Dick Offer

Dick Offer
Medal record
Men's rowing
Representing England
British Empire Games

Richard Frederick Offer (1909 – 6 February 2007) was an English

Silver Goblets at Henley Royal Regatta and a silver medal at the 1938 British Empire Games

.

Offer was born at Hampton Wick, the son of Henry John Offer and his wife Vera Jenny Burgoine. His maternal grandfather, Alfred Burgoine, was a boat designer who built one of

Queen Victoria's Royal Barges and a motor launch that held the world water speed record. He was educated at Tiffin School where he began rowing. He joined Kingston Rowing Club in 1929, where his brothers Tom and Jack Offer were already members.^[1]

Offer excelled at

Silver Goblets at Henley Royal Regatta.^[2] Two years later they were selected to compete in the 1938 British Empire Games. Offer worked in an insurance company in the City of London and had to take unpaid leave to be able to compete. In spite of the difficulties in maintaining training during the six-week sea voyage to Australia they won the silver medal in the double sculls event.^[3]

Offer was also a sailor with a boat on the south coast, and later at the Thames Sailing Club at

Thames Rater which was designed and built by his grandfather. He also played rugby for the Old Tiffinians and at County level in the winter months.^[1]

At the start of

D-Day Normandy landings he was a commander of tank landing craft LCT708,^[4] and lead the landings on Gold Beach

.

After the war, Offer returned to rowing at Kingston RC, where he competed until the 1950s. He then began coaching at Kingston and at Tiffin School, where he inspired successes in regattas including Henley and coached future international rowers. He played a major part in developing Kingston RC's headquarters at Canbury Gardens, Kingston and helped in the running of Kingston Regatta. He became president of Kingston Rowing Club in 1993.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b Old Tiffins Newsletter 232 June 2007 Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
^ Henley Royal Regatta Results of Final Races 1839–1939 Archived 9 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
^ Commonwealth Games Archived 23 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^ Eric Krull A Hell of a Mess New Zealand Listener 10–16 June 2006
^ History of Kingston Amateur Regatta

[Tiffs-1] Old Tiffins Newsletter 232 June 2007 Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine

[2] Henley Royal Regatta Results of Final Races 1839–1939 Archived 9 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine

[3] Commonwealth Games Archived 23 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine

[4] Eric Krull A Hell of a Mess New Zealand Listener 10–16 June 2006

[5] History of Kingston Amateur Regatta

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