At the Rowing World Championships held in Munich, there were more successes for our alumni, although not from the expected sources. From a UK perspective, the headline news was the GB coxless four only managing 4th place but, on a day when all the GB crews seemed doomed to finish 4th (the Saturday - I was there in the grandstand!), Colin Smith's bronze medal in the pair - his first at senior level - was a welcome relief. Ante Kusurin, in the Croatian double, finished 2nd in the B-final but Chris Liwski's American crew took gold in the coxed fours. Since the coxed fours may well be dropped from future World Championships through lack of entries (it is no longer an Olympic event), Chris may be now be able to hang on to his title of 'Reigning World Champion' for longer than most.

In Torpids the following term, both the men's and women's 1st boats rowed over for three days, maintaining respective positions of 15th and 2nd on the river, before racing was again cancelled due to a rising stream. Catz women were coached that year by Steve Williams, currently bow man in the GB coxless four.

There was also another bout of flooding over the Easter vacation which brought the river up to the boathouse doors but fortunately the Boat Club had decamped to Chester for a training camp (where the main problem was snow).

The following extracts are from the Rowing Society newsletters of that year.

Ollie Jones, on rowing in the first Isis crew to defeat Goldie in 8 years:

... By the time we arrived at Putney, after spending a productive week with the Blue Boat in Amsterdam on the Bosbaan, we knew we had a chance. Goldie certainly didn't share our point of view, and provided us with ample free motivation leading up to race day; we learned that they were expecting to clear us in three minutes and win by at least five lengths. So, in the race itself our plan was to stay right next to them and induce some self-doubt in their boat. After a sprint to the mile post, we dug in and rowed round the outside of their Surrey advantage, always at least half a length down. By twelve minutes in, we drew level, knowing our bend was creeping ever closer. They must have realised this too, and seemed to fade. Within little over a minute we had clear water and the racing line to ourselves.

We took both the 1st and 2nd VIIIs to Coate Water Park Regatta totalling, with the men, one tenth of the college on this day trip! After a bad start due to my decision that cheap coaches are better than reliable ones [I assume Laura's referring to the vehicles] we eventually made it. Good job Tom and I decided to allow several hours to get there! The 2nd VIII were closely beaten in the first heat by Pembroke 1st VIII, whom the 1st's then went on to beat in the final along with St John's 1st VIII.

The 2nd VIII beat St John's 1st VIII to win the Novice final, and the 1st VIII reached the Senior 2 final, losing only to a very strong University of Wales Cardiff crew. Rowing aside, the weather was beautiful, and sharing a 57-seater coach with three other colleges made it a very enjoyable day out.

Wilfred George Kendrew was an eminent climatologist and widely regarded as one of the founders of the discipline. But he also had strong connections with St Catherine's Boat Club probably from his arrival in Oxford as a student in 1902 until his retirement, as Dean, in 1950.

Unfortunately we have no record as to whether or not he rowed while an undergraduate (although it seems probable that he did) but, after serving in the First World War with the Royal Irish Fusiliers he returned to act as tutor for the non-Collegiate students in a wide range of subjects, becoming Senior Tutor in 1920. In 1914 he had married his former student, Evelyn, and a son, John, was born in 1917. However, he and his wife separated in 1921.

The first reference to him in the Boat Club records occurs shortly thereafter: in 1922 it is noted that he was helping with the coaching. In 1930 he offers to give a lecture on the 'theory of rowing', and two years later addresses the freshmen on the contribution of the Boat Club to the St Catherine's Society, as it was then known, while in his address to the following year's freshmen he is recorded as emphasising that rowing is 'not such a gloomy prospect as the Captain had indicated'.

During the Second World War he served in the Navy but, on his return to Oxford, his involvement with the Boat Club seems to have diminished. In 1950, his final year before retirement, it is suggested that 'Dean Kendrew be asked to coach the Schools VIII'. Hardly an onerous task and probably intended as a gesture of thanks, although it was also acknowledged that he was unlikely to accept.

Following his retirement he spent some time in Canada and Sri Lanka. He died in April 1962. A few months later his son, Sir John Cowdery Kendrew, was announced as a recipient of that year's Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

Anu Dudhia (email: dudhia@atm.ox.ac.uk )