President

Mike Williams

Mike joined London Rowing Club in 1973 and served as Captain in 1977 and 1978, Vice-Captain in 1976 and 1979 and Hon Treasurer during the 80's and 90's before being elected Vice-President and then President in 2004.

Mike was educated at Oundle School and then Trinity Hall, Cambridge, taking a year out inbetween to teach Maths and coach rowing at King`s College, Auckland. Whilst at Cambridge, Mike coxed the Goldie boat in 1972 and the Blue Boat in 1973 winning both races. Mike started rowing from 1974 at LRC reaching Senior 2 level before turning to coaching during his Captaincy.

Mike is currently a Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He is also heavily involved with organising rowing, where, as well as being a licensed international umpire, he is currently the FISA Treasurer and member of the FISA Executive Committee and FISA Council. He is also an HRR Steward and member of the Committee of Management, Chairman of British Rowing's (formerly ARA) Finance Committee, member of British Rowing's Executive Committee and LRC representative on the British Rowing Council. He is a Freeman of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames. Mike has been the Chairman of the Race Committee and a member of the Committee of the Metropolitan Amateur Regatta for a number of years.

Away from organising rowing, Mike enjoys driving classic cars and playing golf.

Vice Presidents

Doug Melvin

Former LRC President and now Vice-President, Doug Melvin has been a member of the Club since 1955, having moved from Lancashire with his wife and young daughter the previous year. He was encouraged to join LRC by Eric Phelps, who was coaching him at the time, and Doug relished the prospect of training alongside other scullers who were making a name for themselves at the Club, notably Farn Carpmael, John Marsden, Tony Fox and John Pinches.

Whilst part of this small, elite group of scullers, Doug recorded wins in the Scullers Head of the River of 1957 and 1958, and in the Wingfield Sculls of 1955 and 1958. His best year in the Diamond Sculls came in 1955 progressing to the semi-final where he met Kocerka, from Poland, the eventual winner. Putting the disappointment of this defeat behind him he went on to represent Great Britain in the single sculls at the European Championships later the same year.

Controversy followed in 1956 when he was selected as the spare man for the Great Britain team for the Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. After his boat and blades were shipped off to the Games he received a letter advising him that he was to be de-selected in favour of someone more inclined to rowing as opposed to sculling. The press got hold of the story and for a while it seemed that the decision would be overturned. It wasn't and Doug remained at home!

In 1960 Doug retired from competitive rowing to concentrate on his career, but remained in contact with the sport becoming a GB selector. He also enjoyed a new role in coaching which brought further success including wins at Henley and a silver medal for his son John in the Lightweight Sculls at the 1983 World Championships.

During his forties, fifties and even his sixties he was able once again to immerse himself in the joys of competitive rowing and enjoyed many successes as a veteran oarsman and sculler.

In 2000 Doug was elected as President of LRC and very much enjoyed the four years he spent in office, deciding to stand down in 2004 in favour of a younger man.

Doug and his wife Betty live in Putney, with their immediate family, including five grandchildren, close by. Now a little way beyond normal retirement age he continues to play an important part in the family business he established.

Mike Baldwin

Mike first became involved in rowing at City of London School, and was subsequently Captain and then President of Trinity College Boat Club, Oxford. He joined London Rowing Club in 1962 and was Captain for the 1975/76 season. Mike was first elected to the committee in 1971, and remains its longest-serving member.

Having retired from day-to-day involvement, Mike is currently non-executive Chairman of the Sutton Group of Companies, comprising three insurance broking firms. He previously worked for ICI, before joining Sutton & Partners Ltd in 1973.

Mike qualified as an Umpire in 1977, going on to gain a FISA International licence in 1982. He has since umpired at the Anglo-French match, the Coupe de la Jeunesse, the World U-23 International, the FISA Veterans, the Nations Cup, the FISA World Cup, the FISA World Championships and the Olympic Games. He has served as Secretary and Chairman of the Thames Regional Umpires Commission, and has recently stepped down as Chairman of the Multi Lane Umpires Commission, remaining a member.

