George Yeomans Pocock (March 23, 1891 – March 19, 1976) was a leading designer and builder of

racing shell In watercraft, a racing shell (also referred to as just a ''fine boat'' (UK) or just ''shell'') is an extremely narrow, and often comparatively long, rowing boat specifically designed for racing or exercise. It is outfitted with long oars, outrigg ...

s in the 20th Century. Pocock-built shells began to win U.S.

Intercollegiate Rowing Association The Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) governs intercollegiate rowing between varsity men's heavyweight, men's lightweight, and women's lightweight rowing programs across the United States, while the NCAA fulfills this role for women's ope ...

championships in 1923. He achieved international recognition by providing the eight-oared racing shells which won gold medals in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

with a crew from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, and again in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

and

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 ...

. In this era, nearly every collegiate and

sport rowing 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 ...

program in America used wooden shells and

oars An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles is that oars are used exclusively for rowing. In rowing the oar is connecte ...

built by Pocock. Beyond his achievements as a boatbuilder, his influence, promotion and philosophy of rowing have inspired countless oarsmen and coaches.

Biography

A native of

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

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 ...

, Pocock learned the craft of

boat-building Boat building is the design and construction of boats and their systems. This includes at a minimum a hull, with propulsion, mechanical, navigation, safety and other systems as a craft requires. Construction materials and methods Wood W ...

as an apprentice to his father, Aaron Frederick Pocock, a boat-builder for

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 progressive father of five, who encouraged his children in the sport (including his 6' tall daughter Lucy). A champion

scull 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, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, it ...

er himself, Pocock (along with his brother, Dick) used prize money earned from racing to emigrate from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, in 1911, in search of better employment prospects. The brothers, with help from their sister Lucy, who had emigrated with their father and another sister, established an independent boat-building business, initially supplying rowers affiliated with organizations such as the

Vancouver Rowing Club Vancouver Rowing Club (VRC) is a rowing (sport), rowing club in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Originally formed in 1886 as the Vancouver Boating Club, the first clubhouse was built a year later. In 1890 one of the city's early athletic riv ...

, and the Prince Rupert Rowing Club. In 1912,

Hiram Boardman Conibear Hiram Boardman Conibear (September 5, 1871 – September 9, 1917) was an American football and rowing coach. He served as head football coach the University of Montana from 1903 to 1904, compiling a record of 5–7. Conibear was head rowing coach ...

, rowing coach at the University of Washington, visited the Pocock brothers at their Vancouver Harbour shop and convinced them to move to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

to build boats for the Washington crews. When rowing at U.W. was shut down during

World War I 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 ...

, and there were no boats to be built, the Pocock brothers hired on as pontoon builders for a fledgling Seattle aircraft manufacturer, Pacific Aero Products, which was the forerunner to

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

. In 1922 as the use of wooden components in the manufacture of airplanes began to decline in favor of metal, George left Boeing to return to boatbuilding for

Pocock Racing Shells Pocock Racing Shells is a Seattle, Washington-based racing shells manufacturer, founded in 1911. Pocock Racing Shells is the oldest rowing shell manufacturer in the world. History Pocock Racing Shells was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1911. ...

on the campus of the

. Over the next half-century, Pocock perfected the craft of building fast and efficient wooden shells, introducing many innovations including the use of

western redcedar ''Thuja plicata'' is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to western North America. Its common name is western redcedar (western red cedar in the UK), and it is also called Pacific redcedar, giant arborvitae, w ...

for the outer skin of the shells. He was appointed Boatman to U.S. Olympic Rowing Teams in 1936, 1948, 1952, and 1956. He was a mentor to many of the day’s rowing coaches, and continues to be revered by oarsmen and coaches for his contributions to the sport of rowing.

Awards

Pocock was named "Sports Star of the Year" for 1948 by the

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...

. Inducted into

USRowing The United States Rowing Association, commonly known as USRowing, is the national governing body for the sport of Rowing in the United States. It serves to promote the sport on all levels of competition, including the selection and training of ...

’s Hall of Fame in 1966 as “Premier boat-builder.” Inducted into Washington State Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

References

External links

George Pocock Rowing FoundationPocock Racing Shells
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pocock, George Yeoman People from Kingston upon Thames People from Seattle British boat builders American boat builders 1891 births 1976 deaths