Hugh Robert Arthur Edwards (17 November 1906 – 21 December 1972), also known as Jumbo Edwards, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

in the 1932 Summer Olympics. He was born to Welsh-speaking parents in

Woodstock, Oxfordshire Woodstock is a market town and civil parish, north-west of Oxford in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 3,100. Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is next to W ...

and died in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. He went to Christ Church, Oxford, in 1925, and was the only Freshman selected to row in the 1926 Blue Boat. He collapsed during the race, and was later diagnosed as having a hypertrophied heart, and was told he was no longer needed to row for the university. Edwards left Oxford in 1927 after failing his exams, and became a school teacher. He also recommenced rowing, with

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 ...

. While rowing with London Rowing Club, he was successful at Henley Royal Regatta in 1928, 1929, and 1930, winning 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 ...

in 1930. At the British Empire Games in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1930, London Rowing Club crews representing England, and which contained Edwards, won two gold medals, in the eights and in the coxed fours. He was then invited to row in the

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

Oxford Blue Boat. In the 1932 Olympics he won the gold medal in the coxless pairs event with

Lewis Clive Lewis Clive (8 September 1910 – August 1938) was a British rower who won a gold medal in the 1932 Summer Olympics. He volunteered to fight for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War and was killed in action. Life Born in Herefordshire, Cli ...

, and a second gold in the Great Britain coxless four, on the same day. He later turned to competitive flying, coming second in the 1935

King's Cup Race The King's Cup air race is a British handicapped cross-country event, which has taken place annually since 1922. It is run by the Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association. The King's Cup is one of the most prestigious prizes of the ...

. During the Second World War Edwards served in

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

, once saving his own life by rowing four miles through a minefield in a dinghy after his plane crashed in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. Wallechinsky, David (2004). ''The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics'',

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

: Sport Classic Books. After rising to the rank of Group Captain, he was demobbed in 1946. He was invited back to be a member of the Oxford coaching team in 1949, although resigned in 1957 after a disagreement with the Australian-born president, Roderick Carnegie. He was brought back in 1959 by OUBC President Ronnie Howard, but provoked a rebellion by certain members of the crew over his demands on them. Despite the resignation of certain members of the squad, Oxford beat Cambridge, and his subsequent coaching efforts made him an Oxford legend. In 1962, he coached the Wales four containing his two sons that won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia. He wrote a book on rowing technique in 1963 entitled ''The Way of a Man with a Blade''. Having been a pupil of both Dr "Beja" Bourne and Steve Fairbairn, he sought to bring together the divergent rowing styles of English Orthodoxy and Fairbairnism. A coxed four belonging to Christ Church Boat Club is named Jumbo Edwards. The club's other four, is named after Jonathan Searle, another Olympic Gold medallist.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Hugh 1906 births 1972 deaths People from Woodstock, Oxfordshire English male rowers English Olympic medallists Olympic rowers of Great Britain Rowers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Rowers at the 1930 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Oxford University Boat Club rowers Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing English people of Welsh descent Medallists at the 1930 British Empire Games