Ollie Wynne Griffiths and Tom George, Olympic Silver Medallists. (Photo – Nordin Catic)
President’s Introduction
Gentlemen Hawks,
It is a great honour to send out my first Newsletter as President, and taking over from Felix Craig-McFeely who has done such a fantastic job over the past year it is obvious I have large shoes to fill.
The Summer Term is always remarkably busy with numerous varsities, fixtures and events occurring all alongside the culmination of the academic year with exams. Furthermore, the term is one of transition with many current residents moving away from university and going on to do great things in all manner of different fields; the Hawks’ Committee handed over with the traditional handover dinner; and the term was capped off with the Hawks’ and Ospreys’ June Event.
The Tennis Blues were the pick of the summer sports with a superb season and a dramatic 17-4 varsity victory, the largest in 20 years. The less said about our Cricket Varsities the better – however importantly the league fixtures were successful, and cricket at Cambridge stays in the BUCS national premier league. The annual Henley regatta was also a great success with the largest CUBC contingent in recent memory. The Ladies Challenge Plate crew, which included Matt Edge (St Catherine’s, CUBC) our Sportsman of the year, Luke Beever (Emmanuel, CUBC), Joe Travis (Jesus, CUBC, Seb Benzecry (Jesus, CUBC), Martin Amethier (Peterhouse, CUBC), Gus John (Wolfson, CUBC), Dane Halkiw (Jesus, CUBC), Jake Intrater (Wolfson, CUBC) were the pick of the boats making it to their final where they lost out only to a Princeton Boat. Gus John and Luca Ferraro (Kings, CUBC) continued a successful summer with a gold for Great Britain at the U23 World Championship in the 8+.
Alumni support at all varsities has been considerable this year, which has contributed to a real sense of momentum behind sport at Cambridge. This is increasingly important at a time where the gap between amateur and professional sport grows, and so healthy Varsity Sport ensures the continuation of high level sport at Cambridge. Furthermore many athletes will have been funded by your donations to the Charitable Trust. The awards were made in June where we heard stories of the various representative, national and international competitions that these awards enabled our athletes to compete in, and I am immensely grateful for these direct contributions to the success of Light Blue Sport.
Furthermore, with the Olympics now over, it is time we celebrate our Hawks who competed: an all Hawks’ pair of Tom George (Peterhouse, CUBC) and Oliver Wynne-Griffith (Peterhouse, CUBC) won a fantastic silver medal in the Coxless Pair; Freddie Davidson (Emmanuel, CUBC) rowed in the Coxless Four and achieved a bronze medal; whilst Dara Alizadeh (Hughes Hall, CUBC) sculled in the Bermudan Team. Later in August, Jan Helmich (Trinity Hall, CUBC) won a bronze medal for Germany at the Paralympics. We are incredibly proud of their efforts, and their achievement is testament to the continued importance and status of The Hawks’ Club within global sport.
2024 marks 100 years since a most famous chapter of Hawks’ and Cambridge sporting history, the 1924 Paris Olympics, a story immortalised in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire. The eagle eyed viewer will spot a number of Hawks’ Club ties and cricket jumpers in the scene depicting the Great Court Run at Trinity. These 1924 Games are the subject of an exhibition in the Fitzwilliam Museum which documents the exploits of Cambridge athletes such as Harold Abrahams (Gonville and Caius, CUAC), Lord Burghley (Magdalene, CUAC) et al. The Club has donated materials from its own archives and those on loan from the Marshall family for this exhibition, and you will find a brief writeup below.
The Clubhouse has again been busy this term especially during the periods of time free from exams. It is able to excellently span degrees of formality and offer both a smarter dining experience alongside the relaxed atmosphere of the bar and lounge. Case in point this term has been the hugely successful local Alumni events, which run under the energetic stewardship of Mark Hancock. It was great to see members returning to use the club at the most recent dinner on 3rd July. With many returning after a number of years hiatus from using the clubhouse, and I would encourage anyone considering a return to reach out, either to organise their own dinner, visit or join an alumni dinner.
2024 marks the Final Instalment of the London Dinner at the Savoy, you will find a brief history of the London Dinner at the Savoy below. Furthermore, the recent save the date email contains details of the speakers for this year’s dinner – which promises to be very well attended. I encourage all of you to contact your fellow Hawks and attend the London Dinner as a group.
