OUR ANCESTORS The Century Magazine, August, 1905 Procession in honor of King Edward VII’s Visit to Eton, June 13, 1904 Grenfell: “George III took a great inter- est in the school and was much loved by the boys, so it was natural that they should hon- our him on his birthday, as they still do.”142 In that first year, a young Etonian de- scribed the scene: “On Tuesday, the King’s birthday, there went up six boats, all with flags to them as good and as large as the Montem flag143 and all different from each other. All the boys that pulled in them had caps with feathers in them. Some of the boys went up in chase and four144, some in gigs, some on horseback.”145 Byrne & Churchill: “It is evident, therefore, that by the last decade of the 18th Century the boys were on the water in row- ing boats and that, to judge by the number of boats mentioned, the practice was, even in 1793, of some standing.”146 Woodgate: “On June 4, there is a pro- cession in the evening, and the crews wear striped cotton shirts, straw hats lettered and sailors’ jackets. The steerers are dressed as admirals, captains or midshipmen of the Royal Navy, and have a large bouquet of flowers. We need not further describe the well-known scene.”147 rowing tradition there.” – Weil, personal corre- spondence, 2011 142 Grenfell, personal correspondence, 2007 143 Montem was an Eton three-yearly ceremony that took place in the town just to the north of Eton, Slough (rhymes with “plow”), and was abolished in 1844, per Grenfell, personal corre- spondence, 2008 144 a four-horse carriage. 145 M. Hicks Beach, qtd. by Byrne & Churchill, p 100 146 Byrne & Churchill, p 101 147 Woodgate, p. 207 49
