Resilient rower who survived Great War and won five Olympic medals

JOHN Beresford came to Leander Club to talk about his book about his father, Jack, the eminent rower who won five medals at five Olympic Games in the Twenties and Thirties.

The book, called Jack Beresford: An Olympian at War, takes you through his life.

He was born in 1899 and went to Bedford School where he was mainly a rugby player but also captain of boats after his father before him (John was wearing his father’s original 1916 Bedford jacket).

When Jack finished school at 19, he went to France to fight in the First World War. He wrote 119 letters to his parents which provide a moving account of his experience but also show his resilience and strength of character.

The average lifespan of a soldier in France during the war was reckoned to be 14 days but Jack survived for six and a half months. Eventually, he was wounded and returned to England with a shin injury that stopped his rugby career. Jack Beresford’s rowing career continued during his rehabilitation and he competed at the 1919 Henley Royal Peace Regatta with his father.

He went on to win the Diamond Sculls four times, the Silver Goblets and Nickalls and Grand twice and the Stewards and Double Sculls.

He was elected a steward of Henley Royal Regatta in 1966.

His first Olympics was in 1920, when he won a silver medal behind Jack Kelly (Princess Grace’s father) in the single sculls. He then won gold at the 1924 Olympics, silver in 1928 and gold again in 1932 and 1936.

All winners at the 1936 Berlin Olympics received an oak tree and Jack planted his at Bedford School.

Years later, the tree was taken down due to expansion but the timber was kept and some of it made into honorary plaques.

After retiring from competitive rowing, Jack sat on the British Olympic Council and on the organising committee for the 1948 London Olympics.

He was on the Amateur Rowing Association (now British Rowing) and president of Thames Rowing Club. He died at the age of 78 the day after he attended a Thames Rowing Club annual dinner.

John said his father was a determined man. His experiences during the war and his extraordinary achievements in rowing stemmed from the same character trait that he had in abundance.

This talk concluded the second series of the Leander library rowing book talks, which are held in aid of the Leander Trust, a registered charity to support young people through rowing.

At the start of the talk, Ryder and Byron, who are in the junior rowing programme at Leander, had told how the sport changed their lives. They are now hoping to study in America on rowing scholarships.

The next series will begin September 5 when Greg Searle will talk about his book If Not Now, When?

Irene Hewlett