Our history

For a hockey club to be celebrating the centenary of its foundation is nothing new, but still rare enough to be remarkable. While being a time for jollification it is also a time to look back and see how the club arrived at its present position as one of the leaders on the London circuit.

This history of the Richmond Hockey Club does not record whether Mike Pearce or I have let through more goals than any other goalkeeper when playing for Richmond, but it does answer most other questions about the Club and for the tremendous work of investigation at local reading rooms and libraries the members of the Club owe a great debt of gratitude to Mike and his wife Valerie.

In these pages we have a fascinating study of the principal characters who helped bring the Club to the well respected position it now holds in London Club Hockey. The history makes very clear the differences in Club atmosphere in the past and as we know it today. However, one can detect certain similarities — the aggressiveness of members off and on the field, and the willingness to try new tactics and formations — nothing new in the present set up.

Richmond have been fortunate in that a lot of members have been contributing to the press in recent years and Mike Pearce has been able to draw on their expertise and good nature and we are grateful for their help.

Hockey players everywhere in reading it will be able to while away an hour's tedious train journey, as I did, and arrive amused and refreshed. Sociologists may even be able to grasp what makes hockey players tick. Librarians should store it to produce it in one hundred years from now as a real period piece.

Keith Harding

June, 1974- President

One hundred years ago the Old Deer Park witnessed the start of a new sport which, after a hesitant beginning, has become one of the major participant sports of the world. That the Richmond Club was in at the birth is an honour that it proudly shares with its near neighbours Teddington. This book will. I hope, help towards a greater knowledge of the early days of the game. It will also make familiar the names and glories of the past which are all too easily forgotten. Inevitably there are gaps in the story as over the years the club has been meticulously consistent in not keeping adequate records. This means that some members whose names ought to be found in the history are omitted and to them I offer my apologies.

Without the help of numerous people and organisations the necessary research that lies behind this book could never have been carried out. I acknowledge with considerable thanks the assistance provided by

• The British Museum
• The British Museum Newspaper Library The Guildhall Library
• The Richmond Library
• The Field
• The Richmond Herald
• The Richmond & Twickenham Times The Surrey Comet
• The Hockey Association



I am also most grateful to those whose contributions appear in the final chapters and to Christopher Rawlins for the assistance given in respect of the Kingston Hill Club. Finally, I must pay tribute to the help given by my wife as for more than three years she has worked tirelessly on the many newspapers and magazines on which so much of the history is based.

June, 1974. Michael Pearce

Copyright Richmond Hockey Club 1974

Originally Printed by C. F. Denyer & Co., 33 Lower Road, Kenley, Surrey.

On October 17th 1874, a brief notice .appeared in The Sporting Life to the effect that a hockey club had just been started in Richmond, by members of the cricket and football clubs, and that the opening game was to be played that afternoon, in the Old Deer Park, commencing at half-past three. A similar announcement was also printed in the Richmond and Twickenham Times the same day and during the previous fortnight there had been comment in the Surrey Comet to the effect that such a club would be formed if there was sufficient support from the gentlemen in the neighbourhood.

It is significant that the starting of a hockey club was of such importance that it warranted a reference in the leading sporting newspaper of the day and before following the fortunes of the club and its successors it is important to see why the need for the club arose. One main reason can be found in the changing social conditions of the middle of the nineteenth century.

Almost from the start of Queen Victoria's reign there had been a considerable change in the character of the outdoor sports and pursuits of the country; a change which reflected a general softening of manners. The cruel and demoralising entertainments of the eighteenth century, cock-fighting, bear-baiting and bull-baiting, the prize ring, were disappearing. At the same time under the influence of Thomas Arnold, the best known of the reforming headmasters who had civilised school life at Rugby by improving both the discipline and the moral tone, there was a great increase in the number of well educated men, of relatively slender means, looking for relaxation. Many of Arnold's assistants moved to other schools and introduced similar ideas. One of them, Cotton, encouraged rugby football at Marlborough apparently to keep his boys from poaching and other mischief.

By the second half of the nineteenth century a majority of the population lived in cities and so was cut off from those country pursuits that had previously been the traditional form of relaxation. A further, and important, factor was the change in working conditions that was producing a large urban public with more freedom on Saturday afternoons and which was waiting to be amused.

Nothing is more characteristic of the changes that were taking place in society than the development of organised games. In a number of activities formal bodies were being set up as the demand for standardised rules and regulations were made by the players, and new activities were being introduced. Such a list would include:

• 1863 the first laws of association football
• 1870 the first game of polo played on Hounslow Heath and called "hockey on horseback"
• 1871 the formation of the English Rugby Union
• 1875 the invention by a Major Wingfield of "Sphaivistike", the rules of which were drawn up by the Marylebone Cricket Club. It is fascinating to wonder if the game would have been a success had its name not been changed to "Lawn Tennis".
• 1876 the first English cross country running championships

Hockey, as a game, had been played since the 1840s although from the Middle Ages there have been references to the hitting of a ball by men or boys with sticks. It was not until 1861 that a formal club was established at Black heath. This club played what was then known as the hitting game whilst in other parts of the country a game based on dribbling was developed. In essence the dribbling game was played by teams of some six or eight with the ball being driven along by a succession of taps from light sticks held normally in one hand only. In the hitting game a much heavier two-handed stick was used and the game became one of strength between much larger teams and with very little scientific play.

