Laurie and Wilson
Biographical Display
Britain's Ran Laurie and Jack Wilson, known as the 'Desert Rats', won the Olympic coxless pairs at the London games in 1948. The Olympic regatta took place at Henley-on-Thames, where three weeks previously they had won the Sil;ver Goblets at Henley Royal Regatta.
Laurie and Wilson first won the Goblets in 1938 and spent the intervening ten years in the Sudan, including the entire period of the 1939-45 war, with no opportunity of getting into a boat. Their Olympic coup brought the long, if interrupted, rowing career of the best pair of their generation to an end.
Both became Stewards of Henley Royal Regatta. Laurie followed his career in the Sudan Political Service by becoming a general practioner in Oxford, while Wilson worked in industry.
Laurie and Wilson first won the Goblets in 1938 and spent the intervening ten years in the Sudan, including the entire period of the 1939-45 war, with no opportunity of getting into a boat. Their Olympic coup brought the long, if interrupted, rowing career of the best pair of their generation to an end.
Both became Stewards of Henley Royal Regatta. Laurie followed his career in the Sudan Political Service by becoming a general practioner in Oxford, while Wilson worked in industry.
