The Boat Race 1939

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91st Boat Race
Date1 April 1939 (1939-04-01)
WinnerCambridge
Margin of victory4 lengths
Winning time19 minutes 3 seconds
Overall record
(Cambridge–Oxford)		48โ€“42
UmpireWilliam Rathbone
(Oxford)
Other races
Women's winnerOxford
← 1938 1946 →

The 91st Boat Race took place on 1 April 1939. Held annually, the Boat Race is a

Second World War
.

Background

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] Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1938 race by two lengths,[5] with Cambridge leading overall with 47 victories to Oxford's 42 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877).[6]

Cambridge were coached by H. E. Boardman, J. N. Duckworth (three-time Blue between 1934 and 1936) and Derek Mays-Smith. Oxford's coaches were John Cherry (who rowed for the Dark Blues in the 1936, 1937 and 1938 races), Guy Oliver Nickalls (who had rowed three times between 1921 and 1923) and J. H. Philips.[7] The race was umpired by the former Oxford rower and coach William Rathbone who had represented the Dark Blues in the 1926 and 1927 races and coached them in the 1936 and 1937 races.[8]

During the build-up to the race at

The Manchester Guardian as having "a powerful, orthodox crew without a weak man in the boat" while he suggested that "Cambridge are not orthodox, and they have not quite the same uniformity of style".[10] The rowing correspondent for The Times agreed, stating that "since 1936 Cambridge rowing has certainly deteriorated, and they have produced this year as heterogeneous a crew as has ever been seen in the race."[9] The Dark Blues were considered by most to be favourites to win the race.[11] Both crews raced in boats built by George Sims Boatbuilding Company of Hammersmith.[9]

Crews

The Oxford crew weighed an average of 12 

stroke for Cambridge, went on to be President of Cambridge University Boat Club and row in the unofficial 1940 boat race at Henley; he died on 4 April 2019 at the age of 101.[14]

Seat Oxford
Cambridge
Name College Weight Name College Weight
Bow
 G. Huse Oriel 12 st 7 lb B. T. Coulton Jesus 10 st 13 lb
2 J. L. Garton (P) Magdalen 11 st 7 lb A. M. Turner Corpus Christi College 12 st 3 lb
3 A. G. Slemeck St Edmund Hall 13 st 1 lb A. Burrough (P) Jesus 12 st 7 lb
4 R. R. Stewart Magdalen 13 st 4 lb J. L. L. Savil Jesus 13 st 2 lb
5
R. D. Burnell
 Magdalen 14 st 1.5 lb H. Parker Trinity Hall 12 st 13 lb
6 F. A. L. Waldron Trinity 14 st 4 lb J. Turnbull Clare 13 st 12 lb
7 H. A. W. Forbes Magdalen 13 st 5 lb M. Buxton 3rd Trinity 12 st 13 lb
Stroke
 J. R. Bingham Pembroke 11 st 2 lb C. B. Sanford Trinity Hall 12 st 1 lb
Cox H. P. V. Massey Balliol 5 st 2 lb H. T. Smith Magdalene 8 st 11 lb
Source:[12]
(P) – boat club president[15]

Race

The Championship Course along which the Boat Race is contested

Cambridge won the

Out-rating their opponents by four strokes per minute, Cambridge were half a length ahead by Craven Steps and two lengths up by the Mile Post. Despite their lead, the Light Blues were "rather ragged and badly together" while Oxford "were rowing perfectly steadily." The Dark Blue cox Massey steered across to the Surrey station in an attempt to gain more advantage from the tide, but Cambridge began to pull away again at Harrods Furniture Depository and led by two and a half lengths as they passed below Hammersmith Bridge.[16]

The Light Blues reduced their stroke rate but continued to extend their lead, passing Chiswick Steps with a 12-second advantage which they were held to until they passed below

The Manchester Guardian was critical of Oxford's failure to respond to Cambridge's early pressure: "it was incumbent on them to fight like tigers, they settled down to a dignified and, as it were, middle-aged stride".[17] The Observer's rowing correspondent agreed: "It could hardly be described as a 'race' for Oxford made no effort to 'race' and the further they went the more they fell behind."[11]

It was the last race until 1946, as a result of the outbreak of the Second World War, and first time since 1920 that there was a break in the annual tradition.[5]

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Dark Blues aim to punch above their weight". The Observer. 6 April 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  2. ^ Smith, Oliver (25 March 2014). "University Boat Race 2014: spectators' guide". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  3. ^ "The Course". The Boat Race Company Limited. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Former Winnipegger in winning Oxford–Cambridge Boat Race crew". CBC News. 6 April 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  5. ^ a b c "Boat Race โ€“ Results". The Boat Race Company Limited. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  6. ^ "Classic moments โ€“ the 1877 dead heat". The Boat Race Company Limited. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  7. ^ Burnell, pp. 110–111
  8. ^ Burnell, p. 49
  9. ^ a b c "Boat Race day". The Times. No. 48269. 1 April 1939. p. 15.
  10. The Manchester Guardian
    . 1 April 1939. p. 19.
  11. ^ a b "Cambridge win". The Observer. 2 April 1939. p. 25.
  12. ^ a b c Burnell, p. 75
  13. ^ Burnell, p. 39
  14. ^ "Bevis Sanford (obituary)". The Times. 13 April 2019. p. 81.
  15. ^ Burnell, pp. 50, 52
  16. ^ a b "Cambridge win easily". The Times. No. 48270. 3 April 1939. p. 8.
  17. The Manchester Guardian
    . 3 April 1939. p. 5.

Bibliography

External links
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