The Windsor Boys' School Boat Club 75Th Anniversary

THE WINDSOR BOYS’ SCHOOL BOAT CLUB 75TH ANNIVERSARY SPEECH 1940‐2015

MD Wilkinson

OCTOBER 2, 2015 CELEBRATED AT QUEEN’S EYOT

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015

“UNO ANIMO”

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015

Firstly thank you for coming. It is great to see so many people from so many generations here! A couple of questions for you: ‐ Did you know that in 1940 Chris Morrell was not a coach at the boat club? Did you know that Chris Morrell had not actually been born? That actually makes the boat club older than Chris! I am sure you are now sitting there thinking “how is this possible?” 75 years. 75 Years! of The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club. Did you know that Eton Excelsior is responsible for starting rowing at the school? Basically we are a community outreach programme. Did you know that actually it was Latymer Boys School, a highly rated private school who were evacuated from Central London to Windsor and took lessons at Windsor County School for boys during the war who were actually the first school to be part of the Eton Excelsior Outreach vision? Did you know that the biggest issue with running the boat club at the school in 1940 was a “lack of money”? And coaching resources? And a lack of storage? And blades and decent boats? How times change! The older I have got the more interested in history I have become. The reason is simple, I find it fascinating and also quite humbling. My whole life has been shaped by what happened in the past. In rowing we uniquely, in sport, travel backwards when competing and training. This may make it difficult to steer, but the skilled will be able to steer their boat from looking backwards, and understand where they are on the river. Life can be the same – to really understand where you are going, it is important to understand how you got there in the first place; why things happen the way they do. The history of WBSBC is quite fascinating. You all know that I am an old boy. For the current boys, this means one thing – we are the same – I may be older than you, but I am a Windsor Boy just like you, the life you lead is almost identical to the one that I led when I was your age, as it is for other generations. This connects us. It is a connection that you will appreciate more and more as you get older. You will understand it most as you leave the school and the boat club.

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015

This will happen – it is inevitable. It is the way it is, and the way it has always been. I am not better than you, I just have the benefit of having done what you are doing already and thus the lessons the Boat Club teaches are intrinsically in me, as they are becoming in you. When you leave the place physically, you will quickly realise however, the Boat Club actually never leaves you, it stays in you, and the skills that you don’t know you are learning, but have, will kick in. You will realise that working hard is actually not normal in life, but that you have the ability naturally to do so – rowing gave you that. You will notice, as you progress, that commitment and dedication to achieving a dream is also not normal – but that you have that skill too – and that you have it naturally – rowing gave you that. You will realise that communication is essential in making progress in life and you will notice just how poor some people are at this, but you will realise that you have the skills and the know‐how to work as a team and how to get the best out of people – rowing gave you that. You will see that most people don’t necessarily believe in what is possible and what they are capable of – they have no idea, but you do. You believe that anything is possible. You believe that there are no limitations, except the limitations that you put on yourself. But that those limitations are beatable. You also know that no‐one deserves anything, but that you can earn it. Rowing gave you that knowledge, rowing taught you that lesson a thousand times. And more importantly, The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club taught you that. You will then realise that the Boat Club is in you and that despite you leaving it, it will never leave you. This is way more than just an afterschool club. This is not school at all. This is a way of life. History shows the way of life we have now has been totally built in the past – we do what we do, we have the opportunity we have, and we dream the dreams we dream, because of countless generations making it what it is today. History shows, and makes us believe it is possible. History makes us want to be part of it. History inspires us to commit, to dedicate, to work hard, to sweat, to bleed, to cry, to laugh, to get up early, to go to bed early, to endure the savage cold of winter out on the water, to sit on a rowing machine for hours on end, to shake a bucket in the street, load trailers all the time, to ensure our school work is done, and so it goes on. We believe it is possible. It is a way of life. The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club is a way of life. However it was not always this way.

