Sidney Charles Rand (17 August 1934 – 25 December 2008) 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 ...

who competed for

Great Britain at the 1956 Summer Olympics Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. British athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games. 189 competitors, 163 men and 26 women, took part in ...

and at the 1960 Summer Olympics. 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 ...

in 1954 and the

Double Sculls Challenge Cup The Double Sculls Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's double sculls 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. Two clubs may combine to m ...

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 ...

in 1956.

Life and sport

Rand was born in

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

, the eldest of three children. He and his brother Willy were evacuated during the

Second World War 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 ...

44 Irthlingborough Road, Finedon, Northants 44 may refer to: * 44 (number) * one of the years 44 BC, AD 44, 1944, 2044 Military *44M Tas, a Hungarian medium/heavy tank design of World War II *44M Tas Rohamlöveg, a Hungarian tank destroyer design of World War II, derived from the 44M Tas t ...

. After the war the family returned to Tottenham and Rand attended Down Lane School."Olympian who never lost love of rowing"
''

Henley Standard The ''Henley Standard'' is a weekly newspaper based in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. It is published by Higgs Group and is one of only a few independently-owned local newspapers in the UK. It is also the only newspaper dedicated entir ...

'', 12 January 2009. He started rowing on the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in the East of England and Greater London. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Cr ...

in east London at the age of 14 where he sculled a

Thames skiff A Thames skiff is a traditional River Thames wooden rowing boat used for skiffing. These boats evolved from Thames wherry, wherries in the Victorian era to meet a passion for river exploration and leisure outings on the water. Construction The ...

until he was good enough for a fine boat.Obituary of Sid Rand
/ref> He raced at various regattas such as the Norfolk Sculls in 1952 until, he joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

on National Service that year. He was posted to

RAF Benson Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) List of Royal Air Force stations, station located at Benson, Oxfordshire, Benson, near Wallingford, Oxfordshire, Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line st ...

, where as a corporal, he rowed for the RAF, the force's rowing facilities being based with

Wallingford Rowing Club Wallingford Rowing Club is a rowing club on the River Thames by Thames Street, Wallingford, Oxfordshire. History The club was formed in 1947 by the Wallingford Regatta committee. The club’s blade colours are scarlet with a light blue tip ...

across the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. In 1954 Rand won the

beating Tony Fox and John Marsden and competed in the event nine times in his career. He also won the first Scullers Head and was selected for the

1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, from 30 July to 7 August 1954. This was the fifth edition of the event that would eventually become known as the Commonwealth Games, the second post-war G ...

in Vancouver, where he took silver. After completing his three years of National Service, Rand moved to

Henley on Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint o ...

, where he joined

Leander Club Leander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and the oldest non-academic club. It is based in Remenham in Berkshire, England and adjoins Henley-on-Thames. Only three other surviving clubs were founded prior ...

, working full-time for a Henley building firm. In 1955 he lost the final of the

Diamond Challenge Sculls The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a Rowing (sport), rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. First run in 1844, it is open to male scullers from all eligible rowin ...

, by a length and a half to

Teodor Kocerka Teodor Kocerka (6 August 1927 – 25 September 1999) was a Polish rower who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics, those of 1956, and those of 1960. He was born in Bydgoszcz in the mid-north of Poland and died in Warsaw. Olympic events compet ...

, but in 1956 won the

with his brother

Bill Rand William Henry Rand (29 December 1935 – 26 August 2023) was a British rower. He competed in the men's double sculls event at the 1956 Summer Olympics. In 1956 Rand won the Double Sculls Challenge Cup with his brother Sidney Rand at the ...

. They were selected for the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

in Melbourne where they were the fastest losers in the repechage. In 1960 Sid Rand competed in the

single scull A single scull (or a scull), abbreviated as a 1x, is a racing shell designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly semi-circular in cross-se ...

s at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

in Rome.Olympic Record Sidney Rand
/ref> In 1961 Rand met Olympic long-jumper Mary Bignal and she accepted his marriage proposal shortly after they met. He supported her at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

where she won gold, silver and bronze. The marriage ended after five years. After his international career, Rand turned to coaching at

Upper Thames Rowing Club Upper Thames Rowing Club is an English rowing club. It has a large clubhouse at Remenham in Berkshire, on the River Thames near the town of Henley-on-Thames and is set back by its lawn frontage from the first half of the course of Henley Royal ...

and

and spent time with the British squad at the end of the 20th century. In 1999 he coached Steve Williams and Simon Dennis to a win at the

Silver Goblets The Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup is a Rowing (sport), rowing event for men's coxless pairs 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. He continued to row and scull himself, competing regularly. He also resumed

skiffing Skiffing refers to the sporting and leisure activity of rowing (or more correctly sculling) a Thames skiff. The skiff is a traditional hand built clinker-built wooden craft of a design which has been seen on the River Thames and other waterways i ...

being a successful competitor at the Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta. Rand died of cancer at the

Royal Berkshire Hospital The Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) is an NHS hospital in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It provides acute hospital services to the residents of the western and central portions of Berkshire, and is managed by the Royal ...

aged 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rand, Sidney 1934 births 2008 deaths British male rowers Olympic rowers for Great Britain People from Tottenham Sportspeople from the London Borough of Haringey Rowers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Rowers from London Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games silver medallists in rowing Rowers at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games European Rowing Championships medalists Medallists at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Royal Air Force airmen Military personnel from the London Borough of Haringey 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel