Sidney Charles Rand (17 August 1934 – 25 December 2008) was an English rower who competed for Great Britain at the 1956 Summer Olympics and at the 1960 Summer Olympics. He won the Wingfield Sculls 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 ma ...

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

in 1956.

Life and sport

Rand was born in

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Walthams ...

, 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

to 44 Irthlingborough Road, Finedon, Northants. 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 enti ...

'', 12 January 2009. He started rowing on the River Lea 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 the activity of skiffing. These boats evolved from Thames wherries in the Victorian era to meet a passion for river exploration and leisure outings on the water. Construc ...

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 United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

on National Service that year. He was posted to

RAF Benson Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, us ...

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

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

. In 1954 Rand won the Wingfield Sculls 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 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: T ...

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 Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckin ...

, 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 t ...

, 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 event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land border ...

, by a length and a half to Teodor Kocerka, but in 1956 won the

Double scull A double scull is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat by sculling with two oars each, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") are long, narrow, and broadly ...

s with his brother Bill Rand. They were selected for the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, wh ...

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) is a rowing boat 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-section in order to mini ...

s at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

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 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 England, English Sport rowing, 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 ...

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 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. Two clubs may ...

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 in ...

being a successful competitor at the

Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta The Wargrave & Shiplake Regatta is a regatta on the River Thames in England. It is the local regatta of the villages of Wargrave in Berkshire and Shiplake in Oxfordshire. Some of the boats used are of a traditional clinker-built style, others a ...

. Rand died of cancer at the

Royal Berkshire Hospital The Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) is a large 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 R ...

aged 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rand, Sidney 1934 births 2008 deaths British male rowers Olympic rowers for Great Britain Sportspeople from Tottenham Rowers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Rowers from Greater London Commonwealth Games medallists in rowing Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England 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 London 20th-century Royal Air Force personnel