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015

IN THE BEGINNING Prior to 1940, the only rowing that happened in Windsor was at Eton Excelsior Rowing Club. In 1940 all this was to change, as the EERC membership looked to bolster their dwindling membership caused by the huge war effort, and offer the chance of rowing to what was at the time, Windsor County Boys School. Indeed the minutes from Windsor County Boys School April 1940 committee meeting clearly record the following: “The sec reported he had been in touch with the Headmaster and suggested 10 shillings per boy for 3 periods a week between Mid‐April to the end of July. That if this were to be agreed, the boys should come down under the supervision of Mr Mayes at times to be arranged” “It was agreed by the committee, and that the details were to be left to the secretary and Mr Mayes to arrange as they thought best, but that the boys were not allowed to use the pleasure boats”. Progress was subsequently made and as such the next committee meeting in May of 1940 reported that: “Times of boating would be Wednesday, Thursday and Friday between 2pm and 4pm, and on Tuesday between 4pm and 6pm. And so it was that in the summer of 1940, boys from the Windsor County Boys School began rowing at Eton Excelsior rowing club. The EERC AGM minutes of March 1941, clearly reports that “an arrangement was made with Windsor County Boys’ School for boys to boat from our premises three afternoons per week under the supervision of masters of the school. 16 boys so far have been taught the art of rowing and waterman ship” The “Rowing Club” as it was known, was also formally reported on for the first time in the autumn of 1940 in the schools own magazine, The Windsorian. “Last term the School added a new activity to its list. “It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good,” and it was mainly because of the depleted strength of the Eton Excelsior Rowing Club under war conditions that we were able to see a number of senior boys turning into efficient oarsmen. We are very grateful to Eton Excelsior for the facilities they allowed us and in particular to Mr. V.Wood,

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015 the Deputy Captain and an old boy of the School, who worked so strenuously on our behalf and devoted so much of his time to the coaching of our crews.”

“We cannot claim any sensational successes for our first season on the new element. Twenty‐six boys began from scratch, and to see that each of these had two outings per week at least was rather exhausting at the beginning.”

“We should like next season to be able to buy a set of oars as a small beginning. Any help towards the establishment of rowing as a permanent School activity would be most gratefully appreciated.”

The 1940s saw of course a bitter war throughout Europe and it really is remarkable that in this period rowing was established at the school. Despite the war, just one year after the initial conception of rowing at the school, the following was written in the Windsorian Magazine, highlighting the rapid growth and interest in the sport

“The Rowing Club has had a full list of fixtures this season. Racing started on June 28th, when the 1st Four went to Marlow to row against Borlase. Windsor was represented by S. Sayer (bow), J. C. Sampson, A. G. Simpson, P. I. Togni (stroke and captain), A. C. D’Albertanson (cox). Windsor started well and soon drew away from Borlase, who were attempting a high rate of striking without success. Borlase made repeated efforts to get on terms, but Windsor passed the post a good three and a half lengths ahead.”

Despite the desperately austere times rowing continued to grow at the school, and while success was not a regular occurrence, interest in the sport really grew. Through the first 20 years, rowing became a regular sporting activity. It is clear though from the many extracts of the Windsorian Magazine, a lack of coaches was a major limiting factor. Indeed throughout much of the 50s’, there were no staff who engaged with the sport, boys rowed entirely off their own back out of Eton Excelsior Rowing Club. The Captain of boats in 1954 wrote “despite a lack of patronage from the schools staff, rowing is progressing remarkably well”.

