Oswald Armitage Carver (2 February 1887 – 7 June 1915) 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

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

. He died of injuries during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Carver was born at

Marple Marple may refer to: Places * Marple, Greater Manchester, a town close to Stockport, in England ** Marple Bridge, a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, in Greater Manchester ** Marple railway station in Marple, Greater Manches ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

, the son of William Oswald Carver and his wife, Katherine Armitage. His father was a cotton goods merchant who had been successful enough to buy

Cranage Hall Cranage Hall is a former country house in the village of Cranage, Cheshire, England. It was built in 1828–29 for Lawrence Armitstead, and designed by Lewis Wyatt. In 1932 a parallel wing was added. Since the hospital closed, it has been use ...

, near

Holmes Chapel Holmes Chapel is a large village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Until 1974 the parish was known as Church Hulme. Holmes Chapel is about north of Crewe and south of ...

. Carver was educated at

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. He rowed for

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 ...

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 ...

in 1908. The Cambridge crew made up a boat in the eights which won the bronze medal for Great Britain

rowing at the 1908 Summer Olympics At the 1908 Summer Olympics, four rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddli ...

. Carver was a director of the family company which owned Hollins Mill at Marple and had offices and warehouses in central Manchester's "cotton district". Carver was very active in the

Scout movement Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

which he introduced to Marple. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Carver served with 1/2nd East Lancashire Field Company

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

. His initial application to serve overseas with the company was rejected by an army medical board at

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

on 3 September 1914 because he was

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

. However his hearing was checked again a month later and by 31 December, he had been promoted to captain responsible for one of the company's four sections. At the beginning of May 1915, the troops left Egypt to go into action at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

. On 4 June in the

Third Battle of Krithia The Third Battle of Krithia ( Turkish: ''Üçüncü Kirte Muharebesi''), fought on the Gallipoli peninsula during World War I, was the last in a series of Allied attacks against the Ottoman defences aimed at achieving the original objectives of 2 ...

, the Engineers were to follow Territorial Battalions of the

Manchester Regiment The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96th ...

in an infantry attack on the Turkish positions. Their role was to dig communication trenches back to the original British line and build strongpoints to be used in case of counterattack. Carver was wounded in the back and evacuated down to 11th Casualty Clearing Station on the landing beach. He died three days later, aged 28. Carver married Elizabeth Hobart, daughter of Robert Thompson Hobart of

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

in 1911. They had children John Hobart Carver, father of

Martin Carver Martin Oswald Hugh Carver, FSA, Hon FSA Scot, (born 8 July 1941) is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at the University of York, England, director of the Sutton Hoo Research Project and a leading exponent of new methods in excavation and surve ...

and Richard Oswald Hobart Carver. The family lived at The Hollies in Marple. In 1927 Carver's widow married Lieutenant-Colonel (later Field Marshal) Bernard Montgomery.the Peerage.com
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carver, Oswald 1887 births 1915 deaths People educated at Charterhouse School English male rowers British male rowers Olympic rowers of Great Britain Rowers at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Cambridge University Boat Club rowers Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics People from Marple, Greater Manchester Military personnel from Cheshire

See also

References