a personal history of the selwyn college boat club

196 Pages·2011·14.19 MB·English

A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE
SELWYN COLLEGE BOAT CLUB
BY A. P. McELDOWNEY
The Author
A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE
SELWYN COLLEGE BOAT CLUB
BY A. P. McELDOWNEY
FOREWORD
It is both a privilege and a pleasure to add a short foreword to
Mac's book. To men of my generation, and indeed to many others, he
was the dominating figure behind the Boat Club, and the inspiration of
all its successes. With the Sun King he might well have remarked
"Le Boat Club c'est MOI."
I am sure that all Selwyn rowing men will value this record of the
Boat Club's activities. The only sad thing to me is that it had to be
PRINTED, a remark which will be appreciated by all those who at one
time or another received a WRITTEN letter from Mac in his own
inimitable style, with heavy underlinings, bold capitals and categorical
statements which left the reader in no doubt that black was black and
white, whiter than white.
TAFFY JONES
Milton Abbas.
April 1972.
PREFACE
I can only hope you will enjoy reading this as much as I have enjoyed
writing it.
I have got my material from the Club Minutes Books, the College
Calendars and a great deal from notes, letters, programmes and lists that
I have collected over the years. And of course from the many, many
happy memories I have of so many Selwyn crews, not all good.
In many ways this is a personal history of the SCBC. It really cannot
be anything else, for our Club has never ceased to be my chief interest
ever since I joined it, 50 years ago. And, further back than that, I saw
the splendid 1914 Selwyn crew at Henley Royal Regatta and I was lucky
enough to know members of the first crew Selwyn ever had, the Rev.
C. E. C. de Coetlogon, their famous Captain, and F. D. Darbyshire, their
no. 4.
I trust my facts are correct. The opinions I express are wholly my
own, unless otherwise stated, and to me alone is the blame due if they
are not approved.
If anyone asks what is Rowing and why does it have such a hold on
all who row, 1 cannot do better than quote a non-rowing man from
Trinity Hall, who wrote some years ago:
"Rowing is the least selfish of all sports, demanding as it does a large
degree of self-sacrifice and restraint and calling for much endurance and
an entire absence of all forms of excess. The oarsman is merged in the
crew to a far greater degree than the footballer in his team or the
cricketer in the eleven, and this self-effacement is all to the good. If glory
be gained, it is shared by all equally and cannot be appropriated, as in
some other games, by one performer."
Lastly, I can say without any hesitation that this History would never
have been printed and published but for the utterly invaluable help
given me by Eric Richardson. To him I am deeply grateful as I am, too,
to our Master, Professor Owen Chadwick for his encouragement and to
the Selwyn Association for their sponsorship.
A. P. McELDOWNEY
S.C.B.C.
TRIAL CAPS AND BLUES
1902. E. A. Priestland. Trial Cap.
1906. R. E. Freeth. Trial Cap.
1924. T. M. Backhouse. Trial Cap. Cox.
1927. A. L. Sulley. Trial Cap. Cox.
N. M. Aldous. Trial Cap.
1928. *A. L. Sulley. Blue. Cox.
N. M. Aldous. Blue.
1929. A. L. Sulley. Blue. Cox.
A. S. Reeve. Trial Cap.
1930. A. S. Reeve. Blue.
F. S. R. Foster. Trial Cap.
1932. I. W. Greville. Trial Cap.
R. L. S. Bennett. Trial Cap. Cox.
1933. *W. G. R. M. Laurie. Trial Cap.
1934. W. G. R. M. Laurie. Blue
1935. W. G. R. M. Laurie. Blue.
J. D. Burrough. Trial Cap.
Alan Campbell. Trial Cap.
1936. W. G. R. M. Laurie. Blue.
Alan Campbell. Trial Cap.
D. H. Bolam. Trial Cap. Cox.
1937. Alan Campbell. Trial Cap.
A. J. Stephens. Trial Cap.
D. H. Bolam. Trial Cap. Cox.
1938. Alan Campbell. Blue
1946. J.I. Lees. Trial Cap.
1947. H. Mayman. Trial Cap. Cox.
M. C. Lapage. Trial Cap.
1948. *M. C. Lapage. Blue.
1956. J. S. Sulley. Trial Cap. Cox.
1957. J. S. Sulley. Trial Cap. Cox.
1958. J. S. Sulley. Blue. Cox.
1959. R. T. Weston. Trial Cap. Cox.
1960. R. T. Weston. Blue. Cox.
1961. R. T. Weston. Blue. Cox.
1965. C. D. C. Challis. Trial Cap.
L. M. Henderson. Trial Cap.
1966. L. M. Henderson. Blue.
1966. C. G. C. Challis. Trial Cap.
1967. L. M. Henderson. Blue.
C. D. C. Challis. Blue.
M. I. M. Gardiner. Trial Cap.
1968. M. I. M. Gardiner. Trial Cap.
D. R. Halbert. Trial Cap. Cox.
1970. B. A. Sullivan. Trial Cap.
1971. B. A. Sullivan. Trial Cap.
B. A. Sullivan. Blue.
R. A. Morrison. Trial Cap.
1973. C. A. Laurie. Trial Cap.
* International