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015

He did also go on to take quite a swipe at the school hierarchy in the same report, as he closed it out with “this report cannot be closed without another appeal for more enthusiasm from others than the boys themselves, that is in the staff room in particular. It seems a pity that a Grammar School of a town so intimately connected to the river, rowing should occupy such a minor position. We have the right material amongst the boys; now all we need is the right attitude from the schools professional hierarchy” Reading the Windsorian extracts, it seems that for much of the 1940s and 1950s this was a regular theme. Lack of interest from the school itself and all the enthusiasm coming from the boys – we owe them a lot! July 1955’s report suggests that there were only 12 boys rowing at the school, and following the death of the only member of staff who helped with the rowing, rowing was perhaps on its way out, with further comments by the Captain of Boats RA Melvin, stating “To let rowing die will not only be a great pity, but a crime with the school being so near to the river”. Fortunately by the summer of 1957, things started to look up, with the arrival of a Mr Legg to the school, and the sport became more popular. It still operated out of Eton Excelsior Rowing club at this time, but with enthusiasm from a member of staff, success started to come their way. Boys trained regularly under the direction of Mr Legg, and by the summer of 1959, the rowing club “enjoyed a considerable measure of success”. It sounds like training had increased, as it was also commented that anyone joining the club should bear in mind that a considerable amount of time is required for training. The time and effort paid off as the 1st eight enjoyed 7 victories across the regatta season, including some extremely exciting races won against Sutton School by just 3 feet. In addition to the training times, it is also commented on that boys should “expect to commit to innumerable chores at the boathouse”. The first 20 years had seen rowing and the Boat Club dodge numerous challenges to survive. Now for the first golden era of rowing at the school, in the shape of the 1960s.

The 1960s ‐ 1980s periods saw a rapid improvement in the Clubs success, followed by an equally dramatic collapse. A golden period alighted through the

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015

1960s with many success stories written from the regatta circuit – this is still prior to the National Schools Regatta and British Rowing Championships and major regatta courses such as the Water Sports Centre in Nottingham and Dorney Lake were still to be built, so all of the regattas that the school raced at were on the river, and steeped in history. We still go to many of them, with numerous being in existence for well over 100 years and with trophies made of solid silver and worth a fortune. It is very easy to forget, or not notice the history of the regattas we go to – next time we are at a river regatta, my advice is to go and look at the trophies and look at the dates on them. It is incredible. The success in the 1960s was mainly due to staff arriving at the school and really taking on all the challenges that rowing faces. Regular training and regular coaching saw the boys abilities in the boat improve substantially. Looking at the results of the time, there are a number of wins in each season, and it is clear that a real ethos had been developed within the school towards recruitment, training, and equipment and in general ensuring standards were high. December 1963 Windsorian report comments: “the last year has seen the expansion and development of rowing at the school, in main due to the hard work put in by Mr Hepworth and J. Deadman whose example have given the Club new spirit and purpose. This has not only resulted in many more boys, particularly in the lower half of the school, being given the opportunity to row, but also raising the standards of the school rowing. The school is becoming known and respected in the rowing world, as a school so near the Thames should be” The weather in the winter of 1963/4 seems to have been a major problem, presumably for everyone. The weather was so cold for so long that the Thames actually froze over. Training therefore was almost exclusively made up of long hours of lifting weights and circuit training in the gym as well as running into the Great Park. By the mid to late 60s the school was regularly racing in the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup for School Boy Eights and the prestige of representing the school in rowing had gone up several notches. Mr Hepworth is described as “a source of inspiration to all”, and a “genius of organising, given the massive increase in numbers rowing, and thus crews boating”. Money was found to purchase new fours and eights and with further coaching input from Mr Hudson and J Deadman saw the standard of rowing really increase. It is also noted that “lots of mums and dads have provided much needed support on the towpath.”

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015

Unfortunately this did not last long and by the end of the 1960s, it seems that the inspirational coaching team who had done so much, all but disappeared. Numbers fell quickly and the fortunes of the crews in to the 1970s really dropped off – the Windsorian Magazine of December 1970 reports that “rowing this season will go down in the history of the school as the most disappointing season ever!” and a “Tremendous lack of support to rowing from the staff and from the upper school, with no qualified coaches” The club was in danger again. The Captain of Boats commented “there not only was real difficulty in forming crews, but that also in transporting the boats to regattas, thus very few were entered”. On a positive note the school now had its own boathouse, just 3 minutes’ walk from the school. A minor resurgence in 1974 turned out to be false new start and by the summer of 1976 just 4 boys in the 6th Form participated and even then only once a week – competing was virtually out of the question. There was no training programme and no one from the school seemed interested in taking it on. And then in 1976, a man with a slight brummie accent, fierce ginger beard, muscles on muscles and with hair all over the place arrived, late by the way, by 2 weeks, to start his first year as a PE & Geography Teacher. His name, of course, was Chris Morrell and over the next 20 years, he set about establishing The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club with a fierce reputation that it maintains to this day. Defining the Chris Morrell era is really easy and really difficult at the same time. It is difficult because this year sees the 40th year of Chris’ commitment to the rowing at the school. 40 Years! That’s so hard to comprehend. It is easy because his impact on this club is beyond huge. If you need to define one thing, one person in the history of WBSBC, then Chris is it. Chris knew about training. He knew about standards, he knew about consistency and he came to realise he had a big job on his hands. It took a long time. Indeed I recall talking to Chris about the first 10 years and he will tell you about the frustrations of a lack of success. Figuring it out took a long time. That period though really re‐ established ethos in training, ethos in rowing, commitment and dedication and driving it forward. This was not about a quick fix, this was about installing it as a prime directive into every boy who came into the school and then into the Boat Club. “Be the best you can be, always”. “If you fail to prepare, prepare to

