Richard Beesly (27 July 1907 – 28 March 1965) 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 won an Olympic gold medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics. Beesly was born at Bromsgrove, the son of Gerald Beesly and his wife Helen (née Chamberlain) who was a cousin of Neville Chamberlain. He was educated at

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City ...

and

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

, where he was a member of the First Trinity Boat Club. He rowed at a number four for the winning

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, 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. Cam ...

crew 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 1927 and 1928. Also in 1928, First Trinity represented Great Britain

rowing at the 1928 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1928 Summer Olympics featured seven events, for men only. The competitions were held from 2 to 10 August. Medal summary Participating nations A total of 244 rowers from 19 nations competed at the Amsterdam Games: * * * * ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, where, at the age of 21, he won an Olympic gold medal 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 t ...

with John Lander, Michael Warriner and Edward Bevan. They recorded a time of 6:36.0 in the final to beat the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

crew by 1 second. He was President of C.U.B.C. in 1929 when Cambridge won the Boat Race again. In 1932, Beesly joined Guest Keen and Nettlefolds, a firm with which he had strong family connections on his mother's side. During

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 opposing ...

he served with the Ministry of Supply. In 1945 he bought a controlling interest in a light engineering firm which produced mechanical hedge cutters and mobile forestry saws. He lived at Ashford Hall,

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

where he had a farm. He met his death there when he was attacked and killed instantly by a bull. One of his brothers, Patrick Beesly was an author and intelligence officer.Patrick Beesly's biography
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References

1907 births 1965 deaths People educated at Oundle School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English male rowers English Olympic medallists British male rowers Olympic rowers of Great Britain Rowers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Bromsgrove {{UK-rowing-bio-stub

See also

References