Frank Willan (rower)
Encyclopedia
Frank Willan was an English rower
and Militia
officer who rowed for Oxford
in four winning Boat Race
crews and umpired the race between 1889 and 1902. He was also a yacht
sman and one of the founders of the Royal Yachting Association
, an alderman
, a Deputy Lieutenant
for Hampshire
, an early motorist, and a military historian.
During the First World War
, when aged nearly seventy, he drove military lorries on the Western Front
in France
.
, first cousin of George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow
. He was educated at Eton College
and Exeter College, Oxford
. At Eton, he was a 'wet bob' and rowed at stroke
.
. There, he rowed for Oxford
in its winning Boat Race
crews in four successive years, in 1866, 1867, 1868 and 1869. In 1867 he was also in the winning Oxford Etonian crew in the Grand Challenge Cup
at Henley Royal Regatta
and runner up in the Diamond Challenge Sculls
. In the same year, 1867, he gave evidence in a legal dispute over the starting of a sculls
race on the Thames. In 1869, he was President of the Oxford University Boat Club
.
In 1869 Willan won the Grand at Henley with Oxford Etonian again. In August of the same year, he rowed at bow in an Oxford coxed four
race against Harvard
on the Tideway
, Harvard's first race in England.
In 1878, as one of a group of "old amateurs whose ideas were universally respected", Willan took part under the chairmanship of Francis Playford
in the drawing up of the definition of an amateur
for the purposes of the sport of rowing.
From 1883 to 1889 he was honorary Treasurer of the Winchester Diocesan Society. In 1888, following the death of an oarsman, Willan wrote to The Times
to propose that in bumping races a leather pad should be fixed to the nose of eight-oared boats.
Willan was commissioned as a lieutenant
in the Oxfordshire Militia
on 26 April 1873, and was promoted to captain
on 23 June 1875. In the Childers Reforms
of the British Army in 1881, the Oxfordshire Militia became the 4th Battalion, Oxfordshire Light Infantry. He was made an honorary major on 5 May 1888, and substantive major on 19 December 1891. He became an honorary lieutenant-colonel on 10 May 1893, and substantive lieutenant-colonel on 13 January 1902, also taking command of the battalion. He was promoted honorary colonel on 13 September 1902. He retired, with permission to retain his rank, and continue wearing uniform, on 17 February 1906.
Willan lived at Burley Manor, Ringwood
, and Thornehill Park, Bitterne
, Hampshire
, and was an alderman
for Hampshire
, a Justice of the Peace
and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant
for the county on 26 May 1904. In Hampshire, he was a breeder of Jersey cattle
. Willan also umpired the Boat Race from 1889 to 1902. In 1894, the future King George V
rode in the launch with him. Willan also awarded the prizes at Henley in 1897.
He went on to become a yacht
sman and was one of the founders of the Yacht Racing Association (later the Royal Yachting Association
), and was a member of its Council for fifteen years. He was also active as a sea fisherman off the coast of Dorset
. He was also a motorist
in the very early days of the new sport, and in 1903 represented fellow motorists in discussions on the use of Hampshire roads. In 1908, he owned a 6-cylinder 28-horsepower Lanchester
.
Willan married Louisa Margaret Anne Douglas, daughter of Captain C. R. G. Douglas, late the 32nd Bengal Light Infantry
, and stepdaughter of John Prideaux Lightfoot
, Rector of Exeter College, Oxford, in the college chapel on 14 January 1875. They had two sons and two daughters. Both sons became brigadier
s, Frank Godfrey Willan CMG DSO
, and Robert Hugh Willan DSO MC
. Their grandchildren included Group Captain Frank Andrew Willan, RAF
.
During the First World War, when aged nearly 70, Willan drove military lorries for the British Expeditionary Force in France. He was later appointed to the local appeal tribunal, created on the introduction of conscription under the Military Service Act 1916.
He died on 22 March 1931, and his bequest
s included £150 to his gardener. A memorial was placed in Winchester Cathedral
"by Mrs. Willan, Col. F. G. Willan, and other members of the family".
