep on the old ARA, chairman of the Welsh Rowing Council, was a driving force in establishing the Home Countries Regatta, and led the Wales rowing team to the 1986 Commonwealth Games and numerous HCIs. He will be sadly missed by his many friends in Wales & further afield. Notification of memorial service on 25 Sep.

Also in January came the news from Norwich of the death, at the age of 90, of Simon Crosse, who rowed in the GB coxed four at the European Championships in 1955, 1958, and 1959, then at the Olympics in 1960. He had also been a member of the England coxed four which won a gold medal at the Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958 at Llyn Padarn. At HRR, Simon stroked the London RC four which reached the SF of the Wyfold in 1953, then in 1954 he raced in the Grand and the Stewards'. In 1955 he reached the SF of the Thames Cup and also partnered John Vigurs in the Goblets. In 1956 he stroked the LRC Thames Cup eight, and again in 1957 when they reached the SF. In 1958 he won the Stewards' with Barn Cottage, and the following year won the Wyfold with Molesey. His final year competing at HRR was 1960 when he won the Grand with Molesey and the Stewards' with Barn Cottage (who were half of the MBC Grand eight). Obit in HTBS discusses his role as architect for the rebuilding of the London RC clubhouse in the 1960s.

Probably the most successful British oarsman of his era, Colin Porter died on the 21st of August 2020 at the age of 89 in Perth, Western Australia. He won European Champs bronze in the 4- in 1953 then silver the following year. 1955 he was in the 8o, & in 1958 the 4+. He was in the Olympic 4- in 1960, & in the 8o at the first World Champs in 1962. He won Empire & Commonwealth Games gold in 1958 in the 4+ at Llyn Padarn, then bronze in 1962 in both 4+ and 8o in Perth. His long and successful career at HRR began in 1951 when he stroked the UL crew which reached the SF of the Thames Cup. By 1952 he was representing RAF Benson and stroked their Wyfold semi-finallists. In 1953 his RAF crews won the Thames Cup and the Wyfold, then the following year he reached the final of the Stewards'. In 1955 he was in the Thames RC eight in the Grand, then in 1956 won the Stewards'. In 1958 he won the Stewards' with Barn Cottage, then in 1959 representing London RC he reached the final of the Goblets. In 1960 he won the Grand with Molesey BC, but in the Stewards' his crew hit the booms and broke a blade. In 1961 he was again in the MBC Grand eight, and again in 1962, the year in which his Stewards' four set records to all 3 marks on the Wednesday, but lost on the Friday after they'd had a hard race in the Grand. His book, "Rowing to Win", was pubished in 1959. See also obit from Chris Dodd in HTBS.

December 2020. News from Norwich of the death of Hugh Scurfield, who with Richard Norton won the Goblets in 1959 and representing GB came 4th at the European Championships that year. Hugh won the Wyfold with Norwich Union RC in 1966, and as a successful actuary was general manager of the Norwich Union Insurance Group.

The skiff racing community lost two popular members during December. Tim Tomlinson of Dittons Skiff & Punting Club was president of the Skiff Racing Association and chairman of the SRA's umpiring committee, but also continued to race regularly in veteran events. Marcus Goudge started skiffing for Wraysbury Skiff & Punting Club, but subsequently as a member of Thames Valley Skiff Club became an SRA umpire & a member of the SRA committee. Tim & Marcus will each be sadly missed by their many friends in the sport.

November 2020. November brought the news of the death, at the age of 83, of Stuart "Sam" Mackenzie. Sam was a larger than life character, silver medallist for Australia at the 1956 Olympics, but also silver medallist for GB at the 1962 World Championships. His six consecutive wins in the Diamonds at HRR are unlikely ever to be surpassed, and he also won the Goblets and the Doubles. His career is summarised by Andrew Guerin in Australia, and in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. The first of Sam's Diamonds wins is included in a video linked from HTBS, and HTBS also has obituaries from Tim Koch and then from Chris Dodd. Also from the Australian newspaper The Age, a further obituary from his nephew. Sam will be sadly missed, and never forgotten. Now news of a memorial service on 4 April 2022.

Further sadness came with the news of the death of Jean Genchi (née Guppy) of Stuart Ladies RC & later Lea RC. Jean represented GB at the World Championships in 1975, 1979, & 1983, then in the 1984 Olympics. More detail of her career can be found, courtesy of Helena Smalman-Smith.

October 2020. News from Cantabrigian RC of the death of Andy Johnson, vice-president of the club and of CRA, and former board member of British Rowing; see obituary.

July 2020. News has been received from Cygnet RC that David Webb died at the end of June. David coxed Cygnet in the Thames Cup in 1972, & in the Thames & Brit in 1973, then coxed Thames Tradesmen in the Brit in 1974, & an LRC/TTRC composite in the Prince Philip in 1978. He coxed Jamie Mcleod and Neil Christie in the 2+ at the Olympics in 1976 and 1980 and the World Champs in 1977, and also the 4+ at the World Champs in 1974.
Further news in July, of the death of Ian Wilson of Thames RC. He stroked St Pauls in the PE in 1955 and 1956 (reaching the final of the latter). Having stroked the Thames RC crew in the Grand in 1957, he then stroked RAF Benson reaching the final of the Thames Cup in 1958. His Benson crew in the Wyfold in 1959 included such notables as George Bowsher and Peter Ament, then in 1960 he was back to Thames RC, stroking in the Grand and the Stewards. In 1962 he rowed in Leander's Grand eight, and his final HRR appearance was for Twickenham RC in the Wyfold in 1963.
Also news of the death, after a long illness, of David Berry, master in charge of rowing at Bedford Modern School for 30 years and GB Junior team manager for 25 years. Obit from BR.

June 2020. London RC have published an obituary for Simon Rippon who died in April.

May 2020. Sally Lawrence died on May 1st, just 8 weeks after being diagnosed with cancer. There are tributes from Lea RC and from Eastern Rowing Council, both being organisations of which she was secretary. There was a celebration of her life, at Lea RC on 12 Sep 2021.

Also in May, sad news of the death of Nigel Davies, of Kingston RC, Quintin BC (Thames Cup & Wyfold 1992, Thames Cup & Brit 1994, & Thames Cup 1995), & Walbrook RC.

April 2020. John Hall-Craggs, who died on 30 March at the age of 88, first appeared at HRR stroking Shrewsbury in the PE in 1950. He then represented the Royal Engineers in the Wyfold in 1951 & 1952, then stroked the Maidenhead crew in the Thames Cup 1953. After that he went up to St John’s College Cambridge and in 1954 he was in the LMBC crew which went head of the Lents, retained the headship of the Mays, and went on to row in the Grand at HRR. In 1955 John’s LMBC crews in the Ladies’ and the Visitors’ both reached the finals. He was captain of LMBC in 1955-56, rowed at 2 for Cambridge winning the 1956 Boat Race, and at HRR 1956 he again rowed for LMBC in the Ladies’ and the Visitors’. In 1957 he was in the Leander crew in the Stewards’, and in 1961 he rowed for Leander in the Wyfold. He remained a stalwart supporter of LMBC in subsequent years, contributed to 3 volumes of the club's history, and in the most recent volume of the history it was pointed out that since the time of his captaincy hardly a term had gone by without John being involved in coaching, crew selection or general support of LMBC crews. A longer tribute has now been published at "Hear The Boat Sing". He will be sadly missed by his many friends at LMBC & throughout the rowing community, and our sympathy goes to his son, Wade, & the rest of their family.

Later in April came the news of the death of Ann Sayer, who was one of the pioneers of British women's international rowing, having rowed in the GB eight at the European Championships in 1960, 1962, and 1964. See also a fuller description of her life, thanks to Helena Smalman-Smith, and a further obit in The Guardian.

February 2020. Geoff Brook, who died on 9 Feb at the age of 72, had a long and successful association with the Coupe de la Jeunesse having become involved initially as the Great Britain team manager and delegate. He was secretary-general from 1989 to 2001, president from 2001 to 2012, and subsequently honorary president. In his earlier days he coxed in the Thames Cup for Kingston RC in 1964 (losing narrowly to the winners), and for Durham University in 1966. He was the first rowing master at Halliford School, then went on to St Georges College, then Shrewsbury, and eventually rowing master at Winchester College. Photo is available, thanks to Rowing Ireland. Funeral was on Monday 2nd March. Also see obit from British Rowing, whose Medal of Honour was awarded to Geoff in 2013.

Also in February, Ronnie Howard, who rowed at Shrewsbury (including in the PE in 1952, 53, & 54), then in the losing OUBC crew in 1957, Isis in 1958 (v Goldie, then in the Ladies' Plate at HRR), and in the winning blue boat in 1959 when he was president (racing also in the Grand that year). He raced for Isis in the Thames Cup in 1960 (losing to the winnning Harvard crew), and for Leander in the Wyfold in 1961 (again losing to the winners, this time from Nat Prov Bank). He subsequently coached successfully at Radley, became OUBC's chief coach, umpired the Boat Race on a number of occasions, and became a Steward of HRR.

A further loss in February was that of John Clayton. John was a co-founder of Maidstone Invicta RC and served the club for many years. He also served the South-East Region, as regional chairman and as Div Rep. He was awarded the ARA Medal of Merit in 2006 and the Diamond Jubilee Award in 2012. Also see obit from British Rowing.

January 2020. John Buchan, who died on New Year's Day at the age of 88 after a long illness, was Captain of Peterborough City RC in 1961 & 1966, and President in 2004. He qualified as a multi-lane umpire in 1981 ready for the club to move from the old riverside site to its current location on the lake in Thorpe Meadows in 1983. He served the ARA for countless years, principally as Chairman of the Development Committee from about 1988 to 2005. He was awarded the ARA Medal of Honour 2001. He will be sadly missed by his many friends, in Peterborough and throughout the rowing community.

November 2019 - Sad news from Poplar Blackwall & District RC of the death of Martin Spencer. In 1967, Martin rowed in the PB&D eight in the Thames Cup (coxed by Bobby Prentice, of whom we hear more later). Martin won Doggets in 1970, then stroked the PB&D four in the Britannia in 1971, rowed in the Grand with TSS in 1972, sculled in the Doubles with Dick Findlay in 1973, then rowed in the Grand with TSS again in 1974, the year in which he sculled in the GB quad at the World Championships. In 1975, Martin sculled with Bobby Prentice for PB&D in the Doubles, and also sculled in the Diamonds, losing to the eventual winner Sean Drea. In 1976 he and Bobby won the Doubles, & they sculled again in 1977 & 1978. In 1979, Martin was back in the stroke seat of the PB&D Brit four, losing to the eventual winners from City Orient, then in the 1980 Wyfold again losing to the eventual winners, this time Nottingham BC. In 1981 he rowed with Springhill Centre in the Thames Cup, and his final appearance at HRR was in 1982 in the Doubles, yet again with his old partner Bobby Prentice.

October 2019 - Sad news of the death on October 12th of Stan Collingwood at the age of 72. Stan learned to row at Latymer Upper School, then went on to row for Auriol RC in the Thames Cup in 1968. He was an umpire for many years, multi-lane from 1985, and a past member of the Thames Regional Umpires Commission. He coached the Welsh team at the Commonwealth Games in 1986. He was a Vice-president of Thames Regional Rowing Council, having served as President from 2010-11. To many he has probably been best known as a commentator at countless regattas; it was Stan who recruited me to commentary at the time when he was running the commentary team at the National Championships. One of his classic commentaries from HWR will bring back happy memories. He was a member of Thames Tradesmens RC, & he worked tirelessly for many years with TTRC clubmates Fred Smallbone, Bill Mitchell, and Fred Badowski to get the London Docklands course and regatta centre built. He was awarded the ARA Medal of Honour in 2003. Several years ago he moved North to Bedale in Yorkshire, and became involved in coaching at Tees RC as well as continuing as a lay preacher in the Church of England. He will be sadly missed by his many friends throughout the sport. Memorial service at his church in Bedale (2:30 pm on Saturday October 26th), and one at his old church, Holy Trinity, Hounslow (10:30am, Saturday 16th November - RSVP to Linda Collingwood).

