Monkton Bluefriars Newsletter 2016 Issue 36 | Registered Charity: 1057332 | ©2016 Monkton Bluefriars Charitable Trust J15 4x+ A crew Bow: Ed Hooper, Joss Wheeldon, Nick Pritchard, George Shaw Cox: Will Clapp J18 2- Bow: Guy Hooper Str: Max Leflaive-Manley J15 4x+ B crew Bow: Ashley Seakins, George Mitchell, Euan Haigh, Rory Hawking Cox: Oliver Bennett J18 2x Bow: Emily Martin Str: Hannah Street The Monkton Bluefriars Newsletter 2016 Index Editors 4 Crew Spirit Julian Bewick 4 Leadership and Inspiration Godfrey Bishop The First XI 5 Charles Sergel Cover 5 Ran Laurie Joe Short 6 Mike Lapage 6 Peter Kirkpatrick Printer 7 Paul Mellows Ralph Allen Press 8 Ian Lang 9 John Chester Monkton Bluefriars 9 Peter Webb Charitable Trust 10 Rowley Douglas 11 Steve Williams Trustees 13 Alex Partridge Gen Bailhache- Articles Graham 15 1964 – Tokyo Arnold Cooke Julian Bewick 15 'Golden' JMB Julian Bewick Godfrey Bishop 21 Women in Sport Sarah Kiefer Peter Bossom 22 The Ten Tors Guy Thompson Julius Caesar 25 Bank Clearing on the Avon James Dawson John Clark 25 My Monkton Rowing Experience Rosemary Coates Max Leflaive-Manley Rowley Douglas MBE 27 Ten Tors Experience Alex Murchison Fergus Murison MCSBC Alex Partridge 28 2016 Hazewinkel Taining Camp Matt Wells Steve Williams OBE 29 2016 Make it Count Matt Wells 33 Olivia Caesar – WJ16 1x Matt Wells 34 Bluefriars BBQ Gen Bailhache-Graham 34 A Note from the Treasurer 3 Crew Spirit encouraged by a cox whom we trusted absolutely. These were the beginnings from which so many Monktonians of the 'When you get the rhythm in an past have graduated to greater things. eight, it's pure pleasure to be in it.' Many Bluefriars remember the 'crew (George Yeoman Pocock quoted in 'The spirit' which carried them through a Boys in the Boat'* by Daniel James whole season or more and which we still Brown). witness when they come together again, Daniel Brown's book invokes the perhaps many years later. 'crew spirit' of young men at We hope that, from the next Washington University during the Great generation of Monkton rowers, 'crew Depression, charting the journey of spirit' will live on in the same way that it those rowing in the US VIII which won has for decades past. Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. GWB/JMB Monkton's Ran Laurie stroked the GB VIII at the same notorious Games and * 'The Boys in the Boat' is highly features in this Newsletter as the recommended as an enthralling read. second member, chronologically speaking, of our MCSBC 1st XI. Reading about Monkton's rowing Olympians, spanning eight decades, we remember where all of them first learnt how to make an VIII go fast and we can share Leadership and inspiration a sense of pride in what they achieved. Through the decades there is a sense of Monktonian rowers having a special The cox of the 1936 GB VIII, Noel loyalty towards one another. So many Duckworth, later became chaplain of who learn a sport at school drop it the Churchill College, Cambridge, where he moment they leave, but rowing has coached many a college crew. Both often benefited from those who want to Julian Bewick and Peter Bossom learned give back something in later life of what much from him. they learned earlier on, and that is at In earlier years his ability to motivate the core of our Bluefriars purpose and and lead a crew was transferred to his support. morale-boosting leadership of fellow We are very happy to learn that prisoners in Changi Prison, Singapore, Monkton will soon have two new VIIIs in World War II. He said little about his on the racks at Saltford and we hope experience there, but he recalled that the crews that train and race in the marching past Hitler at the opening boats will be successful. Whilst rowing ceremony of the 1936 games; the and sculling in all categories of boat is British crew looked away from Hitler highly enjoyable, there is certainly instead of exchanging greetings with something special about an eight that him. 