This page is designed to document some of the people and events that have shaped the history of the Churchill College Boat Club since it was founded in 1961.
If you have a story about your rowing days at Churchill, or any other information that may be relevant to this page, please contact us.
The CCBC Alumni Association page may also be of interest.
"Short of stature, great of heart - that is how many will remember the Canon. He first came to prominence as a cox of the winning Blue boats from 1934-36 and then cox of the British VIII in the 1936 Olympics. During World War II, his example of pugnacity, resolute determination and refusal to succumb even under torture inspired his fellow prisoners to make the extra physical and mental effort to stay alive. Noel Duckworth joined Churchill as a Chaplain in 1961. His pastoral and religious duties, though important to him, were not sufficient to fully occupy his energies. A Boat Club had to be established and without doubt Noel was the primary driving force. This is the reason we continue to toast the Canon at each Boat Club dinner."
Here are some more stories and reflections from early members of the College who knew the Canon Duckworth...
"Rowing was his lasting love and through his enthusiasm, knowledge and encouragement, many men at Churchill experienced, some for the first time, the meaning of physical endeavour and team spirit with the rewards that follow."- J. Hamilton
"He had a gift of making an oarsman from the most unpromising material, but no-one who found themselves going through that mill has since regretted it."- A. Bainbridge
"He was just as happy coaching the fourth boat as well as the first and was almost solely responsible for the tremendous progress that Churchill made in the early years. Bumps and overbumps were almost completely routine and if a Churchill boat was bumped it was a College tragedy."- M. Bomford
"We were a small band but rapidly became a force on the river. The boatclub became a potent symbol of collegiate life even before we had the buildings that make up a college. That was Noel Duckworth's achievement."- H. Davies (CCBC 1961-63)
"The Thames Head of the River Race may have been the last time he coxed on the Thames. We ended tired and dehydrated but of course had to paddle back upstream. The Canon refused to believe that the Thames had changed since 1938 and as a result we ran aground at least twice. In deference to his grey hairs we refrained from throwing him overboard."- D. Glass (CCBC 1963-66)
"One of Noel's abilities was to make the most of a situation. We won our event and whilst celebrating one of the officials mentioned that they were going to Antwerp to compete, and that we ought to come along. The Canon instantly accepted. I recall that we acquitted ourselves reasonably well in the race. We got to the bar to discover nine glasses of beer, six deep waiting for us."- P. Merson (CCBC 1st VIII 1971)
"He was capable of almost apoplectic excitement and regularly cycled into the river during races."- A. Ramsay (CCBC 1st VIII cox 1968-70)
"He was a very generous man - I remember him once lending me his car to drive a girlfriend home to Kent."- P. Samworth (CCBC Captain 1968-69)
"Noel's generosity extended to recently graduated members wishing to get married. He liked to say: 'Once you're wed by Duckworth you're wed for life.'"- B. Yates (CCBC 1st VIII 1963-65)
"The canon was not the archetypal cleric! His graces at the bumps supper were: 'Bumps done - Food's up - Sit down - Amen'."- R. Larkin (CCBC 1967-71)
"I was known by Noel as Bluebeard, for reasons I shall not explain. Many members of the College and families throughout Cambridgeshire have much to thank Noel for. His enthusiasm was infectious. There is no cure - Thank God."- Jack Miller (CCBC President)
Here are some examples of the Canon's unique language, "Noelspeak" (courtesy of Dr Knight)...
Here are some recollections from Dr Frank Maine, the very first Captain of the Boat Club...
"We had no boat. We had no oars. We had no boat house. We had only one student who had rowed before - and that was at Oxford.
"Undaunted, we set about to overcome these handicaps.
"Because, as postgraduate students, we had labs to be at all day, we decided to have our daily practices on the river starting at 6:00 a.m. and finishing with breakfast at the College at 9:00 a.m. This was a good thing, because as we were novices, we needed all the river to ourselves as we learned, among other things, to steer this long hunk of wood with nine bodies in it along this winding and narrow river. In the spring of 1961, the only thing on the river at 6:00 a.m. were the swans and ducks who were all hatching the next generation. One of our first battles was learning to survive a swan attack.