It was inevitable that Richmond, a rapidly growing town on the edge of London, would be influenced by these changes if there was somebody to take the lead. That person was Edwin H. Ash who was born in December 1843 and who worked throughout his life to initiate and improve sporting activities both in. Richmond and also in a wider sphere. He worked at a military college in Richmond and in 1861 he had established rugby football on Richmond Green by erecting posts there every winter Saturday, which he continued to do for ten years. Initially these games were purely for the enjoyment of his friends, mainly Old Rugbeians, but in the winter of 1863/64 the first-ever club rugby match was played against the Blackheath club. On Christmas Eve 1870 he, and the secretary of Blackheath, signed a letter to the press to get rugby clubs to come together and at the inaugural meeting of the Rugby Football Union in January 1871 he was elected Honorary Treasurer-Secretary.

He was also keenly interested in cricket, athletics and rowing and when, in 1870, the Old Deer Park became available for sporting purposes he moved his various activities away from the Green, along the Kew Road, to the Old Deer Park. By the autumn of 1874 the full season of sporting activities at the Old Deer Park consisted of athletic sports, cricket, lawn tennis, archery, croquet, badminton for the lady visitors, baseball and football. Further, the introduction of a band on Saturday afternoons formed another attraction. The next activity to be promoted was hockey and it is from the local paper that the fullest accounts of the starting of the club can be obtained. It is with the kind permission of the editor of the Richmond and Twickenham Times that certain reports that appeared in the paper in October and November of 1874 are reproduced in full.

The first mention in that paper of the Club was, as previously mentioned, on October 17th when the following report appeared :

"A Hockey Club has been formed, as an offshoot of the Richmond Football Club, and its opening game will be played this (Saturday) afternoon, on the cricket ground in the Old Deer Park; play to commence at half past three. As numerous gentlemen in the neighbourhood have intimated their intention of joining the club, no doubt there will be a good muster on the occasion of the first match. A meeting will be held at the Greyhound Hotel the same afternoon, at half past five, to decide upon the style of playing and the rules to be adopted, and on the election of officers for the season and other business. Hockey is like football in one respect at the present time — namely there are two sets of rules in use, the dribbling and the hitting game, so it is necessary to take the opinion of the players on the question."

So the Club was launched and the next Saturday the local paper carried the following report :

"Richmond Hockey Club — In spite of the unfavourable weather on Saturday afternoon last, this club made a most successful opening by playing the first game, with about twelve players aside, in the Old Deer Park. The match was continued with great spirit for some considerable time without either side scoring, but at last Mr. Cecil Stopford, by some very good play, obtained a goal for Mr. Lawrell's side. The game was continued for another half hour with better success to the other team, who pressed their opponents rather hard at times, but no further score was made when 'time" was called. A very numerously attended general meeting was held afterwards at the Greyhound Hotel. Mr. Edwin Ash was called to the chair, and in opening the meeting stated that they had met there to consider whether it was desirable to start a hockey club in Richmond. Mr. Lawrell had kindly undertaken to obtain the opinion of numerous gentlemen in the neighbourhood on the subject, and if he would tell them whether the replies had been generally favourable, it would then be for someone to propose "That the club should be started, and be called the Richmond Hockey Club." It was stated that thirty names had been sent in, and the above resolution was then put to the meeting, and was carried unanimously. The election of officers was then proceeded with, the following gentlemen being selected: Captain, Mr. Cecil Stopford; hon. secretary and treasurer, Mr. C. J. P. Lawrell; committee, Messrs. F. V. Andrews, C. H. Dendy, E. R. de Wolski, F. Safford, and C. J. C. Scott. The questions of the annual subscription and the playing rules to be adopted were deferred to a later meeting. A vote of thanks was then passed to Mr. Lawrell, the acting hon. secretary, for the manner in which he had done the preliminary work for the club, and one to the chairman, Mr. E. H. Ash. Mr. C. J. Michod, of the Teddington Hockey Club was present at the meeting, and promised to get some members of his club to come over to Richmond this day (Saturday) to join with the Richmond club in a game, and thus make a good commencement."

Although the account does not state that it was the dribbling game that was adopted this was the case and, no doubt, it was done in the knowledge that this was the style adopted by Teddington and would lead to a match between the two clubs. Mr. Michod, who was also a member of the Richmond Cricket Club, kept his promise so the following Saturday saw a game between two sides which included several members of the Teddington Club. In the paper of the 3rst October is this report :

"Hockey Club — A friendly game was played in the Old Deer Park on Saturday, chiefly through the kindness of the Teddington clubmen coming over to assist their Richmond neighbours in giving a good start to the home club. The two sides were captained by Mr. J. Barton (Teddington) and Mr. C. Stopford (Rich mond), some men being hauled over to the side of the visitors to make the numbers more equal. Play commenced about a quarter to four o'clock, and was continued with much spirit by both sides without any great advantage to either party, the ball alternately passing first beyond one goal line, and then the other, during which time some capital "scrimmages" took place, although there were rather too many men playing to show off individual play to advantage; nevertheless Mr. Barton and Mr. Michod were constantly seen doing good service to their side. For Richmond, Messrs. Stopford, Nesbitt, and Ravenshill perhaps showed the greatest promise, and when time was called no goal had been obtained by either side. Considering it was only the home club's second attempt very fair form was exhibited amongst the members, but the Richmond team will in future do well to pay more attention to the all important rules respecting "offside" and not raising the stick above the shoulder to hit. After the match numerous names were given in to Mr. C. J. P. Lawrell, the hon. sec., of gentlemen desirous of joining the club. We understand that a general meeting will be held to--day, at the Greyhound Hotel (after the usual Saturday afternoon game in the park), to confirm the club rules and for other business."

Now that the club had been established it was able to look ahead to a fuller programme of matches both among the members themselves and with other clubs. At the same time as Richmond was starting similar moves were taking place in other parts of South-West and South London and a small hockey community was developing. However there were a certain number of administrative ends to be tied up and on October 3rst, after a match between sides captained by Mr. F. V. Andrews and Mr. G. Nesbitt, in which the latter scored four goals, a further meeting was held at the Greyhound Hotel. Again Mr. E. H. Ash was in the chair and Mr. C. J. P. Lawrell submitted some rules, which had been previously drawn up by the committee. It was agreed among other matters that the annual subscription should be 7/6d payable in advance, and 2/6d entrance fee in addition, after the first fifty members, honorary members 5/-d and no entrance fee. It was agreed to adopt the dribbling game and that any raising of the stick above the shoulder be disallowed and Mr. Lawrell was requested to communicate with the secretaries of the various clubs around London for the purpose of inviting a hockey conference, to determine, if possible, upon some general rules to be adopted by all clubs.

On November 7th the Teddington team again travelled to Old Deer Park but this time to play as a club in what was to be the first competitive game of hockey between two clubs. It is not known what colours Richmond would have worn but Teddington would probably have worn yellow as that colour was associated with them when they were formed in 1871. The following Saturday the local paper carried a full report on the game:

"A Hockey Match — Teddington v. Richmond proved a most exciting one. Before commencing the two captains, Mr. J. Barton (Teddington) and Mr. C. H. Stopford (Richmond) decided on play continuing for one hour, and goals being changed at half-time. Richmond having won the toss, Mr. Stopford elected to play with the hill in his favour, and his side soon got the ball rather close to their opponent'S goal, but the Teddingtonians were equal to the emergency and playing well up soon drove the home team back, and secured the first goal by a good bit of play. Half-time being soon afterwards called, Richmond had now to play against the hill, and right well did they set themselves to work to retrieve their loss, and by keeping well together they accomplished their tasks. Mr. Nesbitt, after a good run, obtained a goal, the ball passing only just within the poles. For Teddington Messrs. Barton, Pont, and Coyne, showed well to the front most of the afternoon, the first-named gentleman making several capital runs nearly the length of the ground, thus once or twice rather sorely pressing the Richmond goal-keeper. From among the home team we may single out Mr. Nisbett for his good play, and the hard manner in which he worked; while Messrs. Stopford, Cockburn, and Stafford, did good service for their side."

The reference to the slope would suggest that the pitch was in approximately the same part of the ground as is used today and so it must be the oldest pitch still in regular use as the other clubs of that time, Blackheath, Teddington and Surbiton were not playing on their present grounds. It must be added that Teddington have always played in Bushey Park. Besides the hockey there were two football matches played in the Old Deer Park that afternoon and the charges for admission were:

• Persons on foot os 6d
• Persons on horseback is od
• Carriages 2s 6d

Unfortunately it is not known if the hockey club shared in the gate money to any extent.

On the following Saturday a match was played against The Strollers which resulted in a draw, both sides scoring twice. One paper had previously announced that a game would be played against The Pilgrims but no further mention of such a club has been found and one imagines they changed their name to The Strollers. An account of this game can be found in Bell's Life which mentions that Mr. Nesbitt again won the toss for Richmond who very quickly conceded two goals. "Things now looked bad for Richmond; but, nothing daunted, they put their shoulders to the wheel, and having pressed their opponents for some time, were eventually rewarded, Mr. Green, after excellent play, securing a goal ... The second goal was scored by Mr. Fatly after one of the captain's good runs."

November 21st saw another new club appear in the Old Deer Park as Hampstead were the visitors. This is interesting in that Hampstead were not one of the clubs associated with that corner of London where the game seemed to be developing and, as they were not played in the following season, seemed to have an extremely short life. Once again the game was drawn, both sides scoring one goal. This match was followed the next Saturday by a return match with The Strollers, also played in the Old Deer Park, and, at last, a definite result was reached. Mr. Eady scoring the only goal to give Richmond victory. After four weeks of matches against other clubs, the next was amongst members of the Club only and the last game before Christmas was on December 12th when the return match against Hampstead was played in the Old Deer Park. This was lost by 4 goals to nil as three of the better Richmond players failed to turn up. A fixture was arranged for the next Saturday against the East Surrey club at Croydon but there is no trace of the game being played.

In the new year came the first fixture away from the Old Deer Park when a match against Teddington was played in Bushey Park on January 9th. This was reported in The Field and includes a reference to the length of the match. "Richmond won the toss, and knocked off from the top goal at 3.45 Darkness set in before the end of the game, and rendered play during the last ten minutes difficult. When time was called at 4.45, Teddington were the winners by two goals to one." Teddington had eight men and Richmond seven, being described as one short. This account of the game refers to some good scrimmages taking place but another account is identical except the scrimmages were called bullies.

East Surrey were the visitors to the Old Deer Park the following week. The most interesting account of the game appeared in The Field as it mentions certain positions on the field by name. Also there is the remark that East Surrey had to play according to rules and with a strange ball. Clearly the lack of uniformity in the rules as played by the various clubs was coming to the fore. The account includes the following passage :

"Richmond won the toss and the East Surrey captain hit off at 3.3o, his side at once carrying the ball into the enemy's quarters, where some capital play was shown by both sides till Roper, by a judicious piece of play, obtained a goal. Richmond then played better together, and drove the ball up the ground past the Surrey backs, and were nearly rewarded by a goal, the goal-keeper just turning the ball outside the posts. On the ball being hit out, a capital scrimmage right in front of goal took place, when half time was called and ends changed. Richmond then once more gave the Surrey backs plenty of work, but their efforts were not rewarded, and the visitors were not to be denied, J. T. Richardson, after some good play, obtaining the second goal. For Richmond, the play of Eady, Nesbitt and Parker was excellent throughout, while for East Surrey, Miles, Roper, Taylor and J. T. Richardson worked hard and well. The visitors were at some disadvantage, through having to play according to rules, and with a ball to which they were not accustomed."

New opponents were met the next Saturday when Upper Tooting appeared in the Old Deer Park. Richmond won 3-0 with all the goals being scored in the second half when playing with the hill in their favour. This was followed by three blank Saturdays and then the last match to be played at home for the season; against Surbiton, Accounts differ a little in that the Richmond local paper described it as an exciting game, The Field as an easy victory for Surbiton and the Surbiton club's own account comments "in our opinion Richmond hit much too hard and raised their sticks too high. They had not a chance through out." The game lasted from 3.35 to 5.10 and was played on a ground covered by an inch of snow with more falling for most of the time. The Field has one most important comment to make on the game, namely that there were too many disputes throughout the game and the sooner a hockey union is started the better for the numerous clubs. Two more matches were arranged for the end of March, away games with East Surrey and Upper Tooting, but neither seems to have been played.

So ended the first season of the club. In all nine games were played, of which two were won and three drawn, with eight goals being scored and thirteen conceded. This must be considered a success as to achieve so much in the very first year must have involved a great amount of work on the organisers. Much work was also going on for the good of hockey as a whole as the hon. secretary, Mr. C. J. P. Lawrell, was instrumental in arranging a conference to discuss the many problems that had arisen during the season. An account of the meeting is given in the Richmond and Twickenham Times for April 24th, 1875:

"Yesterday week, a hockey conference, which had been convened by Mr. C. J. P. Lawrell, hon. sec. Richmond Hockey Club, took place at the Cannon Street Hotel, at which the clubs below named were represented by the following gentlemen :

• Richmond Mr. C. J. P. Lawrell (in chair) A. R. Parker
• Teddington J. Barton, G. F. Bentley
• Surbiton B. F. Harris, B. Howell
• Sutton S. Pitt, A. Hyslop
• East Surrey W. B. Richardson, P. M. Taylor
• Upper Tooting H, H. Bramston, T. S. Franks
• The Strollers F. V. Andrews„ E. Webb

Mr. T. S. Haynes represented Blackheath, but he stated their game was so totally different to the game played by the other clubs, that he felt it would be perfectly useless for him to remain to give an opinion as to the rules to be drawn up for the Association; at the same time, he kindly said the Blackheath Club would always be happy to see any members of the Association clubs who might like to go down to try the Blackheath game. Rossall School, owing to the distance from London, were unable to be represented, but they wrote and expressed their opinion of the rules which should be employed in the game, which almost exactly co incided with the general opinion. The clubs present formed themselves into an Association to which any other hockey club could belong, after being duly proposed, seconded and elected, and paying the subscription thereto, namely 5/-entrance and 5/- annually. The rules of the Association were drawn up, as also the rules of the game, by which all clubs joining the Association will be repre sented on the committee by one of its members. No doubt this advance having been made in the hockey world, the game will find more favour, and a greater number of clubs may be looked for next year, when a most successful season may be anticipated."

