Cambois Rowing Club has a long and rich history in the local community. Founded in 1911 by a group of coal miners, the club was initially aimed at improving the health of miners. Originally named the Wansbeck Rowing Club, the club itself started out on the banks of the River Wansbeck, with a disused railway carriage as the changing rooms for members. After a number of moves (and a fire which burned the clubhouse to the ground in 1992) the boathouse we now use was built on the banks of the Wansbeck River. We’ve come a long way from travelling to regattas on the “back of a coal trailer” and arriving “for the race covered in coal dust”, but we are proud of the roots of the club and visitors to the boat house can view club photographs adorning the walls upstairs which date back quite some time…
Leyland DAF Sprints Event – Cambois 8
The Leyland Daf(t) Cambois Eight at the televised finals of the competition at Peterborough (well, six of them, anyway)L to R: Ken Hastie, Simon Williams , Simon Goonan, Ian Wardlaw, Bobby the Back, Shaun Mullen.
Leyland DAF Sprints Event – Arthur Wood If anyone wants to see the Cambois legend Arthur Wood racing back in the day take a look at the link below…. (After 9mins or so Arthur appears as well as many famous rowing names)!
BBC Look North The Pearson Brothers
| Cambois Rowing Club – Pearson Brothers. Short BBC local news item on Cambois Rowing Club veteran rowers training for the Strathclyde International Masters Regatta |
Norman Howitt.. on Umpire duty at the Gateshead Garden festival International Regatta in 1988 In those days all instructions were given in french and I had the benefit of having studied french (poorly) for eight years. Norman took french lessons for the two weeks prior to the regatta so this is the one and only occasion you will ever hear him speaking french….I remember some of the language we had to remember:”êtes-vous pret? Partez!” – Are you ready? Go!”Avertissement” – warning given to crew”Recoulez” – move your boat back”Avancez” – move forward. Fun days…..
https://www.facebook.com/100008107099252/videos/2059820897631460
Barry Hanley
In memory of Barry at the Wansbeck Regatta 2019.
If you are interested in learning more about the history of the club you can find out more by clicking the link below and also by visiting Durham Mining Museum (www.dmm.org.uk).
