| Fletcher | William Alfred Littledale | | Lieutenant | FLETCHER, WILLIAM ALFRED LITTLEDALE, Lieutenant, was born at Childwall 25 August 1869, son of Alfred Fletcher, JP, DL. He was educated at Eton, and Christ Church, Oxford (Eton Eight, 1890; Oxford 'Blue' for Rowing, 1890-1893); served in the South African War with the 2nd Battalion Imperial Yeomanry from 1899 to 1900. He was created a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order [London Gazette, 27 September 1901]: "William Alfred Littledale Fletcher, Lieutenant, Imperial Yeomanry. In recognition of services during the operations in South Africa". The Insignia were presented by the King 29 October 1901. He again saw service in the European War from 1914 to 1918, receiving for his services the Brevet of Major, three mentions in Despatches, and the Legion of Honour. He died 14 February 1919. Major Fletcher, besides being a great oarsman, went in for big game shooting, and had travelled considerably. He was world-famous as an oarsman, coach, umpire, and a member of important rowing committees. He gained the highest honours in rowing, first appearing at Henley in the Eton College Eight of 1888, which beat Radley, but went under to Pembroke College, Cambridge, in the semi-final of the Ladies' Plate. In the following year he was at 7 in the Christ Church, Oxford Crew, which won the Leander Plate and Thames Cup, and he rowed for the College in 1890 in the same two events unsuccessfully. In the next year he was at 6 in the powerful Leander Eight, stroked by C W Kent, which won the Grand Challenge Cup and beat record against London in the final, and was also in the final for the Goblets, being partnered by F Wilkinson, and losing to Lord Ampthill and Guy Nickalls by a foot only. In 1892 he was again in the winning Leander Eight for the Grand, and won the Goblets with Vivian Nickalls. His record in the University Boat Race was the very brilliant one of four successive wins. He stroked the winning Oxford crew in 1890; was at 7 to Kent in 1891; at 6 to C M Pitman in 1892, and to M C Pilkington in 1893. In addition Colonel Fletcher has done splendid service for rowing in coaching, by umpiring at Henley, and by his work on the committee of management of Henley Regatta, and on the committee of the Amateur Rowing Association. His death caused widespread regret, and some obituary notices of him read as follows: "We regret to announce that Lieutenant Colonel William Alfred Littledale Fletcher, DSO, the Oxford Rowing Blue and coach, died of broncho-pneumonia yesterday at Allerton, Liverpool, aged 49. The name of W A L Fletcher is classical in the literature of rowing. There are many who would say that he was the finest of all heavy-weight oarsmen, and certainly among the welter-weights there are not half a dozen names that could possibly be classed with his. The eldest son of Mr and Mrs Alfred Fletcher, he was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. His prowess as an oarsman was not so remarkable at Eton as at Oxford, but he rowed in the Eton crew of 1888 for the 'Ladies'. In January 1889, he went up to Oxford, and thenceforward developed very rapidly in weight and strength, besides improving out of knowledge as an oarsman. In the summer of 1889 he rowed '7' in the Christ Church eight, which won both the Ladies' Plate and the Thames Cup at Henley. This was followed by a remarkable success in the spring of 1890, when he stroked the Oxford crew, which beat Cambridge after four successive Cambridge victories. The tide of success in the University Boat Race had turned, and Oxford won for nine years consecutively, in the first four of which Mr Fletcher was a mainstay of the Oxford crew. He rowed stroke in 1890 (at the record weight for the thwart of 13st.), '7' in 1891, and '6' in 1892 and 1893. As a '6' he was undoubtedly at his best. It is regarded by many as the most important position in the boat, and certainly a big man at '6', who is also a superlatively good oar, can 'make' a crew to an extent that is not possible even at stroke or '7'. Mr Fletcher rowed in many very good crews and contributed greatly to their excellence. He also rowed in several college crews of fair standard that would have been of decidedly poor class without him. With Mr Fletcher at '6' it would hardly have been possible for an eight, after a reasonable period of training, to be a bad one. His record of victories is not so remarkable as that of several oarsmen of less calibre, but they were nearly all victories of the very first class. A period of comparatively few years covers his rowing career, and during that period he never entered for more than two events in any one regatta at Henley. In the races for which he entered he was almost invariably victorious. He won 'the Grand' on every occasion on which he rowed for it—namely, in the Leander crews of 1891, 1892 and 1893. In 1891 he was beaten in the final for 'the Goblets,' but in both the two following years, partnered by Mr V Nickalls, he won the event handsomely. This pair was probably the fastest that ever rowed at Henley. It may be added that the Leander eights of 1891 and 1893 were of exceptional excellence, and that the former won the final in record time. Subsequently, Mr Fletcher became famous as a coach. He trained and coached many Cambridge as well as Oxford crews with conspicuous success. His oarsmanship was remarkable for its length and power, and in hardly less degree for its smooth and finished style. Added to a long reach and vast strength, Mr Fletcher showed indomitable pluck and was possessed of great stamina. He was a man of strong and virile character, but, none the less, universally popular. Several years of his life were devoted to world-wide travel, which included an expedition into Tibet. In the South African War he won the DSO, and in stages of the present war he commanded the 2/6th (Rifles) King's Liverpool Regiment in France". "The great oarsman and coach, Lieutenant Colonel W A L Flelcher, DSO, died yesterday, a few hours after he had been elected chairman of the Henley Regatta Management Committee. He stroked the Oxford eight to victory against Cambridge in 1890, rowed '7' in the winning boat in 1891, and was '6' in the winning boats in 1892 and 1893". "The rowing record of Colonel W A L Fletcher, DSO, who died of pneumonia yesterday, is inscribed among the classics of sport. His other leading interest in life is less well known—he was an enthusiastic traveller. One of his journeys was an expedition into Tibet, in which he got within 43 miles of Lhassa. As might be expected, he made a fine soldier—his dauntless courage, his great power of physical endurance, and his determined character soon lifted him into the ranks of the first-class fighting men. He won his DSO in the South African War for a splendid resistance put up by himself and a force reduced to 16 men, who barricaded themselves in a beleaguered house at Hamelfontein, and held out for the best part of a day and all night".
DSO, QSA (2) CC OFS (Lt IY), BWM, Victory Medal with MID (Lt Col), Legion dHonneur (France) 5th Class. Christies 1992 est £500-600. Dixon 1994 £1200.
Source: DSO recipients (VC and DSO Book) | Imperial Yeomanry |