Mike was first involved in regatta administration with the Metropolitan Regatta, of which he was subsequently Chairman for two years. He has also been Chairman of the National Rowing Championships Committee, and is currently Chairman of the Head of the River Race. He was elected a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta in 1995. Mike was Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 2005 Rowing World Cup regatta and the 2006 World Rowing Championships.

He has been awarded the FISA Medaille d'Honneur and the ARA Medal of Honour.

Mike and his wife Gill live by the river near Teddington Lock. They have a daughter, Joanna, and a son, Stephen. Mike still rows irregularly.

Jack Ormiston (Honorary) 

Jack joined the Club in 1932 when he was 16, after leaving Westminster School. His active rowing career at the Club culminated in a Wyfold Challenge Cup win in 1937 when he rowed at bow in a crew known in LRC folklore as the 'Umbrage IV'.

His last appearance at Henley was in 1939. Already a territorial in the 1930s, he was commissioned at the outbreak of war a few weeks later into the East Yorkshire Regiment. He served in France, the Middle East and Germany, rising to Major and being mentioned in despatches in 1944.

His working career centred entirely on the family firm of P Ormiston & Sons Ltd, founded in 1793 -gold and silver wire drawers, and now wire manufacturers - of which he became Chairman, retiring in 1997.

Jack's family have been heavily involved in all aspects of the River Thames including rowing and skiffing. His uncle Rex was the name behind the 'Ormiston Trophy' competed for by skiff clubs. Jack was President of the Skiff Club and a founder of the River Thames Society. Away from the river, he was a JP from 1964 to1977, and a Councillor with both Kingston and Richmond Councils, amongst numerous other interests. Jack's son, Mark, is President of Twickenham Rowing Club.

Jack was elected a Vice-President of LRC in 1987, becoming President in 1994. In 2001, having reached the age of 85, he decided to stand down and was re-elected as a Vice-President, since 2006 in an Honorary capacity. He will be much missed for his energy and enthusiasm over very many years.

Captain

Danny Harte

Danny first entered rowing while at George Heriot's School in Edinburgh, where he was club captain in 1993. He carried on his rowing career at Oxford Brookes University where he competed in the Temple Cup at HRR and won 4 British Universities Championships in his first two years. He then returned home to Scotland and rowed for Clyde ARC from 1997 - 1999, during which time he reached the semi- final of the Wyfolds twice, won the lightweight 4- at the British Championships and again at the Home Countries for Scotland in 1998 and stroked the Scottish Lightweight 4- and 8 at the 1999 Commonwealth Championships.

After two years concentrating on his professional career Danny joined London RC in August 2001 and reached the final of the Wyfolds in 2002 and was a member of the victorious lightweight 8 at the Commonwealth Rowing Championships in his first season with the club. In 2003 he was selected to row for Great Britain in the lightweight 8 at the World Championships in Milan. In 2004 he concentrated on domestic racing and became British champion in the open 2- and 4-, won the Home Countries in the open 2- and fostered relationships with Commercial Rowing Club in Ireland by rowing in their Irish Championship winning open 8+. He was a member of the Great Britain senior team from 2005 - 2008, competing in another 4 senior World Championships in the lightweight 2- and 4- and 10 World Cups collecting gold, silver and bronze medals in the latter. He retired from international rowing in 2008. 

Vice Captains

Steven O'Connor
 

Steve joined LRC in the autumn of 2005, and was elected a Vice-Captain in July 2008, being re-elected for a further year in July 2009.  He also has Committee responsibility for Water Safety matters.

Steve started his rowing in Nottingham at Becket School and then Nottingham and Union RC.  He continued at Leeds University, where he was Men’s Captain and in a team that broke the World University Indoor Rowing Record.  On starting work, he moved to Exeter where he both rowed for Exeter City RC, rowing in the club’s first eight to pre-qualify for Henley, and acted as head coach at Exeter University, sending a Novice eight to a BUSA regatta where it won a bronze medal.

