Guy Oliver Nickalls (4 April 1899 – 26 April 1974), also known as Gully Nickalls, 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 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

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 ...

and in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

Life

Nickalls was the son of

Guy Nickalls Guy Nickalls (13 November 1866 – 8 July 1935) was a British rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics as a member of the British eight that won gold, won 22 events at Henley Royal Regatta and won the Wingfield Sculls three times. Ear ...

, who was also a rower and an Olympic gold medalist and his wife Ellen Gilbey Gold. His grandfather, Tom Nickalls, was 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 ...

. Nickalls' mother was the sister of Sir Harcourt Gold, who was chairman of

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 ...

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.. 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 ...

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 ...

. In 1920, rowing for Magdalen, Nickalls partnered Richard Lucas to win the

Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup 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 ...

, beating Bruce Logan and S I Fairbairn in the final. Later in the year, Nickalls was a member of the Leander eight 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 ...

, coming within half a length of winning. In 1921, Nickalls rowed in the

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 ...

crew which lost to Cambridge 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 ...

and also lost the final of the Silver Goblets to John Campbell and

Humphrey Playford Humphrey Blake Playford (8 February 1896 – 1981) was an English rower distinguished by rowing in three successful races against Oxford University and rowing Head of the River for Jesus College, Cambridge in the same three years. Birth, Parentag ...

. In 1922, he rowed in the losing Oxford Boat Race crew again, but regained Silver Goblets with Lucas, beating

Karl Vernon Karl Vernon MM (19 June 1880 – 11 July 1973), sometimes known by his nickname The Bean, was a British rower and coach who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Life Vernon was born in Neuenahr, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. He joined Thames R ...

and H West in the final. In 1923 he was in the winning Oxford boat in the Boat Race but was runner up again in the Silver Goblets. He was runner up in Silver Goblets again with various partners in 1925, 1926 and 1927. When the outside sport broadcasts covered the Boat Race for the first time on 2 April 1927, Nickalls became the first ex-sportsman to broadcast from an outside broadcast microphone. The BBC had hired the launch Magician to carry four BBC engineers, a pilot, 1,000 lbs of generator and batteries and the two new commentators: Nickalls and Sir John Squire. Nickalls said afterwards: "We stood on each other's foot when it was our turn to interrupt and simply poured excited words from start to finish, totally oblivious to being heard or not." They were – and the director-general, John Reith, wired his congratulations.The Boat Race
/ref> In the 1928 season, Nickalls rowed with the

Thames Rowing Club The Thames Rowing Club (TRC) is a rowing club based on the tidal Thames as it flows through the western suburbs of London. The TRC clubhouse stands on Putney Embankment. The club was founded in 1860. As at July 2022, Thames had won events at He ...

first eight, which 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 ...

and then represented Great Britain

rowing at the 1928 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1928 Summer Olympics featured seven events, for men only. The competitions were held from 2 to 10 August. Medal summary Participating nations A total of 244 rowers from 19 nations competed at the Amsterdam Games: * * * * ...

. Nickalls followed in his uncle's footsteps and was Chairman of the ARA during the 1950s, the period when the ARA amalgamated with the

NARA The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

and finally ending the gentleman/tradesman amateur split in the UK. He was also a steward of Henley regatta – his silver Stewards badge now held by Sir Steve Redgrave, the only person to have surpassed his father's record of six wins in the Goblets.

Achievements

Olympic Games

* 1920 – Silver, Eight * 1928 – Silver, Eight

Henley Wins

* 1920 –

* 1922 –

* 1928 –

Published works

* Rowing, 1949 – G.O. Nickalls and Dr P.C. Mallam * Life's a pudding: an autobiography, 1939 –

with additional chapter by G.O. Nickalls * With the Skin of their Teeth. Memories of great sporting finishes, 1951 – Edited by G.O. Nickalls * A Rainbow in the sky: Reminiscences, 1974 -G.O. Nickalls

References

# Hylton Cleaver, A History of Rowing, 1957 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nickalls, Guy Oliver 1899 births 1974 deaths English male rowers Olympic rowers of Great Britain Rowers at the 1920 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Stewards of Henley Royal Regatta

Guy Oliver George Guy Oliver (September 25, 1878 – September 1, 1932) was an American actor. He appeared in at least 189 silent film era motion pictures and 32 talkies in character roles between 1911 and 1931. His obituary gives him credit for at l ...