Charles William Berry Littlejohn (4 January 1889 – 4 August 1960) was a New Zealand-born

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

who competed for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Born in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, New Zealand, on 4 January 1889, Littlejohn was the son of

William Still Littlejohn William Still Littlejohn (19 September 1859 – 7 October 1933) was a Scottish-born schoolteacher who spent most of his working life in New Zealand and Australia. He was headmaster of Nelson College from 1899 to 1903, and of Scotch College, Melbo ...

and Jeannie Littlejohn (née Berry). He was educated at

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has ...

from 1898 to 1903, and later went to New College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar (from Ormond College, Melbourne University) where he was a Diploma student in anthropology.Diploma students in Anthropology, University of Oxford 1907-1945
He was a member of the winning

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

crews in the

Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

in 1911 and 1912. He was also a member of the New College eight which won the silver medal for Great Britain

rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics featured four events, for men only. All races were held in Djurgårdsbrunnsviken from Thursday to Saturday, 17 to 19 July. Medal summary Bronze medals Bronze medals were not awarded to the losing semi fina ...

.Sports Reference Olympic Sports – Charles Littlejohn
/ref> He was subsequently decorated with the Military Cross while serving in World War I.

References

1889 births 1960 deaths Alumni of New College, Oxford British male rowers New Zealand male rowers Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain New Zealand Rhodes Scholars Oxford University Boat Club rowers Olympic medalists in rowing People educated at Nelson College New Zealand recipients of the Military Cross Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Nelson, New Zealand Australian Rhodes Scholars New Zealand people of Scottish descent New Zealand military personnel of World War I {{UK-Olympic-medalist-stub

See also

References