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015 fail” and “If you make the effort, then make the effort” are three quotes that all boys who have had Chris coach them over the past 40 years are connected by. Towards the end of the 1980s, standards had improved so much that competing for national titles was now a regular occurrence. Steve Hughes became the first Great Britain International and also competed in the Boat Race. Belief that it was possible to be highly competitive was growing and each generation believed it a little bit more than the last. Boys were selected to compete for the Home Counties and England and by the late 1980s The Windsor Boys’ School as it was now known, was again nationally recognised for producing quality crews. The big bang was still to come though. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, numbers had grown so much in the school that the Boat Club was regularly 40 boys strong, thus more than 8 times the size it was when Chris first arrived. Additional coaching help came from committed members of staff who came and went, but Chris was the consistent force that was needed to maintain the enthusiasm and passion for rowing in the school. A parental committee was formed with the main remit to raise much needed money towards equipment and to support the boys at all the regattas they went to. By the 1990, crew sculling was really growing in the UK and Chris made the decision to turn the Boat Club into a sculling centre, with the ambition of producing excellent oarsman in this discipline. Little did he know how big a bang was about to happen, as the 1990s really saw a culmination of the hard work he had put in. The standard of young athlete was phenomenal and they engaged with the training programme like at no other time in its history. Success at national level saw countless GOLD medals at the National Schools Regatta and National Rowing Championships. On the regatta circuit the boys were truly feared. A standard reaction to be drawn against a Windsor Boys’ quad was “oh no, this is not going to go well” and the boys of the time really did cut a swathe across the opposition, dominating the sport and raising the profile of the school to stratospheric heights. Year after year, boys met the standards of the national selectors and were selected to represent Great Britain, or one of the Home Countries at the Coupe De La Jeunesse and the World Junior Rowing Championships. In 1994, Ian Weighell won a Bronze medal at the Junior Worlds, before becoming the youngest ever athlete to be selected to the Senior Great Britain Team while still at school. In 1994, the school won the Championship Quads at the National Schools Regatta and in 1996 the Boat Club won 3 GOLD medals and 3 Silvers at the National Schools Regatta and the National Rowing

