It was the father of modern forensic science, Edmond Locard, who authored the phrase ‘every contact leaves a trace’. Countless homicides owe their solution to this insight but it applies as equally to organisations as it does to a dead body, writes Graham Hurley.

Take sports clubs. New members come and go all the time. Some hang around for a while. A handful stay for the rest of their lives. In either event, their knowledge, coupled with sheer force of example, can change the culture of a club.

Existing members lift an eyebrow at what they’ve always taken for granted. Training and tactics sharpen up. The club becomes slowly more competitive in venues that matter. And thus it was with us at Exmouth Rowing Club when – many years ago – Peter Todd appeared.

He'd come south from Yorkshire. He’d been a bladesman of distinction all his life, a winner of a Veteran gold medal at the UK National Championship, followed by another gold at the FISA World Champs, but he’d always trained and competed on lakes, reservoirs and a variety of rivers.

With us, he was pitched into bigger, heavier, beamier boats, built to cope with offshore conditions, but Toddy – as he quickly became known – loved the challenge, joining a crew of fellow veterans for twice-weekly expeditions up the river or out to sea.

Over those years, we clocked up thousands of miles together but – more importantly – Toddy taught us how to row properly, how to sit the boat, and how to consummate that wonderful marriage of technique, effort, stamina and the sheer joy of making a quarter of a ton of boat, including five oldies, slip effortlessly through the waves.

Sadly, Toddy died in February this year but his impact on the club remains indelible. Hence ERC’s decision to name the latest addition to their offshore fleet Hot Toddy II. The christening, in traditional style, fell to his widow Isobel. Her glorious husband left a hole in all our lives but Hot Toddy II puts Edmond Locard’s axiom beyond dispute.

Every contact leaves a trace. Amen to that.