Ill Health
By this time his health was in serious decline. In his youth he had worked in an iron foundry, in hot, dirty conditions that may have damaged his lungs. In any case, he had developed tuberculosis. At the time, he was the landlord of the King’s Head pub, St Anthony’s in Newcastle and, in an attempt to improve his health, he briefly moved to Croft Spa near Darlington. However this was to no avail and he moved back to St Anthony’s, where he died on 4 June 1868, at the age of 37.
He was buried in Walker Churchyard and a magnificent memorial was erected over his grave, showing him in repose, with sculling oar lying alongside him. The memorial, somewhat vandalised, can be seen there today.
At his funeral, one of the mourners was a young sculler called James Renforth. He would soon take over where Robert Chambers had left off and become equally famous.
Read more about this topic: Robert Chambers (oarsman)
Famous quotes containing the words ill and/or health:
“There is no ill which may not be dissipated, like the dark, if you let in a stronger light upon it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“We have to give ourselves—men in particular—permission to really be with and get to know our children. The premise is that taking care of kids can be a pain in the ass, and it is frustrating and agonizing, but also gratifying and enjoyable. When a little kid says, “I love you, Daddy,” or cries and you comfort her or him, life becomes a richer experience.”
—Anonymous Father. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 3 (1978)