In 2011 Billygoats Society Secretary Emeritus and Vice President John Adams wrote about selected entries from the Boat Club record books. In these times of lockdown and isolation I thought they might be of interest. John writes:
Across the Decades – from the Fitzwilliam Boat Club Record Books
That the Boat Club kept a record book in the forties, fifties and sixties is known to a number of Billygoats because when students they had contributed to each year’s record, written usually by the Club secretary. What was not known was that there had been a Record Book kept in the pre-WW2 years. The book recently came to light and is currently (with the post-war book) held by the Billygoats secretary (before going in due course into the College archives). (In fact the Billygoats Secretary still has the books, extracts of which appear in many of the historic posts on this very website).
The earlier book begins with a record from June 1921 – so it is now possible to publish a annual series of historical snapshots beginning in a period beyond the ken of any living Billygoat, starting with:
Ninety years ago – 1921
The records for 1921 are minutes of three meetings. Two were mainly concerned with the style of dress for members. The meeting in October 1921, after ruling on when subs should be paid, “Further decided to ask the Amalgamated Clubs [the forerunner of the JMA] for a new Eight and two new sets of oars, one racing, the other of second quality. The following order of Colours was fixed :-
1st May Boat Blazer (red or white or both) with crest & letters, Scarf, Zephir, Socks & Cap
2nd May Boat Red Blazer, with crest & letters, Zephir & Socks
1st Lent Boat Red Blazer, with crest only, Zephir & Socks
2nd ditto Red Blazer, with pocket only, Zephir & Socks
3rd ditto Red Blazer, without pocket, Zephir only
All other members wear white shorts, white zephir and dark coloured socks.”
No socks for 3rd boat members!
Eighty years ago – 1931
The crew list for the 1st May boat which bumped 1st Trinity IV and Trinity Hall III includes at 3, weighing 10st 13lb, A L Sadd. After graduating Alfred Sadd went out to the Gilbert Islands with the London Missionary Society. He was martyred on Tarawa Island in August 1942.
Three crews were entered for the Fairbairn Cup Race in November. The 1st VIII, which started 26th and finished 14th (ahead of 8 first boats), had A L Sadd at 2 and was coxed by F J Stratton (his first appearance in the records). F J Stratton became Sir John Stratton. He was our first President and a major benefactor of the Billygoats (as well as Fitzwilliam Society, Fitzwilliam Society Trust Ltd and the College). In the 1960s when chairman of the Fatstock Marketing Corporation, he occupied a suite in the Dorchester during the week, returning to his estate in Sussex at the weekend.
Seventy years ago – 1941
No record – no Boat Club. Activities had been suspended at the beginning of the Michaelmas term in 1939.
Sixty years ago – 1951
In 1951 the Club was active and successful. In the 1951 Lents, the 1st VIII made 4 bumps “although it was felt they took far too long to make their bumps” (at Grassy, First Post Corner, the Plough Reach and Ditton Corner). The 2nd VIII made 3 bumps and the 3rd VIII rowed over, went down, rowed over, then bumped the crew that caught them on day two.
Two crews rowed in the Tideway Head. Of 214 finishers, the 2nd VIII finished 66th but the 1st VIII was 113th as only six men rowed for most of the course. Six having broken his slide at Barnes Bridge, he and five “were passengers for four miles”. Cedric McCarthy, now living in Cumbria, was at bow in that boat. In the 2nd VIII, Ian Mortimer, now in Spain, was at 7 and Ken Smith, Life Fellow of Fitzwilliam, was stroke.
For the Mays, Ian Mortimer and Ken Smith were promoted to the 1st VIII and Cedric McCarthy went to 7 in the 2nd VIII. The 1st and 3rd VIIIs both made four bumps and the 2nd VIII two.
The Club won the Michell Cup by CUBC. Presented in 1923 in memory of Dr. R. W. Michell, the cup is awarded to the Boat Club with the best performance on the Cam during the academic year.
Following the Mays, the 1st VIII won two rounds in Marlow Regatta before losing in the semi-final to Pembroke, the eventual winners of the Marlow Eights Challenge Cup.
The VIII was the first Fitzwilliam crew to enter Henley Royal Regatta. They were required to row in the elimination heats before the regatta proper. Sadly, they were beaten by King’s in 7min 15sec, the fastest Ladies Plate elimination heat. Their time was faster than any of the winners of the other eliminating heats. Now, of course, a different and fairer qualifying selection method is used – the time over the course.
