Canon Noel Duckworth

John Noel Duckworth (25 December 1912 – 24 November 1980), MA, TD, was a rower and Anglican priest, Canon of Accra and the first Chaplain of Churchill College.

Duckworth was born on Christmas Day (hence Noel) at Goole, the son of the Reverend James Duckworth and his wife Nancy Sumner. He was educated at Lincoln School before he went up to Jesus College, Cambridge. At Cambridge University he coxed the winning Cambridge crews in the 1934, 1935 and 1936 Boat Races. In 1936 he coxed the Great Britain eight which came fourth at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.

He was ordained in 1936 and appointed a chaplain to the forces in August 1939. During the Second World War he served as chaplain to the 2nd Battalion, Cambridgeshire Regiment, and was sent out to Malaya in 1941. Duckworth was captured by the Japanese at Senggarang when he elected to remain with a group of wounded soldiers. He spent time in Pudu Gaol, in Changi Prison, a prisoner-of-war camp where he acted as chaplain. His work in the camp was documented in Russell Braddon's The Naked Island.

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