Scrapbook of Colonel (Hubert) Bruce Logan
Bruce Logan (1886 - 1965) was born in Chesterton, Cambridgeshire, England and was a renowned sportman, primarily for rowing but also for boxing and rugby.
In 1911 I was rowing at Henley in two events—the "Stewards'" and the "Goblets." In the former race, in the semifinal, we had a particularly hard struggle. I was stroke of our crew and No. 3, Mr. C. G. Rought, was my partner in the pair. It was a blazing hot day and after the race, which we managed to win, I was so done up that for over an hour I wasn't able to dress. Mr. Rought was, if possible, in an even worse plight.
In the afternoon, about 4.30, we were due to race in the semi-final of the "Goblet" having been drawn against two members of our club. Messrs. Beresford and Cloutte. It can be easily understood that, when going up to the start, we neither of us felt as fit as the proverbial fiddle. To be quite frank, I felt at about "one hundred to three against," and my partner wasn't in much better plight, for in order to get him in sufficiently good trim to face the start at all I had spent the afternoon in applying vinegar compresses to his aching head. To make matters worse, I was rowing bow and steering, a thing I had never done before that season, while owing to some wrong instructions my work had been altered and I had great difficulty in clearing my knees. Still, despite these drawbacks, we were favorites for the race.
We got a good start, and at the top of the island had taken a lead of half a length, which we held to Fawley, when the other crew began to come up. At the mile, we still managed to keep our nose in front, but here our opponents spurted magnificently and in answering their effort we lurched badly, with the result that they shortly afterwards took the lead. However, no race is won until the winner's number has gone up, and after a terrific gruelling finish we got up inch by inch, eventually managing to make a dead-heat of it on the post in the record time of eight minutes eight seconds beating the previous record by seven seconds. I would mention that in its own small way this is rather a unique record, inasmuch as the crews came from the same club and established a record by dead-heating, also another record for the best time, and another one by beating the "Diamond Sculls" record of eight minutes ten seconds. But for that punishing race in the morning, I have often thought that we might have knocked another second or two off—but one never knows.
