Charles Ryves Maxwell Eley (16 September 1902 – 15 January 1983) was a British

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is di ...

who competed in the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

, winning a gold medal with the British coxless four.

Family

Eley was born in Samford,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...

, the eldest of four sons of Charles Cuthbert Eley, a barrister and noted gardener, and Ethel Maxwell Ryves. His great-grandfather co-founded the

Eley Brothers Eley Limited is a British manufacturer of firearms cartridges. Historically the company has produced a broad variety of ammunition, but today specialises in .22 Long Rifle cartridges for competitive target shooting. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, si ...

company. Maxwell was the older brother of banker Sir

Geoffrey Eley Sir Geoffrey Cecil Ryves Eley (18 July 1904 – 17 May 1990) was a British businessman and writer. He served as a director of the Bank of England, and as High Sheriff of both the County of London and the City of London. Early life and educat ...

Education and rowing

Eley was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and first rowed at

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 1921, when Eton won the

Ladies' Challenge Plate The Ladies' Challenge Plate is one of the events at Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. Crews of men's eight-oared boats below the standard of the Grand Challenge Cup can enter, although international standar ...

. He then went to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. At Cambridge, Eley,

James MacNabb James Alexander MacNabb (26 December 1901 – 6 April 1990) was a British rower who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics. MacNabb was born at Keighley, West Yorkshire, the son of Rev. James Frederick MacNabb, and his wife Margaret Elizabeth Wa ...

, Robert Morrison and

Terence Sanders Terence Robert Beaumont Sanders (2 June 1901 – 6 April 1985) was a British rower who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics, a lecturer in engineering at Cambridge, an army officer engaged in countering the V2 threat, civil servant and High She ...

, who had rowed together at Eton, made up the

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on t ...

that in 1922 at Henley 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 combi ...

as Eton Vikings and the

Visitors' Challenge Cup The Visitors 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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders wit ...

Third Trinity Boat Club The First and Third Trinity Boat Club is the rowing club of Trinity College in Cambridge, England. The club formally came into existence in 1946 when the First Trinity Boat Club and the Third Trinity Boat Club merged, although the two clubs ha ...

. They won the Stewards' Challenge Cup again in 1923. Eley rowed for

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

in the

Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

in 1924 and also won

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 in 1924 partnering James MacNabb. The coxless four crew won Steward's at Henley again in 1924 and went on to win the gold medal for Great Britain at the

Later life

Eley was with

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at M ...

. During

World War II 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 ...

he was Deputy Controller of Industrial Ammonia Supplies at the

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for air ...

from 1940 to 1945. After the war he was Director of Nitrogen Supplies at the

Board of Trade The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...

from 1946 to 1947. He was on the Central Agricultural Control Committee and received the

O.B.E The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1949 New Year Honours The 1949 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''London ...

. Eley lived at East Bergholt Place,

East Bergholt East Bergholt is a village in the Babergh District of Suffolk, England, just north of the Essex border. The nearest town and railway station is Manningtree, Essex. East Bergholt is north of Colchester and south of Ipswich. Schools includ ...

, Suffolk where he developed the impressive grounds and arboretum that his father had created into one of the finest private gardens in England. His son Robert was the husband of

Bridget Cracroft-Eley Bridget Katharine Cracroft-Eley CVO JP (29 October 1933 – 29 August 2008) was a British secretary, farmer and magistrate. Born in Lincolnshire, she was the daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Weston Cracroft-Amcotts and his wife Rhona Clifton-Br ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eley, Charles 1902 births 1983 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People from East Bergholt English male rowers British male rowers Olympic rowers of Great Britain Rowers at the 1924 Summer Olympics English Olympic medallists Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics

Family

Education and rowing

Later life

See also

References

External links