The Boat Race 1939

In a race umpired by the former Oxford rower William Rathbone, Cambridge won by four lengths in a time of 19 minutes 3 seconds.

The Cambridge crew saw three former Blues return, including Alan Burrough who was making his third consecutive appearance.

[14] Cambridge won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station, handing the Middlesex side of the river to Oxford.

Oxford made the quicker start and were a quarter of a length ahead within fifteen seconds.

However, Cambridge's longer strokes saw them soon pick up pace and within a minute they were a third of a length ahead of the Dark Blues.

The Dark Blue cox Massey steered across to the Surrey station in an attempt to gain more advantage from the tide, but Cambridge began to pull away again at Harrods Furniture Depository and led by two and a half lengths as they passed below Hammersmith Bridge.

[5] The rowing correspondent of The Manchester Guardian was critical of Oxford's failure to respond to Cambridge's early pressure: "it was incumbent on them to fight like tigers, they settled down to a dignified and, as it were, middle-aged stride".

"[11] It was the last race until 1946, as a result of the outbreak of the Second World War, and first time since 1920 that there was a break in the annual tradition.