Bert Haines

Bert Haines’ father William was the landlord of the Star and Garter Hotel in Windsor and was also a well-known local town councillor. After his father died, Bert helped his mother with the running of the hotel. Haines senior and his three brothers were all experienced Thames boatmen, and when he was just nine-years-of-age, Bert coxed for them. A well-known local sportsman, Bert started his apprenticeship with a firm of local boatbuilders and went on to become a prolific sculler in his own right with the Eton Excelsior Rowing Club. Before he went to live in the United States just after World War I, Haines was regarded as the fastest sculler in England over one mile. In America, he succeeded two of his uncles as coach at Harvard, a position he held for 32 years until his retirement in 1952.

Hanes was a member of the Windsor Fire Brigade and was in their team at the firefighting competition at the 1900 Paris Olympics. He saw service in World War I as a squadron sergeant major with the Berkshire Yeomanry in Palestine, Galipoli, the Sinai Peninsula, and Egypt. In 1918 he was awarded the DCM (Distinguished Conduct Medal).