At the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Britain's Hugh "Jumbo" Edwards won the gold medal in the coxless pairs event with Lewis Clive and a second gold in the coxless four on the same day. During World War Two it was his rowing ability which saved his life. While serving as a squadron leader with the Royal Air Force's Coastal Command in 1943, he was forced to ditch his plane in the Atlantic Ocean. He rowed a dingy four miles through a minefield to safety. He was the only member of the plane's crew to survive.