Finally, as we look forward to the return of winter sport athletes for preseason training and matches in September, the clubhouse is also undergoing some aesthetic renovations with new cupboards and a fresh paint scheme among other minor upgrades that should enhance the experience of the clubhouse for both students and alumni. I’m really looking forward to getting back into the clubhouse and sharing a beer with a few Hawks’ after the relative quiet of the summer holidays. Also, I will soon be in touch again about tickets for the London Dinner, merchandise and I will send out a list of Men’s and Women’ s Varsity dates and venues so that you can get these booked into your calendars early.
GDBO,
Cameron Mitchell (Robinson, CUCC, CUGC)
Hawks’ Club President 2024-25
History of the London Dinner
Members of 1938 Blue boat at a London Dinner: T B Langton, T H Hunter, A Burrough, B T Coulton, A Campbell, J L L Savill
In the early 1930s, the Club used to hold a Ball in London on the third day of the Varsity Cricket Match – “in the days when a first-class dance band cost 40 guineas and tickets were 17 shillings and sixpence”! However, numbers began to dwindle, and it was decided to experiment with a “stag” Dinner instead.
The first London Dinner was organised in July 1938 by John Tallent (Clare, CURUFC, 1929-32), a former President of the English Rugby Union. It was held at the Grosvenor House, when 120 members attended, including the late Duke of Gloucester. The Guest of Honour was the great English actor, Aubrey Smith, who introduced cricket to Hollywood.
In about 1954, the venue was changed to the Savoy, and the date to the eve of the Varsity Rugby match – this relationship remained until 2019. There have been six venues in total, but the Savoy has reigned supreme for many years. The Guildhall, in the City of London, played host to the largest London Dinner in 1974, where 600 members attended to celebrate the centenary year of the Club. Since that dinner, historical records have now revealed that the Club was originally founded in 1872.
The London Dinner is organised by the London Dinner Committee, a committee of some 30 graduate Hawks, covering all age groups, sports and colleges – as well as representatives from Cambridge in the form of the current President and a senior member, generally one of the Club Trustees. In practice, most of the work falls on the shoulders of the Honorary Secretary of this committee – John Tallent’s successors in this role have been Clive Russell Vick (Jesus, CUCC, CUHC, 1941), Jeremy Caplan (Magdalene, CUCC, CUGC, CUSRC, 1960-64), Jonathan Dickins (Corpus Christi, CURUFC, 1971-74), John Pritchard (Robinson, CUBC, 1983-86), Oliver Slack (St Edmund’s, CURUFC, CUABC, CUSRC, 1997-99), Andrew Dinsmore (St John’s, CUGC, 2008-12) and now Ed Hyde (Jesus, CUCC, CURC, CURTC, CURFC, 2017-2022).
The Chairman of the Committee serves for one year only (although Lord Morton, S.A. Block, F.R. Brown and James Furber have all served for two years), his main role being to sign up the Guest of Honour to speak at the dinner. The Dinner has been privileged to welcome a distinguished line up of Guests of Honour including Prime Ministers, Archbishops, Fighter Aces and many a great from the world of international sport with names such as – Alec Douglas-Home (1966), Douglas Bader (1968), Christopher Chataway (1969), Ted Heath (1972), Willie John McBride (1974), Cliff Morgan (1975), Basil Hume (1986), Tim Rice (1995), John Major (1999), Sir Steve Redgrave C.B.E (2003) and John Taylor (2007).
Often our Guest of Honour is a Hawk himself and so particularly well equipped to fire up his audience. Recent “Hawks Speakers” have included Dennis Silk (1991), Christopher Martin-Jenkins (1992), Ian Robertson (1994), Donald Steel (1997), Gerald Davies (2002), Ian Balding (2005), Mike Biggar (2006), Alastair Hignell CBE (2009), Edward “Eddie” Butler (2013), Professor Mark Bailey (2017) and John Pritchard (2019).
Team of the Year: CURUFC Men’s Blues
CURUFC Men’s Blues celebrate after winning The Varsity Match at the StoneX for the first time
The Blues as I’m sure you all know had a superb season notching up 11 wins and just 3 losses, this included wins against the Navy, RAF, Crawshays Welsh and the Hungarian National team. The whole season culminated in a 56-11 Varsity Scoreline, the most points scored in the Varsity Match and the largest ever winning margin, and contained 21 points from Jamie Benson (Downing, CURUFC) the most ever in the Varsity Match. Furthermore, the year was a great success for the club as a whole, with all 3 Men’s teams winning their respective Varsity Matches for the first time in over 30 years.
Their immense success at the new venue of the StoneX, should be encouraging for the fixture going forward and maintaining a strong light blue turnout from supporters, which this year served to create a fantastic atmosphere at the Stadium.
