PAUL BIRCHER ELECTED 1947
1928 – 2019
Paul started rowing at Radley and continued at Christ’s Cambridge where he rowed in three consecutive winning Boat Race crews from 1948 -1950. Paul was elected CUBC President in 1949 and having swapped sides to row at 5, he led the crew to a ¼ length victory.
The 1948 crew competed in the Grand as Leander, losing in the Semi-final. The crew were selected to represent GB and went onto win silver at the 1948 Olympic Games. Only the oarsmen are listed on Leander’s Olympic board, as Dearlove, the cox, was registered for Thames.
After he left Cambridge, Paul continued to compete for Leander in the early 1950’s. In 1950, he rowed in two Henley Royal Regatta crews, the Grand Eight, losing in the semi-final and the Stewards’ Four which reached the final, losing to Hellerup Roklubb Denmark. In 1953, following a disappointing loss in the first round of the Goblets, Paul achieved success in the eight, winning the Grand Challenge. The following year the Grand Eight reached the final where they met Krylia Sovetov, USSR. Unfortunately, they were not to repeat the success of the previous year. As it transpired, 1953 was the last time Leander was to win the Grand Challenge Trophy.
ALEYN GRELLIER ELECTED 1950
1927 – 2020
The death of Aleyn Grellier at the age of 93 has robbed Leander of one of the Club’s most ardent followers. He was never happier than when watching or talking rowing during his frequent visits to the club, especially Lensday, or entertaining at Regatta.
Aleyn learned to row at St Edwards School, before completing his National Service with the Royal Navy, who supported his degree at Oxford, where he read PPE.Trinity College Boat Club was then at its zenith, having retained the Headship for four years, and Aleyn moved up to the 1st VIII, where he rowed at 4 with Christopher Davidge at stroke.
After a period working in insurance, Aleyn joined Morris Motors. Here he worked as a journalist on the company’s magazine, before becoming a Wolseley salesman and then lecturing at the Road Transport Industry Training Board.
LINDSAY MICHAEL HENDERSON ELECTED 1966
1944 – 2019
Lindsay rowed for Cambridge in 1966 and 1967 (President). He kept his 1967 crew together for the summer and raced as Leander in the Grand – met the East Germans in the first round!
JOHN HALL CRAGGS ELECTED 1954
1932 – 2020
“Proud Salopian, Sapper and Johnian” – John was captain of LMBC in 1955-56 and was in the winning Cambridge crew in the 1956 Boat Race. In 1957 John was in the Leander crew in the Stewards’ and in 1961 he rowed for Leander in the Wyfold.
In the 1960s, John was one of those instrumental in setting up the cadet scheme that eventually revived a flagging Leander. By the 1960’s, the Club had been in the doldrums for some time, relying on recruiting, as it always had, mainly from Blues and Henley winners. In 1965, an initiative to restore the Club’s fortunes with a squad of young oarsmen drawn from schools was
conceived and implemented by Harold Rickett, John Hall-Craggs and another Salopian, George Brown, all under the captaincy of Donald Legget. John took the cadets around different schools to train in an effort to encourage school leavers to continue rowing. Derek Drury later took over and by 1968 the Leander cadets won the Thames Cup, revitalising the Club.
PROFESSOR CHRIS HUDSON ELECTED 1964
1930 – 2020
Chris was a longstanding member of Leander and the Stewards’ Enclosure. He studied at Queens’ Cambridge where he helped Queens’ to success in the early 1960s, rowing Head of the Mays and winning the Ladies Plate in 1963.
From Cambridge Chris went to Barts, where he became a distinguished obstetrician and gynaecologist gaining international recognition for his work. He retained an involvement in rowing, coaching Queens’ to two further sets of blades, becoming President of Barts Boat Club and initiating the Inter-Hospitals Bumping Races
PHILIP J PHILLIPS ELECTED 1986
1937 – 2020
Lifelong member of Derby Rowing Club; rower, Coach, Captain and President. Phil won three Henley medals; Princess Elizabeth, Wyfold and Stewards’. He rowed for GB in the Four in the 1966 World Championships and in the 1967 European Championships. Phil was a Member of the British Rowing Selection Board from 1969 to 1974 during which period Standard Times and best of three Trials were introduced together with the formation of the first mandatory National Squads
IAN ANDERSON
1934-2019 ELECTED 1955
ALFRED BEESLEY
1933 – 2020 ELECTED 1956
RICHARD FREEMAN
1943 – 2019 ELECTED 1964
GARTH GRIFFIN
1954 – 2020 ELECTED 1973 REINSTATED 2016
MR MALCOLM WHITTAKER
1939 – 2019 ELECTED 1994
MAY 2020
