Historic Photo Archive
The Cygnet RC photo archive was a project to help celebrate the club's 125 year history and accompany the updated Illustrated History book. All the photos in the archive were taken by club members or purchased from professional photographers on behalf of the club and are reproduce here (at low resolution) with their kind permission.
Little is know about some of these photographs so if you have any information or spot any errors please do contact the club historian and we will make the necessary alterations. He would also be interested in any suitable photos that you may want to donate to the archive.
2010 - Present
1st February 2010
Photographs taken from 2010 until the present are in the News section of this website and on the club's social media: Facebook • Twitter • Instagram ...
2000s + Talking History
1st February 2000
Photographs taken between 2000 - 2010 are available on the Old Cygnet Website > Events > Older Events. Vic Reeves and Ronnie Lambe reminisce about the 'good old days' at Cygnet, during a recording made in 2009. If the video doesn't play in your browser, click the YouTube button, bottom...
1990s
1st February 1990
This decade opened with extensive celebrations to mark Cygnet's centenary, reaffirming an erstwhile club historian, 'Dusty' Miller's view that 'Cygnet had ever been a Club to foster the social side'. The 1990s would also see Cygnet aspiring to new heights on the water, ultimately surpassing the...
1980s
1st February 1980
The 1980s broke the mould in the sense that the club no longer concentrated exclusively on racing in Vllls, but graduated to 'small boats' (lVs, lls and sculls), setting the stage for a highly successful era in the mid-1980s. Still, the goal of winning a heat at Henley Royal Regatta in any...
1970s
1st February 1970
In contrast to the previous decade, the 1970s began with a large, active membership, the promise of a strong racing presence and a determined administrator-cum-captain, M.A.Arnold-Gilliat. Racing in Vllls remained the name of the game and in 1972 Cygnet entered Henley Royal Regatta (HRR) for the...
1960s: Rebuilding the Second Estate
2nd February 1960
One of the greatest club achievements of the 1960s was the rebuilding of 'Cygnets', the somewhat rudimentary structure constructed out of two 1914-18 Nissen huts on Hamhaugh Island, Shepperton. Work began on the demolition of the old bungalow in February, 1964 and the grand opening of the new...
1960s: At the Boathouse
1st February 1960
The 1960s were less successful than the 1950s: membership numbers declined and the club passed through some very lean years. Nonetheless, the decade was not without its high spots on the water with wins in Junior Vllls at Metropolitan in 1961 and Twickenham in 1962. On land, Cygnet gained a new...
1950s
1st February 1950
By the early 1950s, Cygnet was starting to get back into its stride and the club had high hopes of reclaiming the 'Glory of the Thirties'. While this was not to be, Cygnet won more events in Junior and Junior-Senior-Vllls throughout this decade than ever before, effectively putting civil service...
1940s
1st February 1940
During the Second World War, the Civil Service Boathouse was requisitioned as a mortuary (although it was never used as such) and remained 'off limits' to Cygnet members until July 1946. The remainder of this decade may best be characterised as a period of rebuilding, as members drifted back from...
1930s
1st February 1930
Cygnet was in its element in the 1930s: it had a new boathouse, new equipment and a hard core of experienced oarsmen anxious to make the grade in open competition. Successive victories in Junior and Junior-Senior Vllls throughout the mid-1930s set the stage for wins at Thames Cup class in 1938 ...
1920s
1st February 1920
The 'roaring' twenties were a time of great evolution for Cygnet and civil service rowing. The Civil Service Rowing Association was formed in 1922, along with the first Civil Service Regatta. Long sought-after affiliation to the ARA in 1923 gave Cygnet access to 'open events' on the Tideway and...
1910s
1st February 1910
This decade opened with high expectations and the official club photograph of 1910 conveys an image of a club anxious to spread its wings and make its mark on the wider rowing world. However, successive overtures to the ARA were rebuffed and the outbreak of the First World War proved highly...
1900s
1st February 1900
By 1904, Cygnet had outgrown its existing premises at Aylings Boathouse, Putney, and a decision was made to move to Biffin's Boathouse at Hammersmith. R.B.Etherington-Smith, an outstanding oarsmen of his time, became president in 1902 and Cygnet began to compete at open regattas. Upriver rowing...
1890s
1st February 1890
Relatively few photographs have survived from the first decade of Cygnet's existence, Perhaps the most iconic is an official club photograph taken on the Putney Embankment in June 1891. Most of the other pictures relate to upriver rowing excursions that were popular in the 1890s, glamourised by...
