Fitzwilliam Boat Club Record Books

The record books are a very interesting source for the Boat Club up until 1982 (with several gaps), and they are widely used in the posts on this website. If anyone is interested in any pages that have not, so far, appeared, please tell me and I will try to find some time to scan them. John Adams wrote the below summary.

Fitzwilliam Boat Club Record Books

Introduction

Two books written by successive generations of Boat Club officers record in varying detail the affairs of  Fitzwilliam Hall, Fitzwilliam House and finally Fitzwilliam College Boat Club over the period 1920 to 1973 with some gaps and the addition of records for 1980-82.

When Sarah Coppendale of the Development Office passed these books to the Billygoats Society in 2005, she was unable to say where they had been before they came to light. They had been “found” during the process of gathering names for people to be approached regarding the appeal for funds for the proposed new boathouse. (In the event the books played no part in that activity.)

Volume 1

Volume 1 had not previously been seen by any of those who were members of the Billygoats Society in 2005 and that it had even existed was unknown to them.

The volume covers the period 1920-1939 ending with a poignant farewell as the Boat Club abandoned activities shortly after the outbreak of war – the President and Secretary elected in June 1939 did not reappear at the start of the Michaelmas term, presumably they had enlisted

Volume 1 was evidently used at some time between 1939 and 2005 (most probably in the 1940s or 1950s) for a collection of pressed wildflowers. (“1956” has been written in the top right corner of pages 125 and 126, some wildflower names are written on page 121 and there is clear evidence of the tape used to stick down samples on most of the pages in the range 121- 159.)

Presumably at the time it was subjected to this use, pages 2 to 119 were “sealed off”  by a form from Ermysted’s Grammar School glued round the open edges of that group of pages – traces of the form can be seen still stuck to page 2 and page 119. What connection there is between that school and anyone from Fitzwilliam has not been researched.

 Where the book was between 1939 and 2005 is unknown.

Volume 2

The existence of Volume 2 was known – in particular to J V Adams who had contributed to it when a student.

But he was unable to locate it when as secretary of the Billygoats he had attempted to get his hands on it in the 1980s or 1990s; enquiries in the Boat Club and the College failed to trace it

Where the book was between 1983 and 2005 remains unknown – it is assumed that it was somewhere in the College archives.

Contents Lists

The Boat Club Record Book – Volume 1
Page no.	Year	Minutes of General Meetings	Records
2	1920-21	13.6.21	–
4	1921-22	8.10.21	–
6	“	26.11.21	–
6	“	24.1.22	–
8	“	22.4.22	–
8	1922		Clinker IV
10	1922		Lent & May boats
11			“To the Lent Boats” Reprint from  FH Magazine 1921
12	1922-23		Full record
26	1923-24		Narrative of a General meeting
29	1924-25	11.10.24	–
30	“	16.10.24	–
31	“	15.11.24	–
34	“	6.12.24	–
35	“	22.4.25?	–
37	“	13.6.25	–
39	1925-26	15.10.25?	–
39	“	8.10.25?	–
41	“	20.6.26	–
	1926-27		Nothing recorded
43	1927-28
46	1928-29
58	1929-30	18.11.29	–
60	“		Crew lists
62	1930-31
66	1931-32
75	1932-33
83	1933-34		Fairbairn & Lents
86	“	5.3.34	–
86	“	18.5.34	–
88	“	26.5.34	–
89	“		May Term
94	1934-35
105	“	10.6.35	–
106	1935-36
111	1936-37
112	1937-38
113	1938-39
117	1939-40		Record of suspension of activity
Record of practice & race times
293	1938-39
293	1937-38
294	1935-36
296-5	1934-35
298-7	1933-34
301-299	1932-33
302	1922

 

