Captains, Presidents and national and international honours are each shown on a tab on this website. This page lists other key events in the Club’s history. A full history of the Club’s first fifty years was produced in 1977 by David Egginton and Peter Curchod – there are still copies available.
1927 Formation of the Club, with Steve Fairbairn as President
1928 – 1949 Club is based at a boathouse rented from Bruno Rosewell on Common Plat (now site of TS Black Swan)
1930 Club first competes at Henley (in the Thames Cup)
1937 ‘Tod’ Hollom, R.R. ‘Swat’ Swatton, Frank Wild and P.B. Bingham reach final of Wyfolds
1946 Club restarts activities after WWII but Navy League has requisitioned site of boathouse
1951 Club acquires lease of plot at Sunbury Lane from Miskin family trust
1953 Construction of “old” boathouse (at a cost of £400)
1959 Terry Halls, Eric Church, David Parry and Mike Rosewell reach final of Wyfolds
1963 David Parry initiates “small boats in winter” policy (a characteristic of WRC ever since)
1968 Phil Norman & Mike Brigden represent GB at first FISA Junior Champs
1971 Chris & Mike Brigden win Double Sculls at Henley
1976 First lady members elected; Walton is first non-school club to enter National Schools Regatta
1976 Construction of second boat bay; changing-room extended and leaking corrugated iron roof replaced
1978 First Walton Small Boats Head (and first multi-division small boats head in the country)
1986 Secretary and more than half the volunteer helpers at World Rowing Championships in Nottingham are WRC members
1990 Construction of sculling-boat shed
1993 Steve Trapmore and Steve Lee, with Dan Johnson and Gareth Davis of Burton Leander, win Fawley Cup at Henley
2000 Steve Trapmore strokes GB eight to Olympic Gold in Sydney, ten years after starting his rowing career at Walton
2009-10 Construction of “new” two-storey boathouse on same site
2011 Membership exceeds 300 (up from around 150 in 2008)
2020-21 Rowing activity paused during lockdowns
2021 First women’s crew at Henley (in Diamond Jubilee Cup). Mat Tarrant and Morgan Bolding (both Walton members but representing Oxford Brookes) win Silver Goblets and Nickalls Challenge Cup, 50 years after last all-Walton win.