1950s Overview

Club History Article – 1950’s Extract

So we arrive in 1952; it had become obvious that the Yeomanry could no longer continue without an influx of new players. The members approached Alderman Arthur Brocke, who was then Mayor of Hove, and Councillor Jack Woolley. They secured a pitch in Hove Park, in spite of some opposition from nearby residents, and the old timber Scout Hut, which was refurbished and extended to provide showers, kitchen and a bar. The club was up and running. A club that was perhaps known more for its exploits off the field than on it was born.

In these early days, the handbook  established the term “Officers” and seemed to define this by those people who had a defined task for the Club – Secretary, Treasurer and so on plus the Playing duties of Captains, Vice Captains and the like. The role of Chairman wasn’t considered as an Officer.

More recently and certainly since the Club became a Friendly Society in the late 1990s, the term Officers has referred to the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer – even though these three roles have no more responsibility than any other Committee Member.

Acknowledgement

Most of the photos and info have come from the scrapbooks of one of the Club founders – Jonathan Boreham – and I thank his son for these. I should also thank the estates of both George Fawcett and Graham Gordon – especially Graham for all the handbooks and other ephemera. Others, too have contributed to this decade.

Teams

The table below shows the teams that competed on behalf of the Club during the 1950s.

Team Name	Gender	Founded	Club Level
1st XV	Men	1952-1953	1
A XV	Men	1952-1953	2
B XV	Men	1958-1959	3

Alumni

I am not aware of any members of the Club playing at higher levels in the 1950s. If you know better then please do contact me.

A.L. (Tony) Abrahams recalls the following:

I do not think I am going to be much help. I joined Hove in 1953 and was an active, though useless player, for about 8 or so years. Would the following be of interest, and I can expand on them if you want.

During my time-

1.  We had some really good players and I recall Simon Clark, a scrum half who joined the Harlequins and was very successful. Also Pat Griffith  and his brother, I think Peter, who joined the London Irish.

2. I think I started Hove B and Captained them for a couple of years before I retired.

3.  I remember a big argument in the Club House regarding the price of a pint of beer. John, I think, Patching who ran the Bar wanted to put it up from 1 and 9 direct to 2 bob and we all thought 1 and 10 pence halfpenny was enough!! (Editors Note: 1 and 9 refers to 1 shilling and nine pence – equivalent to around 9 pence now. 2 bob is 10 pence and 1s 10 pence halfpenny about 9 and a half pence).

4.  There was an Annual Game at Wisborough Green, near Petworth in May between the Sussex Yeomanry and the Surrey Yeomanry. I always played in it, and one year I put my shoulder out on a very hard ground. As a result, my left shoulder was strapped up for 6 weeks. The plus point was I couldn’t cope with trying to light my cigarette, so I gave up smoking and haven’t smoked since. The price then was 2 and 8 for 20!!

I am afraid I can’t remember much else and can’t find any photographs.

Regards

Tony Abrahams

Governance

The table below shows the Committees and Sub-committees that formed the Club Governance during the 1950s. I have assumed that all committees that were active in 1955-1956 were formed with the Club in 1952-1953. As ever, if you know different.

Committee	Date Founded	Comments / Role
General	Original	Main Committee
Finance & General Purpose	Original
House & Wine	Original
Social	Original
Selection	Original	All Senior Teams
Fixtures	Original
Schools	1956-1957

Points

Please note that throughout the 1950s the points awarded for a try remained at 3 points. The points awarded for a conversion remained at 2 points and the points awarded for both a penalty goal and a drop goal remained at 3 points.

Performance

I came across this handwritten table – I think by George Fawcett – that shows the record of the 1st XV in the years from 1952-1953 to 1960-1961 with also the record of the A XV for the final year of this period.

Images

There are four images in the gallery below that were part of the artefaces received from Jonathan Boreham. These are all from the 1950s but the precise year for each one is uncertain.