Hugh Robert Arthur Edwards (17 November 1906 – 21 December 1972), also known as Jumbo Edwards, was an English rower who competed for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

. He was born to Welsh-speaking parents in

Woodstock, Oxfordshire Woodstock is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish, north-west of Oxford in West Oxfordshire in the county of Oxfordshire, England. The United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census recorded a parish population of 3,521, up from t ...

and died in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. He went to

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, in 1925, and was the only Freshman selected to row in the 1926 Blue Boat. He collapsed during the race, and was later diagnosed as having a hypertrophied heart, and was told he was no longer needed to row for the university. Edwards left Oxford in 1927 after failing his exams, and became a school teacher. He also recommenced rowing, with

London Rowing Club London Rowing Club (LRC, or colloquially, 'London') is the second-oldest of the non-academic active rowing clubs on the Thames in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1856 by members of the long-disbanded Argonauts Club wishing to compete ...

. While rowing with London Rowing Club, he was successful 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 ...

in 1928, 1929, and 1930, winning the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing (sport), rowing competition for men's eight (rowing), eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male cr ...

in 1930. At the British Empire Games in

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in 1930, London Rowing Club crews representing England, and which contained Edwards, won two gold medals, in the eights and in the coxed fours. He was then invited to row in the

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...

Oxford Blue Boat. In the 1932 Olympics he won the gold medal in the coxless pairs event with

Lewis Clive Lewis Clive (8 September 1910 – August 1938) was a British rower who won a gold medal in the 1932 Summer Olympics. He volunteered to fight for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War and was killed in action. Life Born in Herefordshire, Cl ...

, and a second gold in the Great Britain coxless four, on the same day. He later turned to competitive flying, coming second in the 1935 King's Cup Race. During the Second World War Edwards served in

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

, once saving his own life by rowing four miles through a

minefield A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, wh ...

in a dinghy after his plane crashed in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

Wallechinsky, David David Wallechinsky (born David Wallace, February 5, 1948) is an American popular historian and television commentator, the co-founder and past president of the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH) and the founder and editor-in-chie ...

(2004). ''The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics'',

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

: Sport Classic Books. After rising to the rank of

Group Captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

, he was demobbed in 1946. He was invited back to be a member of the Oxford coaching team in 1949, although resigned in 1957 after a disagreement with the Australian-born president, Roderick Carnegie. He was brought back in 1959 by OUBC President Ronnie Howard, but provoked a rebellion by certain members of the crew over his demands on them. Despite the resignation of certain members of the squad, Oxford beat Cambridge, and his subsequent coaching efforts made him an Oxford legend. In 1962, he coached the Wales four containing his two sons that won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia. He wrote a book on rowing technique in 1963 entitled ''The Way of a Man with a Blade''. Having been a pupil of both Dr "Beja" Bourne and Steve Fairbairn, he sought to bring together the divergent rowing styles of English Orthodoxy and Fairbairnism. A coxed four belonging to Christ Church Boat Club is named Jumbo Edwards. The club's other four, is named after Jonathan Searle, another Olympic Gold medallist.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Hugh 1906 births 1972 deaths People from Woodstock, Oxfordshire English male rowers English Olympic competitors Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Rowers at the 1930 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games gold medallists in rowing Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Oxford University Boat Club rowers Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics English people of Welsh descent Medallists at the 1930 British Empire Games 20th-century English sportsmen