Historic donation to the Sabrina Club collection

Flickr album: Oar Presentation 2023 | Height: auto | Theme: Default | Skin: Default - Transparent

An oar used by a coxed four in 1894 has been donated to the School by the Collis family. It will be the oldest item on display in the exhibition of the history of the RSSBC in the boathouse.

Walter Thomas Collis was born on the 2^nd July 1875, the 5^th son of William Blow Collis of Stourbridge, a coal master and  mining engineer. The records show he was in School House and left in 1894. In the same year a photograph of him and the other members of his crew was featured in an article for the Ludgate Illustrated Magazine about ‘Young England at School’ an account of the writer’s visit to Shrewsbury, one of the great public schools of England which had recently moved to a new site.

Walter was the first of 13 members of the Collis family to attend Shrewsbury School. The oar was inherited by his son and in turn his grandson Chris Collis who has generously donated it to the School. He and his brother Nigel visited the boathouse on Friday August 18^th to officially hand the oar to Nick Randall who curates the collection and Charles Wright, President of the Sabrina Club.

The Collis family are related by marriage to another Salopian family, the Haynes. By happy coincidence Tim Haynes who until July 31^st was the School’s Chairman of Governors was also in Shrewsbury on Friday to witness the handover. Also in attendance were Chris and Nigel’s wives Sarah and Linda Collis, James Russell from the Sabrina Club Committee and Dr David Gee, former rowing coach and custodian of school history.

After leaving school Walter trained as a chemist and spent most of his life working as a senior manager for Midland Tar Distilleries. He lived initially in Harborne near Birmingham, and on retirement moved to Clent. His younger brother Cyril also went to Shrewsbury, as did Walter’s son John Leigh Collis and the two sons of his older brother Arthur - William and Antony who rowed in the first eight.