Robert Croft Bourne (15 July 1888 – 7 August 1938) 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

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 ...

, and a

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1924 to 1938.

Biography

Bourne was born at Bodington, London, the son Gilbert Charles Bourne who had rowed in the winning Oxford crews in the Boat Race of 1882 and 1883. As a child, Bourne lost the sight of one eye in a game of

rounders Rounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a rounded end wooden, plastic, or metal bat. The players score by running aroun ...

at school. 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 won the School Sculling in 1906, and then at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

. At Oxford, he stroked the winning

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

boats 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 1909, 1910, 1911 and 1912, being president in the last two years. He also won the University Sculls in 1910 and the University Fours in 1911 and went head of the river in 1911–12. He was the

strokeman In rowing, the stroke is the rower seated closest to the stern of the boat. In the United Kingdom, the "stroke side" is the port side of the boat, because sweep rowing boats are usually rigged such that the stroke is on the port side of the boat. ...

of the New College eight 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 ...

. He was a member of the winning crew in 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 ...

in 1912, 1913 and 1914. Bourne became a barrister. In 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 ...

, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

Herefordshire Regiment The Herefordshire Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1861 to 1967. The regiment had no lineal connection with the 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot. History Formation The 1st Administrative Battali ...

. He had one hand crippled and a lung seriously injured at Suvla Bay in the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

in August 1915. As he had only one good eye, he was moved from active service to the Claims Commission. In 1920 he became J.P. for

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

and in 1921 a member of the city council. Bourne was elected Conservative

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

at a by-election in June 1924, and served as a Deputy Speaker of the Commons from 1931. He died in office in August 1938 aged 50, suddenly dropping dead while walking on the moors near

Strontian Strontian (; gd, Sròn an t-Sìthein) is the main village in Sunart, an area in western Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, on the A861 road. Prior to 1975 it was part of Argyllshire. It lies on the north shore of Loch Sunart, close to the head of the ...

, Argyll. At the subsequent by-election the seat was held for the Conservatives by Quintin Hogg. Bourne married Lady Hester Margaret Cairns, daughter of Wilfred Cairns, 4th Earl Cairns, on 7 June 1917.''Burke's Peerage 2003'', page 641 Their children included the lawyer and civil servant Sir Wilfrid Bourne.

References

External links

* * The Rowers of Vanity Fair {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourne, Robert Croft 1888 births 1938 deaths Military personnel from London People educated at Eton College Alumni of New College, Oxford English male rowers British male rowers Olympic rowers of Great Britain Rowers at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Herefordshire Light Infantry officers British Army personnel of World War I Olympic medalists in rowing Oxford University Boat Club rowers British sportsperson-politicians Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics

Biography

See also

References

External links