Since joining London, he has had a number of wins at the Docks, Wallingford and Metropolitan regattas, has won the Boustead Cup in 2008 rowing at bow, and was also bow in an LRC eight that raced in Galicia, NW Spain, which finished 4th overall against some international opposition.
 

Matthew Bell

Matthew (Matt) started rowing back in his country of birth, South Africa, in 1992, aged 11, winning six national titles at the SA Junior Championships between 1993 and 1997, and National Colours for Rowing in 1996 and 1997.  After taking two years out of the sport he joined the University of Johannesburg crew in 2001 to compete in the boat race open to all SA universities over a 4 1/4 mile course on the Kowie River in Port Alfred. 

2004 was a successful year, winning the 4+ event at Buffalo regatta (SA's oldest); making a clean sweep at the SA university national sprint regatta; 4th place at the World Student Games in 4-; winning the boat race over arch-rivals Rhodes; and beating alumni crews from Cambridge and Oxford in Zambia.

In 2005 Matt won a rowing scholarship at Bristol University, so moved to England in the summer.  He decided to give up the scholarship to move to London Rowing Club.  Main highlights to date - runner-up finish in the Wyfold Challenge Cup at HRR in 2007, and a bronze medal at the Nat Champs in 2x.

Matt is currently studying for his Chartered Institute of Management (CIMA) exam, whilst quietly continuing his pursuit of the elusive Henley medal.

He was elected a Vice Captain in 2009.
 

Alexie Calvert-Ansari
 

 

Honorary Treasurer

Chris Rumboll
 

Chris started rowing at Eton in 1982 and represented the school in 1986 as well as being a member of the GB junior team in the same year. After a brief period at Thames RC he saw the light and became a member of LRC in 1991. Chris represented LRC at Henley in 1992 and 1993 reaching the semi finals of the Thames Cup before moving abroad which put his rowing on hold.

Chris spent seven years in the Army mainly in London and Germany as well as periods in Bosnia, Northern Ireland and Africa. After leaving the army he retrained as a Chartered Accountant and now works for a recruitment company in Covent Garden. He returned to London (& LRC) in 2001 and now trains full time as part of the regular squad. Chris was elected to the committee in 2007 as Honorary Treasurer.
 
Chris lives in Putney and, away from the river, enjoys cycling and photography.

Honorary Secretary

Julian Ebsworth

Julian's early rowing days were at Westminster School, where he was in the 1st VIII in 1958 and 1959. He went on to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he continued a family tradition of rowing at Cambridge dating back to the 1830s, rowing in the college's 1st Lent and May boats in 1961-63.

He joined London on coming down, and enjoyed a successful season with the Club in 1964, reaching the final of the Thames Cup at Henley. That autumn he was nominated, along with several other LRC oarsmen, to join the ARA's newly established national training squad, known as Nautilus Club, based on the Tideway. He competed in the ARA Trials for the European Championships in Duisburg in 1965, and retired from active rowing in 1967.Julian became Assistant Honorary Secretary of the Club in 2001 after retiring from the Civil Service, and was elected Honorary Secretary in 2003.  Away from the river, Julian enjoys choral singing and family history and he is a Freeman of the Company of Watermen and Lightermen. 

Assistant Honorary Secretary

Christopher Grainger

Christopher Grainger joined LRC in 1964, having rowed at school and in the Christ Church (Oxford) 1st VIII. A few years spent in undistinguished LRC novice crews culminated in a few wins at JS level in IVs and VIIIs in 1969-71, at which point marriage intervened. He resumed active rowing with the Veterans in 2004.

On partial retirement in 2006 from legal practice as a solicitor, Christopher now assists the Secretariat with particular reference to licensing, and residents' issues.
 

Chairman of the Committee

Chris Sprague

Chris started rowing at St Edward's, and continued at Christ Church, Oxford where he served as Boat Club Treasurer and organised the annual Christ Church Regatta for college crews. He joined London Rowing Club in 1964 and after leaving Oxford rowed for the Club between 1965 and 1971. Work as a solicitor in the City precluded serious rowing on his part thereafter. He has for the past thirty five years practised as a solicitor with Ince & Co., specialising in shipping and insurance law, for thirty years as a partner and now as a consultant.

