On June 28th, 2023, I attended a 30-year reunion of Kingston Grammar School rowing team members at Henley Royal Regatta.
The first part of the day was eventful as I was driving our rental car to Slough so that I could get on a train to Henley. That was an adventure because I needed to find somewhere to park the car, and the car parks in England are not engineered to provide a lot of room to navigate.
However, I figured that out and got on the train bound for Henley.
I felt nervous meeting up with all my high school teammates and friends, having never seen them for thirty years.
I rode the train in, got off the station, and went to the Steward’s enclosure.
As I walked over the bridge that crosses the Thames at the end of the race course, I saw the boat tents. The memories all came flooding back.
All the racing shells are stored throughout the week in these tents. Rows upon rows of the best and most expensive racing shells live in this tent, patiently waiting for their crews to put their hands on it when it is ready for race time.
When I arrived at the entrance to the Stewards Enclosure, I immediately saw my friends. Warm hugs ensued, and any nervousness evaporated right there as it was just like it was thirty years ago—one of the benefits of the strong bonds that form as a result of shared hardship and building something more significant than each individual.
I would also like to acknowledge that while most of the crew where in attendance, sadly Simon, Paul (our coxswain), and Michael could not be with us for this reunion. They were missed, but I know they were with us in spirit.
We went into the enclosures and immediately ordered cups of tea. It seems appropriate for an English day at Henley!
From that point, we talked and talked. In the early days of the Henley week, there is a race every five minutes. However, watching any racing seemed secondary to catching up with lifelong friends. I might have observed about a handful of races the entire day.
When the lunch break rolled around, we walked into the Henley town center and had a wonderful lunch at a local restaurant/pub.
Just before dessert, Paul (who essentially organized the whole thing and my doubles partner for many years) asked us to think of a story from our team at Kingston Grammar School. Many memories came to mind, but the one that seemed the most appropriate was one from the School’s Head in our final year. So, I told the following story-
Schools Head March - 1993
In March, an important race in the High School calendar was the Schools Head. This event is the first ‘leg’ of trying to win a triple. The other two events were the National Schools Regatta and Henley Royal Regatta. The event occurs on the River Thames between Chiswick Bridge and Westminster School Boat Club flagpole in Putney.
Going into the event, we looked good and were essentially unbeaten, as we had won Hampton Head a few weeks prior.
The race went by in a blur, and I didn’t feel like I had rowed a great piece. I should have been more winded than I was at the end of the race. However, possibly the running I had done at altitude while on our ski trip after being on the slopes for a week had done an excellent job of getting me ready for the race.
We waited an hour or two when we returned to St. Paul’s boathouse. Peter Sheppard, our coach, was nowhere to be found. Then, around the two-hour point, he showed up, and we wondered where he had been.
We all got in the minibus and then traveled to Putney to see the results, still needing to learn how we had done (we were a few years before the widespread use of the internet and, indeed, connected mobile phones).
When our minibus was driving down the embankment in front of the row of boathouses in Putney, people started to look at us in the minibus and started to point.
Then Shep said, “I think we might have won this!”
The whole bus erupted into a huge cheer, and we yelled as loudly as possible. All of our work and commitment to each other had materialized into the first place at the School’s Head.
The issue with the hold up was that Eton had collided with another crew prior to race and had to get their boat fixed and effectively race later on. Whether they would have beaten us that day is a fair question. Some might say they would have done, some might say that they wouldn’t have (as my mother would say). Several days later that weekend we raced in the Head of the River Race and beat Eton by fifteen seconds over four and a quarter miles (Eton started lower down the starting order).
So those are the facts.
All said, we had won the Schools Head for the time in our school’s history.
Back To The Enclosures At Henley
After a delightful two-hour lunch, we walked back to the Stewards Enclosure. On the way, we walked through the boat tent area to sample some of the racing atmosphere. Where we met found Peter Sheppard, our coach!
It was wonderful to see “Shep,” as we called him and of course Dobby (later on) our assistant coach for a spell.
In reflection, it is incredible to see his influence on my life and career as a coach. Shep had a vision for our team, and importantly he gave his time to support us toward reaching goals we may never have thought possible.
Shep and Dobby (our assistant coach) then came to visit with all of us in the bar in the Stewards Enclosure, where we swapped stories and caught up, again oblivious to all the racing happening on the race course.
Taking In The Last Races of the Day
Before we knew it, it was 6 p.m. and the final few races of the day were taking place.
Paul and I sat by the race course and watched a few races go by (I told you I saw a few races). We reminisced about rowing, recounting the time we placed 2nd at GB Junior Trials in Peterborough in our double. We talked about life in general and the passing of my father. In addition, I told him that I had written a book and had received mentoring from Peter Mallory, who helped guide the book to a higher level of quality.
As the end of the day approached, we walked to the station, sharing more tales and speaking of those we had rowed with during our time on the Great Britain Junior team, including those who were sadly not with us anymore. Life is not fair at times, and I was grateful for the opportunity to see old friends and teammates share stories once more and realize how good we all had/have it.
Returning Home
I was staying at my sister’s house, so by 8 p.m., I made it back “home” from my day at Henley.
My sister could see that I was beaming from the day. It was as though I had spent the day in Heaven, and in a way, I had.
We had a great conversation about all that had happening during the day.
She said that it was incredible what we had all achieved together.
“You do know that you are incredible and worthy of all that,” she said.
I paused for a second. For some reason, it is hard to acknowledge all those things. I am always off on the next thing, wanting to outdo the last thing I achieved, and I always need to give myself more credit.
“Yes”, I said eventually.
My sister had hit the nail on the head. It was time to give myself some credit. Sometimes, life can throw curve balls at you, and I sometimes let these curve balls weigh me down.
“Just sit in that for as long as you can,” she said.
After that, we looked at some of the photos I took of the day. She showed me how to edit the images for color and contrast, cropping them intentionally to tell a story. She is a fantastic photographer, but most of all, she is my supportive sister.
In Conclusion
The day will stay in my mind for a long time. It allowed me to connect to a time when life hadn’t given me too many knocks yet. A time when we did something unique and special. But more importantly, how a group of young high school students took on and beat schools with longer histories and legacies than ours.
To my friends at Kingston Grammar School, I love you all, and thank you for the honor and privilege to row alongside you.
We did a good thing.
I am going to sit in that boat for a while.
