THE only University Boat Race rowed away from the Thames will be celebrated next year on its sixtieth anniversary.
The present Oxford and Cambridge veteran crews will battle over a mile-and-a-half of the River Great Ouse near Ely on February 28 when thousands of people are expected to line the riverbank. Among the spectators will be some of the oarsmen who rowed in the original race in 1944.
They will also be invited to a post race dinner in the Monastic Barn dining hall at The King's School, Ely, where the speaker will be Olympic gold medallist Tim Foster - one of the Fab Four from Sydney in 2000. The dinner will be hosted by Cambridge rowing stalwart James Crowden, CVO, KStJ, JP, who was until recently the Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire.
Among the teachers at the school is Jerry Dale, who will be rowing in the Oxford veteran crew. They will be hoping to repeat the Dark Blues' three-quarters of a length victory of sixty years ago - over the stretch of river still used for training by the Light Blues from their Ely boathouse.
An exhibition of 1944 photographs and memorabilia, currently on show at The River & Rowing Museum in Henley on Thames until November, will be transferred back to Ely in the run-up to the February race before going on permanent display at The Prickwillow Drainage Museum, just a short distance form the 1944 course.
The big day - organised by a group called Diamond 44 - will also include a Service of Thanksgiving in Ely Cathedral followed by a wreath-laying at the grave of former Dean of Ely, Charles Merivale, in Ely Cemetery. While a student at Cambridge University in 1829, he rowed in the first University Boat Race and it is believed he was responsible for instituting the event by challenging Oxford student Charles Wordsworth, a nephew of poet William Wordsworth.
Next year's Boat Race - the 150th - will be rowed on the Tideway a month after the Ely encounter and a commemorative race between replica 1829 boats is planned for Henley in June to round off a very special year.
"Over five thousand people attended the 1944 race, rowed from the River Lark to Queen Adelaide bridge, and we are planning a full day of celebration for a similar number in February," said Diamond 44 secretary Jack Waterfall.
"The recontest of the 1944 race will be the highlight of the afternoon, followed by lots of hospitality around the city during the early evening and dancing to the 1940's sound of a Glenn Miller Big Band in Ely Maltings will continue into the night."
Notes to Editors
1. For further information and pictures, contact Jack Waterfall on 01353 665665 or e-mail jack.waterfall@eastcambs.gov.uk The attached picture of the finish of the 1944 race is by courtesy of Mr H.B. Cochrane - 1944 Cambridge No2.
2. All surviving members of the 1944 Oxford and Cambridge crews have been traced. These include:
Oxford Oarsmen
R.G. Jamison
J.M.H. Brooks
M.L.H. Lee
F.A. de Hamel
Cambridge Oarsmen
I.H. Pillipps
H.B. Cochrane
M.D. Whitworth
J.J. Scott
D.A. Ramsay
and
D.H. Paul (replaced at the last minute by Cambridge).
3. There were four 'unofficial' University Boat Races during the Second World War. They were:
1940 Henley on Thames.
1943 Sandford on Thames.
1944 Queen Adelaide on River Great Ouse.
1945 Henley on Thames.
4. Keep up to date with arrangements for the February race through the Diamond44 and Ely Standard websites:
www.diamond44.com
www.ely-standard.co.uk
Press Release courtesy of John Ison - Diamond44 Press Secretary
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