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015

Championships. The J16 quad of Gareth Ireland, Wes Richards, Will Campbell, and Paul Davidson, smoked the opposition at Gent International Regatta setting a course record that remarkably still stands to this day. The boys were fast, very fast. They trained hard, up to 3 times per day. And Chris was right at the centre of it all. The 1990s also saw the famous Henley Royal Regatta Years. 1994 ‘95 ‘96 ‘97 ‘98 – names are on the trophy, permanently and for all to see. The Fawley Challenge Cup ‐ unprecedented success. Do not underestimate the achievements of the boys of this era. There was so much commitment, so much passion and so much fierce desire to be the best. They made it happen! No complaints about how hard it was, just a lot of doing what it took to be the best. Chris made sure of the direction, but it was the boys that excelled. By the turn of the millennium though, the strain of the past 25 years really started to have an impact on Chris – his commitment had been 100%, but it was not sustainable. At this time a new Headmaster had been in post for 3 years and he was a real lateral thinker and to ensure that rowing would continue at the school, the role of Director of Rowing was brought in. Chris was still there, but the next era had begun. Jeff Dawkins, Headmaster 1997‐2009, and the unsung hero of WBSBC for the modern era. A bright but unfortunately brief stint by Richard Hamilton and an even shorter stint by Jim Charmers and then Bobby Thatcher meant that the school went through three Directors of Rowing in just 3 years. Gary Mannion took the helm in 2003 and went on to do his best to destroy everything that Chris had built up, culminating in him forgetting to put the entries in to Henley Royal Regatta in 2005. The writing was on the wall for him. The Boat Club again was at crisis point – Chris was still there, but taking the whole club on again was not an option. Fortunately two Old Boys happened to come back to the school in late 2005 as young graduates, and despite the enormous amount of pressure gaining a teaching qualification at the same time created, they set about rebuilding the ethos and the passion for rowing in the school. They set about rebuilding the standards with that the belief that “anything is possible”. Training programmes, coaching, time, technical input and the result is that since then The Windsor Boys’ School has enjoyed a huge resurgence and the 3rd golden age is upon us. Boys are regularly part of the International teams again. Boys are winning regularly at national level and competing at Henley Royal Regatta again. Numbers are higher than at any time in its history, with a peak in 2009 of more

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015 than 100 boys, and on average 80 boys regularly racing and rowing at the club. Last year saw 3 boys represent Great Britain, 4th on the National Medal table behind only Eton College, St Pauls and Henley Rowing Club, and also extending the rowing opportunity to the Middle Schools and the Girls’ School. A huge parental involvement towards raising money and writing grant applications has seen new boats arrive and the parents are simply great at supporting the boys at the regattas. We are the envy of the rowing world with our marquee set up. If only people knew what it took to make it work!

The Future And so, as I look to the future, I wonder, whether in 75 years’ time there will be a celebration of the 150th year of The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club – probably none of us will be around to see that one, but I would like to know that it is going to happen. The future rowers, National Champions, GB Internationals, Henley Winners – they are all out there somewhere. Many probably haven’t been born yet. Will they get their chance, their opportunity? Will they get their chance to learn the lessons, to feel what it feels like to be part of something that is bigger than all of us? To understand that life is more than just achieving exams results, material possessions and money. I hope so. The way to get to the 150th anniversary is to ensure the Boat Club celebrates its 80th anniversary, 100th anniversary, 125th anniversary and so on. This is the process. 150 years should be the inevitable outcome. And more. History shows that we are just the current tenants of something that is much bigger than all of us. We actually have no right to mess with it, other than to enhance it and to make it better, to build on the past. An accountant would think nothing of cutting rowing from the school. It is an easy cut. But what right do they have to do that? What an insult to history and to all the people who made it what it is today!

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015

Therefore the fight must go on and it must be won. Yes, change needs to happen but only to ensure the continued existence of rowing at the school, and the continued opportunity for us boys. For all the challenges of the past, right now the Boat Club continues on such a knife edge of existence. Education cuts mean that schools are slashing anything they can. Money is so tight that only the important things are being kept, the stories from the past of boys just going out rowing and doing it on their own probably couldn’t happen in this day and age – health and safety would almost certainly stop that straight away. I also hear this regularly at school: “There are more important things to worry about than rowing” But what are the important things? Do I remember all the lessons that I learnt in chemistry or maths? Well, yes I do, and I realise how important they are, far more than I did at the time. But also no. I certainly can use maths to complete ordinary mathematical tasks. And yes I remember the lessons from English – I can read a book, write a speech, speak in public. But do these excite me? Have they shaped me? Have they made me the person I am? Yes they are important, of that there is no doubt, but the main lessons that allow me to progress though my life, to deal with the challenges did not come from the classroom. For me they came from the river. From My Way of Life. So let me tell you a little story of my life. Henley Royal Regatta. 1997. It seems like yesterday, but I am starting to accept the fact that this is now a few years ago. I don’t feel any older though. I won twice at Henley Royal Regatta while at school. Defending the title in 1998 was pressure, a very different pressure. It was totally outstanding and crossing the line and winning was an incredible memory. But it was the year before that defines everything that I came to believe in. The week before Henley that year, I went to the National Final selection trials, and despite being a lightweight rower, achieved one of the dreams of that year, of being selected to the British Rowing Team. Our Henley boat had been

