Torpids 1940

BUMPS CHART

STANDINGS Start Finish Pos College Pts Pts College 1 S.E.H. & Queen's 16 14 Trinity & Balliol 2 Pemb, C.C.C & S.P.C. 11 13 Exeter & Lincoln 3 New & Magdalen 9 10 S.E.H. & Queen's 4 Trinity & Balliol 8 8 BNC & Christ Church 5 Exeter & Lincoln 7 7 Wadham & Keble 6 University & Merton 5 6 Pemb, C.C.C & S.P.C. 7 BNC & Christ Church 4 4 New & Magdalen 8 Hertford 3 3 University & Merton 9 Wadham & Keble 3 3 Hertford 10 Jesus 3 2 Oriel 11 Oriel 2 2 Jesus

STATISTICS College All Crews [ ]=rank Crews Bps Avg Wadham & Keble 2[ 1] 7[ 1] 3.50[ 1] Trinity & Balliol 1[ 4] 3[ 2] 3.00[ 2] BNC & Christ Church 1[ 4] 3[ 2] 3.00[ 2] Exeter & Lincoln 2[ 1] 3[ 2] 1.50[ 4] Oriel 1[ 4] 0[ 5] 0.00[ 5] Hertford 1[ 4] -1[ 6] -1.00[ 6] University & Merton 1[ 4] -2[ 7] -2.00[ 7] Jesus 1[ 4] -2[ 7] -2.00[ 7] Pemb, C.C.C & S.P.C. 1[ 4] -3[ 9] -3.00[10] New & Magdalen 1[ 4] -4[10] -4.00[11] S.E.H. & Queen's 2[ 1] -4[10] -2.00[ 7]

• Wed 21 – Sat 24 Feb 1940
• Bumps racing continued sporadically during WWII, with many colleges combining to form crews
• The Times 16 Jan 1940

  Rowing at Oxford At a captains' meeting of the Oxford University Boat Club, held yesterday, ... it was decided to have four days' Torpids racing from February 21. The same combinations of colleges as last term will hold good, except that Jesus and St Catherine's will row independently.

• The 1940 bumps chart and Birmingham Post reports are from William O'Chee, taken from Brasenose BC archives
• The Birmingham Post Friday 23 Feb

  St Edmund Hall and Queen's combined crew kept Head of the River during the Oxford University Torpids yesterday. Pembroke also retained second place, but Corpus and St Peter's Hall lost third position to Trinity and Balliol.

  The most notable move in the Second Division was by Wadham and Keble, which secured second place to Hertford.

  The reporter seemed to be under the misapprehension that Pembroke was racing as a separate crew.
• The Birmingham Post Saturday 24 Feb

  Wadham and Keble combined eight accomplished a good performance in the Oxford University Torpids yesterday, by recording a bump in each division. Having caught Hertford, to take temporary leadership of the Second Division, Wadham and Keble went on to bump University and Merton, the bottom crew in the First Division. Meanwhile the Headship of the River changed hands, for Trinity and Balliol bumped St Edmund Hall and Queen's, which had held first place since the start of racing on Wednesday. University and Merton dropped to first place in the Second Division.

• The Birmingham Post Monday 26 Feb

  Trinity and Balliol combined crew finished Head of the River in the Oxford University Torpids on Saturday. University and Merton, sandwich boat in the First Division, completed the racing at the top of the Second Division. The only bump in the Second Division was by Oriel, which caught Jesus at the University boathouse to secure third place behind Hertford.

• The Times Monday 26 Feb

  Oxford University Torpids were concluded at Oxford on Saturday with Trinity and Balliol combined crew at the head of the river. The leading eight in the second division was University and Merton.

• In other news ... [1940]

  Monarch: George VI

  Prime Minister: Neville Chamberlain (Conservative)

  Fri Feb 16

  WWII: Altmark incident British destroyer HMS Cossack pursues German tanker Altmark into the neutral waters of Jøssingfjord in southwestern Norway and frees the 290 British seamen held aboard.

  Wed Feb 21

  Hitler authorized Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway

  Thu Feb 22

  The Soviets occupied islands in the Gulf of Finland.

  12 people were injured in the West End of London by IRA bomb explosions. This was the last important event in the S-Plan campaign.

  In Tibet, province of Ando, 4-year-old Tenzin Gyatso is proclaimed the tulku (rebirth) of the 13th Dalai Lama.

  Fri Feb 23

  The German submarine U-53 was sunk by depth charges west of the Orkney Islands.

  The Lord Mayor of London gave a luncheon party at the Guildhall to officers and ratings of the Exeter and Ajax to celebrate their victory at the Battle of the River Plate. Huge crowds turned out to cheer them.

  Sat Feb 24

  Speaking in his home city of Birmingham in an address broadcast to the United States, Neville Chamberlain outlined Britain's aims: the independence of the Poles and Czechs, and "tangible evidence to satisfy us that pledges and assurances when they are given will be fulfilled ... Therefore, it is for Germany to take the next step and to show us conclusively that she has abandoned that thesis that might is right."

  February

  The last mounted charge by a British cavalry regiment is made when the Royal Scots Greys are called to quell Arab rioters in Mandatory Palestine.

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