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Rowing at Dulwich: A short history
Dulwich Rows at the Olympics
‘The Olympic Games are so different, because once you’ve taken part, you are always an Olympian,’ he explains. ‘I have always had that feeling, and with all the people that I’ve coached, I have tried to explain to them the importance, the values and the spirit of the Games. It has some real meaning beyond the sport.’ Over the years, what has had the greatest impact on Bill is the atmosphere of peace and harmony in which the Games are held. ‘I do feel very strongly that the 12,000 athletes who gather at the Olympic Games are the best United Nations in the world,’ he contends. ‘You can be eating and talking to each other and making lifelong friendships, and then the next day, you can go out and fight each other on the pitch, in the swimming pool, and on the rowing lake. And that’s OK; afterwards, once again, you are friends,’ he adds. ‘If the world operated that way, it would be a much
One of the great strengths of the College is to allow sports to have their moment. Resources are found for coaching and equipment, and integration into the curriculum and House system encourages boys to get involved in sports that would otherwise be largely inaccessible to them. In the 1970s, Judo, Gymnastics, and Volleyball flourished for a number of years finding success at local, regional and even national level. Sometimes though a sport catches the imagination more than others, and the school continues to invest in coaching and facilities. A tipping point is reached and the sport really becomes embedded in the sporting culture of the College. This is very much the story of rowing, a sport which at first glance seems an unlikely choice for a school which is over six miles from a suitable stretch of river. Rowing in the form of the Dulwich College Rowing Society, began at the College in 1989 as a games option in the senior school and based at the Globe Rowing Club at Greenwich where sessions took place either in the ‘tank’ (an indoor rowing pool), over the river at Poplar or on the river itself at Greenwich. It soon became obvious that there was a demand for the sport and driven by Damian West (84-92) and newly appointed master in charge Dr Trevor Charlton, the Dulwich College Boat Club was born in the Lent Term of 1991. Before long the club moved away from Greenwich; prompted at least in part by the constant threat of boats being sunk by the bow waves of some of the large ships that were still using the Thames at the time! The move also made sense in that the facilities further up the river were far more conducive to schoolboy rowing and the presence of other school boat clubs meant that there were other crews against which the newly named Boat Club could compare itself. Damian takes up the story. ‘Over the summer holidays I negotiated with the then captain of Thames Rowing Club to let us rent some of his boats and use the facilities at the club
1936 Berlin Thomas Richard Martin Bristow (27-32) Coxless Four: Silver
At its outset DCBC had only 10 members including Damian, Kieran John (85-92) and Ed Cetti (87-92) and the Club had to borrow a heavy wooden clinker called Jock from the Thames Rowing Club. It was both difficult to lift and to manoeuvre; very different indeed from the modern carbon fibre reinforced plastic hulls the boys use today. In the early years the Club concentrated on sculling (one man two oars), a form of rowing that was generally less popular on the school circuit but still encouraged the development of technique and allowed confidence to grow, and for the crews to become increasingly competitive. Damian continues, ‘In any case, we could finally race for the College and Kieran, Ed, the others and I raced for Dulwich at various events, me in a single scull and them in a four which, to my knowledge was the first time anyone had ever raced for Dulwich. For the first races we competed in we wore the athletics team's singlets and shorts because we didn't have any proper rowing kit, (I'm sure I still have my singlet in the loft somewhere), but it was great to have our own boat club and finally be racing for our own school!’ In 2000 Dr Trevor Charlton left the College to take up missionary work in Peru and the new Master of the College, Graham Able, approved the purchase of the old National Westminster Bank Boathouse on the Putney Embankment where the Club is based to this day. By 2005 the Club had started to train abroad during the October and Easter holidays, initially visiting Bordeaux and the Italian lakes, and more recently Amsterdam. In the same year the College First VIII rowed for the first time in the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup for schools at Henley Royal Regatta, and since 2009 when Simon Croucher took over as Head of Rowing, numbers who take up the sport, particularly in Year 9 have gradually increased. Today over 150 boys regularly make their way down to the Boathouse for games afternoons and Saturday morning outings and the Club continues to achieve success both with crews at head (one after the other) and regatta (side by side) races but also individuals at home and abroad. Between 2009 and 2018, DCBC has won three gold medals at National Schools Regatta and one silver, as well as pre-qualifying for Henley Royal Regatta most years. Like many sports rowing was impacted by the pandemic. However, since returning to rowing post Covid lockdowns, the new Head of Rowing Tristan Mayglothling is pleased to report that DCBC is flourishing, having won a Bronze medal at the National Schools while the First VIII won a race at Henley Royal Regatta for the first time since 2014.
Thomas Richard Martin Bristow was known by friends and family as Martin, and after leaving the College went to Pembroke College, Cambridge where he learned to row. While there he was a member of the Cambridge crew in the 1935 boat race which Cambridge
won by 4 lengths. Martin was subsequently selected to row in the Berlin Olympics as a member of the coxless fours crew along with Alan Barrett, Peter Jackson and John Sturrock. Together they won the silver medal behind the Germans. Two years later as a member of the London Rowing
better place.’ 2000 Sydney Dr Kieran West MBE (86-95) Men’s Eights: Gold
Club, he was in the crew that won the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley in 1938. Martin qualified at St Thomas' Hospital. He later specialised in anaesthesia.
One of the founding members of the Dulwich College Boat Club, Kieran went on to win an Olympic Gold Medal at the 2000 Games in Sydney with the men’s eights. Over a nine-year international career, Kieran won every major and domestic rowing event, including a further gold medal at the 2002 Seville World Rowing Championships.
1964 Tokyo William ‘Bill’ Barry (52-59) Coxless Four: Silver On 15 October 1964, day five of the Tokyo Games, Great Britain’s coxless four of John Russell, Hugh Wardell- Yerburgh, John James and Bill Barry finished a second behind the Danish crew on Tokyo’s Toda rowing course to secure a silver medal, seeing off the challenge of the USA.
which gave us a base in Putney. I think he thought he would have a steady stream of juniors joining his club, but the plan was to establish a base for Dulwich in the centre of rowing. We paid a small amount for this which came from the College's grant to the Dulwich College Rowing Society.
It was a moment that Bill would cherish for the rest of his life. ‘For me, competing and participating in the Games is the pinnacle of any athlete’s career,’ he said. ‘Winning a medal is something extra. It says you are among the best. If you get gold, you are the best; silver means you’re close, but still among the best.’ Born in 1940, Bill seemed destined to excel at rowing. His uncle Bert was the world sculling champion in the 1920s and the Queen’s barge- master, while his great uncle and grandfather, also a renowned rower, were both Thames Watermen. After hanging up his oars, Bill turned his hand to coaching, and guided Alan Campbell to a bronze medal in the men’s single sculls at London 2012.
The second part was to register Dulwich College as a club in its own right. I found an old oar, cut off the blade and took it home where I painted it up in what I thought should be the colours of DCBC (I gave the blade to DCBC a while ago - the last I saw it was behind the bar in the clubhouse - I don't know if it's still there). I then filled out the necessary form (including a description of the oar design), for what was then the Amateur Rowing Association (now British Rowing) to form the club, and handed it in, along with our membership money. We were approved at the next meeting and so DCBC was officially formed.’
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