Rhubarb

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V a l e t e
45 St Edward’S r hubarb
Rowing Memories
Our VIII in 1974 was not a great vintage,
and we were the first Teddies crew to
row at Henley after an absence of a few
years. In the 1974 Henley crew there
was a notable absentee, Mark Lees (G,
1970-1974). Mark was very competitive
and had been an ever-present member
of the VIII up until a week or so before
Henley. He then had a major falling out
with coach Richard Simmonds, questioning
his coaching methods and our preparation
for Henley. Not very diplomatic! As a
result, he withdrew from the crew. As if to
prove a point, Mark then went on to be a
very successful rowing coach, coaching the
Cambridge Blue boat and National Squad
crews before dying at the relatively young
age of 38 in 1994.
Teddies rowing had reached a relative
low point at that time and was run down
with few experienced coaches available
to coach crews through the full age range.
Our coach, Richard Simmonds, was trying
to change this with the enthusiastic support
of Henry Christie, the Warden. After I
left, coaches such as John Lever and Mike
Rosewell were to arrive transforming the
fortunes of Teddies rowing.
My brother duncan (D, 1974-
1979), one of the beneficiaries of these
appointments, captained the VIII in 1979
that won the QMC at the National Schools
and lost narrowly to St Paul’s in the final of
the Special Race for Schools at Henley.
The standout junior crew in 1974 was
a Wallingford School IV that contained a
certain John Wiggins...
David Hughes (D, 1971-1974)
Please congratulate the Henley crew from
one who was in school rowing in 1945-
1946. It is remotely possible the edge was in
the finish of the stroke. When I was rowing
in school we never achieved anywhere near
what the boys have shown they are capable
of; we were told the finish of the stroke can
provide the edge that won and lost races.
Three years ago I was invited to Cambridge
(NZ) to watch my grandson rowing. It was
very exciting and a wonderful experience,
but I did not know what my daughter was
up to at the time. When grandson George
got out of the boat she said, “Dad, it’s all
arranged you were number three, get in the
eight!” I did what I was told despite being
83 at the time! Well, we rowed across the
Lake Karapiro where we later watched
the World Rowing Championships. My
daughter said I really looked as if I knew
what I was doing! Well maybe, but I did not
put quite so much effort into the oar work!
The advance in design really impressed me.
The design of the blade is so much nearer
what I used to say to the coaches would be
more effective. The comments were always,
“Maybe you are in the right direction.”
It was wartime in 1945 and there were
more important issues. My grandson (now
at Otago University) attended St Peter’s
College, Cambridge, NZ, which could
not be more like an English public school.
Even the buildings looked the part. They
have a huge velodrome which is leased out
frequently for elite level racing.
This country is really still quite a bit like
England down under, although the climate
is wonderful here. Midday temperatures
seldom drop under 14°C in Auckland,
although it is colder down south.
Thank you so much for sending the
final report. I know Teddies have won the
Princess Elizabeth Cup in the past. I always
follow rowing.
John Disbrowe (c, 1942-1946)
M a r t y r s