Arthur Hamilton Cloutte was an English rower

Rowing (sport)

Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

 who won the Wingfield Sculls, the amateur single scull

Single scull

A single scull is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for a single person who propels the boat with two oars, one in each hand....

ing championship of the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

, in 1902

Cloutte was born at Turnham Green in west London, the son of Arthur Cloutte and his wife Jane. His father was in 1881 headmaster of Hele's School, Plympton St Maurice

Plympton

Plympton, or Plympton Maurice or Plympton St Maurice or Plympton St Mary or Plympton Erle, in south-western Devon, England is an ancient stannary town: an important trading centre in the past for locally mined tin, and a former seaport...

, Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, where Cloutte received his early education. Cloutte joined London Rowing Club

London Rowing Club

London Rowing Club is one of the oldest rowing clubs on the River Thames in London, United Kingdom.It is regarded as one of the most exclusive and successful rowing clubs in Britain. and its Patron is HRH Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh....

 and competed in the Wingfield Sculls over several years winning in 1902. In 1901 Cloutte lost to Harry Blackstaffe

Harry Blackstaffe

Henry Thomas "Harry" Blackstaffe was a British rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics.Blackstaffe was born in Islington, London, and became a butcher. He was a long-standing member of Vesta Rowing Club in Putney and also a cross-country runner who represented South London Harriers in the...

, but in 1902 won the race on the line. He lost to F S Kelly

Frederick Septimus Kelly

Frederick Septimus Kelly was an Australian and British musician and composer and a rower who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics...

 in 1903, to Saint George Ashe in 1904 and to Harry Blackstaffe in 1905 and 1906. In 1905 he was runner up to L F Scholes in the Diamond Challenge Sculls

Diamond Challenge Sculls

The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England...

.

Cloutte was a banker, and was employed by Barings Bank

Barings Bank

Barings Bank was the oldest merchant bank in London until its collapse in 1995 after one of the bank's employees, Nick Leeson, lost £827 million due to speculative investing, primarily in futures contracts, at the bank's Singapore office.-History:-1762–1890:Barings Bank was founded in 1762 as the...

. However in 1913 he stole money from his employers and was sentenced to six months hard labour.