Douglas V Melvin (born 1928, died 5 May 2021) was a British rower who twice won the

Wingfield Sculls The Wingfield Sculls is a rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. The race is between single scullers and is usually on the Saturday three to four weeks before the S ...

, the amateur sculling championship of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. Melvin was born at Lancaster. He took a job there with the Electricity Board, and was working there and rowing for John O'Gaunt Rowing Club when he won the

in 1955. He was encouraged by Eric Phelps to join

London Rowing Club London Rowing Club (LRC, or colloquially, 'London') is the second-oldest of the non-academic active rowing clubs on the Thames in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1856 by members of the long-disbanded Argonauts Club wishing to compete at ...

and was able to transfer his Electricity Board job to

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its nam ...

in order to do so. This gave him the opportunity to train alongside other notable scullers at the club including

Farn Carpmael Philip Nevil "Farn" Carpmael (1908–1988) was an English rower who won the Wingfield Sculls twice. Carpmael was born at Warwick. He was educated at Oundle School and Jesus College, Cambridge. In 1929/30, he was Captain of Jesus College Bo ...

, John Marsden, Tony Fox and John Pinches. In the

Diamond Challenge Sculls The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders w ...

in 1955 he reached the semi-final where he met

Teodor Kocerka Teodor Kocerka (6 August 1927 – 25 September 1999) was a Polish rower who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics, those of 1956, and those of 1960.https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ko/teodor-kocerka-1.html profile He was bor ...

, the eventual winner. He went on to represent Great Britain in the single sculls at the European Championships later the same year. In 1956 he was selected as the spare man for the Great Britain team for the 1956 Summer Olympics in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. After his boat and blades were shipped off to the Games he was de-selected in favour of someone more inclined to

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 ...

rather than sculling. Later in 1956, he became the first winner of the Weybridge Silver Sculls. In 1957 he won the

Scullers Head of the River Race The Scullers Head of the River Race is a rowing race held annually on the River Thames Championship Course from Mortlake to Putney, open to single scullers only. The race is held in November or early December each year on a week usually to suit ...

and 1958, the Wingfield Sculls again. In 1960 Melvin retired from competitive rowing to concentrate on his career. However he became a coach and a GB selector. In later years he returned to competitive rowing as a veteran oarsman and sculler. In 2000 he was elected President of London Rowing Club and held the office for four years. He was the President of John O'Gaunt Rowing Club from 1966 to 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melvin, Doug 1928 births English male rowers 2021 deaths Sportspeople from Lancaster, Lancashire