CHAIRMAN’S VIEW

The Fours Head and the Vet’s Fours Head were held over the weekend of 15th and 16th November and it was very good to see both events back again after the cancellations of the last two years. Conditions for each race, as viewed from the Club, seemed almost ideal – calm and with a following wind from Hammersmith in. Not so between Barnes Bridge and the Eyot where it was ‘like the North Sea’ as one LRC crew member put it, although this was perhaps more so for the Vet’s Head on the Sunday as the wind had picked up overnight. Taking all of this in their stride, London crews were out in force putting in strong performances and picking up a number of excellent wins over the two days.

Also in November the project team hosted a presentation for members on the design of the new balcony. The meeting was held in the Long Room where first Peter Halford and then Stuart Forbes took those present through many of the details of the development whilst referring to plans, drawings and images which members were able to view on a big screen. The presentation was well received and there was an appreciation for how the new balcony will reflect the Victorian heritage of the clubhouse and how the overall design has drawn inspiration from those of previous structures.

Finally, as 2025 draws to a close, LRC can look back at what has been an outstanding year with some truly spectacular results. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the coaches, staff, volunteers and members, who do so much for the Club, for their hard work and valuable input which helps to make LRC the success that it is.

My best wishes to all for Christmas and for 2026.

Simon Melvin
Chairman, London Rowing Club

CAPTAIN’S REPORT

Balcony project
The balcony project work starts this month with the boat bays and workshop being closed from the 19th December. There will be no access to the boat bays and workshop on and from the 19th December.

This Sunday, 14th December at 10:30 we will undertake a number of rowing relevant activities to prepare for the balcony project. These activities will include moving some of the club boats and oars. Some club boats will be stored on a trailer outside the Club as well as on the TopRow racks. The activities on Sunday will enable continued rowing during the balcony project work and will require the help of members. There will be tea, coffee, biscuits and mince pies available. Please arrive to help at 10:30am if you are able to. Squad boats will also be de-rigged and loaded onto one of the Club’s trailers following Remenham Challenge and during the following week.

Members with private singles should have received an email to complete a form about spaces/racking in the sculling shed. Further updates on the movement of private singles and the availability of spaces will be shared with those who have completed the form.

Further updates will be shared as we move closer to the start of the balcony project work.

Fours Head and Veteran Fours Head
The Fours Head took place on the 15th November and the Vets Fours Head took place the following day on the 16th November. LRC had a significant entry across both the Fours and Vets Fours Heads. 15 crews raced at the Fours Head (including 1 composite crew) and 12 crews raced at the Vets Fours Head.

At the Fours Head the Club won the Women’s Club 4-, a first Women’s sweep boat win at the Fours Head for the Club. The Club also won the Open Club 4x, making it 3 Fours Heads Wins in a row in this event. The Club also achieved 4th overall position with the Open Champ 4x. The Club achieved a number of high placing and excellent results across both Champ and Club categories.

At the Veteran Fours Head the Club won the Open D4- and the Open B4+. The Club also had a number of crews placing in 2nd or 3rd in their categories.

Congratulations to all LRC’s winners as well as those who raced at the Fours Head or Vets Fours Head.

Fours Head LRC winners:
- Womens Club 4- (Jemima Harbottle, Ella Thomson, Jennifer Arthur, Jules Robey)
- Open Club 4x (Rob Humphris, Arun Jackson, Micah Fitton, Luke Morgan)

Veteran Fours Head LRC winners:
- Open B4+ (Paul Mascaro, Brandon Taft, James Brooks, Pierre Lhommet, Emma Beardmore)
- Open D4- (Alex Fothergill, Iain Cowell, Tom Killick, James Young)

British Indoor Champs
The British Rowing Indoor Champs took place over the 6th and 7th of December. The event was held at the NEC in Birmingham with 6 LRC athletes taking part.

Congratulations to Heather Hopkins who won a silver medal and set a 6.7 second 2km personal best. Heather also raised an incredible £90k for charity!

Congratulations also to Phil Clapp who won the Open 500m and placed 2nd in the Open 250m.

Remenham Challenge
Remenham Challenge will take place on Saturday 13th December and starts at 10:00am. LRC has 147 athletes entered across Squad and Club boats with Open and Women’s 8+s and 4xs entered. Good luck to all those taking part and I look forward to seeing the results. LRC will also be hosting the prize giving after the event.

Matt Reeder
Captain, London Rowing Club

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

See more detail for these events, visit our Calendar of Events…

MEN’S MASTERS REPORT

Vet4’s was a weekend for the men. We boated 9 entries across multiple categories, most of which faced strong opposition for a pennant.

We're delighted to report two wins:

- C4+ (Paul Mascaro, Brandon Taft, James Brooks, Pierre Lhommet, Emma Beardmore)
- D4- (Tom Killick, Iain Cowell, James Young, Alex Fothergill)

Topping this off, our squad comprised 4 of the top 10 sweep boats of the event.

Congratulations to all crews.

C4- - James Brooks - Winner of the category pennant, and fastest 4+

The crew delivered a superb performance to win the Masters C category at the Veterans Fours Head, with Paul Mascaro setting a composed rhythm from stroke seat at a rate of 32 and Emma Beardmore steering an immaculate line as cox. Battling blade clashes, heavy headwinds, sharp crosswinds, and waves breaking over the bows, stern and everywhere in between, they held their form throughout. The crew overtook 14 boats during the race, including a dramatic stretch near Chiswick Pier where four boats ran abreast in rough water. Despite the chaos, they powered through with controlled aggression and commitment, securing not only the category win but also the title of fastest coxed boat overall—an outstanding achievement for the entire crew.

D4- - Alex Fothergill - Winner of the category pennant

The D4- crew had spent several years rowing together in the LRC squad throughout the 2000s; Killick and Young had been training and racing together all autumn; Cowell had recently impressive marathon running results; Fothers had focused on “alternative” rowing endeavours, like rowing to Staines and back in a day in a pair.

The many years together in the squad forge brought comfort and trust during pre-race paddling, like returning home. But could they rekindle the old magic under race conditions? Time would tell.

The race was eventful.

Surprised by how much overspeed they had over the first couple of crews, they were forced wide before Barnes, and despite polite but firm warnings from Fothers, they were steered into by Curlew, who were struggling with the crosswind. Eventually disentangling (remarkably, without any swearing at all from James “Not Angry Any More” Young), they pressed on around the corner into the headwind, doing their best to stay on top of the chop. Killick’s rhythm was good as they passed Quintin’s C4- along the island, despite a minor crab from Cowell. The loud cheers of support from Hammersmith were invigorating; the change to a tailwind even more so, and the rhythm adapted accordingly. They surged past Kingston, Fothers forcing them just wide enough past Harrods to skim the red buoys. There wasn’t much left in the tank as they squeezed between Marlow and the black buoy, and the race was done.

Victory for London!

B4- - Jason Bowyer - 2nd in category, and 2nd fastest sweep boat

Self-titled "The "Teenage (...been a while...) Mutant Ninja Turtles", our B4- consisting of James Sexton-Barrow, Matt Poulsom, Jason Bowyer, and Adrian Turner embraced the challenge ahead.

Conditions had worsened since Fours Head, so after a well-conceived race plan (thanks, JSB), we boated the Christopher Drury and set off for the start. London: GO!

Racing behind an armada of D4x's meant JSB had his work cut out with the steering shoe. Our "JFDI" race tactics set us up well, and by employing his exuberant driving style, he expertly navigated us through the quagmire of non-tideway crews getting bogged down in the rough water.

Blasting through Hammersmith Bridge down towards Barn Elms, we dug in, upped the rate, and pushed on down the line of boats to the finish.

Good race, and a great project nevertheless.