Also in October, news of the death, at the age of 90, of Paul Bircher of Radley, CUBC, & Leander, the last surviving member of the silver medal GB eight at the 1948 Olympics. More details in an obituary from HTBS.

Continuing sad news in October, with the Fours Head announcing the recent death of one of their vice-presidents, John Booker.

January 2019 - Sad news from Kingston RC of the death, at the age of 72, of Peter Pearce. His first HRR appearance for the club was in the 1961 Thames Cup as cox, and he then rowed in the same event in 1963, 1964 (reaching the semi-final), and 1965 (losing in a record time), then in the Wyfold in 1966 (losing in the final) and 1967 (losing in the semi). In 1968 he rowed in the Goblets with his brother, John. Peter's crew won the Britannia in 1969 (Kingston’s first HRR win since 1936). 1970 was another year in the Goblets, then in 1971 it was Thames Cup again, with Kingston losing narrowly in the final to Harvard. In 1974 he was in the KRC Wyfold four, but was ill and collapsed during their race against Porcellian. His last HRR appearance was in the Wyfold in 1975, but after that he was a member of the KRC squads for a number of successful expeditions to the FISA Veterans’ Regatta. The Pearce family ran Thames Ditton Marina for many years, but in later years Peter moved to the South Coast. He will be sadly missed by his many friends.

- Also in January, news from Molesey BC of the death of their former club captain John Russell. Among many other achievents he won the Wingfield Sculls in 1959, both Stewards & Grand at HRR in 1960, and silver in 4- at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. He also raced in the 4+ in the 1960 Olympics, in the eight at the European Championships in 1961 and 1966 and Worlds in 1962, and in the 4- at the European Championships in 1964 and 1965.

- Yet more sad news in January. John Shore of Weybridge RC, rowing photographer for countless years and first treasurer of BARJ (the British Association of Rowing Journalists), died on January 29th at the age of 85. Obituary from Chris Dodd on HTBS. Sympathy goes to his son, Ian, and to their family. Funeral will be private..

December 2018 - David Hudson, who died on 9 December at the age of 74, was well known to many, having raced in more recent years in Masters crews for Tideway Scullers School and for Weybridge RC, and also for some time being the UK manager for Rowperfect. He was a long-standing member of Thames Valley Skiff Club and past president of the Skiff Racing Association. His funeral was on Friday 21 December at 13:15 at Woking Crematorium, & afterwards at The Anglers, Walton on Thames. Sympathy from his many friends in the sport goes to his wife Yvonne, and to their family.

August 2018 - Martin-Brandon-Bravo OBE, who died on 15 August aged 86, was an Honorary Life Vice-President of British Rowing, and after being President of the ARA from 1993 to 2001 was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours 2002 for services to rowing. He was educated at Latymer Upper School, and after National Service he moved to Nottingham and joined Nottingham and Union Rowing Club, and was elected captain in 1957 at the age of 25 and subsequently president. He was elected to the ARA Council in 1968. He played a key role in the development and continuation of the National Water Sports Centre at Holme Pierrepont, and was a FISA umpire from 1971 to 1997. He was elected to Nottingham City Council in May 1968 and served until 1970, before being re-elected in 1976. He was MP for Nottingham South from 1983 to 1992, and then was elected to Nottinghamshire County Council in 1993. He was appointed as an alderman of the county council in July 2009 and of the City of Nottingham in January 2012. He will be sadly missed by his many friends in the sport, and our sympathy goes to his wife Sally and to their family.
Further details in obituaries in The Telegraph, from Chris Dodd on "Hear the Boat Sing", and from BR.
His funeral was at 9:20 am on Tuesday 28th August at Wilford Hill Cemetery in Nottingham, and afterwards at the Nottingham and Union RC clubhouse from 10:30 onwards. Picture on Twitter of the N&U guard of honour.

April 2018 - Ken Williams, who died on 14 April, just a couple of weeks short of his 80th birthday, started rowing at Horseferry Rowing Club (the house club of North Thames Gas) in September 1956. He moved to Mortlake Anglian and Alpha Boat Club when they took over the boathouse (previously Ibis) above Chiswick Bridge, into which Horseferry had earlier moved from their previous home above Kew Bridge. He served as safety adviser at MAABC until the Autumn of 2016. Ken was an umpire for many years, and for 7 years was Chief Marshal of the Women’s Eights Head. He sculled in veteran events, and carried on marshalling and driving launches after he retired from umpiring. Funeral at Mortlake crematorium on Friday 11th May at 10:40am followed by a wake at MAABC.

Tim Wilson, who died on 6 April at the age of 87, was Vice-President, book-keeper and archivist of Thames RC and also a Vice-President of Tees RC. He was famed for the pair of scissors with which he cut off the Thames RC ties of those whom he saw at HRR who had not paid their TRC sub, but he would also have a stock of new ties in his pocket to sell to those who renewed their sub. He represented Thames at HRR in the Grand in 1950 (at a weight of 9 st 7), in the Thames Cup in 1949 and 1953, and in the Wyfold in 1951. R.I.P. Funeral 12:15 Tuesday 8 May at Putney Vale Crematorium and wake afterwards at TRC. If people can RSVP to TRC that’ll help gauge numbers for catering.

March 2018 - John Ash, who died on 25 March at the age of 79, was a Vice-President of Trent RC, and a multi-lane umpire widely respected among his colleagues in the East Midlands region and further afield.

November 2017 - Rodney Bewes, who died on 21 November, was of course best known as a TV actor in The Likely Lads, but to the rowing community he was a familiar sight in his dinghy alongside the booms at HRR in his London RC cap; he had coxed the LRC "Irregulars". He was also a member of Cadgwith Gig Club. Obituary from Chris Dodd on "Hear the Boat Sing".

Also during November, the belated news of the death in July of Frances Bigg. Frances was a stalwart member of my team while I was Chief Timekeeper for the Women's Eights Head, but at that time I didn't know about her competitive career & particularly her international career. There is now a biography on Helena Smalman-Smith's website on GB women's international rowing at Rowing History.

October 2017 - I was very sad to hear of the death of Geoff Potts on October 28th while coaching a crew from MAABC. Geoff has for many years sculled for Quintin, but started at Tees RC and spent much of his elite career representing Durham ARC. Last year he and his Durham School crew of 1966 celebrated the 50th anniversary of their winning the Grand Challenge Cup at Durham Regatta. He doubled for some time with Tom Bishop (also then of Durham ARC but now of Quintin), including at HRR in 1972 & 1973 (reaching the semi-final in 1972, and also taking silver in the first Nat Champs that year). [They continued this partnership in more recent years in QBC colours.] Geoff's first appearance at HRR, in 1967, wouldn't have pleased him, as he was steering the Durham University Wyfold four which was disqualified when they clashed with Upper Thames. The next year he was in the university's crew in the Henley Prize (which became the Brit the following year), then he was in the university crew which reached the semi-final of the Ladies' Plate in 1969, then in the Brit again in 1971. Geoff came 4th in lightweight singles at the World Championships in 1974 in Lucerne. His final HRR appearance was in the Townmead Wyfold four in 1981. I used to see Geoff not only at rowing events but also as a fellow promenader in the arena at the Royal Albert Hall, so I shall miss him, as will his many friends on the Tideway and and in the North. Now also a tribute from MAABC.

News of the death, on September 2nd, of George Saunders. He started his rowing at Erith RC and became one of the early members of The Tideway Scullers School with whom he trained whilst he was training for Doggetts (which he won in 1959). Thereafter he rowed with Crowland RC, then with Argosies RC (which was the official crew of the National Dock Labour Board). With Argosies he lost the final of the Thames Cup in 1963. Thereafter he joined Nautilus - the National Squad of the day - and when that club folded he largely gave up competitive rowing until returning as a veteran with Eton Mission and the Lea. He had a successful veteran career until shortly before his death. He was a Queen's Waterman for 48 years, and Apprentice Training Officer for the Company of Watermen and Lightermen for many years. Sometime President of Lea RC and a member of London RC, Remenham Club, and Leander Club.

August 2017 - Sad news of the death of Jim Railton. Jim was the ARA's first professional trainer in the 1960s, coach to TTRC's four of Mason/ Robertson/ Clark/ Smallbone, and for many years the rowing correspondent of the Times. An obituary from his long-time friend & fellow press-man Chris Dodd is on the "Hear the Boat Sing" website, with additional recollections from Tim Koch.
Funeral on Tuesday 29th 10.30am at St Mary le More & All Hallows, St Mary's St, Wallingford OX10 0EG (very near the market place), then 12.00 noon at the Oxford Crematorium, Bayswater Road, Headington OX3 9RZ.
Eventually a belated obituary in his own paper, The Times.

May 2017 - I was very sad to hear of the death, on 18th May, of Dame Di Ellis. Her contribution to our sport was immeasurable. Her name appears in the book of champions for the first National Championships in 1972 as the cox of the winning coxed four from St George’s LRC, and she had stroked the GB women’s eight at the European Championships in 1966. She was chairman at various times of a large number of committees, including the National Championships and the ARA Women’s Commission and served on the organising bodies of seven world events (including the 2005 World Cup and the 2006 World Rowing Championships). She was ARA & BR chairman from 1989 to April 2013, and honorary president since 2013. She was awarded the BR Medal of Honour in 2013. More detail is in this tribute from British Rowing. She was one of the first women to be elected to membership of Leander Club (in 1998) and had been a Steward of HRR since 1997. She was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2004, and a DBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2013. She was also a life vice-president of the British Olympic Association, from whom there is this tribute. Other obituaries include from Chris Dodd in The Guardian. I first worked with Di when we were both members of the information team at the 1986 World Championships, and she was always extremely generous with her support and encouragement for others in the sport. She will be very sadly missed by her many friends throughout the sporting world, and our thoughts go out to her family.
Memorial service will be on Thu 26 Oct at 1pm in Henley.

Feb 2017 - The death, at the end of January, of Lt Col David McLellan OBE, was further sad news for the umpiring community and those in the North-West. He rowed in the winning Imperial College crew in the Danesfield Cup in the one-day HRR in 1945. He then rowed for the Royal Engineers in the Wyfold in 1952 to 1954 (winning in 1954), then for MacMillan's crew in the Stewards in 1956 and for Thames in the Grand in 1956 and 1957. He was a FISA umpire from 1974 to 1991, & officiated (along with Desmond Hill) at the lightweight worlds in Bled in 1979. For many of us our main connection with David was during his time as chairman of NSR. He will be sadly missed.

Jan 2017 - Ian Fisher, who died on 27th January, was born in Scotland on 11 August 1946 and qualified as a solicitor in 1972, having studied at Merchant Taylors Crosby and St Andrews University. His father and one of his brothers played rugby at international level, but Ian took up rowing, and rowed for Liverpool Victoria RC in the Thames Cup at HRR in 1970 and 1971. Ian was an umpire for many years, multi-lane endorsed from 1981, and he held a FISA umpiring licence from 1989 to 2011, including being a member of the jury at the 2001 and 2006 World Championships and the 2008 Beijing Olympics (and a National Technical Official at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics). He was a past chairman of the National Competition Committee, and served the sport on a number of committees including the North West Regional Umpires Commission, Multi-Lane Umpiring Commission, ARA Rules Committee, ARA Council, and Executive. He was awarded the ARA medal of honour in 2008. He will be sadly missed by his many friends in rowing in the UK and around the world. See also obituary from British Rowing. After a cremation ceremony attended by family and close friends only, there will be a Service of Remembrance and Celebration at 13:30 on Friday 10^th February at St. Michael’s Church, Downhills Road, Blundellsands, L23 8SP, and afterwards at Waterloo Rugby Club, which is about 100 yards from the Church.

