The 94th Boat Race took place on 27 March 1948. Held annually, the Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of

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 ...

and

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 ...

along the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

. In a race umpired by the former rower Claude Taylor, Cambridge won by five lengths in a record time of 17 minutes and 50 seconds, beating the existing record set in the 1934 race. The victory, their second in a row, took the overall record in the race to 50–43 in Cambridge's favour.

Background

The 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's ...

is a side-by-side rowing competition between the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

(sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

(sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). First held in 1829, the race takes place on the

Championship Course The Championship Course is a stretch of the River Thames between Mortlake and Putney in London, England. It is a well-established course for rowing races, particularly the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. The course is on the tidal reaches of th ...

on the

in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities; it is followed throughout the United Kingdom and, as of 2014, broadcast worldwide. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1947 race by ten lengths, and led overall with 50 victories to Oxford's 43 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). Oxford's coaches were R. E. Eason (who rowed for the Dark Blues in the 1924 race), J. H. Page and D. T. Raikes (who represented Oxford in the

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

and 1922 races). Cambridge were coached by F. E. Hellyer (who rowed for the Light Blues in the

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

and 1911 races),

Kenneth Payne Kenneth Martin Payne (8 September 1912 – 24 April 1988) was a British rower who competed in the 1932 Summer Olympics. Payne was the son of Dr John Ernest Payne, a surgeon, and his wife psychoanalyst Sylvia Payne. His father had rowed for Cam ...

(who rowed for Cambridge in the

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

and 1934 races),

Harold Rickett Harold Robert Norman Rickett (20 July 1909 – 31 January 1969) was an English rowing (sport), rower who competed at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Rickett was born in Paddington, London. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1930 he was a ...

(a Light Blue three times between 1930 and 1932) and Peter Haig-Thomas (a four-time Light Blue between 1902 and 1905). The umpire for the race was the former Cambridge rower Claude Taylor who had represented the Light Blues in the

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's f ...

and 1903 races. The rowing correspondent for ''

The Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' anticipated a close race: "the prospects of Oxford and Cambridge for this year's University Boat-race on Saturday have now become much more even". His counterpart at ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' was in agreement: "it really seems that whichever crew gets off best in the first two minutes will probably win the race."

Crews

The Oxford crew weighed an average of 12 st 9.375 lb (80.3 kg), per rower more than their opponents. Cambridge saw three rowers return to the crew with Boat Race experience, including their

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

A. P. Mellows. Oxford's boat also contained three former Blues, J. R. W. Gleave, P. N. Brodie and A. J. R. Purssell, all of whom were making their third appearances.Burnell, p. 76 Three of the participants were registered as non-British: Oxford's G. C. Fisk and W. W. Woodward, and Cambridge's Brian Harrison were all from Australia.

Race

Cambridge won the toss and elected to start from the

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

station, handing the

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

side of the river to Oxford. The race was started at 3:30 p.m. by Taylor. The Light Blues out-rated their opponents from the start but soon after their number six,

Paul Bircher Ernest Augustus Paul Bircher (11 December 1928 – 6 October 2019) was an English rower who competed for Great Britain in the 1948 Summer Olympics. Bircher was born at Kensington, London. He was educated at Radley College and Christ's Colleg ...

" caught a crab", allowing Oxford to take a half-length lead which they extended to three-quarters of a length by Craven Steps. Despite having stopped to allow Bircher to recover his oar, Cambridge drew level and were over a quarter of a length ahead by the time the crews passed the Mile Post, yet nine seconds off record pace and rowing into a head wind. Cambridge were a length ahead at

Harrods Furniture Depository The Harrods Furniture Depository buildings flank the south bank of the River Thames near Hammersmith Bridge in Barnes, London, built on the site of an old soap factory in 1894 as a storage centre for the larger items that could not be taken into ...

and drew clear as the boats passed below

Hammersmith Bridge Hammersmith Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the River Thames in west London. It links the southern part of Hammersmith in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the north side of the river, and Barnes in the London Borough ...

. As the crews passed the training ship HMS ''Stork'', Cambridge began to draw away and were two lengths ahead by Chiswick Steps. With a strong tailwind along Corney Reach, the Light Blues continued to pull ahead and passed below

Barnes Bridge Barnes Bridge railway station, in Travelcard Zone 3, is on The Terrace, Barnes in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, in south west London. The station and all trains serving it are operated by South Western Railway. It is on the Houn ...

four lengths ahead, and six seconds ahead of the course record. Cambridge passed the finishing post five lengths ahead in a time of 17 minutes 50 seconds. The victory, Cambridge's second in a row, and third in the last four races, took the overall record in the race to 50–43 in their favour. The special correspondent writing in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' called it "the maddest Boat Race for years". ''The Times rowing correspondent suggested it was "a great triumph for the Cambridge coaches, who so often seem able to produce something out of the bag which has not been apparent in practice." Writing in ''The Manchester Guardian'', the rowing correspondent noted that it was "strange that Cambridge had never shown anything like this form in practice".

References

Notes Bibliography * *

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boat Race 1948 1948 in English sport 1948 in rowing The Boat Race March 1948 sports events in the United Kingdom 1948 sports events in London