Julius Beresford (Wiszniewski) (18 July 1868 – 29 September 1959), also known as Berry or The Old Berry, was a British

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 ...

and coach. Beresford competed at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Life

Beresford was the son of Julius Bernard Wiszniewski, an emigrant from Danzig and his wife Stella Louisa Davey. In 1871, the family was living 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, ...

. Julius Beresford dropped his father's surname "Wiszniewski" in 1914. Outside rowing, he was a partner in a furniture-making business, Beresford & Hicks. Beresford initially sculled at Kensington Rowing Club in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

with some success, winning many trophies although failing in attempts at 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 1902 and 1903 and in the London Cup at the

Metropolitan Regatta The Metropolitan Regatta is an international rowing regatta. It takes place on Dorney Lake, Buckinghamshire near Eton next to the River Thames in southern England. It attracts crews from schools, clubs, and universities from around the United ...

. By 1904, he had decided that he had reached his limits as a

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 ...

er and moved to

Thames Rowing Club The Thames Rowing Club (TRC) is a rowing club based on the tidal River Thames, Thames as it flows through the western suburbs of London. The TRC clubhouse stands on Putney Embankment. The club was founded in 1860. As of July 2023, Thames had w ...

in order to row seriously in crew boats. He remained a member of Thames for the rest of his life. In 1909 and 1911, he was in the crew that won the

Stewards Challenge Cup The Stewards' Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours 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 or more clubs may combine t ...

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 ...

. Also, in the 1911 regatta, he partnered Arthur Cloutte to win the Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup. In a heat of this event he and Cloutte dead heated against Bruce Logan and Charles Rought to set a course record which lasted until 1934. Rought and Logan joined Beresford who was the bowman, in the Thames Rowing Club

coxed four A coxed four, abbreviated as a 4+, is a racing shell used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars and is steered by a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one ...

which won the silver medal for Great Britain

rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics Rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics featured four events, for men only. All races were held in Djurgårdsbrunnsviken from Thursday to Saturday, 17 to 19 July. Medal summary Bronze medals Bronze medals were not awarded to the losing semi fin ...

. Beresford served as captain of Thames Rowing Club in 1914 and again in 1926. In 1922, he was appointed as vice president of the club. He was a dedicated coach with strong opinions. Despite holding similar views on techniques, Beresford clashed with

Steve Fairbairn Stephen Fairbairn (25 August 1862 – 16 May 1938) was a rower and an influential rowing coach at Jesus College Boat Club, Cambridge University, Thames Rowing Club and London Rowing Club in the early decades of the 20th century, and founded t ...

, and a dispute between the two was an underlying cause of Fairbairn's move from Thames to

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 ...

in 1927. As a coach at Thames, Beresford's greatest successes came in 1927 when Thames won four events at Henley Royal Regatta and in 1928 when the club repeated the feat. Beresford's son

Jack Beresford Jack Beresford, CBE (1 January 1899 – 3 December 1977), born Jack Beresford-Wiszniewski, was a British rower who won five medals at five Olympic Games in succession. This record in Olympic rowing was not matched until 2000 when Sir Steve R ...

was also a rower and won medals at five successive Olympics. His grandson Michael Beresford also became an Olympic rower.

Achievements

Olympic Games

* 1912 – Silver, Coxed Four

Henley Royal Regatta

* 1909 –

Stewards' Challenge Cup The Stewards' Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's coxless fours at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through ...

* 1911 – Stewards' Challenge Cup * 1911 – Silver Goblets & Nickalls' Challenge Cup * 1919 Victory Regatta – Fawley Cup

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beresford, Julius 1868 births 1959 deaths English male rowers Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics English people of Polish descent British male rowers Rowers from London