#AnniversaryStory
We all know how illustrious Rutherford was as a scientist, but did you know he played golf every Sunday?
Cavendish has a rich history of sports enthusiasts and here we look at this photo from 1929, of Rutherford and friends after their weekly game of golf at Gog Magog (South Cambridge).
Rutherford was known as loud, at times impatient, but very conscientious. With such a strong personality, it’s inevitable that there would be some funny or quirky stories about him.
As Frederick Mann writes in Lord Rutherford on the Golf Course (1976):
"Rutherford had a curious and unmistakable stance and swing. For example, when on the tee and wanting a long shot, he would take up a position facing 45° to the right of the required destination, then he would strike the ball vigorously and it almost invariably came to rest near to the desired destination!"
Mann relates how Rutherford started a golfing group with other prominent scientists in the 1920s: "In due course, he found a welcome relaxation in playing with a small group of his scientific friends on the Gog Magog Golf Course... On Sunday mornings, Rutherford would drive down the backs until he met and picked up Aston, and then drove back towards Grantchester Meadows to pick me up. G.I. Taylor often drove himself to the Golf Club."
The result is this iconic photo from the past! From left to right: R.H. Fowler, F.W. Aston, Rutherford and G.I. Taylor at the Gog Magog Golf Club in front of Aston’s 1915 Rover car.
Pastoral support seems to be equally important then as it is now (although it may manifest slightly more formally now). It was J.J. Thomson who was the first to show Rutherford how to golf. In a letter to his mother and fiancé, Rutherford writes:
"4 May 1896 - The professor the other day invited me to go for a match of golf with him on Wednesday afternoon at Royston, which is about 12 miles by train. Of course I did not know anything about the game, but the Professor reckoned he could teach me. We started about 3(pm) and we knocked about a bit, and I learnt to knock the ball a considerable distance, if not very straight. We got back about 7:30 after a very pleasant time. It was very decent of the professor to take me. I don’t think, however, I am quite old enough for golf yet- at any rate to take it up with much enthusiasm."
Though the photo belongs to a bygone era, it relates back to how important community has always been at the Cavendish.
Today, the University boasts of a vibrant sports culture. The student-led sports societies encourage this culture while the Cambridge Sports Centre acts as the hub for many University sports.
Article contributed by Dhruv Shenai.
This article is part of our 150th Anniversary Cavendish stories.