The Boat Race 1929

The 81st Boat Race took place on 23 March 1929. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. The event featured three Olympic medallists and included the first Danish rower ever to participate in the Boat Race. In a race umpired by former Oxford rower Charles Burnell, Cambridge won by seven lengths in a time of 19 minutes 24 seconds, the fastest winning time since the 1924 race. The victory, their sixth in a row and their tenth in the previous eleven years, levelled the overall record for the first time since 1863, at 40 wins each.

Background

Harcourt Gilbey Gold coached the Oxford crew.

The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues")^[1] and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues").^[1] The race was first held in 1829, and since 1845 has taken place on the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London.^[2][3] The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and, as of 2014, broadcast worldwide.^[4] Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1928 race by ten lengths, with Oxford leading overall with 40 victories to Cambridge's 39 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877).^[5][6]

Cambridge were coached by Francis Escombe and P. Haig-Thomas (four-time Blue who had rowed between 1902 and 1905). Oxford's coaches were Harcourt Gilbey Gold (Dark Blue president for the 1900 race and four-time Blue), Guy Oliver Nickalls (who had rowed three times between 1921 and 1923) and Arthur Wiggins (who had rowed for Oxford in the 1912, 1913 and 1914 races).^[7] For the third year the umpire was Charles Burnell who had rowed for Oxford in the 1895, 1896, 1897 and 1898 races.^[8] Charles Kent, who rowed for Oxford in the 1891 race, was the finishing judge for the second consecutive year.^[9]

Bad weather plagued the practice and build-up to the race: Heavy fog caused the postponement of at least one outing.^[10] The Times rowing correspondent described Cambridge's style as "so easy as to be almost sluggish" while Oxford were "lively to the point of punishing their boat".^[11]

Crews

The Cambridge crew weighed an average of 12 st 10 lb (80.5 kg), 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg) per rower more than their opponents. Oxford saw two rowers return in George Godber and H. C. Morphett. Cambridge's boat contained five participants with Boat Race experience, including Richard Beesly who was making his third consecutive appearance.^[12] He and Michael Warriner were gold medallists in the coxless four at the 1928 Summer Olympics.^[13] Their cox Arthur Sulley won a silver medal in the men's eight.^[14] Three of the Oxford crew were registered as non-British: H. C. Morphett and J. A. Ingles were from Australia, while C. F. Juel-Brockdorff was the first Danish rower in the history of the event.^[15]

Seat	Oxford			Cambridge
	Name	College	Weight	Name	College	Weight
Bow	P. D. Barr	Trinity	11 st 5 lb	E. N. Norman-Butler	3rd Trinity	12 st 0 lb
2	G. E. Godber	New College	12 st 4.5 lb	R. J. Elles	Trinity Hall	12 st 4.5 lb
3	C. F. Juel-Brockdorff	Pembroke	12 st 12 lb	R. A. Davies-Cooke	3rd Trinity	12 st 1.5 lb
4	J. M. Macdonald	Magdalen	12 st 12.5 lb	R. Beesly (P)	1st Trinity	13 st 6 lb
5	H. C. Morphett (P)	Brasenose	12 st 4 lb	M. H. Warriner	1st Trinity	13 st 6 lb
6	J. A. Ingles	Magdalen	13 st 10 lb	J. B. Collins	3rd Trinity	14 st 6 lb
7	D. E. Tinne	University	12 st 0 lb	C. E. Wool-Lewis	3rd Trinity	12 st 2.5 lb
Stroke	A. Graham	Brasenose	11 st 2.5 lb	T. A. Brocklebank	3rd Trinity	11 st 12 lb
Cox	G. V. Stopford	New College	8 st 10 lb	A. L. Sulley	Selwyn	8 st 10 lb
Source:[12] (P) – boat club president[16]

Race

The Championship Course along which the Boat Race is contested

Cambridge won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station, handing the Middlesex side of the river to Oxford.^[12] The umpire Burnell started the race at 12:12 p.m. in "gloriously fine weather",^[17] and both boats got off to quick starts, with Oxford just ahead after the first strokes. Level past the boathouses, Cambridge edged ahead to hold a canvas-length lead by Craven Steps. Taking advantage of the Dark Blues' struggle in rough water by Craven Cottage,^[17] Cambridge slowly drew ahead and held a three-quarter length lead by the time the crews passed the Mile Post. A push from the Dark Blues saw them keep in contention until Hammersmith Bridge where, according to L. Cecil Smith writing in The Observer, they "went ahead so fast and steadily as to suggest that even had they lost the toss they would have been able safely to take the Surrey water" while Oxford "had been taken out of their stride".^[18] The Light Blues passed below the bridge with a two-length lead.^[17]

A spurt from Cambridge around the Chiswick Reach bend effectively ended the race as a contest.^[18] A final surge from Oxford was held off by Cambridge who passed below Barnes Bridge five lengths ahead.^[17] Here, some of the Dark Blues started to show signs of distress, in particular their bow P. D. Barr who, it was later noted, had been suffering from influenza.^[19] Cambridge pulled away from the Dark Blues with every stroke and rated 36 strokes per minute towards the finish, passing the finishing post with a lead of seven lengths in a time of 19 minutes 24 seconds.^[18] It was their sixth consecutive victory, the tenth in the previous eleven years and was the fastest winning time since the 1924 race,^[5] and the ninth fastest time in the history of the event.^[17] The win took the overall record to 40–40, the first time since the 1863 race that the scores had been levelled.^[17]

According to E. P. Evans, former Oxford rower in the 1904, 1905 and 1906 races, writing in The Manchester Guardian, the Cambridge crew was "worthy to be classed with some of the best that Cambridge has turned out", while Oxford "rowed distinctly below their practice form and were a most disappointing crew".^[19] The rowing correspondent for The Times described it as a "crushing defeat" for Oxford, stating that they were "completely outpaced" yet while Cambridge "upheld the tradition of skill", Oxford "upheld that of courage".^[20]

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Burnell, Richard (1979). One Hundred and Fifty Years of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Precision Press. ISBN 0950063878. 
• Dodd, Christopher (1983). The Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race. Stanley Paul. ISBN 0091513405. 

External links

• Official website
• The Centenary Varsity Boat Race 1929 at British Pathé

The Boat Race Oxford University Boat Club (crews) Cambridge University Boat Club (crews) The Championship Course Results Oxford University Women's Boat Club Cambridge University Women's Boat Club Oxford University Lightweight Rowing Club Cambridge University Lightweight Rowing Club Goldie Stones Blue Boat Henley Boat Races Women's Boat Race 1927 1929 1930 1934 1935 1936 1939 1941 1973 1974 1975 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1994 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 1829 1836 1839 1840 1841 1842 1845 1846 1849 1849 1852 1854 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Category Commons