Hawk of the Year: Matthew Edge (CUBC)
Congratulations to Matthew Edge (St Catharine’s, CUBC) who is the Hawks’ Club Sportsman of the Year for 2023/24.
On Easter Sunday this year, the front page of newspapers carried a picture of a young Light Blue oarsman collapsed after stroking his crew to Boat Race victory. Matt had led the Blue Boat out to a furious start in the 169th Boat Race, taking an early advantage against a favoured Oxford crew. Cambridge extended their lead to clear water around the outside of the Surrey bend, with the aggressive racing of the Light Blues proving too much for the opposition.
As the crews passed under Barnes Bridge, Cambridge well clear of Oxford, the brutal nature of the 6.8km Boat Race was clear to see as Matt began to slump and 7-man Luca Ferraro took over setting the rhythm. This scenario would usually be game over, similar events unfolded in 2002 when Sebastian Mayer suffered an asthma attack in the 4-seat of a leading Cambridge crew. However, a commanding lead combined with exceptional composure from the remaining crew, allowed Cambridge to run out winners by 3 ½ lengths. The race appeals to oarsmen and the public alike because it is both binary and hard, only one crew can win and the Championship Course is a brutal test, this appeal endures 169 races later.
Matt was lifted from the boat by the winning Goldie oarsman to be left in the capable hands of Dr Alex Woods, trauma surgeon and 2012 Oxford Blue who collapsed in the bow seat in his race. Exemplary care from the medical and coaching team meant Matt was back on his feet to enjoy some of the celebrations and received a well-deserved standing ovation at the Blues Dinner that evening. Luca Ferraro described Matt’s performance after the race, “Matt is an absolute hero. To put yourself that much in the hole, to get us in front, you know, I love him so much, he really did the business today. He is the best stroke man I’ve ever rowed with.”
2024 was Matt’s second winning Blue Boat, following a successful debut in 2023. He raced for the Lightweight Blue Boat in 2020, 2021 and finally won in 2022 as President. He was also the first oarsman to win a Full Blue in Lightweight Rowing.
Matt has enjoyed considerable success this year alongside the Boat Race. In September, he stroked a Cambridge crew which beat the Chinese National Team, Australian U23 National Team and Oxford Brookes University at the Head of the Shanghai River Regatta. Post Boat Race, he stroked a Cambridge coxless four who were crowned British University Champions and a Cambridge eight which won Championship Eights at the Metropolitan Regatta. The season culminated in stroking a Cambridge/Goldie crew to a narrow loss in the Ladies Plate final at Henley Royal Regatta against Princeton, the first appearance for a Cambridge eight in a Henley final since 2005.
Alongside his performance on the water, Matt has served as both Secretary and Lightweight President of the CUBC and has played an integral part in the successful merger of CUBC, CUWBC and CULRC. Most importantly, when training allows, he is a Hawks’ regular, providing valuable feedback on the Club’s alcoholic and vegetarian options, while maintaining his hotly competitive position as the Club’s worst darts player.
Rowing is a team sport and the CUBC has enjoyed a considerably successful season across the Blues, Goldie and Lightweight crews. Matt’s performance has been stand out and in the very best tradition of Varsity sport, giving your all for your crew, club and for Cambridge.
Written by Felix Craig-McFeely (CUBC)
Hawks’ and Ospreys’ Event
This year marked the first iteration of the Hawks’ and Ospreys’ Event hosted away from Fenners Cricket Ground in recent memory. This was as usual a huge success and kicked off May Week with a night drowned in Tomahawk and merriment. I’d imagine there were more than a few sore heads come Saturday morning. The event also provided a small fundraising opportunity for the Clarissa Campaign which Felix mentioned in the previous newsletter, with a donation available to be made with each ticket. The Campaign is an initiative to offer cardiac screening to cambridge students in memory of Clarissa Nicholls who tragically passed away on her year abroad due to an undiagnosed heart condition. The event remains a strong favourite in the May Week Calendar, and is set for many years of continued success despite the venue change.
The Former Hawks’ and Ospreys’ Presidents, Felix Craig-McFeely (Fitzwilliam, CUBC) and Georgia Tooth enjoy the festivities of the Hawks’ and Ospreys’ Event
Preserving Sporting Legacy: The Marshall Medals at the Fitzwilliam Museum
The Club, as custodians of sporting heritage, proudly contributed to the Paris 1924: Beyond Chariots of Fire exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum. This exhibition, centred around the 1924 Olympics, and fittingly occurred in parallel to the 2024 Olympics again hosted in Paris.
