Ewart Douglas Horsfall

MC
Black and white photograph of young man, aged around 18, with flower in buttonhole, wispy short moustache, Ewart Horsfall in around 1910
Ewart Horsfall in around 1910
Born(1892-05-24)24 May 1892
Liverpool
Died1 February 1974(1974-02-01) (aged 81)
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Businessman, rower and military officer
Olympic medal record
Men's rowing
Gold medal – first place1912 Stockholm Men's eight
Silver medal – second place1920 Antwerp Men's eight

Ewart Douglas Horsfall MC (24 May 1892 – 1 February 1974) was a British rower who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics and in the 1920 Summer Olympics.[1]

Personal life

Horsfall's first marriage was with Myra Downing Fullerton, daughter of Frederick Downing Fullerton in 1923.[2] They had three children, Robin, Geoffrey and Anne.[3] After his divorce, he married Betty Fairfax Rushby (1906 - 2000) in 1946. After her death, she bequeathed money and collections of art, ceramics, furniture and other objects that she mainly had inherited from her own parents, to the University of Liverpool in his home city of Liverpool.[4]

Business career

He was a member of the wealthy Horsfall family of Liverpool. In his time the family traded in palm oil from Africa.[4]

Sporting career

Horsfall was born in Liverpool, the son of Howard Douglas Horsfall and was educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford. He arrived at Oxford with an outstanding reputation as a rower and in 1912 was in the winning Oxford boat in the Boat Race.

The winning Leander Club eight at the 1912 Olympics (Horsfall 6th from left, wearing scarf)

He joined Leander Club and was a member of the Leander eight which won the gold medal for Great Britain rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics. At the age of 20, he was the youngest member of the crew.[5]

Horsfall stroked Oxford in the Boat Race in 1913 and became the first stroke to win the Boat Race after being behind at Barnes Railway Bridge. However Oxford lost in 1914, when Horsfall rowed at number four. He won the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta four times – three times as a stroke – and he twice stroked the winning crew in the Stewards' Challenge Cup at Henley on the two occasions when he competed.

After the war, he returned to Oxford to help re-establish rowing at the university. He was strokeman of the Leander eight which won the silver medal for Great Britain rowing at the 1920 Summer Olympics, coming within half a length of winning. In 1947 Horsfall was elected a Steward of Henley Royal Regatta and the following year he was manager of the British Olympic Rowing team.[6]

Military career

At the outbreak of the First World War, Horsfall joined the Rifle Brigade but later transferred to the Royal Flying Corps;[7] He qualified as a pilot on 31 December 1914,[8] and reached the rank of squadron leader. He was in command of 58 Squadron later in the war and briefly in 3 Squadron in late 1917. He was Mentioned in Dispatches[9] and awarded the Military Cross[10] and Chevalier in the Légion d'honneur[11] in 1916 when he was a temporary second lieutenant and temporary captain. He reached the rank of Major later in 1916 but became unfit for active service at times in 1917 and 1918. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1918.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ewart Horsfall". Olympedia. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  2. ↑ Flight 10 May 1923
  3. ↑ "The Remarkable MRS Horsfall - Victoria Gallery & Museum - University of Liverpool".
  4. 1 2 Williams, Andrew. "The Remarkable Mrs Horsfall". University of Liverpool Victoria Gallery and Museum. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  5. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ewart Horsfall". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "Ewart Douglas Horsfall". Olympic Games.
  7. ↑ Supplement to the London Gazette, 14 January.. 1916.
  8. ↑ Burnett was awarded Aviator's Certificate no. 1032 on 31 December 1914
  9. ↑ French, J. D. P (1 January 1916). "Supplement:29422 Page:12 Mentioned in Dispatches:Royal Flying Corps". London Gazette. No. 29422. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  10. ↑ "Number 29438, page 588". London Gazette. No. 29438. 14 January 1916. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  11. ↑ "Supplement:29486Page:2068". Supplement to the London Gazette. No. 29486. 22 February 1916. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
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