Rowing Detective…. 1920s rower

This picture was sent to the St Georges R C web site with the question ….. “Is this a St Georges rower, and what can you tell me about this person”. The photo was a copy of the original which was made at a family funeral over 30 years ago. Sometimes a random enquiry can get lucky and this is what followed.

The rowing detective investigates a rower’s photo

Yes it is a St Georges rower and this version of the uniform was in use between 1909 and about 1923. I recognised the large trophy at the back which was first presented in 1895 and is still in existence. It was presented for fours races so I could send the lady over 50 names to try and get a match.

The 1910 crew was the only match from the 6 family names that were a possibility, so my contact had a branch of the family to focus in on. She is now tracking the original, and has some people digging for a box of mementoes. So with more luck we could get a good quality original to copy for the club.

Like other clubs the first World War devastated the membership. In our case 26 were killed from 106 who went. As a consequence we don’t have much information from this period. The 1912 team photo is the last until the early 1920s.
St George Rowing Club crew from 1912 with the same shirt