Nov 2016 - Richard Ayling, who died on November 1st at the age of 64, was the son of Peter Ayling, proprietor of Aylings the Putney blade makers and publishers of Rowing Magazine. Richard won Novice 8s with Kingston RC at Richmond Regatta in 1970, and by 1971 he was representing the club in the Britannia Challenge Cup at HRR, and reached the final of the Thames Cup the following year. In 1973 he represented KRC in the Stewards in a composite four with Leander and Wallingford, and in 1974 he had moved to Leander and raced in the Prince Philip and in the GB coxless four at the World Championships in Lucerne, then in 1975 won the Grand in the GB squad composite eight and raced in the GB coxed four at the Worlds in Nottingham. 1976 was his final year as an international, in the coxless four at the Montreal Olympics, after which he took up coaching, and in 1984 he began building racing boats when Aylings took over the Carbocraft business. Under his coaching, Kingston won the Britannia in 1978, the Goblets and Prince Philip in 1981, and the Prince Philip and Queen Mother in 1983, and Richard also coached a number of GB international crews. In later years he coached Kingston University, and juniors at various clubs, including Barn Elms, Kingston RC, and Putney High School. His wife, Astrid, was an international for Germany and then for GB, and our sympathy goes to her and to their family. See also this obituary from Martin Cross & Paul Reynolds. Richard's funeral will be on 23rd November at Holy Trinity Church Claygate at 11:00 11:30, and afterwards at Kingston RC at 13:00.

Oct 2016 - Sad news of the death of John Comer, president of Putney Town RC. John was for many years an umpire, and rowed during the 1980s at Kingston RC. See this tribute from PTRC.

Sep 2016 - Within a week we had the news of the deaths of Charlotte Easton, Ailish Sheehan, and Beryl Crockford:

Charlotte Easton had been battling cancer for nearly five years. She joined Vesta in the early 2000s, having previously rowed at Durham University. She won Vesta's first pennant at the Scullers Head in many years when she won WS4 in 2002, and the lightweight singles at Henley Women's in 2004 (Vesta's first win at HWR). See also this obituary in The Telegraph.

Ailish Sheehan died after an accidental fall shortly after she had won a bronze medal in W4- at the World University Championships in Poznan. Representing Ireland she had been 4th in W4- at the World Under 23 Championships in 2013, and had studied at Notre Dame in the U.S. before moving to the University of London. See this brief obituary from British Rowing, and this one in The Independent.

Beryl Crockford died on Sunday 11 September of injuries sustained 2 weeks earlier when she apparently cycled into a stationary car in the Olympic Park near her home in Sydney. As Beryl Mitchell she first represented GB at the World Championships in 1975 in the coxed four with Lin Clark, Clare Grove, & Gill Webb, coxed by Pauline Wright. She and Lin were the GB coxless pair at the 1976 Olympics and the 1977 World Championships. Beryl raced in the single at the 1979 World Championships, 1980 Olympics, 1981 World Championships (in which she won silver to give GB their first women's medal at a World Championships), 1982 & 1983 World Championships, & 1984 Olympics. In 1985 Beryl was reunited with Lin Clark, this time in lightweight double sculls, and won gold making them Britain's first women to take gold at any championships. Beryl's last World Championship competition was in the lightweight single in 1986. When women's invitational events were introduced to Henley Royal Regatta, Beryl won the inaugural single sculls in 1982. She was the first female member nominated for membership of Leander Club when the club voted in April 1997 to admit women members (after 179 years a male-only club). She coached with tremendous success at Lady Eleanor Holles School before moving to Australia. Many people who had not met her previously got to know her when she was acting as a volunteer at the 2012 Olympics at Dorney. Beryl had countless friends in the rowing community around the world and she will be very sadly missed, and our thoughts go to her husband, Duncan, son Daniel, and all of her family. Duncan has said that there will be a funeral in Sydney, but looking further ahead it is his intention to bring her ashes home to the UK and it is his dearest wish that her friends and family should gather together to celebrate her life and the huge impact she had on all our lives and then to finally join in laying her to rest. Beryl’s funeral was on Monday 19th September in Sydney. See also this obituary from Chris Dodd in The Guardian, and this one from British Rowing.
A memorial ceremony for Beryl will take place on Saturday 24 June 2017 at the Bandstand in Dukes Meadows at 10:30, and afterwards at MAABC.

Also in September came the sad news of the death, on Saturday 17th, of Rosie Mitchell of Kingston Rowing Club. Rosie, aged only 15, collapsed and lost consciousness during an outing in a coxless quad. Paramedics arrived promptly on the scene but were unable to revive her and she died in hospital shortly thereafter. Report in the Evening Standard, & obituary from BR. A celebration of Rosie's life will take place in Canbury Gardens, Kingston on 19th November from 13:00 to 15:00.

James Crowden, who died on 24th September at the age of 88, was in the Bedford School crew which reached the final of the Hedsor Cup in the HRR peace regatta in 1945, and was then in the Bedford crew which won the Princess Elizabeth in its first year, 1946, with the trophy being presented by the Princess (now the Queen) herself. He then went up to Pembroke College, Cambridge, and rowed in their crew which were runners-up in the Ladies’ in 1949, also winning the Colquhoun Sculls that year. In 1950 his Pembroke crews reached the semi-finals of the Ladies’ and the Visitors’, then he rowed in the Goldie BC eight which represented Great Britain in the European Championships and won the bronze medal. In 1951 his CUBC crew won the Boat Race re-row after the original race had been stopped when OUBC sank. At HRR that year his Pembroke crew won the Ladies’, and James also won the Goblets with Brian Lloyd of LMBC. Again James was in the Goldie BC crew representing GB at the European Championships, and this time they brought home the gold. In 1952 James rowed again in the Boat Race (this time as CUBC President), then at the Olympics he was in the coxless four which came 4th. He became a Steward of HRR in 1960, served on the Committee of Management from 1965 to 1992, umpired there from 1969 to 1984, and was also an ARA umpire. For many years he coached Pembroke (including the 1976, 77, and 78 Mays Head of the River crews) and CUBC. He was High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely for 1970-71 and was Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire from 1992 to 2002. See obituary in the Telegraph.

Derek Drury, who recently died at the age of 90, came to prominence as rowing master at Emanuel School from 1956 to 1966, culminating in the school’s winning the PE at HRR in 1966 (and Derek was there at HRR in 2016 to see the crew celebrate the 50th anniversary of that win). He began a series of 11 outright Schools’ Head wins for Emanuel in the period from 1962 to 1981, and in 1966 his first eight finished 6th in the Men’s Head of the River Race, a position which no other School crew has achieved to date. During his time at Emanuel he was also History Master, and Commander of the Naval Section of the C.C.F. He went on from Emanuel to Shiplake, and later Canford. He also coached with great success at Leander, Oxford, Cambridge, and Bryanston.

Jul 2016 - Sad news from Royal Chester RC of the death of their president, Keith Osborne. He won the Wyfold with Lensbury RC in 1949 (beating RCRC in the final), and also rowed in the Thames Cup the same year. He again rowed in the Thames and the Wyfold in 1950, and in the Wyfold in 1951. He moved with Shell to Cheshire in 1967, and was treasurer of RCRC for 30 years, and became president in 1998. He was also a vice-president of Walton and Weybridge Regatta (having served as Honorary Secretary from 1958 to 1963) and of Walton RC. He was editor of the British Rowing Almanack for an amazing 50 years (1961 to 2010 editions). His funeral will be on Thursday 14th July at St Peter's Church, Waverton at 2:15pm followed by committal at the crematorium. There will be a reception afterwards at Cheshire View, Plough Lane, Christleton. Obituary from British Rowing.

May 2016 - News that the memorial service for Ron Needs will be at 11.30am on 21 June at St Mary's Church in Henley.

Apr 2016 - Sad news of the death of Ron Needs, at the age of 90. Ron rowed for Quintin in the Thames Cup in 1950, 1951, & 1955, & in the Wyfold in 1954. His coaching achievements covered an enormously wide range of clubs and squads. He coached a number of clubs over the years (including my own club, Kingston, when they won the Brit in 1969), and when the GB squads were formed he coached many crews including lightweights and women. He was also for many years a coach at CUWBC. Among many other honours he was awarded the ARA Medal of Honour in 1987, and the Mussabini Medal in the UK Coaching Awards 2005, and he was a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta. He will be sadly missed by his many friends in Britain and around the rowing world. See tributes from BR and in the Henley Standard.
Further sad news came the same week with the death of John Beveridge. He won the PE with St Pauls in 1953 and rowed in the PE again in 1954 and 1955. He lost in the final of the Thames Cup with the RAF in 1956 and competed in the same event in 1957. He stroked the Jesus College Cambridge crew which won the Ladies in 1958 and was at 7 in the semi-final of the Thames Cup in 1959. Back at stroke he lost the final of the Ladies in 1960, then he lost the final of the Thames Cup in 1961. John rowed in the Boat Race in 1959, 1960 (as President), and 1961 (which CUBC won). In 1962 John was in the Molesey crews in the Grand and the Stewards, and the four won gold for England in the Commonwealth Games that year. He was Hon Sec of Leander Club from 1993 to 2000, and was for many years an umpire in the Thames Region.
The third loss in the same sad week was Dr John Marks of Girton College Cambridge, for some time senior treasurer of CUBC & CUWBC. He was co-author of "The Bumps" and of "Battle of the Blues". He will be sadly missed in Cambridge, and by his many friends outside the university. More information in a tribute from CUBC.

Dec 2015 - Sad news of the death, on 4th Dec, of Bryan Layton. He was a stalwart member of Cambridge '99 RC, had held various offices in the club for many years, and remained a director. Countless oarsmen will have met Bryan is his role as proprietor of A E Clothier, the outfitters responsible for a large proportion of the blazers seen at HRR each year. The funeral service is at Cambridge City Crematorium, West Chapel on Thursday 24th December at 11.15am.

Sep 2015 - Sad news of the death, on 3rd Sep, of Sir Adrian Cadbury. He rowed in the Cambridge blue boat in 1952, and the same year rowed in the GB 4- at the Olympics in Helsinki (coming 4th). He was elected a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta in 1969, and for many years was a timekeeper on launch 1 (where I enjoyed many races in his company). He was president of Birmingham RC, and in this year's New Year Honours was appointed a Companion of Honour. Memorial service at Birmingham Cathedral at 11 am on Tuesday 19th January 2016.

Aug 2015 - Kevin Whyman, cox of the GB junior 4+ in 1993 and of the winning CUBC crews in the 1996 and 1997 Boat Races, was the pilot killed in an accident during an aerobatic display at Oulton Park.

Jun 2015 - News of the death of Bill Clarke, captain of Kingston RC from 1960 to 1966, international umpire from 1969 to 1982, and GB team manager from 1973 to 1981. More details in an obituary in the Daily Telegraph.

May 2015 - News from Lea RC that Fred Johnson, who was a captain at Crowland RC and coach at Lea RC, passed away on 29th May 2015.

Apr 2015 - It seems that 2015 is a particularly sad one for losses of our rowing friends. In the early part of April we lost Hugh Bashaarat (Marlow & RAF), former chairman of the Thames Regional Umpires Commission, and (on the day before this year's Boat Race) Dick Pryce-Jones, former Executive Secretary of CUBC. Then, on 18^th April came the news of the death of Dick Thompson, former Captain, President, and Secretary of Walton RC and also a stalwart of Thames Valley Skiff Club. I had the pleasure of working with Dick for a number of years when he was Chairman of the Skiff Championships Regatta and I was Secretary; he will be sadly missed by his many friends in the rowing & skiffing communities. The funeral has now been arranged for Friday 8th May, 3.30pm at Randalls Park Crematorium, Leatherhead and afterwards at TVSC.

Mar 2015 - Sad news of the death of Peter Sly, president of Cygnet RC for the past 40 years. There are splendid obituaries from Cygnet, & in the Henley Standard.
March also brought confirmation that Michael Hill's body had been recovered from the Thames. Michael had been lost from his launch while coaching Thames RC in February. He had also coached London RC (see this tribute) and Latymer Upper School.

