Arthur Muirhead shares his recollections from the 1955 Boat Race, and Ruth Simpson of the 1955 Women’s crew offers a note of support.
“We could—and would—prove them all wrong.”
We were probably very fortunate, because the Times rowing correspondent Richard Burnell had Oxford almost as dead certs, which meant that my grandfather got a very good return on his punt on Cambridge…! It also gave our crew that lovely feeling that we could—and would—prove them all wrong.
The president of Oxford, who had won the previous year, was called ‘Big’ Jim MacLeod. He was an Australian who was about 12-stone-something, which gave us grounds for considerable amusement, as our crew was the heaviest ever to row in a Boat Race at that time.
We had two Harvard graduates: Phil Du Bois at two, and Bob Monks at six. We were a good mix of Colleges, and I was the only one who had never rowed before university.
We were basically the same crew that won the trials at Ely, so we had plenty of time together. Unfortunately, three weeks before the race, our president Denis Hill got chickenpox and his place was taken at three by Alan Mays-Smith. He made the crew even heavier, but fitted very well into the engine room of Bob Monks, Simon Tozer and Bill, and as the crew already had a good rhythm, he settled in very quickly. If that wasn’t enough, five days before the race our bow, John Bruce, also got chickenpox! Dennis, who was already on the mend came back into the crew at bow, and that is how we raced.
In the end, John was awarded an honorary Blue. He had done all the hard work and was a real part of our crew, and then lost all the kudos and joy of actually winning the Boat Race, so this was a lovely gesture, and I believe unique.
Tideway triumph
By good fortune, Dennis won the toss and chose the Middlesex station. This meant, of course, that even if Oxford were as fast as everyone said they were, we would have the advantage of the inside of the first band. We both got off to a good start, but by the mile—which we reached in three minutes 51 seconds, equal or breaking the record at that time—we were a length up. Oxford then had a spurt for 10 and gained half a length, which they gradually lost over the next few minutes. They had a second spurt for 10 before Hammersmith Bridge, and nothing happened! We reached the bridge in 6 minutes 37 seconds, I think, which equalled the record at that time. (My memory of these numbers are not necessarily accurate, but not far off!)
Once round Hammersmith into the Chiswick straight we hit very choppy water and a strong headwind. By keeping our blades in the water right through the stroke, our strength and weight soon meant that Oxford disappeared behind us. After Barnes Bridge the water calmed down, and we had an easy but exhausting row to the finish line. Our overall time was not fast—the conditions were not easy—but we got there 16 lengths ahead of Oxford. At the time it was the biggest victory in the 20th century, and I now imagine also the 21st century!
Friendships and farewells
The entire crew, except for cox Gerald Harris, reunited with our wives at Henley in 1993, to celebrate our 40th anniversary with a splendid dinner at Leander Club.
After I visited Phil Du Bois at his home in America, we continued our correspondence and he and his wife came and stayed with us in Scotland. Regrettably, he died quite young. Simon Tozer also died quite young, and his widow sent me a watercolour of the start of the 1955 race, which I think was done by her sister. It was a lovely thought; I have had it framed and I can see it from where I’m sitting now. Celebrating our 70th milestone, the three surviving members of our crew are Bob Monks, Bill Masser and me.
“Good luck and very good wishes. I was in the 1955 Women’s crew when there was no race, as the Oxford boat was swept over the weir on the morning of the race and Oxford University then closed the Oxford Women’s Boat Club down!”
Ruth Simpson, Newnham College 1953-1956, in the 1955 crew As part of the Club’s new oral history project, Chair of the Archive Committee, Steve Jones (Men’s Lwt 1980-83), will soon interview Ruth about her experiences rowing for Cambridge in the 50s.
