Hugh Van Zwanenberg

Educated at Shrewsbury School and Cambridge University, Hugh Van Zwanenberg rowed with the Shrewsbury School eights at the 1936 Henley Royal Regatta. It was as a canoeist, however, that he would leave his mark, and that same year, as a 19-year-old, he joined the committee of the famous Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta. He won the mixed C-2 at the Regatta that year, with Aileen Symons, older sister of Hugh’s 1948 Olympic C-2 partner Mike Symons. Hugh was appointed honorary secretary in 1947, and the following year, Mike Symons was appointed treasurer. Between them, they served the Regatta for a combined total of 67 years, and did more towards its organisation and promotion than any others.

Van Zwanenberg was also a fine punter, and was twice beaten in the final of the Thames Amateur Punting Championship, 1947-48. In the 1960s, Van Zwanenberg opened the Reading branch of Manpower UK Limited, and later became a director. In 1981 his son Guy followed his footsteps and became the secretary of the Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta.