Boat Race Night

When Bertie Wooster was fined five of the best for knocking a policeman's helmet off on Boat Race Night he was part of a century-long tradition of public disorder.

Piccadilly Circus from Boat Race Day by Eric Ravillious circa 1938

While reading the Diaries of Anthony Heap (published by the splendid London Record Society ) I was struck by how throughout the 1930s, despite having no interest in the Boat Race itself, Heap would go to the West End of London on Boat Race Night in search of "rough houses" and "riotous Mafeking" often involving scuffles with the police.

It is clear that when Wodehouse was describing Bertie Wooster's fictional encounter with the law he was drawing on an actual tradition. I began researching the history of Boat Race Night disorder with the intention of writing a short article for the newsletter of the UK P.G.Wodehouse Society. This expanded to a length well beyond what they could publish and so interested readers can read the full article below.

The PDF is linked below - feel free to download, copy, and distribute.

Link to Boat Race Night PDF