Thomas Edmund Malcolm Chessell (1 April 1914 – 9 May 1992) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

representative rowing coxswain and an active serviceman of

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. As a coxswain he was an Olympian - coxing the Australian men's eight at the

1952 Helsinki 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 ...

and was a three-time Australian national champion.

Birth and education

Tom Chessell was born in

Ashfield, New South Wales Ashfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Ashfield is about 8 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district. Ashfield's population is highly multicultural. Its urban density is ...

, and attended

Newington College , motto_translation = To Faith Add Knowledge , location = Inner West and Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...

(1929–1931) where he started rowing. As a

cox Cox may refer to: * Cox (surname), including people with the name Companies * Cox Enterprises, a media and communications company ** Cox Communications, cable provider ** Cox Media Group, a company that owns television and radio stations ** ...

he represented Newington at the Head of the River in the 2nd IV in 1930 and the 1st VIII in the following year.

Building career

Forced by the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

to leave school, Chessell worked for his family's building company and studied building at

Sydney Technical College The Sydney Technical College, now known as the TAFE New South Wales Sydney Institute, is a technical school established in 1878, that superseded the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts. The college is one of Australia's oldest technical education i ...

. He worked in the building industry all his life and was Chief Building Inspector for

Ku-ring-gai Council Ku-ring-gai Council is a local government area in Northern Sydney ( Upper North Shore), in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The area is named after the Guringai Aboriginal people who were thought to be the traditional owners of the area. ...

on his retirement in 1975.

War service

At the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Chessell joined the

RAAF "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

as a carpenter/rigger serving in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

for two and a half years and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. He returned to Australia to complete officer training and attained the rank of

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

. In 1945, shortly before war's end, he married.

Rowing career

After leaving school, Chessell joined

Sydney Rowing Club Sydney Rowing Club is the oldest rowing club in New South Wales, Australia formed in 1870. It has occupied its current site on Port Jackson's Parramatta River at Abbotsford Point since 1874. The club has a focus on its high performance and elite ...

. Chessell's first state selection for New South Wales came at aged 36 in 1950 in the men's senior eight contesting the

King's Cup __NOTOC__ King's Cup (incl. translations), may refer to: Sports Football * Copa del Rey, Spanish for "King's Cup," the main national knockout tournament in men's football * King Cup (sometimes named King's Cup), Saudi Arabian men's football nati ...

at the annual Australian Interstate Regatta. Chessell steered the 1950 New South Wales eight which won the King's Cup. He coxed further New South Wales King's Cup eights in 1951 (gold) and 1952 (silver) For the

an all New South Wales crew was selected twelve months in advance based on the 1951 King's Cup result. The Olympic selection crew raced the 1952 King's Cup for New South Wales during its preparation and was comprehensively beaten by Victoria. The media then claimed the Victorian crew should be nominated instead. However the selector Joe Gould stuck with the selected crew since a number of them including stroke

Phil Cayzer Philip Arthur Cayzer OAM, (13 May 1922 – 15 July 2015) was an Australian national champion rower who won medals in the 1952 Summer Olympics and the 1950 British Empire Games. He coached at state and national representative level taking Austra ...

, had severe adverse reactions to the vaccinations they'd taken for overseas travel. It was also mentioned that their fundraising responsibilities, some 7,000 pounds, impacted their preparation – the Australian Olympic Federation had only been able to fund four air tickets for the eight. Chessell was the coxswain of that Australian Olympic men's eight who to their credit won the bronze medal in Helsinki.

Death

Having retired to

Surfers Paradise, Queensland Surfers Paradise is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Surfers Paradise had a population of 23,689 people. Colloquially known as "Surfers", the suburb has many high-rise apa ...

, Chessell died on

Chevron Island The Chevron Island is an urban island that lies in the Nerang River and is a neighbourhood within the suburb of Surfers Paradise in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. History Chevron Island is a natural island previously known as ...

, survived by his wife and two sons, Ian and Bruce. He was cremated and his ashes were spread on the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. Seco ...

by the 1952 Olympic eight with Ian Chessell as cox.''The Newingtonian 1992'' Thomas Edmund Malcolm Chessell pp 219

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chessell, Tom 1914 births 1992 deaths People educated at Newington College Coxswains (rowing) Australian male rowers Rowers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in rowing Olympic rowers for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics 20th-century Australian people Rowers from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales