A tribute to George Bowsher 1935 - 2025

George Bowsher was born in 1935. At aged 16 he became an apprentice at Waldens a local building firm where he was soon spotted by Henley Rowing Club’s Roy Spatcher and Bob Bushnell as a potential rower! Although George could not remember the exact date, this puts him joining the club in the early 1950s. He was coached by Arthur Holloway initially in a bank tub moored near the Little White Hart pub on riverside which was the home of the old boat house. George was part of a successful squad of seniors who rowed every weekend in crews formed of whom ever was available. He first rowed for the club at the Royal Regatta in the Thames Cup in 1955 and also competed in the Wyfold challenge cup in 1956.

George did his National Service with the RAF at Benson. However, as he had been spotted as a strong and excellent oarsman he did not do any overseas duties and stayed at Benson to row with the RAF squad, including rowing internationally at Lucerne Regatta and reaching the semi-final of the Thames Cup in 1958, where RAF Benson lost to Harvard by a third of a length, and again in the Wyfold challenge cup in 1959. George came back to Henley after his National Service and became Captain of the club in 1963. He was elected Captain again in 1971 and remained a committee member at Henley Rowing Club for several years.

An early photo - George at stroke

George bottom row right next to Roy Spatcher (date unknown)

His son Mark joined the club as a cox in 1981, then when big enough (!) started rowing and then took on coaching alongside his dad. His daughter Helen soon followed in her brother’s footsteps. George helped coach the women's squad alongside Duncan Thomas and John Harding. In 1988 Helen rowed for England and was then selected to row at the Junior World Championships in 1989. Hannah Vines, who had the privilege to be coached by both George and Mark, went on to compete at the 1994 Junior World Championships. George kept busy coaching GB juniors at several clubs, including Upper Thames, Henley College, and Reading Blue Coat School but was asked back to Henley again to help coach with his keen eye and opinion on what could be done with crews to make them go faster. This was rewarded with the junior girls winning the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup in 2012. In September 2012, after watching the Olympics at Dorney Lake, his granddaughters Emma and Rebecca joined the club, started coxing and then also caught the ‘bug’ to row. George was so pleased to have been able to help so many young athletes to be the best they could be in life as well as in the rowing world. He was most recently at the club in June for the 50 years of women’s rowing evening and was very proud to see his daughter Helen in the row past crew at HRR.