Hear the Boat Sing: Oxford and Cambridge Rowers Killed in World War I

Nigel McCrery

The History Press, 256 pages, £20 The Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race is a fixture of the British sporting calendar and this book tells of 42 of its participants who made the ultimate sacrifice in the First World War. Of the 18 competitors in the 1914 race, five died during the war.

As university graduates, it was almost inevitable that the young men should die as officers, though some did enlist in the ranks before being promoted. Most served in the army (including Australian and Indian armies), but the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Division are also represented. Some were only in their early twenties, others veteran soldiers in their fifties. Many were never found and are listed on memorials to the missing.

Though the descriptions of their service and deaths are sometimes brief, others are detailed, illustrating the kind of information that can be discovered about an individual. Medal citations, letters from officers, newspaper and official reports combine to paint tragic but touching stories. The author admits that, as many stories of individual races are repeated, this is probably a book to dip into rather than read straight through; I shall certainly keep dipping in.