Christopher Guy Vere Davidge, of

Little Houghton House Little Houghton House is a Grade II*-listed, nineteenth century Manor House with parts going back to 1685. The house has been owned by notable people, including Cecil Davidge and Christopher Davidge, both of whom served as High Sheriff of Nor ...

, OBE DL (5 November 1929 – 22 December 2014) was a British rower who competed in the Summer Olympics three times in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

and won the

Silver Goblets The Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless pairs at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing club A rowing club ...

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

three times.

Biography

Davidge was born in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

, son of Cecil Vere Davidge and Ursula Catherine Smyth, and the grandson of

Cecil William Davidge Cecil William Davidge (28 March 1863 – 16 January 1936) was a professor of English, author and Freemason. Davidge was the father of the barrister and academic Cecil Vere Davidge and grandfather of Olympic rower Christopher Davidge. Ea ...

. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

and rowed in the

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 ...

boat in the 1949

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 ...

. He returned to stroke Oxford in the 1951 Boat Race, when the Oxford boat sank, and the race was rerun on the following Monday. He was in the winning Oxford crew in the 1952 race and umpired the

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

and 1975 races. In 1952 Davidge competed for Great Britain,

rowing at the 1952 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1952 Summer Olympics featured seven events, for men only. The competitions were held from 20 to 23 July. Medal summary Participating nations A total of 404 rowers from 33 nations competed at the Helsinki Games: * * * * * ...

in Helsinki. He was in the

coxless pair A coxless pair is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars. The crew consists of a pair of rowers, each having one oar, one on the stroke side (rower's right h ...

with

David Callender David Callender (25 July 1930 – 18 March 2022) was a British rower. He competed in the men's coxless pair event at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Callender died in Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River ...

and came fourth. In 1955 Davidge was runner-up partnering J A Gobbo in the

to the Russians Buldakov and Ivanov. In 1956 he competed for Great Britain

rowing at the 1956 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1956 Summer Olympics featured seven events, for men only. The competitions were held from 23 to 27 November on Lake Wendouree, Ballarat, Australia. Medal summary Participating nations A total of 242 rowers from 25 nations com ...

where he was a member of the unplaced eight. He won the Silver Goblets at Henley in 1957 and 1958, partnering Tony Leadley. In 1959 he switched to the

double scull A double scull is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat by sculling with two oars each, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly s ...

s and won the

Double Sculls Challenge Cup The Double Sculls Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's double sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing clubs. Two clubs may combine to mak ...

at Henley partnering

Stuart Mackenzie Stuart Mackenzie (5 April 1936 - 20 October 2020) was an Australian rower. He was an Australian champion and Olympic medalist, who also competed for Great Britain at the 1962 World Championships. Club and state rowing Mackenzie was educated at ...

and beating

George Justicz George C. Justicz (born 27 February 1931) is a former rower who competed for Great Britain in the 1960 Olympic games and won Double Sculls Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta four times and the Wingfield Sculls. Biography Justicz was born in ...

and Nicholas Birkmyre. Davidge competed for Great Britain again

rowing at the 1960 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1960 Summer Olympics featured 7 events, for men only. The competitions were held from 30 August to 3 September on the Lago di Albano. Medal summary Men's events Participating nations A total of 410 rowers from 33 nations com ...

. He was in the

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

with

Michael Beresford John Michael Beresford (born 1934) is a British retired rower who competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Biography Born in London on 23 March 1934, Beresford was educated at Bedford School. He rowed internationally for seven years in coxed an ...

, Colin Porter, and John Vigurs, coming fifth. Davidge represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and won a gold medal at the

1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Perth, Australia, from 22 November to 1 December 1962. Athletic events were held at Perry Lakes Stadium in the suburb of Floreat and swimming events at Beatty Park in North Perth. The ...

in the coxless four with

Michael Clay Michael Vincent Clay (born August 30, 1991) is a former American football linebacker and coach who is the special teams coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Playing career On April 27, 2013, Clay signe ...

, John Beveridge and

John Tilbury John Tilbury (born 1 February 1936) is a British pianist. He is considered one of the foremost interpreters of Morton Feldman's music, and since 1980 has been a member of the free improvisation group AMM. Early life and education Tilbury st ...

. In 1963 Davidge won Silver Goblets again, this time partnering Stuart Mackenzie. Davidge later served as President of the

Leander Club Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior to ...

. Davidge was also awarded an OBE "for services to Rowing". He died on 22 December 2014, aged 85. He was

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respon ...

in 1988, following his father Cecil Vere Davidge, who was High Sheriff in 1950. On 14 March 1994 he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Northamptonshire.

References

Bibliography * Notes {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidge, Chris 1929 births 2014 deaths Sportspeople from Northampton English male rowers British male rowers Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Stewards of Henley Royal Regatta People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Oxford University Boat Club rowers Rowers at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire European Rowing Championships medalists Medallists at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

Biography

See also

References