Feb 2015 - Sad news of the death on February 19^th, at the age of 54, of Nigel Smith. Nigel learnt to row at Emanuel School and was Honorary Secretary of the school Boat Club for three years from 1977 and subsequently coached for the school. He joined London Rowing Club in 1977 and joined the club committee in 1979 as Entries Secretary. In 1981 he became Assistant Secretary and two years later took over as Honorary Secretary, a post in which he served from 1983 to 2003. He rowed in the Captains' twelve-oar at Henley Royal Regatta as part of LRC's 125th Anniversary celebrations. He was also Hon Sec of the Metropolitan Regatta for more than 20 years. For many years he served as one of the chairman’s assistants at Henley Royal Regatta. He served also on the National Championships Committee, and was involved with the World Championships in 1986 and 1996. He became an ARA umpire in 1983, then received his multi-lane endorsement in 1994 and his FISA umpiring licence in 1999. He was a member of the Thames Regional Umpiring Commission and of the Executive of the Thames Regional Rowing Council. In 2012 he was awarded a Diamond Jubilee Medal by British Rowing, and this was richly deserved. In recent years Nigel worked for Chas & Julie Newens and could be seen driving the start boat to Chiswick Bridge for various heads, and safety boats for a variety of events (including the Parliamentary Boat Race where last June the House of Commons crew were grateful to be rescued by Nigel after they had capsized under Westminster Bridge after their race). He will be sadly missed by his many friends, particularly at LRC but also further afield.
It has now been announced that Nigel's funeral will be on March 23^rd, further details on LRC news page.

The death was reported on February 21^st, after a long illness, of Dan Topolski, OUBC's finishing coach from 1973 to 1987. Dan had been at Westminster School and New College, Oxford, and rowed in the 1967 and 1968 Boat Races. He rowed in the GB coxless four at the 1969 European Championships, and the lightweight four in the 1974 World Chamionships, then won silver in the lightweight four at the 1975 World Championships, and gold in the lightweight eight in 1977, before racing in the lightweight double in 1978. He went on to be coach of the GB women's squad, but it was for his 12 successes coaching OUBC that he was best known, including 10 consecutive races from 1976 to 1985. His book "True Blue" tels the story of the 1987 Oxford mutiny. He later became a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta.
A page of tributes is now available.

Jan 2015 - Sad news of the death, on January 11^th, of Ray Painter. Ray was Chairman of Thames Tradesmens RC for a number of years, including in the club's finest hour in 1976 when TTRC won the Grand at HRR and then provided half of the silver medal GB eight at the Montreal Olympics. In more recent years he was an active member of the Committee of Management at Leander Club, and was the club's representative on the ARA Council.

Dec 2014 - Sad news of the death, on December 22^nd, of Christopher Davidge OBE. He had interesting times in the University Boat Race, as his Oxford 1951 crew sank before the end of the Fulham wall and the race was re-rowed on the following Monday. The following year he stroked Oxford to victory by a canvas round the outside of the final bend at the end of a race where the lead had changed hands countless times. At HRR he won the Ladies' with Eton in 1948, the Stewards' in 1949 with Trinity Oxford, the Grand and Stewards with Leander in 1953, the Goblets in 1957 and 1958 with Tony Leadley, the Doubles in 1959 with Sam Mackenzie, the Grand in 1960 with Molesey, and the Goblets in 1963 again with Sam Mackenzie. He became a Steward of HRR in 1967, and served for 31 years on the Committee of Management. He rowed in the Olympics in 1952, 1956, & 1960, won bronze in the coxless pairs at the European Championships in 1954 and gold in 1957. He also won gold at the Empire & Commonwealth Games in 1962, in the coxless four. He was President of the ARA from 1977-85, and thereafter honorary life vice-president. He also served FISA for many years, including as an umpire for nearly 30 years and as Chairman of the Regattas Commission from 1976 to 1990. He will be sadly missed by his many friends. [See also a tribute from British Rowing, and a profile by Mike Rowbottom from R&R in 2011, and a further profile, again from Mike Rowbottom.]
A service of thanksgiving will be held at The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Henley-on-Thames, on Tuesday, March 17^th 2015, at 11.30 a.m.

Another death shortly before Christmas was that of Jim MacRitchie, who served as President then Secreatary of the Scottish ARA. Jim was still serving as a Scottish umpire this year, and his FISA umpiring career ran from 1985 to 2002. He umpired at the World Junior Championships in 1995, the World Championships in 1998, and the World Cup in 2001. He co-ordinated the work of the domestic umpires at the World Championships at Strathclyde in 1996, and performed similar duties at later international events at SCP. His last international jury duties were at this year's Commonwealth Championships. He will be sadly missed by his many friends, in Scotland and further afield. [His funeral was on Wednesday 7 Jan.] A tribute from Scottish Rowing, and an obituary from Mike Haggerty in The Scotsman.

Jan 2014 - Many friends, particularly those connected with school rowing, were sad to hear of the death on Jan 12^th of Nick Bevan. Nick won the Boat Race with Oxford in 1963, and subsequently had a year with LMBC in Cambridge. He coached successfully at Shrewsbury School, including wins at Schools Head, NSR, & HRR. He then went on to be Headmaster at Shiplake College from 1988 to 2004, and was a respected member of the committee of the National Schools Regatta. See also a moving tribute from Shiplake, & an obituary from the Telegraph.

Dec 2013 - The GB rowing team have lost two of their most stalwart supporters. On 5th December after a long illness, Heather Foster, wife of Brian Foster (Star Club) & mother of Tim & Jason; Heather & Brian were ardent followers of the GB team, and in the 1990s founded the British Rowing Supporters Club. Then on 12th December, suddenly in Henley, John Brockway, who drove countless thousands of miles towing boats for the GB team to training camps & regattas. Both will be sadly missed by their many friends around the rowing world, and our sympathies go to their respective families.

Jul 2013 - British Rowing announced the sad news of the death of Honorary Life Vice-President John Veats, formerly Chairman and Honorary Treasurer of the ARA. Further obit in The Guardian

Jun 2013 - The rowing world will be saddened to hear the news of the death of legendary Harvard coach Harry Parker. The news came just before HRR, scene of many of Harry's triumphs, the most recent being last year's one-foot verdict in the Ladies' Plate; the Henley towpath will seem empty without him. [See also tribute from Ed Hewitt of row2k]

Jan 2013 - News has been received of the death, at the tragically early age of 35, of Acer Nethercott, Oxford, Molesey, & GB cox. Acer began his coxing career at University College, Oxford, & coxed the Oxford women's blue boat to victory in 2000. After transferring to the men's crews he had victories with Isis in 2002 and the blue boat in 2003. His 2004 blue boat lost after a clash, but he won again in 2005. He coxed the GB eight from 2005 to 2008, with a bronze medal in the World Championships in 2007 and a silver in Beijing in 2008. All those who knew him will be sad to hear of his early death.

Earlier in January came the death of Alf Botterill, of Erith RC & Lea RC. Alf's death will be sad news for his many friends in the veteran rowing community, both in Britain and internationally.

Oct 2012 - News of the death, on October 29th, of Peter Sutherland, founder and president of Upper Thames RC. The story of the founding (in 1963) and early years of the club is given on UTRC's website. Peter was deservedly awarded the MBE in the Birthday Honours in 2008. An initial tribute has appeared in the Henley Standard, followed by a fuller obituary. He will be sadly missed by his many friends on the Henley reach and further afield.

Apr 2012 - News has been received from Peterborough of the death, on April 22nd, at the age of 82, of Rolls Pollard. Rolls was a stalwart & life servant of Peterborough City Rowing Club, becoming captain in 1957, chairman in 1969, and President in 2007. He was a past chairman of the Eastern Regional Umpires' Commission and was awarded the ARA Medal of Honour in 1989. He will be sadly missed by his many friends in Peterborough and in the sport at large.

Mar 2012 - On March 8th we heard the sad news of the death of Margaret Marshall of Derwent RC. For countless years, competitors in most of the regattas at Holme Pierrepont have collected their lane numbers from Margaret (and in earlier years from her late husband, Bill). They were so much a part of the organisation of regattas at NWSC that many competitors thought that the Marshals' hut from which they collected their numbers was named after Bill and Margaret. She similarly assisted with crew registration at many other events (and hence the photo here, thanks to Trent RC). In more recent years she was also often to be seen at the launch stage where the launch drivers were kept supplied with coffee during their duties. Margaret was secretary of Nottinghamshire County Rowing Association for most if not all the time of the association's existence, and was a stalwart supporter wherever "her boys" were racing. At HRR she was proud to say that she was the only lady to have her name engraved on the Ladies Plate, after NCRA's memorable win in the event. She was awarded the ARA Medal of Honour in 1989 for her service to the sport, and she will be sadly missed by her many friends, not just in the East Midlands but throughout the country. Margaret’s funeral will be on Monday 26th at 14:45 at Markeaton Crematorium Derby. The wake will be at Derby RC afterwards.

This was followed on March 9th by the news of the sudden death of Pat Lunney of City of Oxford RC (and Evesham RC). Pat had been an umpire for many years, as well as being involved in the organisation of various events in Oxford. Our sympathy goes to his family at this sad time. [Tribute on BR website]
The funeral will be 3pm Thursday 22nd March at St Marys Church, Charlbury. Family say no flowers please but donations to the RNLI if people wish.

Sep 2011 - Belatedly, news of the death (on Aug 23rd) of David Lunn-Rockliffe, former Executive Secretary of the ARA and one of the founders of the River & Rowing Museum and of the Rowing Foundation. Obituary from Chris Dodd in the Henley Standard.
Later in September came the sad news of the death of Keith Ticehurst. Keith was an ex-captain of London RC, having coxed the LRC eight in the Thames Cup in 1973 and 1974, but to many in the sport he was best known for his excellent cartoons. His cremation will be in Northampton on Fri 7 Oct. Keith's ashes are to be scattered in the Thames near LRC followed by a piss-up (his words!!) at the Club; no date for that yet, but I'll try to include details here when known, as there will be many friends who will wish to say their farewells.

Jul 2011 - It was a shock to hear of the sudden death, on the morning of HRR finals day, of Doug "Chippy" Carpenter. He had been at HRR the previous day, and an interview with him that day is linked from the Quintin BC report on his death. He rowed in the Hampton eight in the PE in 1971, then in the Kingston RC eight which reached the Thames Cup final in 1972, and in the Leander eight in the Thames Cup in 1973 and 1975. In 1976 he was in the London RC eight in the Grand, which went on to win the silver medal in lightweight eights at the World Championships. In 1977 he was in the Quintin eight in the Thames Cup, and in 1979 he rowed for London RC in the Goblets. In 1980 his Thames Tradesmen eight reached the semi-final of the Thames Cup, and he also sculled in the Diamonds. In 1982 he represented London RC in the Thames Cup.

Jun 2011 - Sad news of the death, after a long illness, of Kevin Bruton of Nottingham and Union Rowing Club. He rowed in the Thames Cup in 1959 and 1960, and in the Wyfold in 1961, but many of us got to know him as a stalwart worker at the regattas at Nottingham, including running the launch-driving team. The Funeral will take place at Woodborough Village Church at 11-00am on 20th June 2011, and burial will be in the cemetery at the Church. There will be a wake at the NURC 12-30pm onwards. He will be sadly missed by his many friends in the sport.

News also of the death, at the age of 80, of David King of Thames RC. He represented TRC in the Thames Cup in 1958/59/60/61 (reaching the final in 1958), and held many offices in the club. He was a timekeeper for the Head of the River Race for 50 years, almost 40 as Chief Timekeeper, and introduced detailed statistical analysis of the times. The funeral will be at Mortlake Crematorium on Friday 8th July, at 2pm.

