Richard Frederick Offer (1909 – 6 February 2007) was an English

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 di ...

who won

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 ...

and a silver medal at the

1938 British Empire Games The 1938 British Empire Games was the third British Empire Games, the event that evolved to become the Commonwealth Games. Held in Sydney, Australia from 5–12 February 1938, they were timed to coincide with Sydney's sesqui-centenary (150 ye ...

. Offer was born at

Hampton Wick Hampton Wick, formerly a village, is a Thames-side area of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, and is contiguous with Teddington and Kingston upon Thames. It is buffered by Bushy Park, one of the Royal Parks of London from Hampton and ...

, the son of Henry John Offer and his wife Vera Jenny Burgoine. His maternal grandfather, Alfred Burgoine, was a boat designer who built one of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

's Royal Barges and a motor launch that held the world water speed record. He was educated at

Tiffin School Tiffin School is a boys' grammar school in Kingston upon Thames, England. It has specialist status in both the performing arts and languages. The school moved from voluntary aided status to become an Academy School on 1 July 2011. Founded in 1 ...

where he began rowing. He joined

Kingston Rowing Club Kingston Rowing Club (KRC) is a rowing club in England founded in 1858 and a member club of British Rowing. The club is located on the River Thames at Kingston upon Thames, downstream and north-east of Kingston Bridge and Kingston Railway Brid ...

in 1929, where his brothers Tom and

Jack Offer John Sidney Offer (1908–1985) was an English rower who won Silver Goblets at Henley Royal Regatta and a silver medal at the 1938 British Empire Games. Offer was born at Hampton Wick, the son of Henry John Offer and his wife Vera Jennie ...

were already members.Old Tiffins Newsletter 232 June 2007
Offer excelled at

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

, in particular partnering his brother Jack in the

pairs Concentration, also known as Memory, Shinkei-suijaku (Japanese meaning "nervous breakdown"), Matching Pairs, Match Match, Match Up, Pelmanism, Pexeso or simply Pairs, is a card game in which all of the cards are laid face down on a surface and tw ...

. They also took part in

skiffing Skiffing refers to the sporting and leisure activity of rowing (or more correctly sculling Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, nar ...

, being members of

The Skiff Club The Skiff Club is the oldest skiff and punting club in existence, having been founded in 1895. It is based on the River Thames in London, on the Middlesex bank between Teddington Lock and Kingston upon Thames. The Club supports two traditional ...

. They won the Gentlemen's Double Sculls at the

Skiff Championships Regatta The Skiff Championships Regatta is the premier skiff racing regatta on the River Thames in England. It is held annually at Henley on the Sunday of August Bank Holiday weekend. Events and course The regatta is run under the rules of the Skif ...

in 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933 and 1935. In 1936 the pair won

. Two years later they were selected to compete in the

. Offer worked in an insurance company in the City of London and had to take unpaid leave to be able to compete. In spite of the difficulties in maintaining training during the six-week sea voyage to Australia they won the silver medal in the double sculls event. Offer was also a sailor with a boat on the south coast, and later at the Thames Sailing Club at

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the historic county of Surrey and since 1965 it has ...

where he owned a Thames Rater which was designed and built by his grandfather. He also played rugby for the Old Tiffinians and at County level in the winter months. At the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Offer was a volunteer fire-watcher on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

until he gained his Commission in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and was employed on convoy escorts. At the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

Normandy landings he was a commander of tank landing craft LCT708, and lead the landings on

Gold Beach Gold, commonly known as Gold Beach, was the code name for one of the five areas of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. Gold, the central of the five areas, was lo ...

. After the war, Offer returned to rowing at Kingston RC, where he competed until the 1950s. He then began coaching at Kingston and at Tiffin School, where he inspired successes in regattas including Henley and coached future international rowers. He played a major part in developing Kingston RC's headquarters at

Canbury Gardens Canbury Gardens is a public space in the Canbury district of Kingston upon Thames, along the Lower Ham Road, covering 14½ acres area between the road and the towpath along the River Thames, downstream from Kingston Railway Bridge. History In f ...

, Kingston and helped in the running of

Kingston Regatta Kingston Regatta is a rowing regatta, on the River Thames in England which takes place at Kingston upon Thames, Surrey on the reach above Teddington Lock. The regatta takes place in July and forms part of the Kingston River Festival. It attra ...

. He became president of Kingston Rowing Club in 1993.History of Kingston Amateur Regatta
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Offer, Richard Frederick 1909 births 2007 deaths People educated at Tiffin School English male rowers Royal Navy officers Rowers at the 1938 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing