(1930 – 2021)
M W F (William) Rose, who was born on 7th October 1930 and died in February 2021 at the age of 88, joined the Club in 1951 and was a member of the successful LRC Scullers’ Eights of the early 1950s. In 1952 he was at 5 in the Scullers’ VIII which came 4th in the Head of the River Race, one second behind Thames RC and three seconds behind the Club’s first VIII (the race was won by Jesus College, Cambridge). After allowing his membership to lapse for a while, he re-joined in 1989 as a Non-Rowing member, proposed by S F Harris and seconded by John Millbourn.
William was well-known for his extensive collection of rowing craft and memorabilia, and kept in regular touch with the Club in his later years. The following obituary appeared in the Summer 2021 issue of the River Thames Society’s “Guardian” magazine (and published with their permission):
“William Rose spent a lifetime becoming perhaps the unrivalled expert on Thames river craft and artefacts. His own remarkable hoard began in 1965 when he bought the historic steam launch Pierette, built in 1894 by George des Vignes in Chertsey. In 1972, when Messum’s boatyard at Bray held a dispersal sale, he met and subsequently married Penny Messum, from the boat-building dynasty. Their enduring partnership gave Bill the energy to develop his collection. He died in February, just as news came in that his 26 historic boats and centuries of Thames ephemera had found a permanent home at the Hobbs of Henley boatyard, as part of the Rose Toop collection.”
William and Penny were generous in welcoming visitors and groups to their waterside home in Shiplake. Some 15 years ago William spotted in a Club newsletter that an original copy of the Club’s well-known “1860 print” was available for sale and, even though it was not in the best condition, he bought it to benefit Club funds and had it restored. The Club’s archivist who brought up the lithograph was given a private tour of his collection, which took up the entire ground floor of his home and was wondrous to behold. As a private collection, of museum proportions, it will probably never be repeated.