Readers will likely be familiar with the 1981 film, portraying the gold medal winning performances of Harold Abrahams (Gonville & Caius, CUAC) and Eric Liddell. 15 CUAC raced for Great Britain in Paris, with Cambridge well represented across other nations and sports. It is a particularly fine chapter in Cambridge sporting history, we are particularly proud that many of the athletes are Hawks.
A fashionable young Hawk looks on as Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) becomes the first man to complete the Great Court Run. Abrahams never actually attempted the run, although Lord Burghley was the first to beat the clock in 1927 – Hollywood artistic licence!
As such, the Club contributed material from our archives, giving access to our membership records and club ledgers dating from the 19th century which are still under the custodian of the President and Hon. Secretary. The Steward’s ledgers still remain, giving an interesting perspective on the diet and drinking habits of a Cambridge Olympian in 1924, minimal academic work and sufficient time spent at All Saint’s Passage.
The Club is fortunate to have the medals of Sir Arthur Marshall (Jesus, CUAC) on loan from the Marshall family. Sir Arthur Marshall was a legendary Hawk and Athletics Blue, a reserve for the 1924 Olympic team and a gracious donor to the Club and University. His son, Sir Michael, followed suit as a Hawk, Jesuan and Rowing Blue and was a great support of our Club, presenting the medals in 2008 to the then President Mike Collins (Trinity, CUAC). You will be hard pressed to find a photograph of either Sir Arthur or Sir Michael not sporting a Hawks’ Club tie.
Pride of place in the Club’s dining room hang Sir Athur’s medals and Blues and Olympic Blazer pockets. The medals range from second place in the open quarter mile at Tonbridge School, to a medal given to the 4x400m relay team in the 1924 Olympics. These items have unsurprisingly aged in 100 years, the Club collaborated with the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Marshall Family to restore the medals to their proper glory so they may hang in our Clubhouse for another 100 years.
Sir Arthur Marshall OBE (1903-2007) – Hawk, Jesuan, Olympian and CUAC Blue
The Marshall medals are part of our rich legacy of enduring sporting greatness and the Club is grateful to Sir Michael and the Marshall family for their loan. I would encourage all to view them at the Fitzwilliam or when you next visit the clubhouse and draw inspiration from the athletes who blazed a trail in 1924 and our 3 Olympic medallists from Paris 2024.
Sir Michael Marshall CBE (1932-2019) – Hawk, Jesuan and CUBC Blue
Birds of a Feather golf together
The venue may have been the same at the Sacred Nine holes of Royal Worlington; the weather may have again been kind to us with glorious sunshine greeting the 36 golfers who enjoyed both course and sun as well as each other’s company, but this year’s event also saw a number of firsts.
The Hawks were joined for the first time by golfing Ospreys and by the captain of Worlington, both of which innovations added to the enjoyment of the annual occasion. It has become a firm fixture in the diaries of golfing Hawks, young and old, united by their love of the Cambridge sporting experience and ethos.
The connection between Worlington as the home of the Cambridge University golf teams goes back many decades and the Hawks’ Club have also valued and cherished the annual opportunity to enjoy golf and friendly competition at such a splendid course and the accompanying top class hospitality and delicious lunch provided by the ever hospitable and accommodating team in the clubhouse. Long may that continue and we hope the word will spread through the Ospreys and the Hawks that for golfers of all vintages and abilities this is an event not to be missed. The age range spanned from resident Hawks and Ospreys studying at the university to many who will miss their winter fuel allowance and golfing handicaps were almost as wide as that disparity of age. Despite (or perhaps because of) that the day was a unique combination of competition, camaraderie, colourful clothing, claret and conviviality.
The trophies, all of which for reasons not lost on the participants have a drinking theme, were shared by new names on the honours board with Stuart Southall and Michael Colyer winning the foursomes prize (and with it the Dalzell Claret Cup) and with the Ken James Mugs going to Garri Jones for the longest drive and Chloe Royston for nearest the pin. Runners up for the foursomes were Arvind Sabharwal and Derek Wilson.
The Dalzell Claret Cup going to the overall winners, Stuart Southalland Michael Colyer
Garri Jones celebrating his longest drive
Hawks’ President Cameron Mitchell chivalrously accepting Chloe Royston’s prize for nearest the pin
As well as the prize-giving at lunchtime, we had an encouraging update on the success and progress of the Hawks Club at Portugal Place underpinned by the financial health of the Hawks Trust. Another first was that rarely, if ever, will the current president of the Hawks Club, the Chairman and Finance Director of Hawks Club Limited, the club steward and the current captain of the university golf team all have been together at the golf day tangibly demonstrating that the Hawks Club is in good hands.