Chris holds the ARA Bronze Coaching Award and in 1978 qualified as an umpire. He gained a FISA International Licence in 1993. He has umpired at World Junior and Senior Championships and World Cup and World Masters' Regattas. Chris became a member of the Thames Regional Umpires' Commission in 1981, serving as Secretary from 1981 to 1988, and as Chairman from 2003 to 2008.  He served as Treasurer of the Thames Regional Rowing Council from 1983 to 1988 and as President from 2005 to 2006. He is now a Vice-President of the TRRC.  Since 2004 he has been a member of the ARA Rules of Racing Sub-Committee.  He became a trustee of the Rowing Foundation in 2009.

Chris served on the committees of London Rowing Club and the Metropolitan Regatta in the late 1960's. He was Chairman of the Sub-Committee which organised the Club's 150th anniversary celebrations in 2006 and was elected to the Committee and as Chairman in the same year. 
 

Kit and Casamajor Club

Ian Butler

Ian joined London Rowing Club in April 1973 and was elected to the Committee as Kit and Casamajor Club manager in 1996. He previously rowed at Merton College Boat Club, Oxford, from 1956 to 1959 where he trialled for the Oxford Blue Boat.

During his rowing career Ian has competed in numerous Tideway Heads and at Marlow, Maidenhead, Henley, Molesey, Kingston, Twickenham, Cambridge, Amsterdam (The Masters), Paris (the 51 km Traversee de Paris), and Venice (the 28 km Voga Longa). He currently rows with the LRC Irregulars who can be seen on the water on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings.Ian is a retired Company Director, having completed a much travelled career in Overseas Sales and Marketing with Gillette, Carnation and Nestle. In his spare time he enjoys watching Rugby (Harlequins and England) and Cricket (Middlesex and England). Ian also still enjoys travelling and has been to watch the England cricket team compete on several oversaes tours. He likes good food and wine and is also Chairman of his local Residents' Association.
 

Honorary House Steward (Premises)

Alan Foster

Alan joined London Rowing Club in 1997 after a rowing sabbatical of some 29 years.  He was elected to the Committee initially as boathouse manager two years later.  After four years of this task he became Project Manager for the  initial two phases of Redevelopment of the Club infrastructure, completed in 2007.  In 2008 he took over as Building Manager for the whole estate.

Alan rowed at Cheltenham College (2nd VIII) and Pembroke College Cambridge (1st VIII stroke for 2 years).  Personal highlights during this time were winning the Fairbairn Cup (1966) and rowing over Head for the first 2 nights of the 1967 Lent Bumps. He still rows at Veteran level.Alan runs his own business from home and enjoys pottering around with plane, drill and screwdriver.

Honorary House Steward (Catering)

Hugh Samuel 

Hugh Samuel has enjoyed many years of rowing, but sadly without any great successes to write about. He started rowing at Westminster School where he was sent out in a fixed seat clinker scull when there was a lot more commercial traffic on the river than there is now.
 
He went on to row for RMA Sandhurst, 1st and 3rd Trinity, Royal Engineers and Thames RC, before being recruited by a colleague into the Irregulars at LRC in 1979.  He has been very irregular ever since, and is still seen on the river occasionally.  He hopes that as Hon. House Steward (Catering) he will be able to repay the Club and the sport of rowing for many enjoyable outings (and the beers afterwards in a superb and friendly clubhouse).

Women's Squad

Steph Cullen

Steph started rowing at Hertford College, Oxford, in 1999 where she held the positions of Boat Club Captain and President. During her Captaincy year both the Women’s 1st and 2nd VIII obtained Summer Eights blades – a first for the college. In 2003 she competed in the Lightweight Women’s Boat Race, beating Cambridge by 2 lengths. On arriving in the capital, Steph took 6 months out of rowing to compete in the London Marathon before joining Vesta RC in 2004, for whom she was a finalist in Elite Eights at Women’s Henley and raced in the Remenham Challenge Cup at HRR with the same crew in 2005. 