Fifty years ago – 1961
In the 1961 Lents, the 1st VIII made 5 bumps, the last from the bottom of the 1st Division when King’s was caught at the gunsheds. At last a Fitz crew was in the first division!
The 2nd VIII made two bumps but the 3rd VIII was over-bumped and then bumped three times.
At Bedford Head, the 1st VIII won the clinker pennant and the 2nd VIII was third in the clinker division, beating Downing (in a clinker) and King’s (in a shell). Both crews rowed in the Reading Head – where the 1st VIII came 2nd in the clinker division with the 2nd VIII fifth.
In the Mays, the 1st and 3rd VIIIs both rose 4 places and the 2nd VIII made one bump.
The Michaelmas term began with “a dance in the Dorothy Café, to which guests from other College Boat Clubs were invited. Blazers were worn and it proved a colourful and enjoyable evening.” Four VIIIs rowed in the Fairbairn. One of those crews and three members of another were novices – another novice crew rowed “in the Clare Novice Race”.
Forty years ago – 1971
There are no records in the book for the Lents and Mays of 1971.
In the Michaelmas term, the Light IV of S G I Kerruish, R A Greatorex, T H Fowler, and J A Hart were beaten by Selwyn and the Clinker IV of P J Norton, P M Howard, S J Cutler and J Waite, coxed by G D Glover lost to Downing.
The two Fairbairn crews did not do well. “Bouts of illness and other incidents dogged this [1st] crew, which never realised its potential.” The two novice crews had some success. The A crew lost in the first round to the eventual winners, Churchill, and “so found themselves relegated to the ‘Little Regatta’. Once here, however, they raced extremely well …” They won two rounds before losing in the final to Clare. This crew were awarded the crockpots.
Thirty years ago – 1981
There is no record in the book of the activities of women’s crews in 1980-81 and no records at all for the Club in the year 1979-80. So, though Fitz women have had boats on the river since the 1980 Lents, their second term of residence, the earliest record in the book of a woman crew member is that of Hilary Farnworth, cox of the 1981 3rd Lent boat. The next is of her as cox of the 1981 2nd May boat – both men’s boats but the record does not mention gender.
In the 1981 Lents, the 1st VIII was bumped on the Wednesday after hitting the bank at Grassy. After that, they rowed over and then made two bumps to finish in 5th place on the river. In the Mays the boat made two bumps, finishing in 11th place on the river.
But the real triumph of the year was at Henley, where the writer reports “we improved dramatically under the expert guidance of Bob Winckless. The morning outing, for example, would consist of 200 hard strokes, no more than 15 at a time. In this way we moved the boat at higher speeds.” Entering the Ladies Plate, the crew was not required to qualify. They beat Nottingham University by 2 ¾ lengths in the first round, and Emmanuel by ⅓ length in the second round. They “lost easily to Trinity College, Hertford, USA on the Saturday. We rowed badly…. This was disappointing but there was some consolation in being the longest surviving Oxbridge college crew.”
1981-82 is the last year for which anything appears in the record book. In the Michaelmas term, for the first time in the Club’s history two Vice-Captains are elected. Chris Goldsack is Men’s Vice-Captain and Sally Howes is Women’s Vice-Captain (Doug Webb is Captain of Boats). Hilary Farnworth is now cox of the 1st VIII. The others are men, but again no mention of gender for the boat: it is “the 1st VIII” – unlike other boats which are recorded as being 1st Women’s IV, 2nd Women’s IV, 1st Men’s Novices and 1st Women’s Novices.
The two novice crews did well in the Clare Novices’ Regatta (the men reaching the third round, but in that race they hit the bank and so lost; the women lost in the first round of the Cup competition and so took part in the Plate event where they were the losing finalists). Both crews were then entered for the Reading University Novices’ Regatta where the “crews proved to be the second fastest crews in their respective events.” The men lost in the semi-final (presumably to the eventual winners in view of the view expressed in the preceding quotation) and the women lost in the final of the Cup competition.
The final record for 1981 reads “Women’s Trials – S van Kleef is in the Blue Boat”. A typical Fitzwilliam understated way of recording a major success.
There are no records in the book after 1982.