Feb 2011 - On February 2nd came the sad news of the death, at the age of 87, of Gordon Dear. Gordon, a pupil of Emanuel School (including the time when they were evacuated to Bedales during WWII), reached the final of the Thames Cup at HRR for Thames RC in 1950, went out to the winners in 1951, raced again in the Thames Cup in 1952 (against a UL crew including such notables as Alan Watson and Geoffrey Page), and in 1953 against an RAF crew which included Ken Cross and Colin Porter. In 1955, Gordon's TRC crew won the Wyfolds; the HRR report says: "Thames were outstanding, being smooth and long and their steering faultless. They won all their races convincingly, ...". Gordon, of course, was the faultless steersman. In 1956 in the Stewards, Gordon raced in "RAF Macmillan's crew" (another crew from Thames), losing by 3 feet to the official Thames crew who went on to win the event, and Gordon was again in the Stewards in 1957. He raced again in the Wyfolds in 1958 (in which year he was spare man for the England team at the Empire Games), and in 1960. After a long wait for another HRR win for TRC, Gordon was particularly delighted to be able to watch Thames win the Wyfolds again in 2003. For many people in recent years their contact with Gordon will have been through skiffing and punting. He was President of The Skiff Club, and of the Skiff Racing Association, and continued to be an umpire in skiffing and punting. Skiff Club friends were with him at the end, and he will be sadly missed by his many friends throughout the sports of skiffing, punting, and rowing. His funeral will be at Kingston Crematorium, Bonner Hill Road, Kingston at 3pm on Friday 25th February, and afterwards at The Skiff Club. Further announcement: We have become concerned that Kingston Crematorium and The Skiff Club will be unable to accommodate the many friends and colleagues wishing to attend Gordon Dear’s funeral. It is for this reason that we have changed the venue to Mortlake Crematorium on 25th February at 3pm and afterwards at Thames Rowing Club, Embankment, SW15 1LB. We apologise for this change of arrangements, and sincerely hope that this will not inconvenience anyone, and that word of this change will reach as many friends as the previous communication. A splendid collection of photos of Gordon on the SC news page

In what has been a very sad week for the sport, news came on Feb 4th of the death, at the age of 78, of Hart Perry, just 2 weeks after receiving the 2010 World Rowing award for Distinguished Service to International Rowing. Hart had over 50 years of contributions to the sport of rowing, including many years of success as coach to Kent School. He served as a FISA umpire from 1971 to 1999 and was for many years a member of the FISA Youth Commission. He was the executive director of the US National Rowing Foundation and past president of the NAAO (predecessor of USRowing). He had also been a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta since 1975, and umpired there from 1981 to 1998. He will be sadly missed by his many friends throughout the rowing world.

Jan 2011 - Sad news of the death on January 29th, at the age of 69, of Michael Jones. Michael raced in the Wyfolds for Henley RC in 1961, and later served as the club's captain. He was an umpire for many years, including as a member of the Thames Regional Umpires Commission from 1990 to 2006, and as secretary of the National Umpires Commission from 1995 to 2007. He was, for 12 years, secretary of Henley Town & Visitors Regatta, and also for many years (from 1980) organised the temporary staff at Henley Royal Regatta (a role now undertaken by Michael's son). He was a past committee member of Leander Club, and was the club's archivist, and after he retired from his career in banking he wrote two books on rowing, the first a "Guide to Rowing" (aimed particularly at newcomers to rowing, and at parents and relatives of youngsters taking up the sport), and the second a "Guide to Henley - Regatta & Reach" (again aimed primarily at those new to the event). He will be sadly missed by his many friends in the sport. News now received: "A memorial service will be held at St Mary’s Church, Henley at 12 noon on Thursday 17 February, followed by refreshments at Leander. The family have requested that the dress code include blazers and club colours to help celebrate a life committed to all things rowing."

Nov 2010 - Members of Thames RC and other friends will be sad to hear of the death, at the age of 82, of Alan Hawes. He represented TRC in the Thames Cup at HRR from 1954 to 1957, and in more recent years served for 15 years as Hon Sec (Rowing) at the club, and coached many of the club's members. Most umpires in the Thames Region will have spent many a happy hour in Alan's company when he was driving Beaujolais, and our sympathies go to his family.

Later in November came the news of the death of Colin Slee, dean of Southwark. He rowed at HRR in the PE for Ealing Grammar School in 1964, then went up to UL where he won his purple. He rowed for Tyrian in the Thames Cup in 1967 and in 1968 (in which year he also rowed in the Henley Prize, which became the Britannia the following year). He was the preacher at the Royal Regatta service last year. Obituaries in the Telegraph and the Guardian. The funeral is at Southwark Cathedral on Saturday 3rd December at 1100.

Oct 2010 - We were shocked and saddened to hear of the death, at the age of 51, of Andy Holmes. None who were glued to the TV in 1984 will forget the sight of the coxed four coming through the mist of Lake Casitas to give GB their first Olympic rowing gold since 1948. Andy won another Olympic gold in Seoul in 1988 in the coxless pair, and also a bronze in the coxed pair. He had started his rowing career at Latymer Upper School, whom he represented in the Special Race for Schools at HRR in 1977 & 1978. His first Henley win came in the Thames Cup for Leander in 1979, followed by the Britannia in 1980. By 1981 he had moved to Kingston RC, and won the Prince Philip in the four which went on to be 5th at the World Championships. He won the Grand in the GB squad eight in 1982, and the eight were 9th at the Worlds. Another Prince Philip win for KRC came in 1983, and the four formed half of the eight which were 11th at the Worlds. Yet another Prince Philip win came in 1984, in what was to be the Olympic gold medal winning four. In 1986 he was in the Nautilus eight that won the Grand as well as winning the Goblets with Steve Redgrave, then at the Commonwealth Games he won gold in the coxed four and coxless pair, then the pair took a cox on board and won the gold at the World Championships in Nottingham. The following year the pair did coxed and coxless at the Worlds, winning silver & gold respectively, having retained the Goblets at HRR. In 1988 Andy had a rib injury, stopping him and Steve from defending the Goblets, but fortunately he had recovered in time to win the gold and bronze in Seoul. After such a successful competitive career, Andy was away for the sport for many years, but his friends were glad to see him return in recent years to coach Furnivall Sculling Club. His death came a shock to his many friends, and though the cause of death has not been officially confirmed, it is suspected that it may have been from leptosirosis (or Weil's disease). British Rowing have issued an reminder of the guidance on reducing the risk of water-borne diseases. [See also obituary from RQ in the Telegraph, & relive those Lake Casitas memories in this video on YouTube.] News of a memorial on 20 November.

Aug 2010 - Sad news of the death of Tony Fox. Tony, from Pembroke College, Cambridge, won the silver medal in singles at the European Championships in 1951; by then he had joined London RC, and he represented GB at 3 more European Championships, and at the Olympics in 1952 and 1956. Obituary, with details of successes in the Diamonds & the Wingfields, from LRC, & also from Daily Telegraph.

Also news of the death of John Coates, the naval architect responsible for the re-creation of a Greek trireme.

Jul 2010 - Sad news of the death (at the age of 57) of Alistair Graham. Alistair was a former Captain of Kingston Rowing Club, and also held office at Dittons Skiff and Punting club and in the Thames Punting Club. He rowed in the Wyfold for Saxon BC in 1974, and in the Thames Cup for Kingston in 1975 and for Saxon in 1977. He will be sadly missed by his many friends at KRC, DSPC, and the TPC. Funeral Fri 13 Aug 2pm at Surbiton Methodist Church, Ewell Road, Surbiton, & afterwards at Glenmore House, Surbiton Crescent. Private family cremation.

News also of the death, at the age of 73, of Peter Hilditch, of London Rowing Club. His funeral will be at 11.00 on Friday 6th at Mortlake crematorium.

Jun 2010 - Sad news of the death, at the age of 23, of Katrina Jacks, previously of Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls. Report in the Daily Mail.

Then on 17th June came the sad news of the death, after a 5-year battle with cancer, of Andy Ripley, former president of Tideway Scullers. Andy, of course, first came to prominence as an England rugby international, then won BBC Superstars and subsequently began collecting ergometer world records and only later was persuaded to take up rowing. He became a powerhouse of veteran crews for TSS, and narrowly missed selection to row for Cambridge at the age of 50. A month ago he was presented with his OBE at Buckingham Palace. Andy was an amazing man who made a great impression on anyone fortunate enough to meet him. He will be sadly missed by his many friends throughout the sport. Details from TSS about the private funeral, then memorial service in December, & about T-shirts being sold in aid of The Prostate Cancer Charity.

And just before HRR came the news of the death of Tom Sutton. Tom was a past president of Henley Town & Visitors Regatta, and was for many years a commentator for the BBC on the Boat Race.

May 2010 - Sad news of the death, a few days short of his 64th birthday, of John Peters (Molesey Boat Club & Leander Club). Report in the Henley Standard.
Funeral date: Friday, 18th June 2010 at 11 a.m. at St. Mary's, Henley followed by burial at Fairmile Cemetery, Henley; afterwards at Leander Club.

Jan 2010 - The New Year began with the sad news of the death, on New Year's Day, of Carl Smith, aged 48. He died in a car accident while returning home after training at Nottingham RC.  Carl was Britain's most successful lightweight oarsman, with 4 gold, 1 silver, and 3 bronze medals at World Championships.  He started coxing at Nottingham and Union at the age of 12, and sculled in the GB junior quad in 1979.  His first world championship gold came on his home course at Holme Pierrepont in LM2x in 1986 (the same year in which he had won Commonwealth Games bronzes in M2x & LM1x), and he also won in LM4- in 1991 and 1992, and in LM8o in 1994.  His silver was in LM4- in 1983, and his bronzes in LM4- in 1984, LM2x in 1987, and LM8o in 1990.  Other world championship appearances were in LM1x in 1981 & 1988, LM2x in 1985 & 1995, and LM8o in 1996.  
His career at Henley Royal Regatta will best be remembered for the Ladies Plate final against Harvard in the HRR sesquicentennial year of 1989, when the NCRA eight won in a record time, then had to re-row after Harvard claimed interference from a piece of driftwood caught on the fin, and won the re-row that evening in another record time.  His first HRR appearances were for Nottingham & Union in the Wyfolds and Doubles in 1980, then the Diamonds in 1981, and he won the Wyfolds for Nottingham BC in 1982.  He represented NCRA in the Grand and Stewards in 1983, and with NCRA won the Wyfolds again in 1984, and raced in the doubles in 1985.  1990 brought another NCRA win against Harvard, this time in the Thames Cup after the Ladies Plate rules had changed.  In 1991 the Ladies  Plate had another rule change and the NCRA/ Lea composite lost to the winners, then in 1992 the NCRA four won the Stewards and as a quad narrowly lost in the final of the Queen Mother. He was in the NCRA Stewards four in 1993, and in 1994 the LRC/ NCRA composite were finallists in the Ladies Plate. In 1996 Carl reached the semi-finals of the Ladies with NCRA/ LRC and of the Stewards with NCRA, and 5 years later Carl represented NCRA in the first year of the new event for Mens Quads.
After retirement from rowing, Carl continued as a coach, including for Nottingham University and Nottingham RC.  He will be sadly missed by his many friends in Nottingham and throughout the sport.
Details of funeral arrangements on the Nottingham RC website.  Eulogy given by Hugh Matheson at Carl's funeral.

Also in January came news of the death on 9th January, about 2 weeks before his 94th birthday, of Jack Ormiston.  He joined London RC in 1932 when he was 16, after leaving Westminster School.  His active rowing career at LRC culminated in a Wyfold win in 1937 and his last appearance at Henley was in 1939.  Jack's family have been heavily involved in all aspects of the River Thames including rowing and skiffing;  his uncle Rex was the name behind the 'Ormiston Trophy' competed for by skiff clubs.  Jack was President of the Skiff Club and a founder of the River Thames Society.  He was elected a Vice-President of LRC in 1987, and President from 1994 to 2001.  His funeral was at 2 pm on Wednesday 27th January at St Matthias Church, Richmond upon Thames, Surrey TW10 6NE.  

Then on 10th January came the death of Bert Bushnell, Britain's oldest surving rowing gold medallist, at the age of 88.  Bert won the doubles in 1948 (at Henley) with Richard Burnell, then in the European Championships the following year they came 5th.  At HRR, Bushnell (representing Maidenhead RC) had lost to Burnell in the Diamonds in 1946, and to Jack Kelly in the semi-final in 1947.  He reached the final in 1948, losing to Merv Wood of Australia who won the Olympic singles that year, then in 1949 Bushnell and Burnell lost in the Doubles in a record-breaking race against the Olympic finallists from Denmark.  Bert won the Wingfields in 1947, having lost to Burnell in the final the previous year.  His funeral was on Wednesday 27th January, at St Mary's, Henley-on-Thames, at 2:30.  [Obituaries in Henley Standard & on BBC radio.]

Nov 2009 - Friends in Henley and elsewhere will be sad to hear of the death (on Tuesday 17th Nov) of Teddy Selwyn, former captain of Henley RC, and President of Henley Town & Visitors Regatta as long ago as 1975. Teddy was born in 1921, was a pilot in WWII, and represented Henley RC in the Wyfolds in 1948 and 1949, then rowed in the Goblets in 1950 and the Thames Cup in 1951.  He lived in Barn Cottage in Remenham Lane for more than 60 years, and it was after his home that Barn Cottage Boat Club was named.  The funeral was on Thursday 26th November at 3pm at Remenham Church.  A tribute to Teddy appeared in the Henley Standard, followed by a further obituary, & more memories.  

Oct 2009 - Friends in the North-East and elsewhere will be sad to hear of the death (on Monday 12th Oct) of Norman Howitt.  Norman was President of Cambois RC, and had been one of only two multi-lane umpires in the Northern region.  He had to step down from the umpires' list at the end of 2008, having reached the age of 70 in February of that year, and he will be fondly remembered by his many friends in the umpiring community.  His service to the sport as a volunteer was recognised with the award of an IOC diploma in 2001.  He will be sadly missed.

Sep 2009 - Friends in Henley and elsewhere were sad to hear of the death, in a motor-cycle accident, of Paul Langguth.  Paul was affectionately known as "The Bear", and stroked the Imperial College eight in the Ladies Plate in 1976 then rowed for Leander Club (reaching  the finals of the Thames Cup in 1977 and 1978) and subsequently for Upper Thames.  See report and obituary in the Henley Standard. 

Members of the Cambridge rowing community will have been sad to hear of the death of Ian Thompson.  Ian was Dean of Chapel at King's College, and previous Dean at Selwyn and Chaplain at Selwyn and Newnham.  He was Senior Treasurer of Cambridge University Combined Boat Clubs, and coached at Chesterton Rowing Club.

Jul 2009 - Friends throughout the sport, and particularly in veteran rowing, will be sad to hear of the death, on July 9th, of Harry Harvey.  Harry, from Derby RC, served as ARA Div Rep from 1988 to 1998, Chairman of the East Midlands Regional Umpires Commission from 1985 to 1998, and Chairman of the ARA Veteran Rowing Commission from 1995 to 2006.  He was awarded the ARA Medal of Honour in 1999.  As Harry had founded Henley Veteran Regatta, it was poignant that news of his death should arrive on the first day of this year's regatta.  Our sympathy goes to his family.

Staines BC stalwart and Remenham member Ted Dyos passed away peacefully at St. Peter's Hospital on Saturday evening (July 18th) after a short illness. SBC members were at his bedside.  Ted was a member of SBC for over 50 years and was made an honorary member of the club a few years ago in recognition of his service. He was a very successful cox before moving into coaching, and boys coached by Ted won countless regattas and heads over the years.  He will be very much missed.  Funeral arrangements are on the SBC website.

Mar 2009 - Scott Rennie, who died suddenly at Molesey BC on Friday 6th March at the age of 25, had represented GB at EUSA and World University Championships.  There are many tributes to him on the MBC website.

Laurie Halifax, who died on Saturday 7th March, had been a prominent and popular member of the rowing community in Cambridge for countless years, and was a past president of City of Cambridge RC.  He competed in Veterans/ Masters events at home and abroad for many years, and will be missed by his many friends in Cambridge and further afield.  Details of funeral arrangements are on The Rowing Service website.  

Feb 2009 - Members of Vesta RC and of Remenham Club will be sad to hear of the death of Richard Burnett.  He was a Vice-President of Vesta and had co-founded the Vets Head.  He was for many years the Hon Sec of Remenham Club, and will be missed by his many friends from all the founding clubs.

Jan 2009 - News has been received of the death of Bryan Griffin.  Bryan won the Wyfolds with the Royal Engineers in 1956, and was a former President of Staines Boat Club and a member of Worcester Rowing Club.  He will be sadly missed by his many friends in rowing, and particularly at Remenham Club.

Dec 2008 - Members of the HRR commentary team and other friends will be sad to hear of the death of Jim Rutland.     Jim rowed in the Thames Cup for Upper Thames in 1968, and was also a member of Thames RC and Henley RC.  He had been a member of the HRR commentary team for over 30 years (and was a member of the commentary team rowing club - Fawley Way), and was also a member of the commentary team at numerous other regattas, including HWR, HVR, and the National Championships.  Jim's funeral will be at St Mary's Henley at 11.00am on Monday 15th December, and afterwards at Leander.  Family requests no flowers, and for rowing club (etc) ties to be worn.

Further sad news for Upper Thames was that Sid Rand died on Christmas Day.  He won the Wingfield Sculls in 1954, won the silver medal in that year's Empire Games, and represented GB in the single at the 1954  & 1959 European Championships & the 1960 Olympics, and in the double (with his brother) at the 1956 Olympics.  [Obituary from the Henley Standard.]   The memorial service for Sid will be held at 2pm on Friday 30th January at St Mary's Church in Henley.

Oct 2008 - News has been received of the death of Shauna McGibbon, whom many will have met as GB team doctor. Recently Shauna has been a sports physician with the English Institute for Sport in the East Midlands.  More details now available:
"Funeral Monday 3rd November at Wilford Hill Crematorium at 14:40 hrs.   Afterwards at the Beeches Hotel on Wilford Lane.
Copy of announcement in Nottingham Evening Post:
McGIBBON - SHAUNA Doctor and athlete, died peacefully with her family in Dumfries after a long illness. The funeral service to take place at Wilford Hill Crematorium on Monday 3rd November 2008 at 2.40pm Family flowers only please, but donations if desired, by cheques payable to "Glasgow University Brain Tumour Research" may be sent to Co-Operative Funeralcare 18 Tudor Square, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 6BT. Telephone 0115 9817444 ".

The latest  news in a particularly sad month was the death on October 28th of Sally Ann Panton (formerly Petrie) of Thames Tradesmens RC.  Sally Ann was a member of Twickenham RC when she represented GB in LW4- in 1985, the first year in which lightweight women's events were held at the World Championships, and she was again in the GB LW4- in 1987.  Her death came after a battle with cancer, and our sympathy goes to her family and many friends.

Sep 2008 - Friends from King's College, Cambridge, from HRR, and elsewhere will be sad to hear of the death, at the ago of 81, of David Chipp.  Editor-in-chief of the Press Association from 1969 to 1986, David had been a Steward of HRR since 1975, and was chairman of the Press Committee for the 1975 World Rowing Championships at Nottingham.  Those of us who were privileged to share the back of a launch with him at HRR will miss him sadly. 
His memorial service was held at St Brides Church, Fleet Street (he was a beadle there), at 11am on Thursday 20th November, with a reception afterwards at Stationers' Hall.  No flowers and no black ties please.

Further sad news, of the death  (on Sunday 28th September) of another HRR Steward, David Parry of Walton Rowing Club. David's duties at HRR for many years were in the judging box at the finish.  He represented Walton RC in the Wyfolds in 1958, 1959 (reaching the final), and 1960, then represented Tideway Scullers School in Thames and Wyfold in 1962, lost to the winners of the Goblets in 1963, won the Prince Philip with Molesey in 1964 (also racing in the Grand), and the PP 4 went on to represent GB at the 1964 European Championships.  David reached the final of the Prince Philip again in 1965 (for TSS), and the final of the Grand in 1967 (again for TSS).  He served in many positions of authority in the sport, and in recent years was a trustee of the Rowing Foundation.  He will be sadly missed by his many friends throughout the sport.  A notice from Walton RC re family funeral, future memorial service, and donations in his memory.  Memorial service at St Mary the Virgin Church, Henley-on-Thames on Thursday, 4th December 2008, at 3.00 p.m.

Aug 2008 - Friends in Nottingham and elsewhere will be sad to hear of the death of Freddie Brooks.   Freddie was President of NCRA, Vice president of Nottingham & Union, and for countless years one of the leading lights of Nottingham rowing.  He was awarded the ARA medal of honour in 1992.  Many a generation of multi-lane umpire knew Freddie as one of the most experienced of the team of launch drivers at Holme Pierrepont, and he will be sadly missed by his many friends in the sport.  His funeral took place on Wednesday 27th August.

May 2008 - News has been received of the death (peacefully, on Friday 16^th May) of Harold Blogg of Maidenhead RC.  Harold and his wife Janet served as umpires until reaching retirement date at the end of last year, and both were involved in running Maidenhead Regatta for many years.  Harold was a past president of Thames Regional Rowing Council, and will be sadly missed by his many friends;  our sympathy goes to Janet and to their family.

Members of Kingston Rowing Club will be sad to hear of the death of Steve Chasey.  He died peacefully in Kingston Hospital on 27th May after a short illness. Steve's funeral was at Kingston Crematorium on Wednesday 4th June at 2:20.  

Apr 2008 - Quintin BC have announced the sad news of the death of George Marshall.  George had joined QBC after the demise of Ibis RC, and I remember George particularly for his success in coaching the Ibis RC ladies, including getting at least one coxed four straight through from winning novices  all the way to winning Senior 1 in the same season.

Mar 2008 - Friends at London RC and elsewhere will be sad to hear of the death, on March 2nd, of Tony Owen;  no news yet of funeral arrangements.

Feb 2008 - Friends from Molesey BC and elsewhere will be sad to hear of the death, at his home in Kent, of Bob Poulter.  Also, the ARA have announced the sad news of the death, at his home in Northwich, of Tim Hooper (more details on Northwich RC site).  They will each be sadly missed by many friends in the sport.

The month of February ended with the sad news of two more deaths.  Peter Ament was a member of London Rowing Club and of Twickenham Rowing Club, and also a strong supporter of Kings School, Canterbury.  Peter Little was until recently the master in charge of rowing at Merchant Taylors School, Crosby.  Both will be sadly missed.

Jan 2008 - News has been received of the death of Willie Ross on Thursday 3rd January.  He was 69, and joined Thames RC in 1961.  He coxed various Thames crews in the 1960s & 70s, was House Steward in 1980, Captain in 1981, and Chairman in 1984.  He also coxed and coached Elizabethan BC, the Westminster School Old Boys.  Willie's funeral was held on Wednesday 16th January at Mortlake Crematorium at 4pm, and afterwards at The Ship (Mortlake).

Further sad news, that George Plumtree of Twickenham RC died on Wednesday 9th January.  He was well-known in clubs up and down the Thames, and, for example, coached Cygnet RC in the late 1970s.  He will be sadly missed by his many friends.  George's funeral took place at 10:30am on Tuesday 22nd January, at St Mary the Virgin, Church Street, Twickenham, and afterwards at the Royal British Legion, Popes Grove, Twickenham.

Members of the commentary team of Henley Royal Regatta will be sad to hear of the death, on Christmas Day (2 days after his 81st birthday), of one of their retired members, Henry Probert. Another obituary appeared in the Liverpool Daily Post.

Nov 2007 - News has been received of the death of Alec Hodges on Thursday 8th November.  He had had an operation a few weeks ago and failed to recover.   A celebration of his 80th birthday took place at Tideway Scullers School in September but unfortunately he had been taken into hospital and was unable to attend.  His coaching career is legendary, and he will be sadly missed by his many friends, both at TSS and throughout the rowing community.  A tribute page can be found on the TSS website.

Oct 2007 - The many friends of Ted Bell will be sad to hear of his death.  There is a brief obituary on Vesta RC's website, but no funeral details yet.  Ted had also been a member of Molesey BC and Staines BC, but to many of us he was best known in his skiffing career with Dittons Skiff & Punting Club.  He was for many years the organiser of Hampton Court & Dittons Regatta, and also served the Skiff Racing Association as Hon Treasurer and as veteran handicap recorder (though even the latter role didn't stop him engaging in a  friendly "dutch auction" at the start of a race as the handicaps were negotiated).  His funeral was at Putney Vale 12.40 Wednesday 7th November and afterwards at Dittons Skiff & Punting Club.

Members of Kingston Rowing Club and of Kingston Grammar School will be sad to hear of the death of Ken Cripps on Tuesday 23rd October, at the grand age of 98.  He was Master of English at KGS from 1944 to 1971, and remained a strong supporter of the school, and of Kingston RC.  Funeral is on Thursday 15 Nov at 11am at Putney Vale Crematorium, and afterwards at the Antoinette Hotel in Kingston.

