5 November 2025

By Göran R Buckhorn

John Campbell Broadhurst passed away on 22 July 2025, aged 82.

John Broadhurst was born in Oxford on 25 November 1942 and spent most of his life in Oxfordshire. He studied at the Dragon School before continuing his education at St Edward’s School, also in Oxford. It was at St Edward’s he was introduced to rowing, where a teacher sought out this tall, long-limbed boy and encouraged him to ‘have a go’ at the sport. John immediately found a connection that went on to become a life-long passion.

After leaving St Edward’s at age 18, he travelled to America to attend the New York University Stern School of Business for a year. On his return he took up a position next to his father building the family stationery business, Hunt & Broadhurst. After many years of dedication, John branched out to set up his own enterprise in the form of Oxford Educational Resources (OER) – a business that supplied medical teacher training programmes all over the world. Alongside his business and career commitments, his passion firmly lay within the sport of rowing.

John continued to pursue this interest and found his place in a very successful squad at Wallingford Rowing Club in the mid-1960s when the club was coached by Jumbo Edwards. Colin Cusack was a young cox at the time before going on to row for Great Britain’s lightweight eights a decade later. Cusack recalls that John “was a good oar, always cheerful with a kind smile”. When his time on the water slowed due to raising a young family, John turned his attention to supporting the club’s events with many years spent on the Wallingford Regatta Committee, running an event that, to this day, continues to be a major funding source for the club.

John Broadhurst also supported the St Edward’s School Boat Club, known as the Martyr’s Boat Club, serving for many years as a committee member as well as in the role of Treasurer, Secretary and several terms as Chairman. He was instrumental in ensuring the club remained viable as a facility for alumni to race not only informally against the school but also in open events through registration with the ARA. More significantly he drew on his networking skills to support fund-raising events to help the St Edward’s School BC through times of constrained budgets for boats, equipment and an extension to the Boat House. John’s leadership and support helped the club perform at the highest levels, nationally and internationally.

In the early 1990s, John played a central role in introducing rowing to Headington School, Oxford. John’s youngest daughter, Jessica, was part of a group of 15 girls introduced to the sport via the City of Oxford Rowing Club (CORC). After a short time, the momentum and enthusiasm had not waned, so parents were asked if anyone knew about the sport and were willing to help. John raised his hand alongside another parent, Tom Collins. Together with Hilary Davis at CORC, and under the CORC colours, the three of them entered an eight and a four at the Schools’ Head of the River Race in Putney in March 1992. Within weeks, John and Tom suggested that Headington establish its own boat club and race under its own colours – the headmistress Elizabeth Tucker heartily agreed.

Beginning as a small, humble initiative, borrowing boats and facilities from CORC and St Edward’s, Headington School Oxford Boat Club (HSOBC) blossomed into one of the largest, most successful, and widely respected female youth rowing programmes in the UK. Now housed in its own state-of-the-art boathouse at Long Wittenham in Oxfordshire, it has supported thousands of girls over its 30-year plus history. Underpinned by John and Tom’s vision and encouragement, Headington crews have gone on to dominate national competitions, winning multiple events at the National Schools’ Regattas and multiple international representations for Great Britain.

The Headington eight has won The Prince Philip Challenge Trophy at Henley Royal Regatta three times (2021, 2024 and 2025) since the trophy was instituted in 2021. So far, Headington is the only British school or club to win this title. From these foundations emerged world-class athletes, including Olympic silver medallist Katie Greves, Paralympic gold medallist Lily van den Broecke and World Rowing Championships winner Fiona Gammond. 

John’s drive to widen participation and access to rowing for all youth in the locality found further expression in his foundation and leadership of Hinksey Sculling School (HSS), established with Tom Collins in 1998. Beginning with makeshift facilities and the use of safe waters at Hinksey Boating Lake, Oxford, HSS grew into a thriving community club, providing opportunities for hundreds of children across Oxfordshire. Under John’s stewardship as Chair and Tom’s role as Treasurer, the club has achieved remarkable competitive success: national titles, international medals, and significant achievements at Henley Royal Regatta.

HSS athletes have represented Great Britain at the World Junior Rowing Championships, bringing home gold and silver medals, while many alumni went on to row for leading universities such as Oxford and Cambridge in the UK, and Berkeley and Stanford in the USA. Just as with HSOBC, the success of HSS has also been thanks to excellent coaching staff John sought so hard to recruit. Perhaps most significantly, HSS became a beacon of inclusivity, with many of its members in recent years coming from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds – an achievement that reflected John’s conviction that rowing should welcome all.

As a proud member of the Leander Club, John attended Henley Royal Regatta for 60 years. This year’s regatta was the first year he was unable to make in person. He was, however, able to watch the regatta from the comfort of his home and continue to support his current and previous clubs. His unwavering support lasted until the very end.

“Family, friends and colleagues remember him not only for his steady leadership and tireless commitment but also for his kindness, humility and belief in the potential of young people. John leaves behind a phenomenal legacy measured not only in medals and victories but in the countless lives he influenced, the doors he opened, and the spirit of inclusion he instilled in British youth rowing and far beyond,” John’s daughter Jessica Macpherson told HTBS.

John Broadhurst is survived by his wife, Peta, and three daughters, Helen, Wendy and Jessica; it was the latter that provided HTBS with information for this article. Warm thanks.

John Campbell Broadhurst, born 25 November 1942, died 22 July 2025. His life was celebrated at a service at North Oxfordshire Crematorium & Memorial Park on 4 August 2025.