Oswald Armitage Carver (2 February 1887 – 7 June 1915) 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 ...

who competed in the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

. He died of injuries during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Carver was born at Marple,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, the son of William Oswald Carver and his wife, Katherine Armitage. His father was a cotton goods merchant who had been successful enough to buy Cranage Hall, near

Holmes Chapel Holmes Chapel is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England, north of Crewe and south of Manchester; Swettenham Meadows Nature Reserve lies east of the village and Goostrey lies to the north. The population of the village was 6,700 a ...

. Carver was educated at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 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 ...

. He rowed for

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in the

Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. It is also known as the Uni ...

in 1908. The Cambridge crew made up a boat in the eights which won the bronze medal for Great Britain

rowing at the 1908 Summer Olympics At the 1908 Summer Olympics, four rowing events were contested, all for men only. Races were held at Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the Riv ...

. Carver was a director of the family company which owned Hollins Mill at Marple and had offices and warehouses in central Manchester's "cotton district". Carver was very active in the

Scout movement Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including ...

which he introduced to Marple. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Carver served with 1/2nd East Lancashire Field Company

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

. His initial application to serve overseas with the company was rejected by an army medical board at Bury on 3 September 1914 because he was

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

. However, his hearing was rechecked a month later, and by 31 December, he had been promoted to captain responsible for one of the company's four sections. At the beginning of May 1915, the troops left Egypt to go into action at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

. On 4 June in the

Third Battle of Krithia The Third Battle of Krithia ( Turkish: ''Üçüncü Kirte Muharebesi''), fought on the Gallipoli peninsula during World War I, was the last in a series of Allied attacks against the Ottoman defences aimed at achieving the original objectives of ...

, the Engineers were to follow Territorial Battalions of the

Manchester Regiment The Manchester Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1958. The regiment was created during the 1881 Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 63rd (West Suffolk) Regiment of Foot and the 96th R ...

in an infantry attack on the Turkish positions. Their role was to dig communication trenches back to the original British line and build strong points to be used in case of counterattack. Carver was wounded in the back and evacuated down to 11th Casualty Clearing Station on the landing beach. He died three days later, aged 28. Carver married Elizabeth "Betty" Hobart, daughter of Robert Thompson Hobart of

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

in 1911. They had children John Hobart Carver, father of

Martin Carver Martin Oswald Hugh Carver, FSA, Hon FSA Scot, (born 8 July 1941) is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at the University of York, England, director of the Sutton Hoo Research Project and a leading exponent of new methods in excavation and sur ...

and Richard Oswald Hobart Carver.Times Obituaries 26 July 2007 ''Colonel Richard Carver''
/ref> The family lived at The Hollies in Marple. After Carver's death, Betty Carver married Bernard "Monty" Montgomery of Alamein, also who accepted as children of the family her two sons in their early teens, John and Dick.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carver, Oswald 1887 births 1915 deaths People educated at Charterhouse School English male rowers British male rowers Olympic rowers for Great Britain Rowers at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Cambridge University Boat Club rowers Royal Engineers officers British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Olympic medalists in rowing Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics People from Marple, Greater Manchester Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport Military personnel from Cheshire

See also

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External links