Jul 2007 - Members of London Rowing Club, and other friends, were sad to hear of the death of John Pinches, oarsman & medal-maker.  An obituary appeared in The Times.

Jun 2007 - Members of Kingston Rowing Club and of the Skiff Club will be sad to hear of the death of Bryan Jones.  "Jonesey" had been a member of KRC since the 1960s, was a stalwart supporter of the club, and had run the KRC 200 Club for a number of years.  He enjoyed outings in an eight with his KRC friends in the "Leviathan" group (as recently as the weekend before last), and was also often seen (with his wing-mirror on his cap) steering a 4-, or a 2- with his long-standing friend Dennis Moore (who was unable to see, and therefore wasn't frightened by Jonesey's steering!).  He would also (with a belt of bells) act as a guide for Dennis running through Richmond Park.  Bryan died on the morning of Tuesday 26 June while walking his dog.  Sympathies go to his wife and family.  He will be sadly missed by his many friends.  The funeral has been held privately, but a social event in his memory will be held on Sunday 22nd July at KRC.
More sad news for Kingston members had come a few weeks earlier with the death of Ralph Scott.  Ralph was best known to many as the Hon. Treasurer of Remenham Club for 33 years, & will be sadly missed by his friends from all 7 founding clubs.

May 2007 - Sad news has been received of the sudden death on Tue 22 May, of Dick Garrett, former captain of Bedford RC and one of the country's best-known veteran competitors.  In recent times he had raced for Upper Thames & Wallingford as well as for Bedford, but my earliest memories of him were when he was racing for St Neots.  More news, including funeral arrangements, on the Bedford RC website.  
The sad news for Bedford continued with news of the death of their former president, John Smith, aptly described on the club website as a "larger than life character".
This same week brought news of the death of Harry Billyeald of Nottingham & Union RC;  Harry was known to regatta organisers at Nottingham for many years as the expert operator of the photo-finish equipment. 
All three of these will be sadly missed by their many friends in rowing.

Apr 2007 - News of the death of Roy Davis (1926 - 2007) who was boatman for Emanuel School and Civil Service Ladies/ Cygnet RC before his retirement some while ago. He was instrumental, with a number of other parents, in the rebirth of Dacre BC (Emanuel Old Boys) for them to row and race. As a noble band of novice veterans they caused only a few ripples on the Thames but maybe set a trend that other clubs have since followed.  All three of his sons rowed for the school and Dacre.  John raced for Thames and is now also a member of Bewl Bridge.  Paul rowed actively for Thames and is married to Sue Key, a former World medallist;  Sue is a Vice President of Thames and Paul acted as architect/designer for their new Burrough Building gymnasium.

Feb 2007 - Members of Kingston Rowing Club are sad to hear of the death, at the age of 97, of Dick Offer, the club's past president.  Dick was also a past president of the Skiff Club.  Dick was one of 3 brothers who rowed for KRC (Tom, Dick, and Jack).  Dick and Jack won the Goblets at Henley Royal Regatta in 1936 (the club's only HRR win in a long period between 1909 and 1969), and represented England at the Empire Games in Sydney in 1938 (winning a silver medal).  He was taken into hospital on Monday 5th February and died overnight.   The funeral was on Monday 19th February at 4.15 pm at Randall's Park Crematorium, Leatherhead, and afterwards at The Woodlands Park Hotel, Cobham.  Our sympathies go to Dick's family.  An obituary has now appeared in the Surrey Comet.

News has also been received of the death of Alan Watson of University of London Boat Club, Steward of HRR.  He was a member of the British eight at the  1955 European Championships and the 1956 Olympics.  More details in the obituaries on RQ's site & in The Times.

Jan 2007 - News has been received of the death of Sid Clay, President of the Head of the River Fours since 1991 (and formerly Chief Timekeeper), and former Secretary and President of Auriol Rowing Club.  An obituary appears on the HoR4s website.

News has also been received of the death, on January 25th, of Albert Andrews, for more than three decades the boatman to OUBC. His funeral is being held at 11:15am on Friday 2nd February at the Oxford Crematorium, with a gathering afterwards (approx. 12 noon) at City of Oxford Rowing Club beside Donnington Bridge, Oxford.

Dec 2006 - News has been received of the sudden death, on Christmas Day, at the age of 76, of John Webb.  John was brought up in Johannesburg, and was a member of  South Africa's coxless four at the 1952 Olympics, then competed in the Grand in 1953 for Thames Rowing Club.  John, a former mayor of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, was a member of the organising committee for the World Rowing Championships at Dorney this year.  He was for many years a member of the Thames Regional Umpires Commission, and was involved in the organisation of a number of regattas over the years, particularly Reading Amateur.  His funeral took place on Friday 5th January at the church of St John the Baptist, Windsor.

News has also been received of the death, during the week before Christmas, of Fred Lambert.  Fred represented Crowland RC in the 1958 and 1959 Thames Cup, Thames RC in the 1960 Thames Cup, 1961, 1962, and 1965 Grand and Stewards, The Skiff Club in the 1963 Stewards, and Molesey BC in the 1966 Wyfolds.  Fred's Thames four represented GB at the 1961 European Championships.  When Crowland became part of Lea Rowing Club, Fred was a strong supporter of the new club.

John and Fred will each be sadly missed by their many friends in the sport.

Oct 2006 - News has been received of the death, at the age of 34, of the Dutch international coxswain Chun Wei Cheung.  He won a bronze medal coxing the Dutch M2+ at the World Championships at Strathclyde in 1996, and a silver in the M8+ at the Athens Olympics.  His Dutch national eight won the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta in July this year, and it was after coxing the eight at the World Championships in Eton in August that he was diagnosed as suffering from a rare form of liver cancer.  An hour before his death he was appointed an honorary member of his club, ASR Nereus, and he will be sadly missed by his many friends at Nereus and elsewhere.

Sep 2006 - I am very sad to hear that Cathy Cruickshank had died (on the morning of Thursday 14th September).  Cathy was taken ill at Dorney where she was working as a volunteer just before the World Championships, and a few days later she was diagnosed with lung cancer.  Many of you will have met Cathy in her capacity as Entries Secretary for Henley Women's Regatta, or as Secretary of Henley RC, and she was also a popular member of the launch-driving team at Holme Pierrepont.  She will be sadly missed by her many friends in the sport, and our sympathies go to her husband, Ian, and to their sons, Andrew and Ollie.  
The funeral arrangements have now been finalised and are as follows: -
Funeral to be held on Monday 25th September at Reading Crematorium, All Hallows Road, Caversham, Reading, Berks. RG4 5LP at 11.00am.  All are invited to join Ian and his family for light snacks and drinks at Leander Club after the service.  Blazer and Club Tie preferred.  Family flowers only, donations if desired to Harry Mahon Cancer Research Trust c/o Tomalin & Son, Funeral Directors, Anderson House, 38 Reading Road, Henley on Thames, RG9 1AG.

News has been received from Lady Margaret Boat Club, Cambridge, that John Gleave, who coached 28 winning LMBC crews over the period 1973-1992, has died.  A memorial service will take place in Great St Mary's Church in Cambridge on 21 October at 3.00pm.  His widow has said that friends from the LMBC are very welcome to attend and that blazers are encouraged.

Members of Kingston RC, Tiffin School, and Thames Ditton Regatta will have been saddened to hear the news of the death, at the age of 95, of Keith Southan.  For many years at Tiffin School, Keith was in charge of both the Boat Club (1946 - 1976) and the Scout Troop, and many Old Tiffinians are grateful to Keith for the introduction to these important parts of their lives.  As President of Thames Ditton Regatta, Keith took the trouble to deliver his annual report personally to supporters of the Regatta when he saw them around the regatta circuit later in the year.  He was also a stalwart supporter of a number of other regattas, and at several of them he could be found throughout the day meticulously keeping the results board up to date.  He was a Life Patron of the ARA.  His many friends in the sport will miss him.  Keith's funeral was held at St Stephen's Church, Richmond Road, East Twickenham on Friday 15 September at 2.00pm.

Mar 2006 - I was sorry to hear that Pat Sherwin MBE passed away, peacefully in his sleep, on Friday night.  Pat had been a member of Southsea RC for nearly 60 years and had served in almost every position at the Club including a stint of 33 years as Regatta Secretary. He had also been a member of Ryde RC where he was a Vice President and Club Trustee and served on the Club's General Committee for many years.  Pat was a Life Vice President of the Hants & Dorset ARA and the Coast Amateur Rowing Association - and a former President of both. He had also served as Chairman of the Hants & Dorset ARA. He was also a Life member of the South Coast Rowing Council. He represented the Hants & Dorset ARA (Division 22) on the ARA Council for many years, was the first Vice Chairman of the Wessex Regional Rowing Council when it was formed in 1984 and went on to be its Chairman for a number of years. His services to Rowing were recognised in 1994 when he was awarded the ARA Medal of honour - and a few years later with an MBE for services to Rowing.  There can be few people who have had such an impact on the sport and in particular Coastal Rowing and hardly a Club within the H&D or CARA who has not benefited from his advice and support at some time.  He was also a member of Thames RC, and away from the coast he was a leading light in the organisation of the ARA recreational tours, and also a Trustee of The Rowing Foundation.  Although not in good health over the past two years he had still taken a great interest in what was happening in the sport and until quite recently continued to be a great support in terms of giving sound advice;  he will be a great loss to the sport but particularly coastal and recreational rowing.  He will be sadly missed by his many friends, on the coast and throughout the sport.
Funeral arrangements:  The funeral of Pat Sherwin was on Tuesday 28th March at Portsmouth cathedral at 2pm. The service will be followed by drinks at the Royal Naval Club and Royal Albert Yacht Club.  The following day there was a private service at the crematorium for family only.

Feb 2006 - Simon Mepham had competed in the Walton RC eight at Molesey Veteran Head on 18th February, and collapsed in the boat soon after the end of the race with a suspected heart attack.  Although an ambulance was soon on the scene and medical assistance was provided, sadly Simon died without regaining consciousness.    As well as being a member of Walton RC, Simon had for many years been a prominent member of Thames Valley Skiff Club, and is pictured (in the bow seat in the far crew) in Senior Doubles at the Skiff Championship Regatta in 2003.  He represented Kingston RC in the Thames Cup at Henley Royal Regatta from 1988 to 1992, and prior to that he had rowed for Weybridge RC.  He will be sadly missed by his many friends throughout the sport, and our sympathy goes to his family.

The following details are now available:
"A celebration of the life of Simon Mepham is being held at St. Peter's Church, Church Street, Old Woking at 3.30pm on Thursday 2nd March 2006.  There will be a Committal at Woking Crematorium, Hermitage Road, St. Johns, Woking, following on from the church service at St. Peter's, Old Woking.  All are welcome, but seating may be limited..
Family flowers only, please, but if desired, donations may be made to Cancer Research UK and The British Heart Foundation, c/o Lodge Brothers, 7 Green Lane, Shepperton, TW17 8DP.  Everyone is invited back to Thames Valley Skiff Club afterwards.  (As a reference point, St. Peter's Church is on a turning off the B382, quite near Hoebridge Golf Course)."

Dec 2005 - Friends in Scotland & elsewhere will be sad to hear of the death, on 5^th Dec, of Jim McGhie.  Details, including funeral arrangements, are on the SARA website, and a tribute on the Clydesdale ARC site.

Nov 2005 - Jimmy Wallis, ULBC (from 1970 to 1977) and UCD boatman (from 1977 to 2004) died this Sunday of a brain tumour at the age of 66. His funeral was on 2^nd November 2005 in Moate Co Meath Eire.  He was originally with Gladstone Warwick (now Lea RC) and took his illness with his usual East End humour typified by 'I have a tumour, but don't worry its only affects my brain'.  At Trisha's request, please send your anecdote or tribute to Chris George and it will be put it on this site (http://cms.atics.co.uk/in-memoriam.html).  He will be sorely missed by his many friends both sides of the Irish Sea.

