Henry Wells

Who was Henry Wells?

Henry Bensley Wells MBE was an English judge and a rower who competed for Great Britain in the 1912 Summer Olympics.

Wells was educated at Winchester College and Magdalen College, Oxford. He was coxswain of the Oxford boat in the Boat Race from 1911 to 1914. He joined Leander Club and in 1912 he coxed the Leander eight which won the gold medal for Great Britain rowing at the 1912 Summer Olympics. The Leander eight beat the crew from New College, Oxford, by one length in the Olympic final at Stockholm.

Wells was called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn in 1914. On the outbreak of World War I, he joined the 6th London Brigade and was awarded the MBE in 1919. He was appointed a County Court Judge in 1934 and retired in 1958.