The Boat Club Record Book – Volume 2
Records					Minutes of General Meetings
Entry no.	Year	Period	Author		Entry no.	Year	Date of meeting
			(Boat Club Sec unless otherwise noted)		*
1	1945-46	Full year	E J Hawkins ( Sec in 47-48)		M5	1951-52	23.1.52
2	1946-47	Full year	E J Hawkins ( Sec in 47-48)		M6	“	8.6.52
3	1947-48	Full year	E J Hawkins		M1	1952-53	6.10.52
4	1948-49	Full year	G Marsden		M2	“	5.6.52
5	1949-50	Full year	B T Tuffield		M3	1953-54	30.11.53
6	1950-51	Full year	A W W Barker		M4	“	12.6.54
7	1951-52	Mich. & Lent Terms	A J Braund		M7	1954-55	11.6.55
8	“	Easter Term	C H McCarthy		M8	“	18.10.55
9	1952-53	Full year	G R Fox		M9	1955-56	9.6.56
10	1953-54	Full year	P M Hills		M10	1956-57	12.10.56
11	1954-55	Full year	I K Drake		M11	“	30.1.57
12	1955-56	Full year	W Gray		M12	“	15.6.57
13	1956-57	Full year	J O Jenner		M13	1957-58	10.10.57
14	1957-58	Michaelmas Term	I C Codrington		M14	“	16.1.58
15	“	Lent & Easter Terms	J V Adams (Sec in 60-61)		M15		30.5.58
16	1958-59	Full year	J Glasson		M16	1958-59	17.10.58
17	1959-60	Michaelmas Term	K B K Currie		M17	“	24.2.59
18	“	Lent & Easter Terms	J V Adams (Sec in 60-61)		M18	“	7.6.59
19	1960-61	Full year	J V Adams		M19	1959-60	17.10.59
20	1961-62	Year to Mays	I J Worthington		M20	“	7.3.60
21	“	Marlow & Henley	J V Adams (Sec in 60-61)		M21	“	7.6.60
22	1962-63	Full year	R G H Crofts		M22	1960-61	19.10.60
23	1963-64	Michaelmas Term	P A Little (Captain)		M23	“	26.1.61
24	“	Lent Term	C A Fordyce		M24	“	6.6.61
25	“	Easter Term	R W Ward (Sec in 64-65)		M25	1961-62	12.10.61
26	“	Marlow Regatta	R W Ward (Sec in 64-65)		M26	“	18.1.62
27	“	Henley Regatta	P A Little (Captain)		M27	“	15.3.62 (Committee)
28	1964-65	Mich. Term – Fours	P A Little (Captain)		M28	“	16.6.62
29	“	Fairbairn Cup Races	R W Ward		M29	1962-63	10.10.62
30	“	Lent Term	C T Graham (Ass. Sec)		M30	“	18.1.63
31	“	Easter Term	I K Hall (Sec in 65-66)		M31	“	8.6.63
32	“	Henley Regatta	C T Graham (Ass. Sec)		M32	1963-64	11.10.63
33	1965-66	Full year	I K Hall		M33	“	8.5.64
34	1966-67	Mich. Term – Fours	I K Hall (Captain)		M34	“	13.6.64
35	“	Remainder of year	R StJ Harold ?		M35	1964-65	6.10.64
	1967-68	Nothing recorded – two pages missing from book.			M36	“	8.10.64
36	1968-69	Year to Mays	??		M37	“	14.1.65
37	“	Henley Regatta	??		M38	“	22.4.65
38	1969-70	Partial records	S G I Kerruish		M39	“	12.6.65
	1970-71	Nothing recorded			M40	1965-66	8.10.65
42	1971-72	Year to Mays	??		M41	“	13.1.66
43	“	Henley Regatta	??		M42	“	21.4.66
44	1972-73	Full year	??		M43	“	11.6.66
	1973-74	Nothing recorded			M44	1966-67	6.10.66
	1974-75	Nothing recorded			M45	“	19.1.67
	1975-76	Nothing recorded			M46	“	19.4.67
	1976-77	Nothing recorded			M48	“	10.6.67
	1977-78	Nothing recorded			M47	“	20.6.67
	1978-79	Nothing recorded			M49	1967-68	12.10.67
	1979-80	Nothing recorded			M50	“	18.1.68
40	1980-81	Men’s rowing	S L V Cole (Captain)		M51	“	19.4.68
41	1981-82	Full year	??		M52	“	8.6.68
					M53	1968-69	16.10.68
					M54	“	16.1.69
					M55	“	22.4.69
					M56	“	7.6.69
					M57	1969-70	9.10.69
					M58	“	15.1.70
					M59	“	23.4.70
					M60	“	13.6.70
					M61	1970-71	8.10.70
					M62	“	22.4.71
					M63	“	12.6.71
					M64	1971-72	11.10.71
					M65	“	28.1.72
					M66	“	21.4.72
					M67	“	10.6.72
					M68	1972-73	10.9.72 ????
					M69	“	Jan/Feb 72 (minutes not dated)
					M70	“	1.5.73
					M71	“	12.5.73
					M72	“	15.6.73
*  Entries identified as M… start from the back of book.					39	1973-74	25.11.73