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Len Field, Vesta Rowing Club member
Making Waves: Celebrating a Century of Weybridge Ladies Amateur Rowing Club exhibition on display at Weybridge Library.
In recent years, the success of competitive women’s rowing has increased. Yet the journey to this point has been far from smooth.
For much of its history, rowing was considered a man’s sport. Women did take to the water in the 19th century. However, their involvement was restricted by rigid Victorian ideas about class and femininity.
Gentle recreational boating was acceptable among the middle and upper classes as it was believed to be a graceful pastime. It allowed these women to enjoy the river while remaining elegant and composed. However, competition was a very different matter.
Victorian society insisted that women should be modest and confined to the home. They should not compromise standards of dress, or risk their appearance, through strenuous physical activity. Competitive rowing demanded the opposite: strength, endurance, resilience, and fierce determination. It was thus seen as unsuitable – even unthinkable for women.
Yet some women refused to stay on the riverbank. Among them was Amy Gentry, a pioneering force determined to challenge conventions. She wanted to prove that women belonged on the water just as much as men.
Amy Gentry and her father, Carl Otto Gentry (230.1979/16).
Born in Barnes in 1903, Amy Constance Gentry was first introduced to the River Thames at one month old. Her father, Carl Otto Gentry, loved the water.
He would frequently take his family on trips to the river and later bought a camping plot in Shepperton. Here the family would spend most of their summers.
Amy’s first experience of competitive rowing came in 1919 at the Victory Regatta. This was hosted by Weybridge Rowing Club (founded in 1881). Held in the aftermath of the First World War, these regattas were more than sporting events. They were symbols of social recovery and allowed Allied military crews to compete in a spirit of peace, celebration, and renewal. That year, organisers introduced a Ladies’ Four race. 16 young women, including Amy, were coached for the event.
The race was a triumph! Inspired by its success, Amy established a ladies’ section at Weybridge Rowing Club.
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Amy Gentry's rowing kit (290.1976/8).
Just five years later this Weybridge team travelled to Brussels to compete in an international charity regatta. Over two days of racing, they defeated crews from France, Belgium, and Holland.
Having won the event, they were presented to Albert, King of the Belgians. This was a remarkable achievement at a time when women’s rowing still struggled for recognition at home.
The Weybridge Ladies’ kits at this time consisted of white jumpers, knee length dark blue shorts and long black stockings. Amy’s memories of the event reveal that their kit was obviously very different to what the Dutch girls wore.
“[There was a] phenomenon of girls rowing in long skirts! The Dutch girls then were not allowed to race and were attired in gorgeous long royal blue skirts with orange jumpers, the skirts being tied up round their knees to prevent them catching in the slides – and believe it or not – they produced the most perfectly balanced boat of all time.” Amy Gentry’s recollection of the charity regatta in Brussels.
Barnes Bridge Rowing Club girls cheering on a crew in a race at the Women's Amateur Rowing Association's Annual Regatta in Hammersmith, 1931 (230.1979/21).
Back in Britain, female rowers began asking for official support and representation.
The governing body for rowing (Amateur Rowing Association – ARA) was established in 1882. However, as well as excluding the working classes, the ARA also excluded women.
These tight restrictions led to the formation of two groups: the National Amateur Rowing Association (NARA) in 1890, and the Women’s Amateur Rowing Association (WARA) in 1923. The NARA represented male working-class rowers, while the WARA was created for female rowers.
The formation of the WARA marked the start of a new phase of the sport’s history. It represented a commitment to building longevity, and relevance of women’s rowing.
Weybridge Ladies Amateur Rowing Club's clubhouse (270.1986/9)
The momentum did not stop there. As interest in women’s rowing grew, the women’s section at Weybridge quickly outgrew its shared facilities. It needed a boathouse of its own.
In 1926 Amy established Weybridge Ladies Amateur Rowing Club (WLARC), creating a dedicated home for Weybridge women on the river. Amy became its chair and held this position until her death.
On the next few pages, explore some early photographs of WLARC.
Members of the Weybridge Ladies Rowing Club, 1919. Amy Gentry stands on the far right (230,1979/8).
Two members of the Weybridge Ladies Team, Weybridge Ladies Rowing Club, 1920 (230.1979/10). 
One of the first Weybridge Crews in a regatta, Weybridge Ladies Rowing Club, 1919. Amy Gentry is second in from the right (230.1979/11).
Weybridge Oarswomen, possibly with two male trainers, 1919. Amy Gentry stands on the left (230.1979/12). 
The Ladies Section of the Weybridge Rowing Club, 1921. Amy Gentry stands four in from the right (230.1979/13).
Amy Gentry, Zoe, Connie Castigan, Florrie Coley & Connie Hucktep, 1920/21 (270.1986/2).
