Leander Club is pleased to announce that Anthony Purssell has been elected a Life Member in recognition of his long-standing contribution to the Club and to the sport of rowing.
Mr Purssell, who celebrated his 100th birthday on Regatta Sunday, 5 July, rowed for Leander in 1946 and 1947, winning the Grand Challenge Cup in 1946 and reaching the Stewards’ Challenge Cup final in 1947. He also represented Great Britain at the 1948 Olympic Games, where he rowed at two in the Leander crew. He notes, with characteristic modesty, that he is regarded as the oldest Olympian rower, though athletes in other sports may be older.
His recollections of racing with fixed pins, the coaching of Peter Haig‑Thomas, and the demands of competing both for Leander and Oriel College on the same Henley afternoon, offer valuable insight into the post‑war era of rowing. Mr Purssell believes he is now the oldest living member to have rowed for the Club, and possibly the oldest current member.
He has generously shared several photographs from the 1948 Olympic Regatta. One shows him rowing at two in the boat, likely during the semifinal; another captures the crew passing the finishing post in the final against Switzerland. A third image, taken at the prize‑giving by Princess Elizabeth, features several prominent Leander figures of the period, though Mr Purssell himself is not pictured. These photographs offer valuable insight into the era and the athletes who shaped it.
Leander Club extends its warm congratulations to Mr Purssell on reaching this remarkable milestone and expresses its gratitude for his distinguished service to the Club and the sport.
