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GREG MANNING INTERVIEW: DEVIZES TO WESTMINSTER

In 1966, Greg Manning joined the military and served in the Commando Artillery before completing P Company in 1970. In 1972, he demonstrated an aptitude for flying and trained to become an Army Air Corps pilot, which was also the year he first participated in the Devizes to Westminster Race (DW). In 1975, Greg established the Flight (Air integration to the SAS) before leaving the regular army in 1977. He then spent 24 years flying over the North Sea and serving in the Territorial Army (TA).

Greg has entered the DW 21 times, started the event 19 times, and completed it 13 times. Now, at the impressive age of 78, he is training for his 22nd attempt. He credits his success and passion for the DW to his strong watermanship skills, developed through rowing in his youth and his current enthusiasm for sailing.

TD: Tell us about yourself Greg?

Well, as far as canoeing is concerned, I first paddled in 1961 when the family moved to Waterloo on Thames and someone gave me a clapper, a single canoe, which I splashed around in. I've got a picture of me being the first ever boat to actually float on Thames head, would you believe? And the only, I think the only recorded case of a boat ever doing it. I was very lucky because when I was at school I met a couple of friends whose father was an absolute nationwide expert on watermanship. So I learned how to sail, row, scull, polar punt, paddle a canoe, kayak, operate a motorboat, use a tug, the whole lot. So watermanship is very high on my list. I went and joined the army to get away from home in 1964, went to Sandhurst, which was actually harder work than people think. Having done P Company and Lympstone, being a cadet at Sandhurst, I would rate actually on the same level. I then went to Lympstone in ‘67 and joined the Commando Artillery and we spent our time around the world, waving goodbye to empire, basically not doing anything very much. I then joined 16 Parachute Brigade.

TD: And how did you get involved in DW?

In the Parachute Brigade, there were two lads called Paganelli and Evans who won the DW. I had heard of it before because being involved in all sorts of watermanship things, I was aware of it. So I decided it had to be done. My brother-in-law was a cadet at the time, and I lived at Alton, so I decided it was something we had to do. So I went and saw Paganelli and Evans. I'm sorry, I don't know their Christian names. They were just called Paganelli and Evans to me. They lent us a boat, which we took on the canal, and we instantly fell out. And they said, “well, take the seats out, and next week you'll be alright”. So we took the seats out. This is February, of course. And in those days, you paddled in tracksuit bottoms and a rugby shirt. So we tried again the next week, we fell out again. And the next week it was a race called Waterside A. And so young Evans said to me, “put a concrete block in the boat and sit on the concrete block that will lower the centre of gravity and everything will be fine”. So we went up the start line and we were sitting on our concrete blocks, we took the first rope and capsized and the boat sank to the bottom of the canal. So I then managed to find another boat that was called “Moonraker”. And so we got in this boat, we paddled a quarter of a mile up the canal and back. That was our training done. I mean, we thought “you don't need all this paddling up and down and training crap”. So that was it. We managed to con a couple of school friends to be the support team. And in those days, there was no water in a lot of the canals at all, and lots of bits were very narrow and shallow. We did manage to finish in 25 hours and 47 minutes which, considering the conditions, we were quite pleased with and then didn't do it again for a long time because I didn't have a partner.

TD: What are some of your earliest memories of DW?

We scrounged a boat from the Junior Leaders Royal Artillery at Bramcote, and we did DW four more times. I was by then a Captain of British Airways and so I used to jump on the early morning flight from Aberdeen, fly down to Heathrow, get on the train to Reading, paddle for the day, and get back on the boat smelling of duck shit, canal water and sweat, ready to fly the next morning at five o'clock! So we did DW five times in total and we never considered not finishing.

TD: And what about some of the partners you’ve raced with in your time?

So my brother-in-law, Andrew, was very laid back. And then Chris, who I paddled with had never paddled before however he had previously fallen out of my wooden canoe in Shetland in six inches of water (he claims it was nine inches, but you know how people exaggerate!). And so I started paddling with him which was quite convenient because he lived at Guildford, which was near the course. Chris is very good at organising things, getting the boat ready, getting the kit ready etc, and we had a partner who would shuttle drive for us. Sadly the first year he tried it, we had to withdraw due to injury. The second year, they cancelled the race because of a safety incident. Chris has since done it with me lots and lots of times, and I'm training with him to do it again this year. He'll be 82 on the day of the race, and I'll be 79. So, well, we are struggling a bit with our training, I have to confess. I've also done it once with a guy called Roger Jagger who lived in Aberdeen, and was wanting to be in the “Thousand Mile Club.”

TD: The “Thousand Mile Club”?

The race is 125 miles long. So if you paddle it eight times, you've done 1,000 miles racing. I'm a bit pissed off actually, because I've trained for it 21 times, I've started it 19 times, I've only finished it 13 times, so I've still got three to do to get. There isn't a 2,000 mile club, and there's only three people that have ever done the 2,000 miles, so that would be my aim.

“Pace don't race. Pace. Don't race.”

Greg Manning (Devizes To Westminster)

TD: Perfect. “It's a marathon, not a sprint” as they say.

Absolutely, it's just pace. Aim to finish. I think that's the most important thing to aim for. I think Steve Redgrave did it one year and he only got three quarters of the way down. He had a guy from Hereford sitting behind him I think and they went off, burnt themselves out, and didn't get to the other end. It's a long way and it doesn't get any shorter I tell you.

TD: And given it's a long way and it's a long time on the water, what do you think about whilst you're on the water?

I try and think about nothing.

I keep banging on to the organisers, why don't you have a motto, “to finish is to win”? Because everyone who finishes the race, to me, has won. The crew that struggles in in 30 hours has shown more fortitude than a club crew that have been training every Thursday night and it's their sport. To push yourself to the point that you can't go on is, as they say in that well-known establishment I went to one day, “who cares who wins?”.

Endeavour

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THRUDARK DEVIZES TO WESTMINSTER "THE CANOEIST'S EVEREST"

ThruDark is proud to sponsor the Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Race 2025. As former Special Boat Service Swimmer Canoeists, ThruDark co-founders Staz and Louis are proud to be sponsoring an event with such a proud military connection.