Amy was instrumental in establishing women’s rowing in the UK and internationally. However, she was also one of the sport’s most accomplished competitors. In 1927, she competed in the very first Women’s Eights Head of the River Race along the famous Putney to Mortlake course.
The inaugural event was a head-to-head contest between Ace and Weybridge Ladies rowing clubs, with the the Weybridge crew claiming victory. The following year brought the same clubs with the same result. The race was postponed due to the outbreak of war in 1939, but restarted in 1950.
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Amy’s own competitive career reached even greater heights in the 1930s. She became the British singles sculls champion in 1932, 1933, and 1934, retiring undefeated. Alongside these national victories, Amy had great success at other local regattas and became a respected umpire.
“So far, as my experience goes, you will be the first lady who has umpired races at an open regatta.” Mr C J Johnson, Honorary Race Secretary, discussing Amy at the Walton on Thames Regatta, 1928.
The photographs below capture elements of Amy’s competitive rowing career.
English Ladies crew which went to Sydney, Australia (231.1979/22)
Amy’s success and determination proved that women’s rowing deserved a permanent place in the sporting world.
For WLARC, their journey began with their successful trip to Brussels in 1925. Other clubs soon followed. In 1929, Ace Rowing Club (based in Barnes, London) sent a crew to Poland. Two years later, Warsaw Women’s Rowing Club visited Britain in return.
By 1938, women’s rowing in Britain had grown strong enough to organise something previously unthinkable – a tour of Australia. Following a request made by the Australian Rowing Association, the WARA assembled a crew made up of rowers from affiliated clubs.
By this time Amy was working for the Vickers Armstrong factory as secretary to Barnes Wallis and was not allowed the amount of time off needed for the trip. She described it as one of her “bitterest disappointments”.
After the War, Amy went back to the cause of women’s rowing once again. Weybridge Ladies was back on winning form and France held the first International Women’s regatta in 1951 at Macon, a day ahead of the men’s European Championships.
In the album below, explore photos from the first International Women’s regatta in Macon, France in 1951.
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Amy’s glittering rowing career ended in 1934. However, her love and dedication to the sport continued.
Upon its formation in 1923, Amy first served as secretary of the WARA and then as chairwoman. As chairwoman she was instrumental in bringing about the merger between the men’s and women’s associations (ARA and WARA) in 1963. She was always very proud of this achievement. After the merger, she chaired the women’s committee of the ARA until retiring in 1968.
In the 1930s, Amy joined the outdoor sports committee of the Central Council of Physical Recreation (CCPR). As a member of the CCPR, she also campaigned for better government aid for all sports.
Background image: Amy Gentry’s Amateur Rowing Association badge (290.1976/13).
Amy Gentry receives her OBE with Sylvia Harper at Buckingham Palace (290.1976/19).
In 1960, she persuaded the International Rowing Federation to hold its women’s European Championships on the Welsh Harp in London. This marked the beginning of the acceptance of women’s rowing at international level.
Amy also worked tirelessly towards Olympic representation of the sport. She often sent letters to Lady Desborough (founding president of the WARA), requesting to have female rowers at the Olympics. This work culminated in November 1969 when Amy was awarded an OBE for her services to rowing.
Amy died in 1976, just two weeks before a Weybridge Ladies coxed Four competed at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
This was the first Olympic Games to include female rowers. It was an historic moment for the sport that she had spent her life fighting to build.
Since then, 11 WLARC ladies have gone on to represent GB at the Olympics Games.
Click here to read more about the 1976 Olympic Games.
Background image: WLARC ladies competing, the first year women rowed at the Olympics in 1976 in Montreal. From left: Pauline Wright, Clare Grove, Diana Bishop, Gill Webb, Pauline Bird. © Gill Parker’s personal collection, Source: 1976 Olympic Games, Rowing Story
Pauline was taught to scull by her father when she was 11 years old. When he heard that Weybridge Ladies were keen to take on junior members, Pauline was enrolled. However, he had to lie about her age because the minimum starting age was 13.
“I learned to row sweep at Weybridge Ladies, taught by Sylvia Harper and the legendary Amy Gentry mainly, but I carried on sculling at Weybridge with my dad as well.”
At 16 she was selected for the national squad for the World Championships (New Zealand, 1978). This was the first to include women.
Pauline went on to represent GB twice in the Olympic Games (Montreal in 1976 and Moscow in 1980).
Pauline Bird/Hart (left) at 1978 World Championships in New Zealand. © Don Somner
Jane grew up amongst rowing boats from an early age as her parents were highly involved at Wraysbury Skiff and Punting Club, where they had met. Jane’s father had also won the Thames Cup at Henley in 1953 with the RAF.
