Ewart Douglas Horsfall MC (24 May 1892 – 1 February 1974) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rower who competed in the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

and in the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

Personal life

Horsfall's first marriage was with Myra Downing Fullerton, daughter of Frederick Downing Fullerton in 1923. They had three children, Robin, Geoffrey and Anne. After his divorce, he married Betty Fairfax Rushby (1906 - 2000) in 1946. After her death she bequeathed money, and collections of art, ceramics, furniture and other objects that she had mostly inherited from her own parents, to the University of Liverpool in his home city of Liverpool.

Business career

He was a member of the wealthy

Horsfall family The Horsfall family was a family notable in Liverpool, UK, especially as traders at the heart of British trade with Africa after 1807, and as religious benefactors whose churches are among the most important religious buildings in the city. Cha ...

of Liverpool. In his time the family traded in palm oil from Africa.

Sporting career

Horsfall was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, the son of Howard Douglas Horsfall and 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

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. He arrived at Oxford with an outstanding reputation as a rower and in 1912 was in 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 ...

boat 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 ...

. He joined

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 ...

and was a member of the Leander

eight 8 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 8 or eight may also refer to: Years * AD 8, the eighth year of the AD era * 8 BC, the eighth year before the AD era Art *The Eight (Ashcan School), a group of twentieth century painters associated with the As ...

which won the gold 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 ...

. At the age of 20, he was the youngest member of the crew. Horsfall stroked Oxford in the Boat Race in 1913 and became the first stroke to win the Boat Race after being behind at

Barnes Railway Bridge Barnes Railway Bridge is a Grade II listed railway bridge in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and the London Borough of Hounslow. It crosses the River Thames in London in a northwest to southeast direction at Barnes. It carries the S ...

. However Oxford lost in 1914, when Horsfall rowed at number four. He won the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event 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 cl ...

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 ...

four times – three times as a stroke – and he twice stroked the winning crew in the

Stewards' Challenge Cup The Stewards' Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours 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 or more clubs may combine t ...

at Henley on the two occasions when he competed. After the war, he returned to Oxford to help re-establish rowing at the university. He was strokeman of the Leander

which won the silver medal for Great Britain

rowing at the 1920 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1920 Summer Olympics, the first Olympics after World War I, saw five events. The competitions were held from 27 to 29 August in Antwerp, Belgium. The event was marked by the arrival of future triple gold medalists John B. Kelly Sr ...

, coming within half a length of winning. In 1947 Horsfall was elected a Steward of

and the following year he was manager of the British Olympic Rowing team.

Military career

At the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Horsfall joined the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

but later transferred to the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

; He qualified as a pilot on 31 December 1914,Burnett was awarded Aviator's Certificate no. 1032 on 31 December 1914 and reached the rank of squadron leader. He was in command of 58 Squadron later in the war and briefly in 3 Squadron in late 1917. He was

Mentioned in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

and awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

and Chevalier in the Legion d'Honneur in 1916 when he was a temporary second lieutenant and temporary captain. He reached the rank of Major later in 1916 but became unfit for active service at times in 1917 and 1918. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1918.

References

External links