Julius Beresford (Wiszniewski) (18 July 1868 – 29 September 1959), also known as Berry or The Old Berry, 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 di ...

and coach. Beresford competed at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Life

Beresford was the son of Julius Bernard Wiszniewski, an emigrant from Danzig and his wife Stella Louisa Davey. In 1871, the family were living in

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...

. Julius Beresford dropped his father's surname "Wiszniewski" in 1914. Outside rowing, he was a partner in a furniture making business, Beresford & Hicks. Beresford initially sculled at Kensington Rowing Club in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

with some success, winning many trophies although failing in attempts at 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 ...

in 1902 and 1903 and in the London Cup at the

Metropolitan Regatta The Metropolitan Regatta is an international rowing (sport), rowing regatta. It takes place on Dorney Lake, Buckinghamshire near Eton, Berkshire, Eton next to the River Thames in southern England. It attracts crews from schools, clubs, and unive ...

. By 1904 he had decided that he had reached his limits as a

single scull A single scull (or a scull) is a rowing boat designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-section in order to minimi ...

er and moved to

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 ...

in order to row seriously in crew boats. He remained a member of Thames for the rest of his life. In 1909 and 1911, he was in the 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 ...

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 ...

. Also in the 1911 regatta, he partnered

Arthur Cloutte Arthur Hamilton Cloutte (born 1871) was an English rower who won the Wingfield Sculls, the amateur single sculling championship of the River Thames, in 1902 Cloutte was born at Turnham Green in west London, the son of Arthur Cloutte and his wife ...

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 clubs. Two clubs may ...

. In a heat of this event he and Cloutte dead heated against Bruce Logan and

Charles Rought Charles Gardner Rought (16 October 1884 – 31 January 1919) was a British rower who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics. Life Rought was born in Surbiton. He became a member of Thames Rowing Club and in 1909 and 1911 was a member of the crew ...

to set a course record which lasted until 1934. Rought and Logan joined Beresford who was the bowman, in the Thames Rowing Club

coxed four A coxed four, also known as a 4+, is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oa ...

which won the silver medal for Great Britain

rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics featured four events, for men only. All races were held in Djurgårdsbrunnsviken from Thursday to Saturday, 17 to 19 July. Medal summary Bronze medals Bronze medals were not awarded to the losing semi fina ...

. Beresford served as captain of Thames Rowing Club in 1914 and again in 1926. In 1922 he was appointed as vice president of the club. He was a dedicated coach with strong opinions. Despite holding similar views on techniques, Beresford clashed with

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 ...

and a dispute between the two was an underlying cause of Fairbairn's move from Thames to

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 ...

in 1927. As a coach at Thames, Beresford's greatest successes came in 1927 when Thames won four events at Henley Royal Regatta and in 1928 when the club repeated the feat. Beresford's son

Jack Beresford Jack Beresford, CBE (1 January 1899 – 3 December 1977), born Jack Beresford-Wiszniewski, was a British rower who won five medals at five Olympic Games in succession. This record in Olympic rowing was not matched until 2000 when Sir Steve Red ...

was also a rower and won medals at five successive Olympics. His grandson

Michael Beresford John Michael Beresford (born 1934) is a British retired rower who competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Biography Born in London on 23 March 1934, Beresford was educated at Bedford School. He rowed internationally for seven years in coxed an ...

also became an Olympic rower.

Achievements

Olympic Games

* 1912 – Silver, Coxed Four

Henley Royal Regatta

* 1909 –

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 ...

* 1911 – Stewards' Challenge Cup * 1911 –

* 1919 Victory Regatta – Fawley Cup

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beresford, Julius 1868 births 1959 deaths English male rowers Olympic rowers of Great Britain Rowers at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics English people of Polish descent British male rowers