Algernon Maudslay

Algernon Maudslay CBE (10 January 1873 – 2 March 1948) was a British yachtsman and an administrator of refugee, Red Cross and relief organisations. Maudslay represented Great Britain in sailing competitions at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Meulan, France. He was the helmsman of the yacht that won gold medals in the open event and the half- to one-ton class event. During World War I Maudslay was honorary secretary of the War Refugees Committee, supporting Belgian refugees who arrived in Britain. He was active in the Anglo-Belgian Union and served in British and international Red Cross and relief organizations during the post-war decades. Maudslay continued to compete in yachting events and held prominent positions as an administrator in yachting organisations.

Biography

Early years

Algernon Maudslay was born on 10 January 1873 at 'Upton Grove', Tetbury, Gloucestershire, the son of Herbert and Marian Maudslay. His father was an engineer and a yachtsman. Young Algernon was "educated privately".

In the late 1890s Maudslay was engaged to the tennis player Ruth Legh, although the marriage did not eventuate. In February 1899 Ruth married the brewery managing director, Edward Winch.

The Olympics

At the time of the 1900 Olympics Maudslay was a prominent yachtsman, a member of the Seaview Yacht Club and the Royal Yacht Squadron on the Isle of Wight, as well as the Royal Thames Yacht Club and the Royal London Yacht Club. The 'Half- to One-Ton' sailing race was held on 24 May over a nineteen kilometre course, with thirty-two yachts competing. Once again the Scotia, with the same crew as in the open event, proved to be the superior boat, winning the event by almost ten minutes.

War refugees

The War Refugees Committee was formed in August 1914 after the German invasion of Belgium, to provide support and hospitality for the Belgian refugees who arrived in Britain. Maudslay was the honorary secretary of the organisation from January 1915 until it was disbanded in May 1919. In 1917 he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his service in the Belgian War Refugees Committee.

Maudslay was the prime mover in the formation of the Anglo-Belgian Union in July 1918 "to maintain and foster the friendly relations between the British and Belgian peoples that had sprung up during the war". He served as honorary secretary of the organisation.

Post-war years

For much of his life Maudslay was devoted to British and international Red Cross and relief organizations.

In 1920 Maudslay joined a group called the 'Liberty League', described as an association "to combat the advance of Bolshevism in the United Kingdom and throughout the Empire". He was one of the signatories to a letter in The Times, published on 3 March 1920, calling for public support.

Maudslay, representing the Royal Thames Yacht Club, was the honorary secretary of a special committee formed to carry out the arrangements for a challenge received from the Seawanhaka Yacht Club of America, based on Staten Island, to race for the British-American Cup in The Solent, between the Isle of Wight and the mainland, in August 1921. The British-American Cup was a competition for yachts in the international six-metre class. Maudslay competed in regattas in yachts of the international six-metre class during the early 1920s.

Maudslay held the positions of director in Port Arthur (Ontario) Developments Ltd. and of the Rubber Company of Malay Ltd. He remained in the role of honorary secretary of the Anglo-Belgian Union until at least 1939.

At the time of his father's death in September 1926 Maudslay was living at 34 Park Mansions in Knightsbridge in London. His father, Herbert Charles Maudslay, died on 25 September 1926 at 'Worcester Lodge', Seaview, on the Isle of Wight.

In May 1936 Maudslay was appointed honorary treasurer of the Yacht Racing Association. He continued in that role until his death in 1948.

Death

Algernon Maudslay died on 2 March 1948 at 'The Down House', Itchen Abbas, near Winchester in Hampshire, aged 75. His funeral was held at St. Thomas' church in Winchester and a memorial service was held on 9 March at St. Paul's in Knightsbridge, London.