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Old Borlasians
French blood. He usually told people that he had learned
to row “In Seine” but they assumed that he was actually
“insane”which is nearer to the truth. I digress!
The school managed to turn out three fours and I started
my ‘ wetbob ‘ life as bow of the third four. I enjoyed rowing
and to get out on the river in the early morning mist and
on our training days was an exhilarating and enjoyable
experience. Avoiding aggressive swans in the breeding
season was sometimes a problem as was Russell Sage
on his bicycle, armed with his megaphone. He was a
great man to work for and rode along the towpath from
Bisham Abbey with great aplomb. The school competed
against schools from Windsor, Egham and Henley but I
only remember ever competing in one regatta at Egham.
Somehow we would have one of our brand new clinker
fours transported to these events and crews used the
same boat. Egham School as I remember complained that
we should not row in our boat because it was too good
for their old boats to compete against. Sour grapes but we
nearly always beat them even using their old tubs!!
Eventually I graduated to the second four and found
myself rowing behind stroke at number two! During my
final year at school Russell Sage told me that I would have
made the first four but he was unable to select me as I had
outside school commitments (my part-time jobs). This
was unfortunate but understandable. For family reasons I
couldn’t give up my jobs so I carried on in the second four.
During the summer holidays some of the local rowers
would meet up at the boat house and go out on the river
in the tub. This was completely unknown to the school I
might add. “Elf” and Safety would have been horrified
at this because we would row up through Temple Lock
(manhandling the boat over the rollers) and go skinny
dipping and bird-watching in the backwaters by Hurley!!
It was great fun, although on one occasion (which was the
last), I accidentally broke one of the blades against the lock
wall. When I confessed to Russell Sage I was surprised that
I wasn’t sent to Mr Booth for a good caning and I never
was asked to pay for a new blade. We did have some fun
though.
When I look at the rowing pages in the school magazine
it is so impressive to see what the rowers are doing now.
Eights, Fours, Sculls – fantastic results in all those regattas
and against all those other schools and colleges and for
the girls as well as the boys. I do not understand what
rowing training one can do in the French Alps though and
what on earth is an “ergo” – in my day it was a latin word
meaning therefore
It was in the summer of 1950 or 1951 after I had left school
that I bumped into one of my old school friends, Mike
Davies, who was still at school and rowing in the First
four. He was staggering through Higginson Park carrying
a really gigantic silver cup and proudly told me that the
school first four had won this trophy at Egham regatta that
day. This was the very first trophy that Borlase had ever
won for rowing and we celebrated accordingly. I wonder
if today’s rowers get as excited when they win as we two
Second Four in 1949. From left to right – Ron Ives, Francis
Smith, Mike Davies and Jim Brown with Russell Sage and the
cox , Macdonald. The dress was still come as you please!
