The Club is saddened to announce the passing of Myles Carter, who earned his Blue in 1965, rowing in the 3-seat of the 111th Boat Race.
Myles Weldon James Carter was born on 6 October 1942 and came up to Cambridge in 1962 to undertake postgraduate study at Pembroke College. A talented oarsman, rowing for Pembroke, he won both the Ladies’ Plate and the Visitors’ Challenge Cup on the same day at Henley Royal Regatta in 1964, a remarkable achievement.
Following Cambridge’s defeat in the 1964 Boat Race, Oxford mounted an intensive campaign for the following year’s contest. Among those in the losing Oxford crew was Yale graduate Duncan Spencer. Cambridge bowman J. Alexander ‘Zan’ Fell recalled:
“I met the incoming Oxford President at The White Hart at Nettlebed the morning after our 1964 successes. He told us then that, being fed up with losing, he was going to recruit Duncan Spencer’s Yale chums across to bolster the Oxford crew in 1965.”
Despite a strong performance from Cambridge, Oxford’s 1965 crew, described by some as “the finest crew anyone can remember”, secured victory for the Dark Blues. Their winning time was then the third fastest in the history of the event, surpassed only by Cambridge’s record-breaking crews of 1934 and 1938. The 1965 Race was also notable as the first Boat Race followed on the launch by HRH The Prince of Wales, now HM King Charles III.
Although the result did not fall Cambridge’s way, the 1965 crew remained a close-knit and happy group, maintaining friendships that endured throughout their lives. Zan Fell recalled a particularly close bond with Myles. Both hailed from Cumbria and shared many mutual friends and family connections, with Myles serving as best man at Zan’s wedding in 1967. Though their careers later took them to different parts of the world, they remained in touch and regularly met at Henley over the years.
Myles is remembered with great affection by his fellow crewmates and by all members of CUBC who knew him. The Club extends its heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.
Image credit: CUBC Archive. Myles is seated on the far right of the first row.