Arthur John Marsden (4 September 1915 – 21 February 2004) was an English

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

, intelligence officer and teacher. He won the

Wingfield Sculls The Wingfield Sculls is a Rowing (sport), rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the The Championship Course, Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. The race is between single scullers and is usually on the ...

, officially the Amateur Sculling Championship of England, in 1956. Marsden was the son of Reginald Edward Marsden and his wife Vere Mary (née Dillon). He was born at

Dehra Dun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, where his father, who later joined the

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

mathematics staff, was then a Forest Officer. Marsden was educated at

St Cyprian's School St Cyprian's School was an English preparatory school for boys, which operated in the early 20th century in Eastbourne, East Sussex. Like other preparatory schools, its purpose was to train pupils to do well enough in the examinations (usual ...

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

and Eton where he won the pulling and the sculling events as well as the mile, the half-mile and the steeplechase. On leaving Eton he wanted to return to teach modern languages, but was turned down because he did not have a degree. He spent four years studying for a doctorate from the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

and returned with fluency in German and French as well as good Italian, Spanish and Norwegian. He was successful at his second interview at Eton in 1938.''Daily Telegraph'' obituary, 5 March 2004 Marsden was an officer in the school Corps and so had a Territorial commission. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he joined the Army early in 1940. As an expert linguist, he was assigned to Intelligence, taking part in the Lofoten Islands raid, being parachuted into Africa, and working behind enemy lines in Italy, where he parachuted into the Polis. He became a Lieutenant-Colonel and commanded an independent unit working with

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

's staff for the

D-Day landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

. As this unit had its own aircraft, Marsden qualified as a pilot. He was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palms by General de Gaulle, and the American Bronze Star. After the war, he returned to teach at Eton and in 1954 took over as Master in House from Harry Babington Smith. He joined

Vesta Rowing Club Vesta Rowing Club is a rowing club based on the Tideway of the River Thames in Putney, London, England. It was founded in 1870. Vesta organises two head races every year; the Scullers Head and the Veterans Head. History Foundation Vesta Rowi ...

and drove regularly to Putney to train for the

. He had covered 3,000 miles on the water before his first attempt at the title and won it at his fifth attempt in 1956, aged 41. Two years earlier, in 1954, he and his partner Tony Fox, astonished the rowing world by beating the Russian silver medallists in the Double Sculls at

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

. He had beaten Sous, twice winner of the Diamond Sculls, in the first

tideway The Tideway is the part of the River Thames in England which is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock. The Tideway comprises the upper Thames Estuary including the Pool of London. Tidal activity Depending ...

Scullers Head earlier that year. Marsden was retired early from his house at Eton, then becoming first a stockbroker and then a farmer. However he returned to teaching as Director of Studies at a London tutorial college where continued until he was well into his seventies. In 1975, in partnership with Nicholas Browne, he took over the Gibbs Preparatory School at

Collingham Gardens Collingham Gardens is a garden square in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. Built between 1881 and 1888, the buildings on either side of the garden were designed by Ernest George and Peto, a firm that grafted Northern Europ ...

and founded Collingham Tutors.

Family

Marsden married on 26 Feb 1944 to Suzanne Mary Boyd (née Cooke), the widow of Arthur N A Boyd, an Eton cricketer who was killed in action in 1940.Wisden Obituaries during the war
/ref> Marsden and his wife had a son and three daughters

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsden, John 1915 births 2004 deaths People educated at St Cyprian's School English male rowers British Army personnel of World War II People educated at Eton College Teachers at Eton College Place of death missing British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Intelligence Corps officers 20th-century English sportsmen