Hilda Mitchell was the wife of a Quintin Boat Club member F.G ‘Tiny’ Mitchell. The cup was first presented by Mrs F.G. Mitchell in 1921 for the annual competition between Quintin Boat Club and Ibis R.C. our then neighbours.
‘Tiny’ Mitchell had rowed for Quintin (and had been captain of Polytechnic R.C. in 1909-10) and was a generous supporter. He founded his construction firm which amongst other projects built the Kariba Dam.
The trophy races were a major social occasion at QBC. Until very late in her life, Hilda Mitchell struggled to get to the club to present her cup, even when not well. The competition ended with Ibis’s demise in the early 1990s.
In 2000 the cup was used at Chiswick Regatta for an invitation veteran eights race between QBC and MAABC. Although we can’t find a record of the result, since the cup remained in QBC’s trophy cabinet we presume that Quintin won. The cup remained unused in the cabinet until 2014, when it was brought out of retirement for a new annual competition between QBC and Putney Town R.C. In 2017, because of a lack of women members at QBC, the event was raced between PTRC and a combined team from QBC and MAABC.
The event last took place in 2017 but did not take places after that due to the coronavirus. We are looking forward to holding the event again on 17 May 2025 between PTRC and QBC & MAABC with BBQ and live music afterwards at MAABC as our boathouse is being redeveloped this year.
Many thanks to Kirsty Russell-Duff (QBC), Ken Creighton (QBC), Tahira Taylor (PTRC) Daisy Wild (PTRC) and everyone else in running the event this year.
Winners: The winning clubs are engraved until 1961, when there was no space for any more. QBC is shown as winning every year except in 1932 and in the three years from 1949 to 1951. The new plinth has:
2014 Putney Town Rowing Club
2015 Putney Town Rowing Club
2016 Quintin Boat Club
2017 Quintin Boat Club
2025 In this year’s race the format has been changed as QBC and MAABC combined forces to compete against Putney Town Rowing Club, so in effect a contest between Middlesex and Surrey (MAA+QBC v PTR)
Middlesex beat Surrey by 9 to 3 :-
MAA won 5
Quintin won 4
PTRC won 3