Oct 2005 - Sad news of the death of Dr. Noel O'Brien of Auriol Kensington RC, Vice-President of the Fours Head, former Div Rep for ARA div 18 and Hon Medical Officer & Water Safety Officer to the ARA, and former doctor to the BOA.  A memorial service for Noel was held at Wargrave Church at 1 p.m. on Wednesday 16^th November;  this will be followed by an appropriate celebration of his life.  [ Obituary on TRRC page.]

Sep 2005 - Sad news of the death last month of Nick Smith (Goldie 1995 & 1996), for whom a memorial service will take place on September 24th.  Also last month, Mike Seares, Wallingford Schools Rowing Club, cox of the GB Junior 4+ in 1979, and2+ in 1980.

Aug 2005 - Sad news of the death, at the age of 85, of Professor John Levy, Past President of Thames RC.    John was Emeritus Professor in the Department of Biology at Imperial College (and his tribute to Charlie Newens appeared in the IC staff newspaper after Charlie's death in 1996).  John's rowing connections spread well beyond IC and TRC, and among other posts he was a past President of Kingston Amateur Regatta.  An obituary by Chris Dodd appeared in The Guardian on September 29^th.  John's sons Martin and Tim are both closely involved in the sport, and our sympathies go to them and to the rest of John's family.  He will be sadly missed by his many friends in the sport, and a memorial service was held at 2:30pm on 14^th October at St. Mary's Church, Putney (adjourning afterwards to Thames RC).

Jun 2005 - Sad news of the sudden death on 17^th June of Andrew Justice of Marlow RC.  He was in the GB Olympic 4x in 1976, then got silver medals in the eights in the 1980 Olympics and 1981 World Championships.

Apr 2005 - Radley, Jesus, and Cambridge oarsmen will be sad to hear that Joe Savill who rowed for Cambridge in 1938 and 1939 died on March 27^th.

Mar 2005 - Sad news of the death (on 8^th March) of Andrew Silk, boatman of Peterhouse, Fitzwilliam, & New Hall, Cambridge, and coach of many crews, including CUWBC.  Many of us first met Andrew when as a young boy he came down to the LMBC boathouse, where his father Roger was boatman;  as Andrew grew up in the rowing community it was no surprise that he followed Roger into the sport.  He will be sadly missed by his many friends, both in Cambridge and further afield.
 Sad news also of the death of Robin Haslam, chairman of Nottingham City Regatta for 30 years until last year.  The number of roles in which Robin contributed to regattas was almost countless;  at Nottingham he was a launch driver, and often ran the timing team;  he was a multi-lane umpire, and officiated not only on his home water at Nottingham but also at events such as HWR.  He had represented Nottingham & Union RC in the Thames Cup at HRR in 1959 and 1960, and in later years was often seen in veteran crews.  He had been in hospital since 8^th March with chest problems, and died on 20^th.   The memorial service was at St Peters Church, Sheepwalk Lane, Ravenshead, at 13:15 hrs on Friday 1^st April 2005.  Further details on the Nottingham City Regatta website, where there is also a link to an e-mail address through which messages of sympathy may be sent to Robin's family.  He will be sadly missed by his many friends in Nottingham & elsewhere.

Jan 2005 - On 2nd January a sculler from Reading Rowing Club capsized and drowned;  he has now been named as Sikander Farooq and was 14 years old, not 12 as originally reported.  Reports from RQ (also in the Daily Telegraph), & from the BBC, plus response from the ARA.  Sympathies go to his family, and to all at RRC.

Nov 2004 - As a member of Lady Margaret Boat Club I was particularly sorry to hear of the death of Harry Almond, Captain of LMBC in 1950-51 and Secretary of CUBC in 1951.  He was bow man in the CUBC eights in 1950 & 1951, winning the bronze medal at the European Championships in 1950 (7 LMBC men in the crew) and the gold in 1951 (5 LMBC men in the crew).  He went on to row in the 4- which was 4th in the 1952 Olympics.  With LMBC he won the Ladies' Plate at HRR in 1949 (setting a course record in the process), the Visitors' in 1950, and the Grand in 1951 (when he also lost by 2 feet to the winners of the Stewards').  Not bad for someone whose official rowing weight was just over 10 stone!  

Jul 2004 - The sad news was received of the death on 27^th July, at the age of only 47, of Lesley Stewart.  I first met Lesley at the World Championships at Strathclyde in 1996, where Lesley was in charge of Social Events;  she undertook that task despite being due to give birth that week.  She became a SARA multi-lane umpire in 1998, and a FISA umpire last year.  She was due to undertake her first international umpiring event at the Coupe de la Jeunesse last weekend, but withdrew when she new she was seriously ill, and instead she officiated at the Home International as her first, and sadly her only, international umpiring duty, dying just 3 days later.  She was a popular competitor for St Andrew BC at events such as FISA Masters regattas, and will be sadly missed by her many friends in Scotland and elsewhere.  Further details on the SARA news page, and another tribute from her good friend Ailie Ord.

Here is a message from Lesley's brother:

"Lesley fell very ill on the train on the way back from a rowing regatta in England at which she was umpiring last weekend and had to be taken to hospital in an ambulance. The cancer for which she was receiving chemotherapy had taken off in her liver and it was not functioning properly. She had enough time to see her son Ewan and have a good talk with him before the disease and the drugs she was receiving to counter the pain and discomfort caused her to fall into a deep sleep from which she never woke. I was with her at the end and it was incredibly peaceful.

I'm just amazed at the willpower and mental strength she showed over the period when she knew she was going to die. She sat down and worked out just what was really important to her and then focused her efforts on maximising the return she would get on the limited time and physical strength that was left to her."

Jun 2004 - Neil Thomas died shortly before midnight on Thursday 10th June.  Details now available, including funeral arrangements.

Apr 2004 - News of the death of Bob Michaels, coach to Lea RC, Westminster Sch, & GB crews.

Mar 2004 - Obituary in The Daily Telegraph for John Marsden, 4th in the European Championships Double Sculls in 1954 & finallist in the Double Sculls at HRR in 1956.

Feb 2004 - Robin and Paola Hewins write: "It is with great sadness that we announce the tragic death of our son, Tristan Hewins. Tristan was involved in a cycling accident in Edinburgh on February 5th and died on February 14th. "Although a keen participant in many sports his main love was for rowing. He rowed for Hampton School and Durham University and was a member of the GB Junior squads for three years. He also gained much enjoyment from helping to coach in Washington DC, for DUWBC and, more recently, for Edinburgh University Boat Club".  [Tristan was in the coxed pair at the World Junior Championships in 1997.]

Jan 2004 - Fitzwilliam oarspersons all over the world will be sad to learn of the death of George Chapman who started work at the Fitzwilliam House (as it then was) Boat Club about 45 years and was their Boatman for many years.  George was always a friendly figure on the Cam towpath and he died of a heart attack on Xmas Day.

Sad news from Scotland of the death of Andy Dunn;  more on the SARA news site.  Andy was the organiser of the famous banquet at the FISA Veteran regatta in 1988, which those who were there will never forget.

Dec 2003 - Sad news from Scotland, of the death of Ian Stanners of Clyde Masters.

Sep 2003 - Tony Gibbs, member of Kingston Rowing Club, membership secretary of Kingston Amateur Regatta, and a friend to many at Remenham Club, died after a long illness.

May 2003 - Henk Schrik, one of the pioneers of rowing coverage on the internet, has died at the age of 54 in Amsterdam.

Grace Wilkinson, who died in hospital on May 12^th, was president of the Women's Eights Head, and for countless years the organiser of all the events organised by the WARA & then the Women's Rowing Commission.  I was first privileged to work with Grace during the World Championships in 1986, and then subsequently at the Women's Eights Head which she had previously run almost single-handedly for many years, during which time it had grown enormously.  Throughout this time Grace was admirably supported in her efforts by her husband Allan, who died last December.  They will both be sadly missed by their many friends in the sport, and our sympathy goes to their family.

Mike Jearum, of Twickenham Rowing Club & Dittons Skiff & Punting Club, died on Friday 23^rd May after a long illness.

Mar 2003 - Matthew J Allwork, St. George's College Boat Club, Walton R.C and a member of the GBR MJ4x 1981 died as a result of a helicopter accident in Dubai last week. Matthew was filming in connection with the Dubai Classic Horse Race. More information will appear on the Walton RC web site as it becomes available.

Gregor Hoerner of RG Benrath died of a suspected heart attack, having collapsed while training on the Thames for the Veterans' Head.  Report in the Richmond & Twickenham Times.

Feb 2003 - A moving tribute from Ken Hastie to the Pearson Brothers of Blyth, & also a tribute from Alan Granlund to Chaura Pratchek of Durham ARC.

Jan 2003 - Sad news of the death, suddenly, in his sleep, of Cliff Barwick, on January 2^nd at the age of 70.  The Putney Town 4 got to the final of the Wyfolds in 1957 & 1958, and was the first crew from a 'working mens' club from the old NARA to make a mark at HRR.  Subsequently Cliff was a member of TTRC, and an umpire until reaching the age of 65.  

Dec 2002 - Sad news from Thames RC of the death of Gerry Blanchard (whose funeral was on 5^th Dec), & from Auriol Kensington RC of the death of Tony Levis (whose funeral was on 9^th Dec).  Now also the sad news of the death on December 12^th of Pam Rickett, widow of the late Graham Rickett.  

Sep 2002 - Rowing friends, particularly in the Hammersmith area, will be sad to hear of the death of Peter Fielder, boatman of St Paul's School.

Jul 2002 - Alan Burrough CBE, Steward of HRR & past president of Thames RC  [obituaries in the Telegraph & The Guardian]

May 2002 - John L Garton CBE, former Chairman of HRR and former president of the ARA..

Apr 2002 - The rowing world was very sad to hear of the death of Geoffrey Page, president of Thames Rowing Club, and for many years the rowing correspondent for the Telegraph. He had been in hospital for some time, but had appeared to be making a recovery, and had been talking on the phone to one of his press colleagues about the previous day's Boat Race, but he passed away peacefully in his sleep during the night. He will be sadly missed by his many friends, both in Britain and abroad.  His memorial service was held on 20th May.  

From SARA, sad news of the death of "Doc George" Johnston.

And from Northwich Rowing Club, news of a memorial day on 5th May for Bill Shufflebottom.

Jan 2002 - Sad news aplenty this month:  from SARA of the death of Ralph Gillies, [on RQ's news page] of the death of Douglas Hutchins of Cygnet RC, & also the sad news of the death (after a long illness) of Alan Sutton.

Sep 2001 - Sad news of the death of two stalwarts of Putney clubs, Derek Dunckley from Vesta RC and Maurice Rayner from London RC.

Aug 2001 - Readers of the book "Punts and Punting" will be sad to hear of the death of its author, Robert Rivington.

May 2001 - Sad news of the death of Harry Mahon;  see tributes on the Rowing Service.  [June 2003;  see website for Harry Mahon Cancer Research Trust]

Feb 2001 - It was with great sadness that we heard the news of the death of Bernard Churcher.

Jan 2001 - Reports on the death of Marcello Minale, President of TSS, & at last news that Leo Blockley's body had been found.

Dec 2000 - Reports (from RQ & elsewhere) that Oxford University lightweight oarsman Leo Blockley was missing after his crew's boat capsized.  A memorial campaign for improved buoyancy for racing boats was subsequently set up.

Nov 2000 - Skiffing friends will have been sad to hear the news of the death of Mike Phillips (DSPC).

Jan 2000 - Ian Rogers (Twickenham RC & Remenham Club) died on New Years Eve;  cremation was Fri 7^th Jan.

Stanley West (Kingston RC & Kingston GS) died recently;  cremation was Thu 27^th Jan.

Dec 1999 - Colin Ellis - Kingston RC, Leander Club, (& many other clubs).  A good friend, & still fondly remembered by all those who knew him.

Apr 1999 - Anna Fangen - LEH School

Page produced 8 Feb 03, & last updated 13 Mar 2024.

• Return to David Biddulph's Rowing Page

Visits to this website since 1 Jan 00:

Counter courtesy of Net Digits®.