F4x - Andrew Boyle - 4th in category

The F4x of Tim Leppard, Mike Thompson, Ronnie Maddox and Andrew Boyle had a solid row, finishing fourth in their division. A couple of seconds would have got them past two pesky Kingston quads into second. James Brook's weekly erg programme and the camaraderie of the Masters group got them through the rough water from Barnes to Hammersmith. Thanks are due to Marvin Barth, Henry Dunlop and Mike Newsom Davis, who stepped in to maintain a schedule of early morning outings in recent weeks.

C4x - Charlie Pryor - 7th in Category

The MasC 4x of Charlie Pryor, Kirill Anurov, George Caluian and Michael Cannon started by overtaking a TSS crew by Barnes Bridge and then tackling the choppy water stoically. We held our own down the Eyot then, as planned, pushed hard once the water flattened out - though everything is relative - by Hammersmith Bridge. We went past three more boats down the Fulham Reach, one of which almost stopped dead by hitting the Mile Post buoy. Sadly, a Crabtree 4x, stroked by a former winner of the Scullers Head, came past about there; it was a sign of the quality of the 16-boat MasC 4x class that they came third. The TSS boat held onto us as we came past Barn Elms but we pushed away from them down the line of boats in a strong finish. And we ended higher up the order than we'd started, which was our main target.

Looking onward to Remenham, we have entered 6 crews:

- B8+
- C8+
- B4x
- B4x
- C4x
- F4x

Back to the eights!

Jason Bowyer

WOMEN’S MASTERS REPORT

The Masters Women have been busy! We completed the Vets Fours Head with a second place in the WD4- and a third place in the WA4x.

The Masters Women’s D4- (Marianna Raffaele, Ruth Allen, Soraya Nidai and Liz Hichens) came away with a hard-fought second place after a gutsy row which had all the ingredients of classic Tideway head racing.

The original race plan went out of the window after a KRC/MBC WD4- steered into them just after the Bandstand and subsequently forced them far off the racing line for the rest of the course (despite being yelled at loudly and repeatedly!). But LRC Masters Women don’t give in that easily and they held them side-by-side down the rest of the course with Marianna setting a cracking rhythm. Coming past the LRC boathouse they got their bows in front and crossing the line ahead, helping to quell the feelings of frustration at least slightly! The KRC/MBC crew were subsequently given a 5-second time penalty - and whilst they cost us far more than 5 seconds, this meant we edged into second place in the final results. A good lesson in keeping your nerve, adapting to whatever the Tideway throws at you, and fighting all the way to the line!

Left to right: Marianna, Liz, Soraya and Ruth.

The WA4x (Emily Walters, Marije Randall, Kirstyn Luton and Saskia Gill) were going into this race hoping to continue with their good form from the previous month’s Head of the Charles. However, a lack of competition saw a last-minute change from the coxed 4 to a quad. Objectives changed slightly and with two sessions under their belt and a quick crash course in remembering how to scull, they took on the Championship Course! Starting strongly, they quickly gained on the crew in front before hitting the ‘coastal section of the race’ where they had a good old battle with Derby all the way to the finish line! The race plan executed to perfection and right in the mix with the high performing quads at Fours Head, they came away happy with a 3rd place finish.

Left to right: LRC support dog Roo, Emily, Kirstyn, Saskia and Marije.

Off the water, we have been having great fun following our new training plan alongside the Masters men. Thursday night Masters erg sessions have been very well attended, and we have seen some fantastic PBs on our weekly performance ergs.

We are now heading further into the head racing season and have our crews ready for the next big race – the Remenham Challenge. The Masters women have the following crews entered:

WB8+ Emily Walters, Kirstyn Luton, Marije Randall, Chloe Ramambason, Ruth Allen, Amy Johnson, Marianna Raffaela and Saskia Gill

WA4x - Georgia Hellard-Timm, Jules Robey, Kate Griffiths and Devin Ward

WC4x - Soraya Nidai, Ulrike Forster, Anna Lhommet and Zoe Tipler

Good luck to everyone racing!