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
and Militia
Militia (United Kingdom)
The Militia of the United Kingdom were the military reserve forces of the United Kingdom after the Union in 1801 of the former Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland....
officer who rowed for Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in four winning Boat Race
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
crews and umpired the race between 1889 and 1902. He was also a yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
sman and one of the founders of the Royal Yachting Association
Royal Yachting Association
The Royal Yachting Association is the national governing body for certain watersports in the United Kingdom. Activities it covers include:* Sailing* Windsurfing* Motor cruising* Sportsboats* Personal watercraft* Powerboat racing...
, an alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
, a Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
for Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, an early motorist, and a military historian.
During the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, when aged nearly seventy, he drove military lorries on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Early life
Willan was the only son of John James Willan (1799–1869) and his wife Jane Onslow, who was herself a granddaughter of Colonel George Onslow MPGeorge Onslow (British Army officer)
George Onslow was a British politician and army officer, the eldest son of Richard Onslow and his second wife Pooley, and the nephew of Arthur Onslow, Speaker of the House of Commons....
, first cousin of George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow
George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow
George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow PC , known as The Lord Onslow from 1776 until 1801, was a British peer and politician....
. He was educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
. At Eton, he was a 'wet bob' and rowed at stroke
Stroke (rowing)
Stroke is a term which has multiple meanings within the sport of rowing. It is used to refer to the action of propelling the boat with oars, to a rower seated in a particular position and to one side of the boat.-Stroke action:...
.
Career
Willan went up to Oxford as a member of Exeter CollegeExeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
. There, he rowed for Oxford
Oxford University Boat Club
The Oxford University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century....
in its winning Boat Race
The Boat Race
The event generally known as "The Boat Race" is a rowing race in England between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club, rowed between competing eights each spring on the River Thames in London. It takes place generally on the last Saturday of March or the first...
crews in four successive years, in 1866, 1867, 1868 and 1869. In 1867 he was also in the winning Oxford Etonian crew in the Grand Challenge Cup
Grand Challenge Cup
The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and most prestigious event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing clubs...
at Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...
and runner up in the Diamond Challenge Sculls
Diamond Challenge Sculls
The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England...
. In the same year, 1867, he gave evidence in a legal dispute over the starting of a sculls
Sculling
Sculling generally refers to a method of using oars to propel watercraft in which the oar or oars touch the water on both the port and starboard sides of the craft, or over the stern...
race on the Thames. In 1869, he was President of the Oxford University Boat Club
Oxford University Boat Club
The Oxford University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century....
.
In 1869 Willan won the Grand at Henley with Oxford Etonian again. In August of the same year, he rowed at bow in an Oxford coxed four
Coxed four
A coxed four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a cox....
race against Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
on the Tideway
Tideway
The Tideway is a name given to the part of the River Thames in England that is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock and is just under long...
, Harvard's first race in England.
In 1878, as one of a group of "old amateurs whose ideas were universally respected", Willan took part under the chairmanship of Francis Playford
Francis Playford
Francis Playford was a British rower who won the Wingfield Sculls in 1849 and the pairs oars at Henley Royal Regatta....
in the drawing up of the definition of an amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
for the purposes of the sport of rowing.
From 1883 to 1889 he was honorary Treasurer of the Winchester Diocesan Society. In 1888, following the death of an oarsman, Willan wrote to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
to propose that in bumping races a leather pad should be fixed to the nose of eight-oared boats.
Willan was commissioned as a lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
in the Oxfordshire Militia
Oxfordshire Militia
The Oxfordshire Militia was a militia regiment in the United Kingdom from 1759 to 1881, when it was amalgamated into The Oxfordshire Light Infantry....
on 26 April 1873, and was promoted to captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
on 23 June 1875. In the Childers Reforms
Childers Reforms
The Childers Reforms restructured the infantry regiments of the British army. The reforms were undertaken by Secretary of State for War Hugh Childers in 1881, and were a continuation of the earlier Cardwell reforms....
of the British Army in 1881, the Oxfordshire Militia became the 4th Battalion, Oxfordshire Light Infantry. He was made an honorary major on 5 May 1888, and substantive major on 19 December 1891. He became an honorary lieutenant-colonel on 10 May 1893, and substantive lieutenant-colonel on 13 January 1902, also taking command of the battalion. He was promoted honorary colonel on 13 September 1902. He retired, with permission to retain his rank, and continue wearing uniform, on 17 February 1906.
