Rowing at Monkton in the Fifties enjoyed two major assets. First there was a team of enthusiastic and dedicated coaches including notably Dick Hole (senior coach), Charles Grimwade, Paul Witherington, and Michael Edwards. They were popular with the boys and earned our respect for running along the bumpy towpath in all weathers, instructing and encouraging; yet never taking matters too seriously. We owed them much, especially our enjoyment of rowing and the sound technical foundations they laid. Secondly, the memories of some of the golden years of MCSBC were still fresh enough to inspire us to feel that we had a place among the top rowing schools in the land. We were proud of Monkton's five 1948 Olympic oarsmen, and were reminded of them every time we staggered down the boathouse steps under the weight of one of the heavy clinker fours named after them (WGRML, MCL, APM etc). The Cox of the 1948 Olympic eight sent his sons John and Richard Dearlove to Monkton and John became Cox of the 1954 1st eight.
Looking back now with some knowledge of modern rowing training and equipment, it seems amazing that the Fifties crews achieved what they did, rivalling the best school crews and covering the Henley course in times which compare quite well with MCSBC 1st eights today. We rowed for two terms only, four times weekly, and never on Sundays or Tuesdays (CCF) or Fridays ("Pioneers"). There was minimal land training, no rowing machines, no heart monitors, no videos, no loudspeaker or Cox box (am I right about this?) in the boat, no special diets, no rigging tables. Boats and oars were wooden, and swivels and sectioned eights were adopted only in the mid-fifties. Eights weighed some 165-170 kilos compared with 100 kilos or less today (a gift of perhaps 8-10 seconds over the Henley course). There were no shoes in the boat, just leather straps, so you either wore trainers, or your feet got very cold in winter. Adjustments to gearing were very restricted and not accurate. Rigger heights for example could only be changed by the insertion of a washer under the lower stay. Leather buttons were fixed so inboard/outboard ratios were not adjustable. If I remember correctly, RDH was not keen on shaving down oar handles to accommodate small hands, and I for one envied the crews at Henley with suitably thin and manageable handles.
By today‘s standards we had very little racing experience. The Colts eight went to Pangbourne, the 2nd eight went to Marlow, and the 1st eight to Henley. Otherwise there was little or no competitive racing beyond the Avon, which perhaps put Monkton crews at a disadvantage. Unlike Thames schools we rarely saw other crews to benchmark our performance. It was observed however that MCS crews developed remarkably quickly once away from the narrow "mile of treacle" on the Avon. The 1st eight went to Henley about a week before the Regatta. There were no qualifying races. We stayed with Dr Staines-Reed in a beautiful house conveniently located just across the main road from Leander. The gardens ran down to the Thames and much time was spent there playing croquet and "revising" for A level exams. The clash of A level exams with Henley Regatta was a considerable inconvenience but I do not recall a lot of stress over the matter. Arrangements were made for us to sit papers in a Methodist church hall on the Reading Road. We shared it with other schools. We used to put John Ducker at the front with his famous "1951 52 53 54" blazer pocket in full view, to impress our rivals. Dr Staines-Reed did not provide meals, so these were taken in the crews' tent but it was not very good food for a crew in serious training. Dick Hole led a simple Bible reading and prayers before bed at Henley, which did no harm at all.
Rowing in the Easter term concentrated on inter-house bumps, which was probably a good idea. The event generated huge passion and enthusiasm, and generally crews trained hard and seriously to achieve good results. Listening to RDH counting down "tenŒ nineŒ eightŒ sevenŒ.." to the starting gun was nerve-wracking but I guess it was excellent preparation for sitting on the stakeboat at regattas. After the bumps, trial eights were boated, culminating in a race at the end of term. Following that, the names of those invited to return early in the summer term to train in the 1st eight were posted on the games notice board. Surprisingly, once chosen the composition of the top crews rarely changed. Seen in the context of modern "squad" systems this may not have been either wise or very fair. On the other hand RDH and his colleagues were shrewd selectors, as shown by the daring selection of Roger Giles and John Ducker for the 1st VIII in 1952 when they were very young. Their crew broke the PE Cup record and reached the final so RDH clearly got that right!
Novices began in fixed seat tubs, sometimes making use of the canal beyond the aqueduct towards Limpley Stoke. There was no other canal traffic in those days. Those early outings which laid such important foundations were coached by RDH and his team. There was a bank tub, not much used, but regrettably there was no real pressure to go out in sculling boats, although a number opted to do so, and there was a sculling competition. Today‘s strong emphasis on small boat training is very different. What seems to have been absolutely right in the Fifties was the attention given to technique, discipline in the boat, and crewmanship.
The results can be seen in some of the photographs of Fifties 1st eights where the bladework and timing looks pretty good. I also recall that morale always seemed to be sky-high in the top crews, but I am not sure what the ingredients were. Perhaps eating those chunky honey sandwiches sitting on the river bank between outings on a Saturday afternoon had something to do with it. Strangely, I cannot remember what we had to drink on those long Saturday afternoons, but I guess our intake of fluids fell far short of what we now know to be essential.
A crew of Fifties oarsmen took to the water during the Mid-Fifties Jubilee weekend on 19 June. It proved to be extremely enjoyable and memorable, not least because of the patient and skilful coaching of Mike Smith (MCS boatman and coach) from the Cox‘s seat. Mike taught us how to use the big blades to best effect, placing them cleverly in the water at the catch and building the leg drive through the stroke, not lifting the shoulders, and emphasising the finish. We rowed past the boathouse twice to make sure the event was amply recorded on film, finishing with a splashy but exhilarating start, which our coach and Cox declared to be "impressive". It was a terrific experience. The river looked smaller than before, and when we turned above the aqueduct among a bed of reeds a hostile swan appeared, just as in the good old days. David Langley and Sue Langley (nee Ducker) both Doctors, were on the bank during the outing "just in case" but fortunately no medical help was needed and we all felt that a good dinner had been well earned. The crew was (from bow I think) Nicholas Richter; John Delafield, Chris Rogers, John Lyddieth, Ray Lockhart, Tony Butler, Gerald Blake, and John Ducker. On the previous day four of the crew went out with Tony Casswell as our excellent Cox ("don‘t be such wimps, of course we do an up and over"). The unanimous verdict was that we would all love to do it again, some day.