Amy Gentry facts for kids
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | English |
| Born | 26 July 1903 Barnes |
| Died | 11 June 1976 (aged 72) Stanwell |
| Website | WLARC |
| Sport | |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Sport | Rowing |
| Event(s) | single scull double scull four eight |
Amy Constance Gentry (born July 26, 1903 – died June 11, 1976) was a true pioneer for women in the sport of rowing in England. She helped start the first ladies' rowing section at Weybridge Rowing Club in 1920. Amy was an amazing rower herself, winning the women's single scull championship three times and staying undefeated from 1932 to 1934! Later, she became a very important leader in the sport. During World War II, she even worked with the famous inventor Barnes Wallis, helping him with his secret project to create the bouncing bomb.
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Early Life and Rowing Beginnings
Amy Gentry was born in Barnes, a town right next to the River Thames. She loved water sports from a young age, even racing small dinghies when she was only six years old!
In 1919, after the First World War, the Weybridge Rowing Club held a big celebration. Amy joined a race for ladies' fours (a type of rowing boat with four rowers and no coxswain). This race was a huge success! Because of this, Amy helped create a special ladies' section at the club in 1920.
In 1925, Amy and her team from the club won against teams from France, Belgium, and the Netherlands at a special royal regatta (a series of boat races) in Brussels. In 1926, she helped start a separate Weybridge ladies' rowing club. She later became its leader, a role she kept for the rest of her life.
Championships and Leading the Sport
Amy also rowed with her brother, Frank, in mixed double sculling events (where two rowers use two oars each). They won three championships in a row from 1924 to 1926.
In 1927, Amy took part in the very first Women's Eights Head of the River Race. Her Weybridge ladies' club boat won this important race! She then became the British single sculls champion (meaning she was the best solo rower) in 1932, 1933, and 1934. She retired from competing without ever being defeated.
Besides rowing, Amy was also a great leader in the sport. She worked as the secretary for the Women's Amateur Rowing Association from 1926 to 1938. After that, she became its chair and then led its new group, the women's committee of the Amateur Rowing Association, until she retired in 1968. In 1960, she convinced the International Rowing Federation to hold the women's European championships in London. For all her hard work and dedication to rowing, she was given the Order of the British Empire award in 1969.
Working During World War II
During World War II, Amy Gentry worked at Vickers Armstrong, a big engineering company. She was the secretary for the famous inventor Barnes Wallis. She helped him with his secret and very important experiments to create the bouncing bomb. This bomb was designed to destroy German dams during Operation Chastise.
Wallis would launch small wooden models of the bomb across the water using a catapult. Amy's job was to row out and get these models back for him. She even rowed him out on Silvermere lake. She was very good at handling the boat and made sure they didn't tip over. Once, she famously told Wallis, "Sit down Wallis! You'll have us both in the water, and I'm in charge of this boat!"
Later Life
Amy Gentry passed away in a hospital in Stanwell in 1976. She was 72 years old. She never married and did not have any children.
