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Where it all began
One
of the very early member clubs of the Cheshire County Hockey Association, Wilmslow Men‘s Hockey Club was founded in
1896/97. Little is known of its early history but a team photo to 1899 is believed to have been taken in the Rectory Field.
There was, however, no continuity of existence during the war years. Rev D, M, Brookes restarted things in 1947/48 with
a Parish Church Youth Club team. This team played in the local Youth Clubs Mixed Hockey League. The Club‘s first
full season as Wilmslow Men‘s HC was in 1957/58, resplendent in royal blue and white halved shirts. One lively AGM
in 1964, certain members fuelled by drink, decided the club strip was boring and clashed too often with the opposition.
“Why don‘t we wear those luminous orange motorway shirts then we‘ll never clash with anyone?” quipped
one member. The following was greeted with hysterical laughter after which the evening degenerated further. The following
day it dawned on the Secretary that he had to go and organise two sets of bright orange shirts. Finding a home
After playing on the Rectory Fields (before
construction of Wilmslow Leisure Centre) the Club moved to its new home at Oakwood Farm, Styal, with three grass pitches
and a purpose-built clubhouse in 1980. This Clubhouse and surrounding grounds are now shared with a Lacrosse and Cricket
section under the Wilmslow Phoenix umbrella. Due to rule changes the Hockey Club were required to play their matches on
the Astroturf at Wilmslow High School and over this period the Club also developed its thriving Ladies and Junior sections.
September 2005 saw the opening of the Club‘s own Astroturf by its Clubhouse in Styal which started a new era for the
Club.
Early days for the ladies
Wilmslow Ladies HC is believed to be
one of Cheshire’s oldest ladies clubs however documentary evidence exists only as far back as 1930. In 1952 the Club
was looking for a ground and the (then) Alderley Edge UD council offered to provide a pitch on the town’s playing fields.
It was either a condition or a strong suggestion that the club should then change its name to Alderley Edge Ladies HC. This
was complied with and the Club played under that name until 1968. By then matches were being played at Lindow CC and
the Club reverted to its original name. (It should be noted that there is no connection with the recently-formed Alderley
Edge Ladies organisation which is part of the Moss Lane club).
Golden
era
The sixties were an exceptional period for the Club on the pitch. In
1962/63 out of a total playing strength of only 21, 7 players were picked for Cheshire 1st or 2nd XIs. For a number of years
we provided the captains of both county teams. Cheshire 1st XI captain, Dorothy ‘Dot’ Wilson also played
for the North and in 1962/63 she was selected to play for England and was elected national captain. Dot played in both right
and left back positions and captained her country until 1965, which included leading an England touring party to the USA.
Move to Oakwood Farm
The ladies continued to
seek a permanent home and in the 80s had periods playing at Jim Evison Playing Fields and the High School pitch at Dean Row.
Following lengthy discussions, in 1990 WLHC eventually agreed to move to Oakwood Farm, sharing the clubhouse and grounds with
Wilmslow Mens HC. Over the next ten years the two clubs slowly moved closer. The ladies adopted the orange and black colours
and now the two clubs are totally integrated.
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Wilmslow HC on tour
Many
hockey clubs boast about being sports clubs with an active social life. Wilmslow has tended to pride itself
as being a social club which also plays hockey.
The
MYOBB
When ration books were finally put away after the Second World
War, WHC started to attend the Isle of Man Festival. We played as the MYOBB and adopted the two finger
badge. This continued until the early sixties. In mid and late sixties we went to Blackpool Easter Festival.
Jim Barrow soon had his feet under the table and was invited to join the organising committee as social sec.
In this role he organised a most successful ‘Evening with Blaster Bates’ tickets 10 shillings, at Blackpool
CC. In 1968 we were reduced in numbers to only half a team; as were Hathersage HC. We
joined forces and played alternate games as Withersage HC and Hatherslow HC! In the seventies the Club
moved NE to attend Bridlington Easter Festival.
