Earlier this year, 96-year-old Tony Leadley received a phone call out of the blue from Robert Treharne Jones, archivist at the famous Leander rowing club in Henley. Just before Christmas, Jones received a message from Philip, who was clearing a property in New South Wales, Australia, when he found several old shovels decorated with faded writing in a shed.
“Hi, I found some old shovels,” the message said. “They are painted with DAT LEADLEY and CGV DAVIDGE with Leander Club, European Championship and Goblet and Nickalls Cup paintings both from 1957 – any idea what they are?”
Jones knew exactly what they were and who they might belong to. Tony Leadley and Christopher Davidge are legends of post-war British rowing. For fans of the sport, the names are instantly recognizable. Luckily Leadley lived just down the road in Sydney.
“Dr Jones was wondering if I wanted these,” says Leadley. “I said it would be nice to have them back; “I haven’t seen them in 50 years.”
That was an understatement. In fact, they had been missing for much longer than that. By late 1963, Leadley had moved into a new house and there was no room for the 15-foot-long shovels. However, shortly after moving in, thieves broke into the warehouse and took the shovels, which “were of no use to anyone but me.” These are the oars or blades that rowers use to win races and are then painted with details of the victory as souvenirs. Philip brought the oars to Sydney and Leadley was reunited with them in January this year. “They were a little dusty and some of the lighting was missing, so I cleaned them up a bit,” he says. The story spread on social media and attracted media attention from around the world.
“People want to know about my past, which was pretty famous at the time,” Leadley admits. The paddles commemorate Leadley’s biggest year in the sport, the year he won the Goblets and Nickall Cup and European championships, known as the Goblets. He and Davidge had known about each other for several years but did not row as a couple until 1956. “We came together and were winning everything we came across,” Leadley recalls. “We defeated the pesky Russians [in the 1957 European Rowing Championships]“And we not only beat them, we beat them, which was pleasing for the rowing community.”
Leadley’s story is reminiscent of a time when sport had not yet become a worldwide corporate machine. He was born in August 1928 and grew up in Bedford, where he attended Bedford Modern School. The first time he tried rowing he was unsuccessful. “I hated it,” he recalls. “It was wet and cold. I swore I would do other things. I tried swimming and almost drowned. I came last in the cross-country race. I started throwing the discus and javelin, and I wasn’t very good at it.” Then one day a ram tried again. “He took me out on a beautiful spring morning, while we were still on the water, just us, the boat, and the swans. It was absolute magic. That’s when I caught him.”
After being deemed unfit for national service because he suffered from peritonitis (inflammation of the abdominal tissues) at the age of 11, he went on to study architecture at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and joined the youth direct boats. In 1953 he rowed in the Boat Race, Cambridge’s famous victory. “We beat them by eight and a half lengths,” he says. “We were the oppressed. Everyone thought we were very beautiful and not very strong. But our technique was very good and we were in great shape. “We absolutely smashed them, which is great.” He is the oldest living Blue currently rowing in the Regatta from either university.
In the 1950s, rowing had to fit into a career. After university, Leadley joined Shell, where he designed petrol stations for corner bombing sites in London, before taking a surprising career turn. “We ran out of corners, so I gave up and joined. Vogue,” she says. She worked in the magazine’s public relations department and helped research backgrounds for fashion shoots. In 1962, she moved to Australia, where her wife, Pamela, had a sister. “She was married to a very rich man who said he would get me a job, but he never did.” “Instead, he stuck to public relations and eventually started his own business,” he laughs.
Although he continued to row socially, he stopped competing when he moved to Australia. Rowing, like most sports, has become much more professional in recent years. Millions of pounds are being invested in the British Olympic team, while the Boat Race is also instrumental in corporate branding. It is currently powered by Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange.
“We were completely amateur,” he says. “When I joined the Leander Club you had to have won a major event like an Olympic medal, the Regatta or something like that at Henley. That was your entry. Now, if you’ve got £3,000, anyone can join, even if they’ve never touched a paddle in their life, colors “He can wear it and dominate people in the race. Rowing, like other sports, has become professional and I think he’s ruined that.”
He finally retired at the age of 90. Pamela died 50 years ago, aged 53, of brain cancer, which also affected her eldest son Simon, who ran a successful music business. Pamela has a daughter, a son, five grandchildren and two older children. -all your grandchildren are in Australia. Leadley will be 97 in October. “I’m going for the big face,” she says.
With the Boat Race coming up and George Clooney’s latest movie about rowing, Kids on the Boat, rowing is in the news. Leadley says he is enjoying the interest in his story and is reunited with 15ft wooden souvenirs from a happy time 70 years ago.
“I’m so excited to be reunited with them,” he says. “It sparked the imagination of many older rowers.” There are people of all ages who do not row.