Harcourt Gilbey Gold, Vanity Fair, 1899-03-23

Sir Harcourt Gilbey Gold (3 May 1876 – 27 July 1952) was a successful British rower, the first to be knighted for services to the sport. He was born at

Wooburn Green Wooburn Green is a village in the civil parish of Wooburn, Buckinghamshire, England. Location Wooburn Green is a village situated four miles south east of the town of High Wycombe. It neighbours Beaconsfield, Loudwater, Flackwell Heath, Woobu ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, the ninth and youngest child of Henry Gold of

Hedsor Hedsor is a small village and civil parish in Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England, in the very south of the county, near the River Thames and Bourne End. It is in the civil parish of Wooburn. The village toponym is derived from the Ol ...

, Buckinghamshire, a director of W. and A. Gilbey, wine merchants. He 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 successfully took up rowing, stroking the Eton VIII to victory in 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 ...

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 ...

for three successive years. In 1895 he 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 ...

, where he was made stroke of the University crew as a freshman. He successfully stroked Oxford to victory over Cambridge in the next three

University 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 a ...

s (and was also stroke in 1899 when they lost) and in 1898 was made president of the

Oxford University Boat Club Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the rowing club for male, heavyweight oarsman of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century. The Boat Race The club races agai ...

. After leaving Oxford Gold was made Captain of

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 ...

from 1898 to 1900. He became a steward of the

Henley 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 three ...

in 1909 and joined its management committee in 1919, significantly helping to put the event onto a sound financial footing. He coached eighteen Oxford crews as well as the Leander VIII which won the 1908 Olympic regatta at Henley. In 1948 he became chairman of the

Amateur Rowing Association British Rowing, formerly the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), is the national governing body for the sport of rowing (both indoor and on-water rowing). It is responsible for the training and selection of individual rowers and crews representin ...

and in 1949 became the first person to be knighted for services to rowing. During the First World War, he joined the

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

, became a lieutenant colonel and was awarded an OBE in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, 3 June a ...

. He set up in business as a stockbroker under the name of Harcourt Gold & Co. He died in London on 27 July 1952. He had married Helen Beatrice, the daughter of Dr Thomas Maclagan of London. They had one son and two daughters.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gold, Harcourt Gilbey 1876 births 1952 deaths People from Buckinghamshire People educated at Eton College Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Oxford University Boat Club rowers British male rowers Members of Leander Club Stewards of Henley Royal Regatta Knights Bachelor Officers of the Order of the British Empire People in sports awarded knighthoods