Cecil Pearce was born in Woollahra Sydney, Australia, into a family with an extraordinary sporting pedigree. His great-grandfather emigrated from England in 1850 and settled in Double Bay, in Sydney's harbourside district, where he worked as a fisherman and ran a boatshed. Pearce's grandfather Henry John "Harry" Pearce, Sr. was an Australian champion in sculling. Harry Pearce had five sons and seven daughters. One of those daughters was a New South Wales swimming champion. Cecil Pearce's father Sandy Pearce, was a national rugby league representative inducted into that sport's Australian Hall of Fame. Cecil's brother Sid Pearce also played rugby league for Australia. Cecil's son Gary Pearce would row in three Olympic games from 1964 to 1972. Cecil's uncle, Henry J "Harry, Jr" Pearce Jr., was an Australian sculling champion and challenged for the world championship twice, losing to Richard Arnst and Ernest Barry respectively. Harry's son Bobby Pearce was the most accomplished rower in the family. Bobby - a sculler like Cecil - was a three-time world champion ; twice Olympic champion ; three time Australian national champion; and won the Diamond Sculls at Henley in 1931.
Club and state rowing
Cecil Pearce's took up rowing at age eighteen and rowed from the Balmain Rowing Club. He was first selected as the New South Wales state entrant to contest the President's Cup - the interstate single sculls championship - at the 1936 Interstate Regatta. He won that title in 1936 and then won the event in 1937, 1938 and 1939.
International representative rowing
Pearce's chief Australian and New South Wales rival early in his career was Herb Turner. Although Turner was the 1935 Australian single-sculls champion, Pearce beat him in selection trials for the 1936 Summer Olympics. Pearce was chosen as the single sculler and Turner was selected to row the double scull with Pearce. The rowing selectors also nominated Pearce and Turner in a double scull. However the AOF selection committee preferred to see Pearce focus on the single and Turner rowed the double with the Bill Dixon the reserve for the men's eight. In Berlin Pearce finished fourth in his heat, then second in the repechage and failed to reach the final. For the 1938 British Empire Games the selection intrigue was reversed. Pearce was the Australian national champion but Turner beat him in trials for the single sculls selection. Pearce rowed the double sculls event at the Empire Games in Sydney, with William Bradley and won a gold medal.
War service
In WWII Pearce served as a sergeant in the Royal Australian Air Force. He enlisted in 1943 just before his 30th birthday and was discharged at the war's end.