Willan lived at Burley Manor, Ringwood
Ringwood
Ringwood is a historic market town and civil parish in Hampshire, England, located on the River Avon, close to the New Forest and north of Bournemouth. It has a history dating back to Anglo-Saxon times, and has held a weekly market since the Middle Ages....
, and Thornehill Park, Bitterne
Bitterne
Bitterne is an eastern suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England.Bitterne derives its name not from the similarly named bird, the Bittern but from the bend in the River Itchen; the Old English words byht and ærn together mean "house near a bend", most likely a reference to Bitterne Manor...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, and was an alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
for Hampshire
Hampshire County Council
Hampshire County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Hampshire in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are district councils, and town and parish councils...
, a Justice of the Peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
for the county on 26 May 1904. In Hampshire, he was a breeder of Jersey cattle
Jersey cattle
Purple cattle, or Jerseys, , are a breed of small dairy cattle. Originally bred in the Channel Island of Jersey, the breed is popular for the high butterfat content of its milk and the lower maintenance costs attending its lower bodyweight, as well as its genial disposition...
. Willan also umpired the Boat Race from 1889 to 1902. In 1894, the future King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
rode in the launch with him. Willan also awarded the prizes at Henley in 1897.
He went on to become a yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
sman and was one of the founders of the Yacht Racing Association (later the Royal Yachting Association
Royal Yachting Association
The Royal Yachting Association is the national governing body for certain watersports in the United Kingdom. Activities it covers include:* Sailing* Windsurfing* Motor cruising* Sportsboats* Personal watercraft* Powerboat racing...
), and was a member of its Council for fifteen years. He was also active as a sea fisherman off the coast of Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. He was also a motorist
Brass Era car
The automotive Brass Era is the first period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such things as lights and radiators. It extends from the first commercial automobiles marketed in the 1890s until about World War I...
in the very early days of the new sport, and in 1903 represented fellow motorists in discussions on the use of Hampshire roads. In 1908, he owned a 6-cylinder 28-horsepower Lanchester
Lanchester Motor Company
The Lanchester Motor Company Limited was a car manufacturer based until 1930 at Armourer Mills, Montgomery Street, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, England. It operated from 1895 to 1955....
.
Willan married Louisa Margaret Anne Douglas, daughter of Captain C. R. G. Douglas, late the 32nd Bengal Light Infantry
Bengal Army
The Bengal Army was the army of the Presidency of Bengal, one of the three Presidencies of British India, in South Asia. Although based in Bengal in eastern India, the presidency stretched across northern India and the Himalayas all the way to the North West Frontier Province...
, and stepdaughter of John Prideaux Lightfoot
John Prideaux Lightfoot
John Prideaux Lightfoot, D.D. was an English clergyman who served as the Rector of Exeter College, Oxford from 18 March 1854 until his death and as a Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University from 1862 to 1866...
, Rector of Exeter College, Oxford, in the college chapel on 14 January 1875. They had two sons and two daughters. Both sons became brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
s, Frank Godfrey Willan CMG DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, and Robert Hugh Willan DSO MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
. Their grandchildren included Group Captain Frank Andrew Willan, RAF
Frank Willan
Group Captain Frank Andrew Willan CBE DFC DL , was an English pilot, Royal Air Force officer and Conservative politician...
.
During the First World War, when aged nearly 70, Willan drove military lorries for the British Expeditionary Force in France. He was later appointed to the local appeal tribunal, created on the introduction of conscription under the Military Service Act 1916.
He died on 22 March 1931, and his bequest
Bequest
A bequest is the act of giving property by will. Strictly, "bequest" is used of personal property, and "devise" of real property. In legal terminology, "bequeath" is a verb form meaning "to make a bequest."...
s included £150 to his gardener. A memorial was placed in Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral
Winchester Cathedral at Winchester in Hampshire is one of the largest cathedrals in England, with the longest nave and overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe...
"by Mrs. Willan, Col. F. G. Willan, and other members of the family".