Saskia Gill

BALCONY PROJECT

The Irregulars entered 2 x Quads for the Vets Fours Head on the 16th November and I think, truth to say, did not cover themselves in glory. However, we participated, the enthusiasm is there and the race was enjoyed by all. Thanks to all who came down to support.

Eddie Markes and Keith Swabey on the morning of the V4HORR.

Congratulations must go to George Dimitropoulos who is now certified as an advanced bow steer and took his own quad out last Sunday. Well done George and a much needed addition to the ranks of our bowsteers. Clare Lyons-Collins is still “in training “ and is nearing the mark.

Whilst writing Clare (a relatively new member) is competing this weekend in the British Rowing Indoor Championships at the NEC in Birmingham. A glutton for punishment for all things rowing she is then taking a plane to Dublin to row with her cousin. Excellent Clare and the very best of luck to you in Birmingham.

A very enjoyable quad last Sunday
Bertie Maxwell (Guest), Eddie Markes, Ana Aguirregabiria and John Gaisford.

A very big welcome to three new members – Linda Spink, Hugh Lonsdale and George Peacock. Hugh and George are returning members – can’t keep away!

Lastly, a lot of our members attended the Club Supper last Thursday as usual. Would especially like to mention and say how wonderful it was to see John and Valerie Pearson. John has been a member since leaving University and is in his young nineties! He has been a huge supporter and enthusiast for LRC over many years. He still attends the majority of the Club Suppers.

A happy Christmas to all.

Eddie Markes

LRC CHRISTMAS PARTY

There are only a few times the squad really let their hair down in the year, and the first of these is fast approaching! During the day the Club’s bar will be open and food will be served.

A reminder for the LRC Christmas Party this Saturday, 13th December. Attend for some post-Remenham Challenge festive fun! There will be prizes for the best Christmas jumpers, DJ and a free drink. Tickets are available via the link below.

https://members.londonrc.org.uk/Events/Calendar/View?id=198

Annabel Jackson

CASAMAJOR CLUB DRAW

Here are the latest Casamajor winners:

Christmas Star Prizes:
£600 – Matt Reeder
£200 – Patrick Wilson

£75 Wins:
James Brown
Ray Cassidy
Timothy Cox
Rosie Margolis
Anne Littleton
Michael Gormley
David Whitten
Victoria Wilson
Edoardo Marshall
Grum Ord
Paul Mascaro
Zac Baxter
Bernard Regan

£30 Wins:
Chris Coffin
John Pearson
Peter Halford
Nick Howe
Richard Parsons

Would you like to join in the fun? Then for only a fiver a month you could win £75 in our quarterly draws or £600 at Christmas.

Go online now and sign up at Gocardless.

John Auber

NEW MEMBERS

We would like to welcome the following new members to the Club:

Arthur Adams
Becky Ashford
Alexander Delaney
Lauren Hopkinson
Isabel Jones
Matteo Martini
Joe Ord
Honor Parish
Gabriel Porter
Thomas Robin
Linda Spink
Aron Varbiro

We hope you will enjoy being part of the London Rowing Club community and will help us build an ever happier and more successful club.

We are always pleased to have more members so, if you know of anyone who you think might like to join the Club, please either let us know or encourage them to get in touch with us themselves.

There is information on becoming a member on our website or you can email the Club’s Membership Secretary:

Andrew Boyle
Honorary Secretary, London Rowing Club

BALCONY PROJECT UPDATE

Just over a week to go! The project starts on 19th December and will follow the sequence below:

Stage 1 - Site set up and preparation - During this stage, which will take a short time, the area in front of the boat bays up to the bollards will be fenced off and made secure. The contractor’s welfare facilities will be set up in the workshop (which is later the place where steelwork will be painted), and the contractor’s equipment and skips will be brought in. We will have some smart covers for the fencing with information about the project and to make sure everything is smart and tidy throughout the construction period.