"We used the Jesus boat house and a Jesus boat. We bought second hand oars and had the blades painted pink with a brown 'V' (which the first year was a chevron). Brian Cherry coached all the newcomers how to make Jesus 'bell notes' and Churchill College's first 1st boat took to the river and prepared to participate in the May Races. As every College has the right to one boat on the river, we did not have to enter the 'getting-on race'. We were put behind the previous year's last boat and ahead of the boats that filled out the 7th division via the 'getting-on race'. This was position 104 on the river with the 17 boats of the 7th division occupying positions 97 to 113. Ahead of us was LMBC 11 and behind us was Trinity Hall 6.
"From June 7 to 10, 1961, we made history and did just about everything except earn our oars. The first two days we enjoyed glorious bumps and were feeling very pleased with ourselves. Then fate intervened. On the third day, boats ahead of us clogged the river and we were not able to pass. It was serious enough to cause a rerow - a pretty rare thing. And so after all the other divisions had rowed, we had to have another go. We only succeeded in rowing over - an utterly exhausting thing for a boat of novices in the 7th division. Of course, this put us in the downstream instead of in the upstream of boats moving up and down the river. Sadly, on the final day, we experienced for the first time the agony of being bumped. It was quite a week. We were now a full College as we were on the river and with quite a variety of experiences.
"My supervisor, a Churchill College fellow who was not into sports, enquired as to whether I wanted a degree in Chemistry or rowing. With that request, I retired from active rowing with only one season under my belt. Kenny Macrae (whom the Canon nicknamed 'The Monarch') took over as Captain. I came back to help the CCBC, but not as an oarsman."
The 1961 crew was:
B - M.R. Postgate (11st 0) 2 - D.K. Macrae (11st 10) 3 - G.M. Lindberg (11st 10) 4 - J.A. Haines (11st 11) 5 - M.J. Rycroft (13st 9) 6 - F.W. Maine (16st 0) 7 - D. Dew-Hughes (12st 7) 8 - D.H. Peregrine (11st 4) C - D.R. Wolstenholme (11st 0)"At 16 stone, I was the heaviest on the river by almost 2 stone."
Here is the first of two entertaining stories from Dr Stefan Kukula, Vice-Captain and May Boat crew member in 1986-87. Stefan later rowed for Agecroft R.C., Northwich R.C., Imperial College B.C., Sons of the Thames R.C. and Walton R.C. at various times after leaving Churchill.
"It turns out the 'rule' concerned had actually been scrapped some years before, but they'd forgotten to amend the copy issued to college boat clubs.
"Many years later I rowed with another of the Oxford 'Mutiny' crew, who said that despite all the troubles with the Oxford mutiny, Richard Hull still described his worst experience ever in rowing as struggling down a full course in an Aylings shell, chased all the way by a bunch of maniacs in a beat-in restricted eight, who rowed like they wanted to tear their hearts out. (In fact, when introduced to the Oxford guy I rowed with, I said, 'You rowed with that cheating Robinson *deleted* Richard Hull, didn't you?' His reply was 'Ah, you must have been in that Churchill boat he told us about.')
"(The 2 man that year voluntarily stayed in the second eight the next year, and put together one of the most dangerous (as opposed to 'fast') boats I've ever seen. They got oars in both Lents and Mays, I think, bumping Girton I and Robinson in the process. Whenever I saw them row, I always thought 'Thank God they're on our side. I hope.' Unhinged, in my opinion.)"
Here is a second story from Dr Stefan Kukula...
An amusing tale from Mat Hubbard, a Churchill rower from 1994-98...
"Seeking revenge we hatched a plan to get ourselves noticed. We popped down to the boathouse early one morning and had a hands-naked photograph taken for the boat club dinner menu.
"What about bumps? Fitness failed us and we were bumped on day one and double-overbumped on day two. Feeling a bit depressed stern four and cox spent the evening in the bar and drank 57 pints between the five of us. Luckily we bumped Selwyn on the third day off the start thus avoiding spoons, but Selwyn bumped back on the fourth day.
"The moral of the story is that ringer crews are unlikely to win blades, but they can be great fun!"