Steph joined London RC at the start of the 05/06 season, competing that summer in the Lightweight Quad event at Women’s Henley, losing to Thames in the final. The following season she reached GB final trials, finishing 12th, before moving into the double scull in the summer with Helen Mason with whom she competed in Essen Regatta, coming a creditable 3rd, reached the Elite Double Sculls final at Women’s Henley, losing to a strong Upper Thames crew, and placing 3rd in Lightweight Double Sculls at the National Championships. Although not known at the time, their results were not as good as expected due to Steph suffering from anaemia so she was absent from competition for most of the 07/08 season.

However, she made up for this in the 08/09 season, winning the Elite Double Sculls event at Women’s Henley with Elaine Johnstone of TSS and being selected to represent Great Britain in the Lightweight Women’s Quad at the World Championships in Poland in August 2009. With her fellow London athletes, Laura Greenhalgh and Andrea Dennis, Steph went on to take the silver medal at the event. She is now back in training at the club, preparing to defend her place in the GB squad for the 09/10 racing season.

Steph was elected onto the Committee in September 2008.  She is a senior client director for a marketing consultancy.

Veteran Rowing

Ben Helm

Ben started rowing on the Union Canal in Edinburgh at George Heriot's School in 1977. He represented Scotland at the Home Countries as a junior. His four won the Fours Cup in 1982 at the National Schools. Ben then went on to row at Edinburgh University while studying engineering as a distraction from training.
He was due to represent the BVI in lightweight singles at the Commonwealth Games in 1986, but the team was withdrawn as part of the boycott.
On moving south he initially rowed at TTRC. He arrived at London RC in the Autumn of 1991 when Robin Williams commenced his coaching career. Ben rowed in the first eight in the HORR from 1992 to 1996. He represented Britain in lightweight events from 1993-96 including the Atlanta Olympics. He rowed in the London four that broke the world record and made the final in the Stewards and the Queen Mother in 1994 at HRR. He won a world silver medal in the lightweight eight in 1995 as well as a Lucerne gold and two silver medals.
After retiring from competitive rowing he moved to New York for a year and a half with his wife Ashleigh and their very new daughter.
He was Captain for the 1998/99 season and has been on the Committee since.
Ben is a Fund Manager at Augustus Asset Managers Ltd. He lives in Putney with his wife and three children.
He is tasked with convincing recently retired oarsmen to carry on and enjoy their rowing after years of training every hour of the day.
He co-ordinated the initial fundraising effort for the development, is also the Child Welfare Officer for the club and the High Performance Programme liaison for the club with GB Rowing. 

Newsletter

Anthony Jones

Anthony learned to row at Clifton College before joining LRC in the early summer of 1970. Finals day at Henley that year included three successive finals featuring London crews, and, thinking briefly he was on to a good thing, he hung around for long enough for disillusion to set in. Losses in the Thames Cup (second round, 1971) and the Wyfolds (quarter finals, 1972) were followed by the realisation that less is more, and being dropped from a pair intended for the Goblets in 1973 was the way to go.

On the rebound from a long-established smoking habit and inspired by the TV series 'Gold Fever' Anthony returned to the sport, and LRC, shortly after the Sydney Olympics in 2000. Since then he has enjoyed considerable and continuing success in veteran rowing.

He has served on the committee of the Metropolitan Regatta since 2003. Away from the river he enjoys sailing, gardening, and tinkering with graphics, an interest he has pursued intermittently since adolescence.
 

Sponsorship and Fund Raising

Dan Pring

Dan joined the London Rowing Club committee in July 2004 as a joint Vice Captain, being responsible for social matters. He was captain in the 150th year of the club, and had the pleasure of watching London win the Thames Cup that year. He started rowing whilst at King Edward VI Grammar School in Stratford-Upon-Avon and has since rowed for Stratford-Upon-Avon BC, C.C.A.T. BC, CUBC, Robinson College BC, Black Sheep BC and Rob Roy BC before joining LRC in September 2001.