Stage 2 - Demolition of the present balcony - The planned method for demolition is to support the balcony from the underside with temporary props and a cut will then be made carefully along the length of the balcony where it connects with the building. This will leave the balcony separated from the building but fully supported. The separation of the balcony from the building is the most sensitive part of the demolition process and is planned in order to prevent harm to the fabric of the building from vibration while the component parts of the balcony are demolished. The floor of the present balcony is made of concrete which will need to be broken up and the old rusty steel frame cut into sections and removed from site. This stage is expected to take until the end of January.

Stage 3 - Construction of the new balcony - the columns, steel frame, balustrade, grating, fixing system and timber deck will be brought to site and erected. The steel will be brought to site galvanised and will be painted on site. The construction stage is planned for completion by the end of February and we hope there are not too many unknowns and other events that might cause a significant delay.

A lot of work has been taking place over recent months to ensure so far as possible that everything is ready on time to come to site when it is needed.

On Friday we visited the fabricators in Hailsham to see how the fabrication of the steelwork is progressing and to discuss some of the details - the right type of bolt head, counter sinking some of the bolts, making sure there is a rhythm in the visible elements and connections. As in rowing and sculling, attention to detail is important and the Club is very fortunate to have the expertise of Stuart Forbes, Simon Harris and Alex Fothergill on the project team.

For more information ask Peter Halford or Bill Baker.

Peter Halford

Stuart Forbes, Alex Fothergill and Simon Harris looking at perimeter beams with the fabricators.

The new support columns and some of the intermediate beams.

Bill Baker

CHAS NEWENS

The Club was sad to learn of the death of Chas Newens on 7th September 2025, at the age of 83. Until recent years, when ill-health took its toll, Chas had been a major figure in the Embankment community, being arguably the last of the old school Putney boatmen and watermen. He had been a member of LRC since 1979.

Charles George Newens was born on 10th February 1942 to Charlie and Sally Newens in Kingston Hospital. After the war, father Charlie got a job as Boatman to Imperial College BC, a role he held for 42 years. The boatman’s flat at Imperial was Chas’s boyhood home from the age of 3. Chas’s education was cut short when his father suffered burns while stoking the boathouse boiler and, aged 16, Chas had to take over his father’s role at Imperial. When his father was able to resume his duties, Chas and a friend set up a business moving racing boats. Later, Chas worked for Chrysler Marine which introduced him to power boat racing.

In 1978 Chas was asked to fix an outboard engine for Civil Service RC and in this way met a young club member, Julie, and later that year the two of them set up Chas Newens Marine, mainly trading in boats, outboards and engine repairs. They were married in October 1979 and together set about building up the business, which was located in the distinctive balconied boathouse 200 metres downstream of LRC, part of which was used by Edwin Phelps boatbuilder and E. Ayling & Son, oarmakers. The business remained there until 2024, when it moved to the upstream end of the Embankment at Ashlone Wharf.

Apart from the marine business, Chas set up Crown River Cruises with his old friend Bobby Prentice. Chas was for many years a supplier of launches for the Boat Race and numerous other lesser rowing and river-borne events. For several years, after driving the press launch he graduated to driving the race umpire, coming to be affectionately known as “Mr Boat Race”. He was involved too with Henley Royal Regatta, where his vessels ‘Majestic’, ‘Panache’ and ‘Pommery’ all served as umpires’ launches, one of which he also drove very expertly.

Chas was a Freeman of the Company of Watermen & Lightermen of the River Thames and was elected their Master in 2001. He was elected a member of Leander Club in 1997, qualifying by virtue of his ‘Services to Rowing’. He was a good friend to the LRC community.

His funeral took place at St Mary’s Church on 9th October and a reception afterwards was held at LRC. The Club sends its sincere condolences to Chas’s wife Julie, and to his family and many friends.

Jeremy Hudson
Club Archivist, London Rowing Club

BILL COLLEY (1937 - 2025)

William “Bill” Colley, who died after a short illness on 22 September 2025, was a renowned boat builder and the Boatman at London Rowing Club from 1983 to 1991.