'clicks' … as the quotation above Noel coached the Monkton crew while suggests. Few of us forget the first time they were training in Cambridge and he that we raced in a 'proper' racing shell later visited Monkton, and preached on and experienced the sheer magic of ‘Pain’ at a Sunday service. moving in unison, steered and JMB 4 MCSBC First XI ‘Ran Laurie Born 4 Jun 1915; died 19 Sep 1998 MCSBC has the distinction of having produced eleven Olympians to date and to recognise this unique record we are Ran Laurie was probably the greatest honouring them in this edition, listing British oarsman of the immediate pre- them in chronological order and giving war and post-war periods. However, he some background (including personal always acknowledged that he had anecdotes in some cases) which we learned his rowing from 'Taffy' (Rev. hope will be of interest. W.J.Llewellyn-Jones) whilst at Monkton. He stood out as a schoolboy oarsman, Charles Sergel who rowed in the 1st VIII for three Born 12 May 1911; died 21 May 1980 years, and reached Semi-Final of the Ladies Plate at Henley in 1931, before Charles Sergel was the first going up to Selwyn College, Cambridge, Monktonian to row in the Olympics, where he stroked the Cambridge crew competing in the 1932 games held in to victory in 1934, 1935 and 1936. He Los Angeles. Formerly, he had been a also stroked the GB Olympic VIII in member of the 1930 Monkton 1st VIII 1936 which finished fourth, before which rowed at Henley against Trinity teaming up with Jack Wilson to win the College, Cambridge, before going up to Silver Goblets at Henley two years later. read Medicine at Clare College, Co-incidentally, Laurie and Wilson both Cambridge, where he obtained a triple worked in the Sudan until 1948 when blue, rowing in the 1931, 1932 and they returned to England and joined 1933 winning boats and was President forces in a coxless pair once again to of CUBC in his final year. The 1932 pull off the unbelievable 'double' that Cambridge VIII also won the Grand summer of winning the Goblets at Challenge Cup at Henley (rowing as Henley followed by a Gold medal in the Leander) and came fourth in the Olympics, despite neither of them Olympics. Charles worked for many having touched an oar during all the years as both an army and missionary time they were in Africa! Wilson and surgeon in Africa before returning to Laurie's boat hangs in the Rowing and general practice in Cambridgeshire in River Museum in Henley above the one 1952 where he also coached Clare used by Redgrave and Pinsent in the College crews until his retirement to 1996 Olympics. Laurie served for many Milford-on-Sea in 1976, where he years as both a Steward and Umpire at enjoyed sailing until a fatal heart attack Henley and his comedian/actor son, in 1980. Hugh, also rowed for Selwyn College In the earl seventies, he coached a and Cambridge. He was the guest of Monkton crew during their annual honour at the centenary dinner of training camp in Cambridge when, in MCSBC in 1978. typical Monkton fashion, he didn't even mention his Olympic pedigree. 5 Mike Lapage they had crabs in the Thames" That was Born 15 Nov 1923 the year when a member of the crew did just that, ten strokes after the start. Mike Lapage (Captain of MCSBC in But with good conditions, we still broke 1942) is our surviving Monktonian the record. Olympian from 1948 and was a The Olympics at Henley were a contemporary of fellow Monktonian, tremendous climax to the 'annus Paul Mellows in the GB Olympic VIII. mirabilis' of that whole year. I shall pass During World War II, Mike saw on my silver medal to my grandsons, service as a Fleet Air Arm pilot in the one coaching at Harvard, the other at Pacific. After the war, he went up to St. Edwards, Oxford and grand- Cambridge and was a member of the daughter, Captain of Cardiff University winning Cambridge boat in the 1948 Ladies' Boat Club.’ Boat Race. Later that year he raced in Inherited genes? Pass them on. the 1948 British VIII which won the silver medal in the Olympics. At the Peter Kirkpatrick 1950 British Empire Games he won a Born 24 Aug,1916; died 6 Oct 1995 bronze medal as a member of the English VIII. We have taken much of the obituary Mike became a Christian missionary below from the 1995Bluefriars and was ordained in Kenya in 1961. He Newsletter, which was printed with has been a long-term supporter of permission of The Times newspaper to Bluefriars, guest at many Bluefriars include Geoffrey Page's tribute to Peter: dinners and until his late seventies 'Peter rowed in the 1934 Monkton 1st would make an annual appearance in a VIII which reached the semi-final of the sculling boat at Dundas for OM Day, Ladies' Plate at Henley and he also much to the admiration of the current rowed in the 1935 crew. He rowed for Montonian rowers. On 19th May 2012 Thames in the Thames Cup in 1937, for he carried the Olympic torch in the relay Queens' College, Cambridge, in the for the 2012 Olympic Games, in St Ladies' in 1938, and for Thames again Austell, Cornwall. He also rowed in the in the Grand in 1939, but without Queen's Rowbarge which carryied the success.