James Gee Pascoe Crowden CVO (14 November 1927 – 24 September 2016) was an English former oarsman who competed for Great Britain in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

. He was

Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire. The title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representative in the counties of the United Kingdom. Lord Lieutenants are supported by an appointe ...

. Crowden was born in

Tilney All Saints Tilney All Saints is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of and had a population of 563 in 230 households at the 2001 census, increasing to 573 at the 2011 Census. For the purposes of local government, it falls w ...

, near

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...

in 1927. He grew up in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

and attended King's School before going on to

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

. He had his first victory 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 ...

in 1946 as part of the school crew which won the

Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup The Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup is a rowing event at Henley Royal Regatta open to school 1st VIIIs. History The event was instituted in 1946 for public schools in the United Kingdom. It was opened to entries from overseas in 1964, and th ...

, which that year was presented by the future Queen herself. He then went to

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

.Peterborough Today Wednesday, 29 July 2009 "Why Rowing Still Floats"
/ref> In 1951 he was part of the winning

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

boat in the

Oxford and Cambridge 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' ...

in the year when Oxford sank, and the umpire stopped the race and ordered a re-row the following Monday. He went to the United States to compete against American college crews at Yale and Harvard and 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 ...

at Henley partnering

Brian Lloyd Brian William Lloyd (born 18 March 1948) is a Welsh former Association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He played 545 times in the English Football League, Football League for five clubs and w ...

. Also in 1951, he won gold at the European Championships at

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the prefecture of the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home to near 34,000 residents, who are referred to in French as M� ...

, in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He was in the Boat Race again in 1952 (as President), when Cambridge lost and he competed in the

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

s at the

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. Crowden became the Cambridge crew's coach for the next 20 years. Crowden followed in the family profession, and became a chartered surveyor with a firm of auctioneers. He was

High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Below is a list of High Sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely since the creation of that county in 1965 until its abolition in 1974: *Before 1965 see Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire *1965–1966: Francis Wingate William Pember ...

in 1970 and was

from 3 July 1992 to 2002. Crowden was a vice-president of the

British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It is responsible for organising and overseeing the participation of athletes from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team, at both ...

and a Steward of Henley Regatta. He was involved with the Cambridgeshire Olympic Committee, and with Peterborough Rowing Club. His first wife Kathleen died in 1989 and his only son Richard was killed in a road accident in 1982. His second wife Margaret was his brother's widow, and died in November 2009. Crowden died at the age of 88 on 24 September 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowden, James 1927 births 2016 deaths People educated at The King's School, Peterborough People educated at Bedford School Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge Fellows of Pembroke College, Cambridge Cambridge University Boat Club rowers Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order English male rowers Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Rowing coaches Members of Leander Club Stewards of Henley Royal Regatta European Rowing Championships medalists

See also

References