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015 together and trained for 3 months prior as a crew. We had trained at Henley the week before trials and then had to have 5 days out of the boat to go and thrash around up in Nottingham desperately trying to staying alive long enough to be selected. Back to Henley, for two more days of training before racing started. Fortunately we were very fit and remarkably we coped really well. We were a seeded crew meaning that we had a bye through the first round which was a blessing as it gave us one more day of training and recovery from trials. We knew we were fast going into the regatta, having narrowly lost to the Irish Senior National Crew at the Metropolitan Regatta in Elite Quads just 3 weeks earlier, and convincingly winning the junior quads at Marlow Regatta, admittedly with not all the Henley competitors there. We were described by a coach somewhere as “slippery”. Progressing through to the quarter final relatively comfortably, the major test was now racing Leander Club, who had 2 boys who had just been selected to Junior Worlds, and 2 boys who had been selected to the Coupe GB Team on board. We knew we had to get out hard and fast, and we did just that, achieving half a length advantage by the barrier in a near record time. But we could not shake the Leander Crew at all. Half a length is how it stayed all the way down the track. They were so close you could hear their calls and virtually their breathing. A brutal race in every respect. It was still half a length by the time we got to the enclosures and then they started to creep up on us. Just when we thought we couldn’t go any harder or faster, we had to. The call came and everything went into just slowing down how quickly they were gaining on us – with less than 100m left they were just a quarter length behind, and as we made our last desperate call to step it up, I was acutely aware of the fact that if the finish line did not appear soon, they would get through us. Somehow we hung on though – just; an official verdict of a quarter length but in reality it was less than that. We were in the semi‐final though which was all that mattered. As it turned out, fortunately, we were in complete control of the semi‐final, and in winning it by 2 lengths. It was in my first ever Henley Royal Regatta final. All the talk prior to The Fawley Challenge Cup that year was about the change in rules that allowed a four way composite crew to be entered, and about one crew in particular who used the rule to their advantage. The top four junior scullers of the day were put together in part by the national selectors. It did not go down well in the rowing world. There was a place for this type of crew and it is a called the Junior World Championships. However the rules allowed ‐ I am glad to see

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015 composites are no longer allowed in the junior events, but back then it was the norm for composites to be formed, and prior to 1997 with a maximum of 2 clubs– it was all about developing crew sculling and helping out the smaller clubs. It was little realised at the time how much this rule would go on to be abused and how much the rule caused a major problem with the development of young scullers capable of crew sculling in the future. This composite crew was formally called Queen Elizabeth High School and Mortlake and Anglian Boat Club (only two club names were allowed to be used in naming the crew) and they cruised through the early rounds, quarter and semi‐finals to make the final, much as expected – how could anyone compete? Two of the crew went on to race in the quad at the Junior World Championships, while the other two had come first and second in the single at the Nationals Schools Regatta and went onto represent GB that year as the double at the Junior Worlds where they won the GOLD medal and became the first ever crew sculling boat from GB at any level to do so. One of them was called Matthew Wells, who went to 4 Olympic Games from Sydney to London, and won a Bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics, as well as being a multiple U23 World Champion and Senior World’s medallist. So in the final we were mostly definitely up against it. But crucially were not fazed. Why? We were so tight as crew, so well drilled, extremely fit, as strong as we could be, and so well coached by Chris that we were ready. The final pre‐ race briefing is still one of the most electrifying memories I have – Chris just had a way, and he sent us out believing that ‘Impossible’ really was nothing. It was just the four of us with Chris – Mark, James, John, and Mark. And we all felt it. Sitting on the start line I can honestly say that I was totally composed – I was nervous of course, but the moment was completely calm – the thousands of spectators who are standing yards away and lining the banks are blocked out. They estimate on the day that there were one hundred thousand people there – it was a perfect summer’s day and with Redgrave and Pinsent still at the height of their powers, the crowds were out in force. The race itself is a blur in reality, but I recall several things. 1. I remember the other crew exploding off the blocks like I had never experienced – I was used to being up off the start.

