Tim Koch writes:
In 1830, H.C. Wingfield established a single sculling race for amateurs to be run on the Thames with a prize of a pair of silver sculls ‘to be held by the best’. Seven years later, Charles Babbage proposed the first general-purpose computer concept, the Analytical Engine. In 2015, the two finally came together when www.wingfieldsculls.com went online, proving information and results on both the Wingfield Sculls and also on the Women’s Wingfields, established in 2007. However, the site is not just concerned with the current races, it is also an archive of the 186 years of the men’s race and of the eight years of the women’s event. It is always good to welcome another rowing history source to the World Wide Web and I am sure that the credit for this can go to the secretary of the Wingfield Sculls, the 1993 winner or ‘Champion’, Wade Hall-Craggs. Not only has Wade preserved the race archive that he inherited on taking over as secretary, he has also added to it considerably, filling in historical gaps from numerous sources and presenting the material in a meticulous manner.
HTBS types will particularly enjoy the biographies of the eighty-eight men and seven women who have held the title ‘Champion’. I am sure that many of you can add to some of these histories and perhaps supply pictures of those whose image is not yet recorded. As the site says ‘If you have any questions, information, knowledge, photos or anything regarding The Wingfield Sculls then please get in touch’.
Dear Tim
Kind of you to credit me with any technical knowledge, the Wingfields website is the work of current Champion Tim Richards. We would welcome comments from knowledgeable rowing historians. In due course we would like to have write ups of all the races since 1830.
OWH-C
Thank you, Tim. As most HTBS readers probably know, Wade Hall-Craggs did not have far to look to find inspiration for his rowing history efforts. As noted by Tim in his January 13, 2015 post, Wade’s father, the incomparable John Hall-Craggs, steered THE HISTORY OF THE LADY MARGARET BOAT CLUB ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. Vol. II 1926-1956 to completion almost sixty years ago, and remains the club’s foremost historian. Si je puis, indeed!