Skiffing regattas often included children’s and other fun events and Jane soon progressed to these.
“My dad said that if I wanted to try sweep oar rowing, I could do so when I’d finished my O-Levels … so in October 1977 I went down to Weybridge Ladies and that’s where I started rowing.”
Jane recorded a couple of wins in the summer of 1978 in eights and also won novice sculls at Lea Junior regatta.
She was selected for the Moscow Olympics in 1980. She rowed in the Women’s Coxed Four event with fellow WLARC member Pauline Bird, finishing in 6th place.
Jane (right), racing a pair with Joanna Toch. © John Shore.
Learn more about Jane's rowing career
Joanna took up rowing as a teenager:
“When I was six my family moved to Shepperton where my parents had a hotel which was actually on the river. So from when I was about eight I used to spend a lot of my time just out in a dinghy boat with friends.”
Joanna joined WLARC after her mother suggested it. She had initially joined for a bit of fun, however soon realised she could become ambitious and achieve great things.
Joanna rowed for GB 8 times between 1980 and 1990. These were at the World Junior Championships, Olympics (1980 and 1984), the Commonwealth games, and World Championships. She was the youngest member of the GB rowing team at the Moscow Games. In 1984, she made her way through the crowds to talk to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. She had proposed a boycott of the Moscow Games which had a mixed reception among the athletes.
Joanna (right) and Jane Cross at the Surrey Herald Sports Personality of the Year awards in 1979. © Jane Cross’s personal collection.
In 1981, women were invited to race at the Henley regatta for the first time. Joanna was part of the group of women responsible for ending these 142 years of female exclusion.
Learn more about Joanna's rowing careerBelinda enjoyed early success as a junior rower.
1979 was only the second year that women had been included in the FISA Youth Championships. The GB crew, made up entirely of Weybridge Ladies, finished eighth.
The 1979 GB Women’s Junior coxed four in Moscow. From left: Andrea Jones, Jane Cross, Kate Panter, Belinda Holmes, Joanna Toch. © Kate Panter’s personal collection.
Belinda won successive titles at the National Rowing Championships in 1981, 1982, and 1983. This culminated in her taking part in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Here she competed in the Women’s Eight with fellow WLARC rower Joanna Toch. They finished fifth.
Kate learnt to row at WLARC in her early teens and has fond memories of Amy Gentry:
“She was there in her long coat and wellington boots, and she took me out for my first outing in a tub.”
Kate’s first win was in 1976 in under-16 coxed fours at the open regatta which Weybridge Ladies ran. She went onto to have a very successful rowing career.
Kate competed in the FISA Youth Championships (1979 and 1980), World Championships (1983), and Olympic Games (1984). She also represented Cambridge and won three Oxbridge Boat Races, coming from a length down in the second one to win.
Kate (left) rowing with Belinda Holmes in their GB junior pair in 1980. © Kate Panter’s personal collection.
In the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, Alison rowed in an Eight with fellow WLARC member Andrea Jones. They finished sixth.
Alison coxed the Oxford boat to victory in The Boat Race in 1989. It was an historic race because it was the first time both men’s boats were coxed by a woman.
She also represented England and won silver and bronze medals at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in an Eight and a Coxed Four.
The WLARC Junior Four crew celebrate winning the Surrey Sports Awards From left: Andrea Jones, Jane Cross, Joanna Toch, Kingston RC Oarsman Tim Crooks, Kate Panter, Belinda Holmes. © Jane Cross’s personal collection, Source: Rowing Story.
Weybridge Ladies Amateur Rowing Club Juniors with a display of their trophies, 1970s (270.1986/21).
WLARC continued to produce rowers of national and international calibre throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Coached by Bill Stagg, the club secured British Rowing Championship titles across women’s, junior, and lightweight events. This included juniors rowing in the National Championships in Moscow. These successes recognised WLARC as a top performing club.
This competitive legacy continues today. Most recently, Weybridge Ladies were the fastest Masters C crew at the Women’s Head of the River Race. The club also holds the Hyne Club Trophy for the fastest eight on the Weybridge stretch of the River Thames.
Amy Gentry’s blue plaque unveiling in 2026. © Weybridge Ladies Amateur Rowing Club
2026 marks the centenary of Weybridge Ladies Amateur Rowing Club.
100 years on, it remains a club run by women for women. It reminds us of how Amy, and her contemporaries, transformed rowing from an exclusive male domain into a sport where women could complete, lead, and thrive.
Amy’s achievements have also been recognised by English Heritage as this year she was commemorated by a blue plaque at 29 Thornton Road, East Sheen, Richmond.
This is where she lived during the peak of her success as an oarswoman.
Today women make up 46% of registered rowers in Britain.
As of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, they are competing in an equal amount of boat classes and categories as men.