Sunnier days
After a brief
trip to Scarborough in 1980 (touring as the Pickled Eggs) we were invited to warmer climes at Bournemouth. We
attended Bournemouth throughout the eighties re-adopting the old touring name of the MYOBB. Two Club representatives were
invited annually to a Mayor’s reception at the Town Hall. On the first year one of our reps was being
formally introduced to the Mayor who politely enquired as to the meaning of MYOBB. The response was greeted
by a nervous silence but fortunately the Mayor quickly ‘got it’ and much mirth ensued (to the relief of all!).
In the nineties the Llandudno Easter Festival was organised by the Knowles family, and scion of the family, Alex was
currently playing for WHC Mens 1st so we were invited to attend. It was here that we fielded
both a mens and ladies team for the first time. In the mid nineties we moved to Clacton Easter Festival, which we attended for three
years. The extended Short clan regularly went to Torbay with Cwmbran HC and one year a WHC raiding party
joined them. Easter was not the only time for touring and Cheshire touring side, the Hillsiders participated
in the Isle of Man Whit Festival for over thirty years with a sizeable WHC contingent. Newport Festival
was held as a pre-season warm up and WHC men participated throughout the seventies and eighties, staying in such digs as the
old Queens Hotel in the town centre. By the nineties we had moved upmarket to a country club and the Wilmslow
WAGs joined us for the spa facilities. The Festival was originally played on the old Newport HC grass pitches,
next to the rugby club, then at Llanwern and it finally moved to the Cwmbran astro.
Trainee tourists
In 1977 an enterprising group of club juniors, led by David
Taylor decided to organise their own tours. With a ‘light touch’ of chaperoning by (nervous)
club officials, the Juniors toured Blackpool, Nottingham, South Yorkshire and South Wales. David recalls
playing on the beach in Blackpool and, wearing orange shirts, being chased off by a group of Blackpool FC visiting opposition
fans! Juniors with the familiar names of Barrow, Birtles, Titterington and Dykstra featured.
This precocious generation also spawned a mixed hockey touring side, The Rubber Ducks. The Ducks
toured between 1984 and 1994, attending festivals at Dublin, Basingstoke and touring Bath, Bristol and Bedfordshire.
Ever good club members, on one still-celebrated occasion, before the new changing room block was added and hot water
was in short supply, they brought the concept of mixed hockey to the showers (the men wearing the red faces!).
Adventurous veterans
At
the other end of the age scale members of WHC Vets have spread their wings and have put in appearances in international festivals
in Ireland, Canada, Fiji, Argentina and Australia. In 2009 Messrs Birtles and Kinsella played for the Irish
geriatrics against the Dutch over 60s at Adelaide HC. Touring with the Hillsiders a WHC vets squad has
been playing at Sevenoaks Vets Festival over the May Bank Holiday for around twenty years. There has also
been a WHC presence at Cork Harlequins Vets Festival on many occasions. One year a small WHC vets squad
joined forces with a small Tilburg HC party to form a mighty Anglo-Dutch alliance (however, failing to win any games!).
On the theme of the Low Countries, one year in the nineties Jan Gregory took a WHC touring party to the Mechelen Festival
in Belgium. In
2001 Mens 1st X! skipper, Rod Smith took a mens and ladies squad to an OP Easter Festival at his home club of De
Kieveten in Holland. Although hockey on tour was only a secondary consideration, De Kieveten took this
concept to extremes so we decided that we next needed the purgative ‘bracing’ climate of Scarborough and we participated
for two years until frostbite took its toll and there was a clamour for a more balmy climate. Easter 2006
found the MYOBB men and Wilmslow ladies playing in a bright green strip back at Blackpool. Hell bent on
nostalgia, in 2008 the club went back to the Isle of Man. For the first time one or two of us old Manx hands actually got
to see more of the island than the inside of a hotel bar! Wanderlust again beckoned us and the following
year mens and ladies squads, included a number of junior, virgin tourists piled into a ‘chara’ and headed south
to Weymouth Easter Festival.
Penned by SGK
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