Young and old – the combined ages of the three members of his group only just beat your correspondent’s!
As with all good things worth supporting, we need to recruit new supporters. For those both at the day and reading this who wish to support the Hawks Club please click here (https://www.hawksclub.co.uk/donate-to-the-club/ ) or visit the Club website (www.hawksclub.co.uk)and for anyone not already on the Hawks Golf Day mailing list just send an email to hgd@hawksclub.co.uk or get in touch with either Andrew or John and you will receive details of next year’s event which is on Friday, 29th of August, 2025 – save the date to enjoy the experience!
John May (Christ’s 1976)
07831 746312
Andrew McGahey (Fitzwilliam 1978)
07834 566739
Hawks and Ospreys Golf Day, Royal Worlington & Newmarket Golf Club, Friday 29th August 2025
Written by John May
Sports news from all across the Hawks
Tennis
Our Tennis blues enjoyed a fantastic season led by Patrick Smart. Amongst their achievements are gaining promotion from their BUCS league with a game to spare, 6 points ahead of 2nd place, and gaining rare wins against the All England Lawn Tennis Club, and the International Club of Great Britain – a club made up entirely of individuals who have previously represented the UK or its universities in international competition. The Blues were beaten only once in all competitions and friendlies in a long season with fixtures running from October to June.
The quality of the tennis played is underlined by individual successes as well. In March, Patrick Foley (St Edmund’s) won a silver medal at the Individual BUCS Championships, as well as a bronze in the Doubles Championships in December. This puts the Lawn Tennis Blues right at the top of university tennis.
In the Varsity Match, the team with four Hawks (Patrick Smart (Churchill), Patrick Foley (St Edmund’s), Esah Hayat (Homerton), Harry Cookson (Corpus Christi)) dealt Oxford a heavy 17-4 defeat, a result that has been bettered only once in the past 20 years.
Our Victorious Tennis Blues defeat Oxford 17-4
Written by Patrick Smart
Cricket
The Cricket Blues yet again hold onto a spot in the BUCS National Premier League which is a superb achievement considering the resources available to CUCC in comparison to those afforded to the UCCEs. Unfortunately, the Blues fell short in their varsity matches but the Crusaders did manage to pull off excellent victories in both their 3 day and T20 matches.
The Crusaders en route to a resounding 3 day varsity victory
Sailing
Our sailors competing in the open category at the 2024 Varsity Sailing Match
The 2024 Varsity Sailing Match was held in Lymington, sailing modern RS21 keelboats. The sun and wind turned up for the event, providing glorious conditions for one day of practice to get used to the boats followed by two days of racing. In a best of 7 series, the open team aimed to swiftly win 4 races and back up a successful season having won the open BUCS Team Racing.
The open match featured 3 Hawks’: Lucius Bligh (Captain, St Johns), Tim Hire (Selwyn) and Sam Dearney (Caius). The team started strongly in the medium wind of the first day, winning the first race and going on to finish the first day with a 3-1 lead against Oxford. The second day featured more wind with the team showing superior boatspeed. After a small blip losing the first race of the day, Cambridge won the 6th race to win the open varsity match 4:2.
Written by Tim Hire
The Clubhouse Renovations
Over the summer we have completed a much needed revamp of the clubhouse. The main rooms have been redecorated, the bar upgraded with a brand new ice machine and new cupboards installed. All of these updates will improve the usability as well as providing the polished finish which is befitting of the clubhouse. I would urge all of you to come and view the updates yourself. The new colours look fantastic and the clubhouse feels incredibly smart whilst maintaining the traditional welcoming atmosphere it has always had.
Our pair of new cupboards in the dining room – the walls not yet sporting their fetching shade of maroon
Contact Us and Picture Submissions
Please do get in touch with us about anything Hawks’ Club related! We particularly welcome photos of Hawks past and present which we will try to get up in the Clubhouse and on the website. It is also great to hear about the sporting or social activities of past Hawks – for example, anecdotes or brief thoughts on current affairs, or how we could improve the newsletter.
Do get in touch via either president@hawksclub.co.uk or secretary@hawksclub.co.uk.
You can also rapidly and easily keep up to date with all the latest Hawks’ Club activities by following our social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
A reminder to keep your details up to date on the website (your username should be <SURNAME><INITIALS> e.g. MOENAJ for Alexander James Moen – send an email to secretary@hawksclub.co.uk if you have forgotten your username).
If you enjoyed this newsletter, you can also read archived newsletters here.