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015

2. I remember thinking, we talked about that and we knew it was going to happen – stick to the plan, stick to our race. 3. I remember the calls our 2 man, James made – Rhythm, relax, find the boat. 4. The biggest surprise is that I remember clearly the crowds – I never normally did, but the noise ‐ it was incredible! The wall of sound. The Windsor Roar. It had followed us all week, but in the final it was deafening, even in the boat. I didn’t at the time understand it, or understand why it was there, but I do now. It was History. History was right there with us – it was the Old Boys, their families, their friends, staff, old staff, current boys and it was the rowing world who were talking about the rules and this 4 way composite crew – everyone was screaming “come on Windsor”. We raced really well to Fawley, the approximate half way marker, but we found ourselves 2 lengths down. But as we approached Fawley we also knew that they had stopped going away from us – we were just close enough to feel them. The second half of the race, something happened that is very hard to explain. You can call it the zone, or the moment; what I know is although we had raced well, the rhythm in the boat changed – it felt different. Looking back I think I understand what it was. It was calmness under pressure, it was clear thinking under pressure and it was a crew truly coming together – like at no other moment in my whole rowing career, it felt like the timing was perfect, the movement was perfect, the moment was perfect, and it felt like all four of us were totally connected and totally connected to the boat. It was like the boat knew it was with us in the moment. And it also felt like Chris had joined us – his passion, his belief and his totally trust in us and everything that he had installed into us just flooded out. We were up against it, but with all the tools to deal with the situation we found ourselves in. By the time we reached the main enclosures, approximately 350m left, we were just a canvas behind. By the Stewards Enclosure we had drawn level, and as we slipped through the gears again, we pulled out a few feet’s worth of lead, before another moment saw us get to a quarter length and then a half‐length with just 30 metres left.

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015

Even allowing the boat to slip just a bit too close to the booms for comfort didn’t faze us. I was steering as well as stroking the boat and the last 10 strokes were incredible, we hadn’t finished but we had broken them, and we were going to win. Crossing the line, I was spent – until we finished I had no idea just how hard I was working, and how much pain I actually was in – the pain was irrelevant though. We just did what we had to do. I threw up I think about 6 times between finishing and showering after the race – our race was the last of the day, and so we were required to shower and change quite quickly to make prize giving ‐ it was not easy. Receiving the trophy was incredible! Somehow the whole of Windsor Boys’ and Windsor had got into Stewards, much to the disgust of some, to scream again the Windsor roar. That is the first time I have told this story like that. It’s pretty cool. The reason for doing so is because as a moment, it is one of greatest moments in the history of The Windsor Boys’ School. It is not about me – it is about the boat, and the Boat Club. There are countless amazing stories to be taken from the history of WBSBC – mine is just one of them, but it shows clearly the link to history. History got us to the start line, history followed us all the way down the track and history got us to the finish line first. We believed we could do it. We knew we could do it. And we trained to do it. History gave us that. And on the day, when it really counted, we did do it. “Each generation believed that little bit more” So again, I come back to what is important? Well exams and education are very important. But if we stop thinking the other factors are important too, then in my opinion we have a major issue. Life needs passionate people. Life needs hard working people. Life needs committed people. Life needs people who can work as part of a team, communicate well, and make things happen. Life needs dreams. And then for people to go after these dreams and make them a reality. I have chosen to do what I do and all these lessons I use every day. In 2015, the Boat Club is not easy. In fact at times it is bloody hard, immensely time consuming and fighting often to make things work is as draining as hell. But.

The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club 75th Anniversary Speech 1940‐ 2015

Make it work we do. What an opportunity for the boys to stand out from the crowd. I hope they believe in what is possible – they should. Just look at history and they will find the evidence that should give them all the belief they need. It therefore is down to all of us to ensure the future of The Windsor Boys’ School Boat Club and to ensure that the current boys and the boys of the future have the opportunity to really believe, and to understand how to do it, and to make it happen for themselves. That IS the ultimate lesson.

Thank you for listening and “Come on Windsor!”