The Company of
Watermen & Lightermen
of the River Thames

The Prize

In addition to the honour of winning the Wager, the successful competitor is awarded the Coat and Badge, originally designed by Thomas Doggett.
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Once the Coat and Badge have been made for the winner, he is presented to the Prime Warden of the Fishmongers’ Company in a colourful ceremony at Fishmongers’ Hall dating back many years. To a fanfare of trumpets, the Clerk to the Company, the winner and the Bargemaster of the Company are escorted in by past winners, wearing their Coats and Badges.
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The Clerk describes the race in Homeric style, the Prime Warden congratulates the winner and drinks his health in the winner’s cup, and the winner is escorted out in triumph to the strains of Clarke’s Trumpet Voluntary.