Bill was brought up in Barnes and left school at the age of 15 to start his training at Roland Sims in Putney where he learnt the traditional skills required to build racing boats using plywood veneers. He had a break after four years to try his hand as a scooter mechanic but soon realised that his true passion was for boatbuilding and, with renewed enthusiasm, joined Sims of Hammersmith. This was followed by a short period at the Eton College boathouse.

By 1965 Bill had gained sufficient experience and skills to start his own workshop to build sculling boats, fours and eights at the Rutland Boathouse in Hammersmith. Demand for Colley boats remained high for the next decade until the introduction of mass produced carbon fibre boats started to have an impact on his order books. In 1983 Bill decided to accept an offer to succeed Frank Sims as the LRC boatman to maintain the club’s fleet of wooden boats for the next eight years

During the early 80s I was living upstairs at the club and, over time, got to know Bill very well as I would often spend whole days with him in the workshop. He loved a daily routine…arriving promptly at 8.30am with the lights and Radio 2 turned on simultaneously. Coffee was always at 10.00am and a “brew” at 3.00pm. Should I fail to fill his mug to the brim he would quietly comment, with a smile, “looks like a low tide today”. Bill was very sociable and would regularly stay beyond his contracted hours to chat, laugh and joke with the likes of Tony Hall, Tom King, Dennis Mount and Andrew Donaldson as they arrived for their early evening outings. He was very much an ambassador for the club - local Putney residents would pop by during the day and an American airline pilot was a regular visitor on his stop overs, such was Bill’s charisma.

I would witness his woodworking skills at first hand as he deftly tapped in neat rows of copper tacks, shaped a new ash shoulder for a damaged boat or fitted new front stops with all the screw heads perfectly aligned. His immaculately stocked tool cupboard held a treasured collection of traditional woodworking tools and should a club member ask to borrow a screwdriver “for just five minutes” the reply was always “Certainly, but I’ll need a tenner as a deposit first”. Bill was always keen to learn about modern boatbuilding techniques and he was also a great teacher. He patiently taught me how to varnish a sculling boat and to this day I think of Bill every time I fold a new sheet of sandpaper in the “proper” way.

Bill was also a Swan Marker to the Worshipful Company of Vintners during the 1980s and always enjoyed the annual five day ceremony along the upper reaches of The Thames to check the health of swans and cygnets. Another responsibility of this role is to rescue distressed or injured swans on any day of the year. The often rather aggressive swan would be swiftly caught and transported to the swan sanctuary in the back of Bill’s hatchback.

Not one to ever retire, Bill continued to ply his trade on the riverside at Richmond and in 2022 received notable fame by taking the lead role in building two traditional wooden eights for the Hollywood film The Boys in the Boat. Possibly using computer generated drawings for the very first time, both eights were completed a week ahead of schedule…much to the surprise of the film crew which included Film Director George Clooney.

Bill made his final visit to LRC in March this year to watch the Men’s Head of the River Race. He was thrilled to see so many eights on the river that morning and yes, he was hoping for a wooden shell to glide along the moored boats at Putney. We enjoyed a few pints in the bar, met old friends on the balcony and reminisced for a while in his old workshop.

British Rowing has lost a much loved stalwart member of its community. His interesting and often humorous anecdotes from a bygone era will be fondly remembered by his many friends and family. Thankfully, a few audio and video recordings of Bill’s memoirs of his life along the Thames are available from the BBC archives for us all to enjoy.

Our thoughts go to his wife Helen, his children Adele, James and Joseph and to all his grandchildren.

Greg Anson

REPORTING SAFETY INCIDENTS

All members are reminded that if you are involved in or witness a water safety incident, you are required to report it using the following email address – safety@londonrc.org.uk

The Club will file any necessary reports on your behalf with British Rowing and the PLA. Members should not submit reports directly to either body.

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

My thanks to everyone who has contributed to this edition of the London Roar. If you have an idea for an article or would be interested in submitting a piece for inclusion in a future edition, please email me on miles.preston@londonrc.org.uk

Please do not submit an article without first liaising with me.

Miles Preston
Editor of The London Roar