THE SPORT OF ROWING “I thought [that Thames R.C.] might be able to produce a coxless-four with a chance of reaching the Olympic final.”2954 So Porter approached Maurice Legg and Alistair Davidson from his 1955 Thames Eight and Mike Beresford, stroke of his 1954 European Silver Medal Coxless- Four, and they began to train on their own out of the club. Journalist Geoffrey Page reflected the establishment view of the Four. Page: “They got together early in the fall of 1955 and boated almost every day or night, and when the water was bad at Putney, they took their boat to Wallingford, Molesey, Walton or Henley. However, the crew had not learnt from the previous year’s mistakes. They were once again a slogging crew, lacking in real skill and finesse, which was even more serious in a four than in an eight.”2955 For the Head of the River in March, they recruited four former R.A.F. oarsmen and threw together an eight at the last minute. They entered as the Thames Rowing Club Third Eight. They won the race by ten seconds and finished no less than twenty-five seconds ahead of the club’s official First Eight.2956 The British rowing establishment in general and Thames Rowing Club in particular were not amused. Working outside the club’s organized programs and gathering talent from the four corners of the country was unprecedented and, to their thinking, undermined the system in which they believed. In the Stewards’ Cup heats, the Porter Four drew four other club members rowing as “R.A.F. Macmillan’s crew,” named after their stroke. Page: “At first, it looked very one- sided, Beresford, at a high rate, taking the 2954 Ibid, p. 49 2955 Page, p. 113 2956 Porter, op. cit., p. 50 lead at once. He had 1½ lengths by the first signal and increased this to 2 lengths before the Barrier, but Macmillan’s then began to wear Beresford down. There was only a length in it at Fawley, with Beresford at 38. Macmillan, spurred on by tumultuous cheering at Remenham and from the enclosures – many of the crowd were well aware of the personal issues at stake – inched back stroke by stroke. Beresford finished at 40 to Macmillan’s 36 and just held on to win by three feet.”2957 The Times of London: “The Thames R.C. Stewards’ Four were not very impressive yesterday when they got home with only three feet to spare from Macmillan’s crew, who sprang a splendid finishing spurt, although it was their second race of the day; for this was the four taken from the Thames R.C. Grand Eight. They had more length and better blade work than the official Thames crew, but they left their spurt just too late.”2958 Porter’s Four completed their regular season undefeated, winning the Stewards’ final by more than three lengths. Then, even though no British eight had made the final of the Grand, the British selectors decided to send a composite eight but no coxless-four to the 1956 European Championships in Bled and to the 1956 Olympics in Australia. A camp was held, but not one member of Porter’s Four was selected. The resulting boat failed to move past the repêchages in either Bled or Melbourne. Porter: “[At the European Champion- ships,] the coxless-fours were won by our old adversaries from Canottieri Moto Guzzi, Italy, but of course there was no entry from Britain. They could hardly have sent any four other than us, and it was 2957 Page, p. 114 2958 Many Crews Undone by Headwinds at Henley Royal Regatta, The Times of London, July 6, 1956 828
