Roland Hugh Nelson (7 February 1881 – 19 December 1940) was an English barrister and

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 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 ...

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 ...

. Nelson was born in London, the son of John Henry Nelson of Stanhope Gardens. He was educated at Eton and

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 he was a member of the

Pitt Club The University Pitt Club, popularly referred to as the Pitt Club, the UPC, or merely as Club, is a private members' club of the University of Cambridge, with a previously male-only membership but now open to both men and women. History The ...

. He 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 1901, 1902 and 1903 and Cambridge won the race in 1902 and 1903. In 1905 he won the

with P H Thomas. Nelson was called to the Bar, at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in June 1906. He was private secretary to the

First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...

from 1909 to 1911, to the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

from 1912 to 1913 and to the First Lord of the Admiralty again from 1914 to 1916. Office holders in this period were

Reginald McKenna Reginald McKenna (6 July 1863 – 6 September 1943) was a British banker and Liberal politician. His first Cabinet post under Henry Campbell-Bannerman was as President of the Board of Education, after which he served as First Lord of the Adm ...

and Winston Churchill. Nelson lived at Chilterns End,

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 ...

and died in London at the age of 59. Nelson married Hylda Letitia Grace Blois, daughter of

Sir John Ralph Blois, 8th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

and Eliza Ellen Chapman, on 11 June 1908. He was the father of Major General Sir Eustace John Blois Nelson and grandfather of

Jennifer Forwood, 11th Baroness Arlington Jennifer Jane Forwood, 11th Baroness Arlington (born 7 May 1939 in London, ''née'' Nelson), is the daughter of General Sir John Nelson (died 1993) and Lady Margaret Jane Fitzroy (died 1995), sister of the 9th Duke of Grafton. Life Educated a ...

the Peerage.com
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Roland 1881 births 1940 deaths English male rowers People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English barristers

See also

References