Dan has had great success on the water with over 40 domestic regatta and head race wins, his crowning achievement coming in 2004 when he won the Thames Challenge Cup. This victory was made all the sweeter given that he was a losing finalist in the Wyfold Challenge Cup two years previously. He was also part of England`s victorious Lightweight VIII at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and has represented Wales at the 2000, 2001 and 2004 Home Countries regattas. 
 

Boats and Equipment

James Waite

James joined London Rowing Club in 1999 having previously rowed at Bedford School and Quintin Boat Club. He was elected to the Committee in 2004 as joint Vice-Captain, responsible for boats and equipment.

James has been one of the stalwarts of the main squad at London for the last eight years and has had great success in both lightweight and open events. His most notable achievement came in 2006 with winning the Thames Challenge Cup at HRR. In 2002 he was part of the victorious England LM8+ at the Commonwealth Regatta. He also competed in the last seven Henley Royal Regattas, doubling up in the Thames and Wyfold Challenge Cups on four occasions. James has also won numerous National Championship and Ghent International regatta medals, together with pennants at the Pairs, Fours and Scullers Heads and numerous domestic regatta medals.

James is a chartered building surveyor, a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and now works as a project manager for JonesLangLasalle. 
 

Ex-Officio (former Captains)

Tom Killick

Tom Killick joined London Rowing Club in September 1999, having previously represented Cambridge Lightweights 1996-1998, being President in 1997. He joined the Committee in 2004 and was Captain in the 2006/07 season. Tom started rowing at Emmanuel College Cambridge.

 Tom has had a number of successes over the years with London. He has placed in the top 15 of the VIIIs head with the second VIII, won a pennant at the Fours' Head, stroked the Thames Cup VIII to the semi-final in 2001 and was a member of the London coxless IV that represented England at the Commonwealth Rowing Cahampionships in 2006, winning a bronze medal.  He has won numerous regattas and heads as well as medals of all colours at the National Championships, however he is keeping quiet about his two Vets VIIIs head wins.

 Tom works in the City, for Swiss Re, and while this takes up too many hours away from the river, he has to admit that the Gherkin is a cool place to work.

David Finn

David joined London Rowing Club in September 2002 and was elected to the LRC committee in July 2004 as a joint Vice Captain, responsible for financial matters.  He was Captain in the 2007/08 season. He has previously rowed at Furnivall Sculling Club, Lady Victoria Boat Club and Queens University Belfast BC.

Since joining LRC, David has been a key member of the lightweight group and has consistently performed on the water gaining multiple National Championships Medals. He has also won at Ghent International Regatta and was part of the victorious England VIII that won the Home Countries in 2002.

David is an Actuary for Towers Perrin and in his spare time enjoys watching all sports and maintaining, and where possible augmenting, his encyclopaedic knowledge of the sport of rowing.
 

Ciaran Hayes

Ciarán joined London Rowing Club in 2005 and was elected to the LRC committee in July 2007 as Vice Captain. He served as Captain in the 2008/09 season. He previously rowed for Isis in the Boat Race in 2003, and was also part of the Pembroke College 1st VIII that won the Headship in Oxford Summer Eights.

He has rowed for Ireland in the Lightweight 4- at the 2003 and 2004 U23 World Championships, having previously represented Ireland at Junior level. He learned to row at Skibbereen Rowing Club in West Cork, where he won eight Junior National Championships.

Since joining LRC, Ciarán has been a key member of the squad having raced in the 1st VIII each year in the HoRR, winning the Vernon Trophy in 2006. He stroked the LRC 4- that narrowly lost in the final of the Wyfolds at HRR in 2007.

Ciarán is an economic adviser to the Government working in the Department for Children, Schools and Families. In his spare time he enjoys watching rugby and travelling.