Guy Nickalls (13 November 1866 – 8 July 1935) was a British

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 ...

who competed in the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

as a member of the British eight that won gold, won 22 events at

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 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 Sc ...

three times.

Early life and education

Nickalls was born at

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

, then in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, the son of

Tom Nickalls Tom Nickalls (1828–1899) was a stockjobber on the stock exchange and one of the founding members of London Rowing Club. He was known as the "king of the American railroad market" after making his fortune in American railway shares. Biography N ...

(1827–1899) who was a

stockjobber Stockjobbers were institutions that acted as market makers in the London Stock Exchange. The business of stockjobbing emerged in the 1690s during England's Financial Revolution. During the 18th century the jobbers attracted numerous critiques from ...

on the

stock exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...

and one of the founding members of

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 ...

. His mother, Emily, was the first woman to climb

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...

and Monta Rosa in the same week.Guy Nickalls ''Life's a pudding :an autobiography'' 1939 Guy was one of twelve children, of whom his brother Vivian was also a successful oarsman. Nickalls 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 ...

where he was known as "Luni" due to his reckless behaviour. He played football with success, and when not engaged in athletically breaking his bones or risking his neck, he would row. At Eton he won the Junior Sculling in 1884, the School Pulling in 1885/86, and School Sculling in 1885. His ability was soon noticed and he secured the four seat in the Eton Eight, carrying off the

Ladies' Challenge Plate The Ladies' Challenge Plate is one of the events at Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. Crews of men's eight-oared boats below the standard of the Grand Challenge Cup can enter, although international standard ...

in 1885.

Nickalls went up to

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 ...

, in 1886.M. Blandford-Baker, Upon the Elysian Stream, 2008 At Oxford he won the University Sculls in 1887, the University Pairs in 1888, 1889 and 1890 – with W.F.D. Smith once and twice with

Lord Ampthill Baron Ampthill, of Ampthill in the County of Bedfordshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 11 March 1881 for the diplomat Lord Odo Russell. He was the third son of Major-General Lord George Russell, second son ...

– and the University Fours in 1886, 1887, 1888 and 1889. He went head of the river in 1888 with Magdalen, and rowed for

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 ...

the Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's ...

for five years from

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

to 1891 losing three races and winning two. He was O.U.B.C. President in 1890. During his time at Oxford he showed his prowess as a

sculler 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, i ...

winning the

in 1887 when his defeated opponents were "Jumps" Gardner and

Steve Fairbairn Stephen Fairbairn (25 August 1862 – 16 May 1938) was a rower and an influential rowing coach at Jesus College Boat Club, Cambridge University, Thames Rowing Club and London Rowing Club in the early decades of the 20th century, and founded the ...

, 1888 when he beat Gardner again and 1889 when no one would race against him. He lost 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. First run in 1844, it is open to male scullers from all eligible rowing clubs.

in 1887 to Gardner, but won in 1888, 1889 and 1890, beating Gilbert Kennedy in the last year. In 1890 he also 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 ...

partnering

Main rowing career

After Oxford, Nickalls joined

Leander Leander is one of the protagonists in the story of Hero and Leander in Greek mythology. Leander may also refer to: People * Leander (given name) * Leander (surname) Places * Leander, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Le ...

of which he was Captain in 1892 and 1897 and took the main prizes at Henley Royal Regatta over the next seven years. His Leander crew 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 ...

in 1891 and 1892 and in 1891 he and Ampthill won Silver Goblets again. In 1893 he was in the Magdalen crew that won 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 ...

and he also won the Diamonds again against Kennedy. In 1894 he won Silver Goblets partnering his brother Vivian, whom he defeated in the same year in the Diamonds. Vivian Nickalls became a member of

and Guy joined them to win the Stewards in 1895 and the brothers also won Silver Goblets again that year. However Guy lost Diamonds that year to Rupert Guinness. In 1896 Nickalls had three wins – the Grand with Leander, Stewards with London Rowing Club and Silver Goblets with his brother. In 1897 he won Stewards with Leander and Silver Goblets with E. R. Balfour. After a break of several years, Nickalls was a member of the Leander crew that won the Grand in 1905, but over the next few years the dominant eight in the event was the Belgian crew from

Royal Club Nautique de Gand (English: ''Royal Rowing Club of Ghent'' / French: ''Royal Club Nautique de Gand'') is a rowing club from the Belgian city of Ghent founded in 1871. The association is located at the Ghent urban Watersportbaan rowing course. It has an extensi ...

. Nickalls was a member of the winning crews in the Stewards in 1905, 1906 and 1907. In 1908 he was a member of the Leander eight, which was assembled to challenge the Belgians

rowing at the 1908 Summer Olympics At the 1908 Summer Olympics, four 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 paddli ...

, and beat them to win the gold medal for Great Britain.

Later career

From 1913 to 1916 Nickalls coached

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

, enticed to New Haven by Averell Harriman and a sufficient salary to help see his two sons through Eton. Though his Yale crews won two of the three years he was there, Nickalls found the environment stressful and foreign. He was partly to blame, by spouting opinions better left unsaid or, if said, certainly not within earshot of the attentive rowing press. Yet such remarks – "Their paddling is bad, their rowing, worse" (about the Yale 1916 crew){G. Nickalls, ''quoted in'' T. Mendenhall, ''The Harvard-Yale Race and the Coming of Sport to the American College'' p. 298—were wholly in line with his personality: as O.U.B.C. President, he nearly scotched the 1890 Boat Race by calling the Cambridge crew "probably a poorer lot than usual" in an official letter to his counterpart, S.D. Muttlebury.G. Nickalls, quoted in ''

Windsor Magazine ''The Windsor Magazine'' was a monthly illustrated publication produced by Ward Lock & Co from January 1895 to September 1939 (537 issues). The title page described it as "An Illustrated Monthly for Men and Women". It was bound as six-monthly ...

'', p. 109 (July 1896) Nickalls tried to join the army in 1914 on the outbreak of war, but was turned down on account of age. By late 1917 the army had a change of heart, sending him to France, then age fifty, as a Captain in the 23rd Lancashire Fusiliers in charge of physical and bayonet training. After the war, he resumed his career as a stockbroker. When Zürich Rowing Club won the Stewards on 6 July 1935, Nickalls told Gully "Thank God I have been spared to see what I believe to be the finest four of all time". The next morning, he was in car crash near

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

en route to Scotland for a fishing holiday, and died in hospital the following evening. On the same day his school friend and rowing partner, Lord Ampthill, died.

Personal

Nickalls married Ellen Gilbey Gold in London in 1898. She was the sister of Sir Harcourt Gold, who was chairman of Henley Royal Regatta from 1945 to 1952 and Chairman of the

ARA ARA may refer to: Media and the arts * American-Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences * '' Artistička Radna Akcija'', compilation album released in former Yugoslavia * Associate of the Royal Academy, denoting membership in the British Royal Aca ...

from 1948 to 1952. Their son

Guy Oliver Nickalls Guy Oliver Nickalls (4 April 1899 – 26 April 1974), also known as Gully Nickalls, was a British rower who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics and in the 1928 Summer Olympics. Life Nickalls was the son of Guy Nickalls, who was also a rower an ...

was also a rower who competed in two Olympic games. Nickalls snr. co-authored a history of the noted Irish actor and comedian

Thomas Doggett Thomas Doggett (or Dogget) (20 September 1721) was an Irish actor. The birth date of 1640 seems unlikely. A more probable date of 1670 is given in the Encyclopædia Britannica. Biography Doggett was born in Dublin, and made his first stage app ...

and his eponymous rowing race.