Brockham Bowls Club - Trophies
Trophies
The handicap tournament was an established part of Brockham Manor Bowling Club's season and it was continued in a similar manner by the new club, but there were no trophies to be won in those days. Instead a cash prize was awarded, a proportion of the entrance fees, and the first recorded winner was club captain Herbert (Bert) Treagus who scooped £1. 4s. 0d by winning the 1952 tournament, while runner up Eric Bright received 18/-.
There was no tournament the following year. One or two club drives and several practise games took its place, but it seems likely that it was soon re-instated although there is no record of it until March 1958 when Miss Sherlock's parcel was opened at the annual general meeting.
Inside was "a fine silver cup," presented by Miss Ida Sherlock "as a perpetual trophy for the annual tournament." The minutes also record that "everyone was delighted with this magnificent gesture". A letter of thanks was to be sent to Miss Sherlock "on behalf of all for her generous gift" and it was agreed that, if she gave permission, her name would be inscribed on the trophy. Whether or not Miss Sherlock played bowls herself we do not know, but those who remember her doubt that she did. Her proud adopted father, George Sherlock, may well have given the trophy in her name.
As mentioned earlier, George Sherlock was one of the village grocers. He was also a bachelor who lived in Birch Cottage with two of his spinster sisters. The trio brought up Ida, one of the daughters of their married sister in Canada, and she later helped in the shop. A tall, slim lady, with bobbed hair and a natural elegance, she was an accomplished musician who taught piano playing. She was also the local authority on cats and dogs.
Tom Morris was the first person to win the trophy and he also received an envelope with cash. Eric Bright was runner up and the winner in the subsequent year when, instead of an autumn annual general meeting, the club had an end of season drive with presentation of the tournament cup.
The Ida Sherlock Cup remains a handicapped singles tournament, now 21 up, four woods. There is a photograph of George Sherlock handing over the trophy which bears his own name to the 1962 club captain.
E (Ted) Franklin but Mr Sherlock did not live long enough to see anyone win it. His passing was marked at the 12th annual general meeting held in March 1963, along with the death of Mr Stent, who, for many years, ran the Post Office and the other grocer's shop (now The Spar shop) on Brockham Green.
The competition for which the George Sherlock Shield was to be awarded was discussed at the 1963 annual general meeting when it was agreed that it would be awarded for a drawn pair's competition without a handicap. Each of the pair should hold the cup for six months of the year and also receive a plaque. The competition was voided in its first year (1963) since illness prevented one of the finalists from playing. Instead the four players who should have competed (pairs R Barrow and R Taylor, and A Hall and T Morris) each received a medal.
The Herbert Treagus Memorial Cup, which, since 1993, has been the award for the ladies' drawn pairs (21 ends, four woods) competition, was originally given for a singles competition (open to both ladies and gentlemen) that was not handicapped. This was played with three woods over 15 ends. The man whose name it perpetuates was the captain for the first half dozen years of the club's existence, that was until, in 1957, when it was agreed that the vice captain would be promoted to captain each year "so that all would get a turn", and vice captain Percy Holman (in whose memory one of the wooden benches was given) became captain.
Percy Holman's name is also the first to be inscribed on the Veteran's Trophy, a tankard that he won in 1965. No record remains of its arrival but this may well have been explained in the secretary's report that is no longer attached to the minutes of the 1966 annual general meeting. The competition for the Veteran's Trophy is a singles one, open to those over 65 years, and played over 15 ends with four woods.
The award for the singles competition open to all who have not already won any Brockham Bowls Club tournament was presented in memory of Eric Bright, who captained the club in 1959 and 1964.
Eric was the father of Michael Bright, currently a leading player with Pippbrook Bowls Club. The family lived in Middle Street. Besides being a founder member of the club, Eric was a special constable and a prominent figure in many spheres of village life. The competition that carries his name is played with three woods over 15 ends.
The Harold Rogers Rosebowl is the award for a drawn mixed pair's competition in which the lady must skip. This is a compromise since Mr Rogers intended that it should be awarded to the winners of a ladies' competition but, back in the mid-1970s, there were insufficient lady members to warrant a tournament.
Harold Rogers was, for many years, the much-respected headmaster of Brockham School. He became a keen bowler after giving up cricket and played an active part in club affairs. He was captain in 1963 and 1968. After he retired he moved to Bognor but, as club president, continued his interest in the club, returning each year to chair the annual general meeting.
He joined his local club too, Hotham Bowls Club, and for many years Brockham members made an annual trip to Bognor to play Hotham members. "Bowling club members are always a wonderful cross-section of the community (and the better for it)," Mr Rogers wrote in 1988, when giving up the presidency, "and Brockham is, and I hope always will be, one of the happiest I've known."
The Blessington Cup was presented to the club by Frank Dodd in 1989. Frank who was club captain from 1992-94, named this trophy, which is the awarded to the winner of the gentlemen's championship (21 up, four woods) in memory of his father. The Blessington was the Liverpool crown green bowling club where his father was a tournament winner.
The Swan Cup arrived at about the same time. Given by former club captain Roger Swan and former ladies captain Wendy Swan, it is awarded for the ladies' championship, another 21 up four woods competition.
The Smidgen Cup also dates from this period. The award was presented by Ray and Doris Seacombe who then lived in Dorking but have since moved to Dorset. Ray, who was club secretary for a number of years, and his wife Doris who served as the ladies' captain, gave it for a married couple's competition, a stipulation that has caused occasional complaint from those married to non-bowlers.
This competition was originally played over one day, along the lines of a drive, with lunch forming part of the proceedings. Though competition was stiff the occasion would be something of a fun event calling forth much banter and a lot of jokes in which the threat of divorce featured!
In recent years it has been played over the season like the other tournaments, but is to return to a one-day event in 2001.
The Ron Briggs Memorial Cup was given by the club in memory of a much-loved president and a first class bowler. Ron was club captain in 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984 and 1985 and his name appears on many of the honours boards.
The tournament that carries his name is a singles competition scored on points and played with four woods. The winner is the first to score 100 and all woods that come within a yard of the jack qualify for points. The competition was first run in the 1999 season and Ian Clinging was the first to win it.
The most recent addition to the trophy cupboard (where all cups are displayed in the season) is The 2000 Trophy, given to mark the year 2000 by the captain of the 1999 and 2000 seasons, Don Clinch. This is a singles tournament (21 ends, two woods) open to both ladies and gentlemen and John Carpenter was the first to have his name engraved upon it.
Another cup that has spent much of its time in the club's display cabinet is the Friendship League trophy. This was presented by The Friends Provident Life Office for an annual competition with local clubs founded in 1991 by Brockham, Battlebridge, Capel & Beare Green, Pippbrook and Westcott. Newdigate joined the following season.
Both home and away matches are played by mixed teams (each team must include at least one lady player) over the course of the season. Two points are awarded for a win and one for a draw. Brockham has won the trophy nine times out of 10, Newdigate having come out top in 1997.
The club won both the men's Mole Valley Cup (1992) and the ladies' Mole Valley Cup (2000), the Ashbourne League (1996) and the County Top Fours (1996, C Robins, J Markham, EJ Rice and J Carpenter). It has also been well placed in other leagues and competitions.
Matches have been played against numerous clubs across the county and over the Sussex border, and as well as fulfilling the Bognor fixture already mentioned, teams have played clubs in Eastbourne and Worthing on several occasions and, for one match, even travelled as far as Devon to play the club of former vice president Peter Shaw.