BRC President Peter Veitch reports on the successful Boat Naming Ceremony
On Saturday 25thMarch 2023, Birmingham Rowing Club held a unique Boat Naming Ceremony at Edgbaston Reservoir. Sincere thanks go to the Officials of Midland Sailing Club for agreeing to the event being held at its headquarters, as BRC does not have suitable facilities for such an event. BRC is also grateful for the use of the MSC clubhouse following the ceremony.
Four of the club’s small racing boats, two single sculls and two double sculls that can also be rigged for use as pairs, were named in a ceremony attended by many past and present members of Birmingham Rowing Club.
The first boat to be officially named was ‘Sir Adrian Cadbury’ and the naming was carried out by the late Sir Adrian’s daughter, Mrs Caroline Fowler-Wright although, on this occasion, she attended under her maiden name of Caroline Cadbury. She was an active member of Hereford Rowing Club for nearly ten years.
Before the naming by Caroline Cadbury, I reminded those present of the long association that Sir Adrian, himself a former Olympic oarsman, had with the club, saying that he was my predecessor as President, an office he held for 45 years until his death in 2015.
Sir Adrian was far more than a president in name only. In all that time, he only missed chairing one Annual General Meeting when, as Chairman of Cadbury Schweppes, he was in the USA on business. Before his election as President in 1970, he was instrumental in raising the funds necessary for the new boathouse and changing block, opened in 1968, without which BRC may have ceased to exist.
Adrian never failed to visit the club’s Annual Regatta and always had a word for the organisers, who generally received a hand written letter of thanks by first post on the following Monday. All this when he was probably the leading industrialist in the UK. He was a wonderful example to us all.
Next to be named was ‘City of Birmingham’. Unfortunately, the proposed visit of Sir Albert Bore, BRC’s longstanding local councillor for the Ladywood ward, did not go ahead so, in his absence, Club Chairman Chris Llewellyn did the honours. BRC is fortunate to have a good working relationship with personnel in the relevant departments of Birmingham City Council.
Third on the list was ‘Dave McClement’, named at the ceremony by Dave McClement himself. I was lucky enough to row with Dave for five years in the 1970s, in fours, pairs and a double scull when, largely thanks to him, we enjoyed a number of successes. Former Club Captain Dave brought new training regimes to the club, learned from his rowing at the University of London. I owe him just about everything for what I have achieved on the water with the club.
Dave also had an outstanding record as a single sculler and went on to be a highly successful coach and mentor of Birmingham’s champion sculler, Steve Byford. He continues to serve on club committees and is a director of the club’s company.
Finally, I named the last boat ‘Graham Beech’. None of us at Birmingham Rowing Club ever knew Graham Beech but, for a few short years in the 1950s, he did much to put the club on the rowing map. He started rowing at the club in 1954 and, in no time, was competing in a double scull with Club Legend Ken Tinegate. In that year, they were the losing finalists in the Double Sculls at Henley Royal Regatta.
In 1957, Graham won the prestigious Wingfield Sculls, billed as ‘The British Amateur Sculling Championship’. He joined London Rowing Club in that year and, after his death in 1993, was described as ‘one of London RC’s more colourful members’. It seems that Graham was quite a character as well as an outstanding sculler!
It is somewhat ironic that Graham’s daughter Alice Beech visited the BRC website after the event and found the reference to the boat named after her Father. It is such a shame that contact was not made earlier as, had it been, Alice certainly would have been invited to perform the naming ceremony herself. As it is, we will arrange for Alice to visit the club and, perhaps, have her own ceremony to name ‘Graham Beech’ herself.
So ended a historic day in the history of Birmingham Rowing Club, which celebrates its 150th anniversary during this year of 2023. The Boat Naming ceremony was the first event to mark this major anniversary and was followed by the revival of the club’s annual regatta on 22nd April at Edgbaston Reservoir, following an absence of several years due to storms, Covid and Avian Flu.
Details of the other anniversary events, being the commemorative Row Past and Social at Henley Royal Regatta on Friday 30th June and at the Park Regis Hotel in Birmingham for the Gala Dinner on Saturday 14th October, will be found elsewhere on this website.
Any former members of Birmingham Rowing Club requiring more information about the 150th anniversary events, or other club matters, should contact me, Peter Veitch via the Birmingham Rowing Club website.
