Great Britain hosted the only Olympic MOTORBOATING competition on the Southampton Water in 1908 and they won two of the three gold medals - France won the other. Although it was a demonstration sport in 1900, thes London Olympics were the one and only Games to featured a competition between motorised vehicles.
There were three classes and in each race only one craft managed to finish, consequently there were no silver or bronze medals awarded - just gold. The races took place over five laps of an eight nautical mile course on the Solent.
The British trio of Bernard Boverton Redwood, John Field-Richards and Isaac Thomas Thornycoft won both gold medals in their boat Gyrinus II .
Britain's Gold Medallists:
FIELD-RICHARDS, John Charles
Born: 10 May 1878, Penzance, Cornwall, England
Died: 18 April 1959, Lymington, Hampshire, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1908)
Olympic medals:
1908 Gold - Class B (under 60 feet)
1908 Gold - Class C (6.5 - 8 metres)
John Field-Richards was brought in as the third man to help Bernard Redwood bail out the water aboard Gyrinus II. After the Olympics Redwood and Field-Richards bought their gold medal winning boat and regularly raced it in events around Europe.
Field-Richards went to Keble College Oxford and during World War One he served with the Hampshire and Yorkshire Regiments. He was awarded the OBE.
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REDWOOD, Bernard Boverton
Born: 28 November 1874, Finchley, London, England
Died: 28 September 1911, Hampstead, London, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1908)
Olympic medals:
1908 Gold - Class B (under 60 feet)
1908 Gold - Class C (6.5 - 8 metres)
Bernard Redwood, along with John Field-Richards, was called upon to assist helmsman Tom Thornycroft crew the boat Gyrinus II at the 1908 Olympics with the purpose of bailing out the boat as it took in water. This proved a shrewd decision by Thornycroft as their only rival in the B Class event, Quicksilver (GB), had to abandon after taking in water as there was only one crew member on board, and he could not cope with incoming water.
In the C Class event, the British trio again won gold but this time after their only rival Sea Dog (also GB) had to abandon due to engine problems.
Redwood was a promising motor car racer in his day and competed in the second ever race meeting at Brooklands on 20 July 1907. He was also a proficient cyclist and became a Cambridge Blue at cycling in 1894.
Redwood's father, Sir Boverton Redwood was created the 1st Baron Redwood of Avenue Road, St Marylebone, on 24 July 1911. Bernard would have become the 2nd Baron but he died of pneumonia just two months after the creation of the Baronetcy and was outlived by his father.
In 1908 Redwood was fined £5 at Kingston Magistrates for driving a car 'at a greater speed than 20 mph' - that was the equivalent of around £475 toady.
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THORNYCROFT, Isaac Thomas
Born: 22 November 1881, Brentford, London
Died: 6 June 1955, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England
Olympics competed in: 1 (1908)
Olympic medals:
1908 Gold - Class B (under 60 feet)
1908 Gold - Class C (6.5 - 8 metres)
Tom Thornycroft was the helmsman of Gyrinus II, the craft that won the two motorboating gold medals for Britain in 1908.
Gyrinus was designed by Thornycroft's father, Sir John Isaac Thornycroft - the designer of the world's first torpedo boat. Tom Thorneycroft showed an interest in boat design and joined the family firm for a while until resigning. He was later involved in the design of the Swallow class yacht. His son Peter continued the family tradition by becoming a prominent boat builder in the south of England.
Tom was called upon as a reserve for the British sailing team at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic, but was never used. Had he competed, he would have been over 70 years of age and in making his second Olympic appearance 44 years after his first would have created Olympic history.
In addition to racing boats, at which he won his first competition at the age of 14, Tom was a keen car racer and competed in the Tourist Trophy races on the Isle of Man and also at Brooklands.
Tom Thornycroft died a wealthy man, part of which came after inheriting a large part of his father's estate which was valued at £151,029 in 1928 - approximate £7.5 million in present-day terms.
Thorneycroft's father, Sir John, is one of the few people born in what is now the Vatican City, although his birth in 1843 pre-dates the official creation of the Vatican State in 1929. He was honoured with the Freedom of the City of London in 1897.
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