The Boat Race 1948
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| 94th Boat Race | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 27 March 1948 | ||
| Winner | Cambridge | ||
| Margin of victory | 5 lengths | ||
| Winning time | 17 minutes 50 seconds | ||
| Overall record (Cambridge–Oxford) | 50–43 | ||
| Umpire | Claude Taylor (Cambridge) | ||
| Other races | |||
| Women's winner | Cambridge | ||
| |||
The 94th Boat Race took place on 27 March 1948. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. In a race umpired by the former rower Claude Taylor, Cambridge won by five lengths in a record time of 17 minutes and 50 seconds, beating the existing record set in the 1934 race. The victory, their second in a row, took the overall record in the race to 50–43 in Cambridge's favour.
The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues")[1] and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues").[1] First held in 1829, the race takes place on the 4.2 miles (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London.[2] The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and, as of 2014, broadcast worldwide.[3][4] Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1947 race by ten lengths, and led overall with 50 victories to Oxford's 43 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877).[5][6]
Oxford's coaches were R. E. Eason (who rowed for the Dark Blues in the 1924 race), J. H. Page and D. T. Raikes (who represented Oxford in the 1920, 1921 and 1922 races). Cambridge were coached by F. E. Hellyer (who rowed for the Light Blues in the 1910 and 1911 races), Kenneth Payne (who rowed for Cambridge in the 1932 and 1934 races), Harold Rickett (a Light Blue three times between 1930 and 1932) and Peter Haig-Thomas (a four-time Light Blue between 1902 and 1905).[7] The umpire for the race was the former Cambridge rower Claude Taylor who had represented the Light Blues in the 1901, 1902 and 1903 races.[8]
The rowing correspondent for The Manchester Guardian anticipated a close race: "the prospects of Oxford and Cambridge for this year's University Boat-race on Saturday have now become much more even".[9] His counterpart at The Times was in agreement: "it really seems that whichever crew gets off best in the first two minutes will probably win the race."[10]
Crews
The Oxford crew weighed an average of 12 st 9.375 lb (80.3 kg), 1.375 pounds (0.62 kg) per rower more than their opponents. Cambridge saw three rowers return to the crew with Boat Race experience, including their stroke A. P. Mellows. Oxford's boat also contained three former Blues, J. R. W. Gleave, P. N. Brodie and A. J. R. Purssell, all of whom were making their third appearances.[11] Three of the participants were registered as non-British: Oxford's G. C. Fisk and W. W. Woodward, and Cambridge's Brian Harrison were all from Australia.[12]
| Seat | Oxford  |
Cambridge  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | College | Weight | Name | College | Weight | |
| Bow | G. C. Fisk | Oriel | 12 st 1.5 lb | A. P. Mellows | Clare | 12 st 1 lb |
| 2 | J. R. W. Gleave | Magdalen | 12 st 7 lb | D. J. C. Meyrick | Trinity Hall | 11 st 4 lb |
| 3 | A. D. Rowe | Trinity | 12 st 12 lb | P. A. de Giles | Queens' | 12 st 3 lb |
| 4 | W. W. Woodward | Brasenose | 13 st 3.5 lb | G. C. Richardson (P) | Magdalene | 12 st 11 lb |
| 5 | R. A. Noel | Christ Church | 12 st 13.5 lb | A. B. C. Harrison | 1st & 3rd Trinity | 13 st 12 lb |
| 6 | R. L. Arundel | Merton | 14 st 4 lb | E. A. P. Bircher | Christ's | 13 st 8 lb |
| 7 | P. N. Brodie (P) | Oriel | 11 st 8 lb | M. C. Lapage | Selwyn | 13 st 0 lb |
| Stroke | A. J. R. Purssell | Oriel | 11 st 11.5 lb | C. D. R. Barton | Jesus | 11 st 11 lb |
| Cox | R. G. B. Faulkner | Trinity | 9 st 0 lb | K. T. Lindsay | Jesus | 8 st 13 lb |
| Source:[13] (P) – boat club president[14] | ||||||
