Putney's Rowing Community Mourns Death of Stalwart
Pauline Rayner MBE had been a member of Thames RC for over 40 years
Pauline Rayner MBS (seated centre). Picture: Jo Harris/Thames Rowing Club
January 26, 2024
The rowing community in Putney has received a major blow following the announcement of the death of Pauline Rayner MBE.
The 83-year-old club president of the Putney Embankment based Thames Rowing Club (Thames RC) passed away recently following an illness.
She had been with the club for over 40 years and was the first female captain, chair and president. In her later years she was a great supporter of the rapidly growing Masters circuit.
She started rowing as a teenager, being brought along by her brother John to help out at the Thames Tradesmen club, which at that point was on the Surrey side of the river where Putney Town RC is now.
A coach spotted her enthusiasm and suggested she join the Alpha Women’s ARC near Barnes Bridge. Aged just 13, she was a member of the Alpha eight that participated in the Head of the River Race in April 1954.
She learned to scull and was quickly winning titles. She then teamed up with Pam Body for the Women’s European Rowing Championships in 1960 just a few months after she had had her first child, Nicholas.
Starting a family proved a limitation to her rowing for much of the sixties and the seventies confining her to occasional participation in local regattas. She also competed at the Women’s Head most years even though she wasn’t able to train regularly.
Boats owned by Pauline Rayner contributed to the success of Women's Masters rowing. Picture: Jo Harris/Thames Rowing Club
Her rowing career only really took off again after her second marriage to Maurice Rayner who, unlike her first husband was involved in rowing. She joined Thames RC in 1983 because it was on Putney Embankment like London RC, her husband’s club.
She was club captain for three seasons from 1991-1994 and awarded an MBE in 2007 for services to sport.
She continued to race in Masters events well into her seventies despite have knee replacement surgery in 2014. Women’s Masters rowing in the area was given a significant boost by Pauline making boats she owned available for crews.
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