1. The maximum length of the ground shall be 150 yards, and the minimum length shall be 100 yards; the maximum breadth of the ground shall be 80 yards, and the minimum breadth shall be 50 yards — the length and breadth shall be marked off with flags, and the goals shall be upright posts 6 yards apart, with a tape across them 7 feet from the ground.
2. The sticks used shall be curved ones approved by the committee of the association. The ball shall be an ordinary sized cricket ball.
3. The game shall be commenced and renewed by a bully in the centre of the ground. Goals shall be changed at half-time only.
4. When the ball is hit behind the goal-line by the attacking side, it shall be brought out straight 15 yards and started again by a bully; but, if hit behind by any one of the side whose goal-line it is, a player of the opposite side shall hit it from within 1 yard of the nearest corner flag post, and no player shall be allowed within 20 yards of the ball until hit out.
5. When the ball is in touch, a player of the opposite side to that which hit it out shall roll it out from the point on the boundary line where it left the ground, in a direction at right angles with the boundary line at least 10 yards, and it shall not be in play until it has touched the ground, and the player rolling it shall not play it until it has been played by another player, every player being then behind the ball.
6. When a player hits the ball, any one of the same side who at such moment of hitting is nearer to the opponent’s goal-line is out of play, and may not touch the ball himself nor in any way whatsoever prevent any other player from doing so, until the ball has been played, unless there are at least three of his opponents nearer their own goal-line; but no player is out of play When the ball is hit from the goal-line.
7. The ball may be stopped, but not carried or knocked on by any part of the body. No player shall raise his stick above his shoulder. The ball shall be played from right to left, and no left or back-handed play, charging, tripping, collaring, kicking, or shinning shall be allowed.
8. To obtain a goal a player must hit the ball between the posts and under the tape.
9. No goal shall be allowed if the ball be hit from a distance of more than 15 yards from the nearest goal posts.
10. In all cases of a bully every player shall be behind the ball.
11. On the infringement of any of the above rules the ball shall be brought back, and a bully shall take place.
12. The ordinary number of players shall be 11 a side.

For the next few years hockey just about kept going in the London area. A few new clubs were formed but as many were dissolved and the Hockey Association itself became moribund. In 1883 it was reported that the Wimbledon Club had no other clubs around to play as they had all closed down. In January 1886 a new attempt was made to establish a Hockey Association and representatives of Blackheath, Wimbledon, Molesey, Teddington, Surbiton, Ealing, Trinity College, Cambridge and Elliott Place School, Blackheath met at the Holborn Restaurant. An Association was formed and from that date the game has grown in every way. Not every club joined the Association as Blackheath and some West Country clubs formed a rival National Hockey Union in 1887 to foster the Blackheath rules and this body was not finally dissolved until 1895. New clubs joined the Hockey Association each year and many of the clubs that now feature on the Richmond fixture list were formed in the 1890s.

Although no hockey was played on the Old Deer Park ground on a regular basis, from time to time games did take place. In 1889 a match between Surrey and Middlesex was arranged and the Richmond Cricket Club ground was mentioned as the venue but there is no evidence that the match was played. The following year the same two sides did meet on the ground and the match ended in a draw. The report in The Field continues:

“From all sides resounded cries of “Go On”, “Play it Out” etc. in which the voices of the divisions from Hounslow and East Sheen could be distinguished far above the others. A conference was at once held between the captains, and after a little delay, to the satisfaction of everyone present, it was settled to play on for ten minutes each way. Each side scored two more goals so that at the call of time the score stood at five goals all and thus ended certainly one of the fastest, most brilliant, and exciting hockey matches ever witnessed.”

The account ends with the comment that it would be of considerable advantage if the ground were marked out north and south; the teams would then play without either of them being hampered by having the sun direct in their eyes. This would suggest that the pitch used would have run across the ground and not parallel to the Kew Road.

An even more important match was arranged for the end of that season as at that time the Molesey club had been unbeaten for five seasons and a suggestion was made in The Field that they ought to play an eleven of England. This was not possible as this was the first season in which the North and South met so Molesey played an eleven chosen from the Home Counties. The match was played in the Old Deer Park in front of a crowd of at least 1,000. Molesey scored the winning goal seven minutes from the end amidst scenes of great excitement. One report speaks of the crowd cheering frantically and waving sticks, hats and umbrellas.

The match between the North and the South became the principal match of the season and in March 1892 it was played in the Old Deer Park in front of a large number of spectators, the South winning 4-2. In the following season the university match was held at the ground with Oxford winning 3 -1 and this was to prove the regular venue for the fixture for some years. The spring of 1894 saw two drawn games on the ground, the varsity match being 1 -1 and the North v. South match 2-2. Again in February 1895 the varsity match was drawn 2-2. In March of that year the first international hockey match played by England, against Ireland, took place at Richmond, but on the Athletic Ground adjoining the Old Deer Park. The next year saw the South win their annual match 4 - 2 and Cambridge obtain their first victory since the varsity matches started in 1889.

It is strange that with so many important games being played on the ground during the early 1890s it was never used for club matches. In September 1896 this was altered as by permission of the Mid-Surrey Golf Club the Richmond Athletic Association was allowed to sub-let certain parts of the Old Deer Park to football and hockey clubs. It was suggested that the entrance to the new ground should be quite distinct from the Athletic Association, namely, from the Clarence Street gate into the Old Deer Park and also that the Golf Club should erect the necessary dressing accommodation. This immediately led to the Putney Hockey Club, a well known local club and a founder member of the Surrey County Hockey Association in 1891, moving to new headquarters and changing its name to the Putney and Richmond Hockey Club. In the contemporary press this club is also referred to as the Putney Club and some times as the Richmond Club. The club had a strong fixture list, playing all the leading London clubs of the day, and ran two sides. Unfortunately the full results for the first season have not been found but there were many more victories than defeats. Against Croydon the margin of victory was eight clear goals of which A. C. Sargent scored seven and, earlier in the season, he had scored five in the first match at Croydon. At least one player was selected for his county; H. B. Willett playing on two occasions for Middlesex. The varsity match was the only representative game played on the ground that season, Cambridge winning 4-0.

Putney and Richmond continued to use the ground for the following season, 1897/98, with mixed results. The first team just lost more matches than they won and seemed to play better against the strong teams; holding Wimbledon to a goal-less draw being a great achievement. In the early part of the season the first team suffered a number of injuries and only two matches were won before Christmas. Normally the side played without a goal-keeper; the standard line-up being three backs, three halves and five forwards though on occasions six forwards were played and only two backs. One of these backs, J. C. Mander, played for Surrey and against Kent fell back into goal during the game and made a number of brilliant saves.

Both the varsity match and the North v. South game were played at the Old Deer Park. The former was a comfortable victory for Cambridge and the latter, watched by several hundred spectators, was a closer game with the South always in control. Referring to the arrangements for this match, Hockey stated that there was a covered stand facing the field of play with accommodation for over 300 spectators which suggests that the pitch was not the sloping pitch used by Richmond in the 1870s but the rugby pitch. If this is the case then the hockey pitch used for representative matches was not the one used for normal club matches and was chosen largely for its facilities as regards seating accommodation.

Once again the hockey club must have had problems off the field because in the 1898/99 season no mention can be found of the Putney and Richmond club, and it must be assumed that it was dissolved. Hockey did not cease in the Park as the Ealing club started the season by playing their home matches there. As a club Ealing had been in existence for some years and had a slightly stronger fixture list than the Putney and Richmond club, as they played both Oxford and Cambridge Universities as well as the major London clubs. Some of the Putney and Richmond players joined East Sheen, a local club that was becoming very much stronger and which featured among Ealing’s opponents.

At this time club hockey was organised in a competitive form with a Championship of the South. In the two seasons that Putney played in the Old Deer Park Bromley were the champions and in 1898/99 Teddington were champions with Bromley second and these two clubs kept the top positions for the following two seasons, first one winning and then the other. In their first season in the Park Ealing lost to both by five goals to nil and in general the playing record for the season was not particularly successful.

Representative games were still being played on the ground, Cambridge beating Oxford for the fourth year in succession and on March 9th, 1899, an international between England and Ireland was staged. The game was watched by some 3,000 spectators and was honoured by the presence of the Duke of York, who was accompanied by Prince Adolphus of Teck and the Earl of Chesterfield, the Hon. Derek Keppel being in attendance. The Duke had intended leaving at the interval but was so pleased with the game that he stopped until the finish. England won by three goals to one, only getting on top in the closing stages of the game. A crowd of 3,000 for the match must have produced some problems for the organisers as crowds at sporting events in those days were not as great as today. On the same day as the international, England played Scotland in a rugby football international at Blackheath in front of about 25,000 spectators and the top association football match, The Sheriff of London Charity Shield at Crystal Palace, attracted a crowd of 20,000.

For the next few years Ealing continued to play in the Old Deer Park though without any great success. At the same time the ground was used for county, divisional and the university matches and, in March 1901, England Ladies played the first of a number of internationals. In 1901 when the South played the Western Counties the comment was made that it was somewhat unfortunate that Richmond should have been chosen as the venue, as the ground can hardly be called a perfect one from a hockey point of view. The headquarters of Surbiton would be far better but no doubt the fact that the Richmond ground has a covered stand is the reason for it being chosen. It may have been the quality of the pitches that was to make the Ealing club eventually move to a new ground at Ealing but, more likely, a new club that had emerged was the greater influence.

In September 1901 the third attempt was made to form a Richmond Hockey Club. This time Mr. A. W. Baker was the prime mover and he recruited mainly from the Richmond Cricket and Tennis Club. The original intention was to run a mixed club and for the first season matches were played under the name “The Nondescripts”. The membership was limited to forty as there was only one ground available and this limit was reached early in the autumn so that by November there was a waiting list. With Ealing still playing regularly in the Old Deer Park a new pitch had to be prepared and the first practice match was played in the 87 acres (or the Athletic Ground as it is called today) but the Old Deer Park was used later in the season. Although a mixed club, a men’s team was run and on November 9th they beat Feltham 4 - o in their first match. The only other match traced was against Kew and which was lost 1-3. It seems that the game was not taken too seriously and efforts were principally confined to practice matches.

After the first season Mr. L. Tysoe took over from Mr. Brown as secretary and the club quickly became established. It became affiliated to the Hockey Association and a full list of matches was arranged for two men’s sides. The fixture list was not particularly strong as a number of second elevens were played and even Surbiton third, but both teams had good seasons, winning most of their matches. In a period of high scoring the first eleven scored ten or more goals on four occasions, with 14 against Holborn Municipal Officers being the most, and against the War Office E. T. Alexander scored 8 himself. The second eleven scored 14 goals in their match against the second eleven of Queen Elizabeth’s School, now known as Kingston Grammar School. Some of the match accounts show that Richmond played the normal formation, including a goalkeeper, but more often they used the four half-back game. This was not to the liking of the local press as the Richmond Herald argued that the four half-back game was against the best interests of the sport and would impede the advance of the game as a popular pastime. If Richmond did not have a member capable of playing goal then they should play three backs with the third back some distance behind the other two, holding a similar position to the full back in rugby football. In their defence Richmond could but point to their playing record for the season and that other leading clubs were employing the system. It was not an unqualified success as against Guildhall only six shots were put in by the opposition but all scored in one of the biggest defeats of the season.

In this first real season there was the sort of problem that was unlikely ever to recur; against Barnes one of the backs was unable to get to the match and his substitute had never handled a stick before. An unkind comment about umpiring was made in a reference to a third eleven match at Feltham where one goal was allowed without the ball being touched by one of the attacking side in the circle and the home goalkeeper was permitted to drop his stick and field the ball with both hands, several shots at goal being saved in this way. Needless to say the match was lost. The results of this first season were very encouraging and a stronger fixture list was arranged for the following season. The outstanding players were E. T. Alexander in the forward line and A. G. Botsford at half. As important as the players were the officers, especially E. G. Griffin, who from centre half was an admirable leader, and L. Tysoe who combined the posts of secretary and treasurer and seemed to possess a liking for the clerical and organising work required. Apparently he wrote extremely candid minutes as .they included such comments as “that the play of the members was likp the ground—rough and uneven”, “they learned with much regret that Mr. B. had preferred the attraction of the drama to that of the committee meeting", and again ‘‘business was begun after refreshment had been provided by the munificence of Mr. G.”.

Although a stronger fixture list was arranged for the 1903/04 season the club was more than able to cope as the results at all levels were most impressive. A second pitch was obtained in the 87 acres and a third team was run on a regular basis. In three of their first four matches the first eleven scored ten goals but the biggest score of the season came from the second eleven in their 13-0 defeat of Pelham II, H. S. Chapman, the captain, scoring 7. In the early part of the season the first eleven continued its plan of not playing a goalkeeper but a new member, Cecil Gouldsmith, having started in the forward line, soon dropped back into goal and proved to be outstanding in his new position. For the first seven weeks of the season every match played by all three teams was won and it was not until the end of November that the first eleven were defeated and then it was by their neighbours in the Park, Ealing. A report in the local paper on this game states that the Richmond efforts were more often than not nipped in the bud by the referee who pulled them up for sundry infringements of which the Richmond men had no knowledge. Unfortunately this view of the game was not shared by the magazine Hockey and Lacrosse as their account which is less flattering to Richmond reads as follows:

“Play was of a very ragged description owing to the almost entire ignorance of the rules displayed by Richmond. Fouls were of such frequent occurrence that, if Ealing had not largely refrained from claiming with strict referees, the game must have been stopped every few seconds. Richmond should learn not to make such use of their weight and to play at the ball and not at the man. Such tactics may, and sometimes do, win matches but are not hockey, and can never lead to a pleasant game.’’

As could be imagined this account called for a reply, and the next week the magazine published a long letter under the name “A Hockey Player” which included this passage :

“As doubtless you know, it is the boast of hockey players that one rarely sees rough horseplay as occurs so often in football, and that the players are “sportsmen”; but if the report of the above match is to he believed, the Richmond club must be made up of anything but sportsmen. I am an enthusiastic member of this club, and cannot refrain from feeling hurt at such a notice being printed on us, as a better and more gentlemanly set of young fellows cannot be met anywhere, and as one of the players in this match I can vouch for the untruthfulness of the notice from beginning to end. The fouls spoken of can only have existed in the writer’s fertile imagination, as two fouls were given against Ealing, whereas only one against Richmond during the whole of the game.

The Richmond club has played, with their three teams, 26 matches this year, and have won 23, drawn 1 and lost 2, so it is hard to believe that they are so entirely ignorant of the rules as your correspondent states.”

Perhaps the outstanding victory was left until the very end of the season when Kingston Hill were beaten on their own ground, the first home defeat they had suffered since 1901. The season was brought to a close by a match against a team raised by Mr. P. W. Wingate of Tulse Hill. His side was drawn from four leading London clubs,, Tulse Hill, Lessness Park, Sidcup and Croydon and contained two players who had represented the South that season. To beat such a strong side by four goals to two was a remarkable performance for a comparatively new club.

The strength of the team lay in the defence where C. Gouldsmith was outstanding in goal and as a pair of backs H. F. Milman and C. M. Trembath were of the highest quality and in 25 matches only 29 goals were conceded. In attack E. T. Alexander was again very prominent and was the first club player to be selected for Surrey. Both the second and third teams had outstanding seasons and on a few occasions a fourth team was run. A further indication of the part the club was beginning to play in the game was the invitation to E. G. Griffin to serve on a sub-committee set up by the Surrey County Hockey Association to draft a set of rules for the County.

By this time the evolution of the club was complete and each season saw a gradual improvement in the fixture list. Of the clubs played in the 1902/3 season only five were on the list for 1904/05, namely Barnes, Kew, Kingston Hill, Southfields and Tulse Hill. In three cases the fixture in the earlier season was against the second XI whereas now the matches were at the top level. Not only was the fixture list considerably stronger but such was the general improvement in the club’s playing standard that results were still outstandingly good and such was the increase in membership that in 1904/05 a fourth eleven was run on a regular basis. Surrey was now taking notice of the club as it was proving itself in a higher class of hockey and against Essex E. T. Alexander was joined in the county side by two other members, Cecil Gouldsmith in goal and Harry Milman at back. These three played for the county for many years and all received their county colours. High scores were often recorded and in January 1905 the club suffered one of its largest defeats when the 4th XI was beaten by Overstrand 24 -1. Unfortunately not every result for the lower elevens has been traced but to have conceded more than 20 goals is rare enough to be worthy of mention.

The following season, 1905/06, was important for the lower elevens as a second pitch was obtained on the Cricket Club ground and no longer were home matches played on the Athletic Ground. This was caused by the departure of the Ealing Hockey Club from the ground. Before the season started there was a notice in the local paper to the effect that a ladies’ section had been formed in connection with the Richmond Hockey Club and that matches would be played on the pitches of the Richmond Cricket Club but there is no subsequent mention of this venture so it must be assumed that nothing came of it. Another press item refers to the annual Cinderella Dance which in January 1906 was held at the New Gaiety Restaurant in the Strand so the club was as active off the field as on.

One change was announced at the annual general meeting in September 1906 as L. Tysoe, who had been secretary since 1902, had to resign owing to pressure of business and J. H. Watkins took over. The club had another good season and for the first time a county match was played on the ground when on January 23rd, 1907, Surrey played Middlesex. Cecil Gouldsmith, who was now the regular county goalkeeper, played as did F. D. Heath at right full back. It was reported that H. F. Milman had been chosen as first reserve for left full back and one wonders if the county selected a full team of reserves for such a game. Besides playing for the county, Heath was selected as a reserve back for the South and, in February, played against the North. Unfortunately he did not make too favourable an impression as early in the game a mistake of his led to rather a soft goal being scored.

An indication of the problems facing the players and administrators of those days comes from a book published by the Hampstead Hockey Club which refers to their being allowed to share with Richmond a board at Waterloo Station on which notices could be posted, stating whether or not games were cancelled. Despite the obvious problems of communication one rarely reads in match accounts of the period of teams starting short so players managed to get to matches in good time after working in their offices on the Saturday morning. Perhaps the real problem was to stop members making long journeys to matches that had been cancelled.

After so many successful seasons it was inevitable that the time would come when the first eleven would have to struggle and the 1907/08 season was not particularly rewarding on the field. A number of heavy defeats occurred, the worst being by 12 goals to 2 at Kingston Hill and Hampton Wick scored 11 goals at Richmond. Again a county match was played at Richmnd when, thanks to impressive goalkeeping by C. E. Gouldsmith, Surrey beat Kent; F. D. Heath also played for the county. This was the first of a number of seasons in which the club fared rather indifferently as far as the first eleven was concerned. Lower down the club the results were rather better, as they always seemed to be in those days, and the outstanding impression is the high scoring that occurred. In 1908/09 the third eleven’s fortunes varied from a 13-1 win against Brentford to a 16-0 defeat from Tulse Hill III, whilst the fourth eleven beat Brondesbury IV by the odd goal in seventeen. A notable win for the first eleven was by 7 goals to 4 against Kew Green, notable because it was played on Christmas morning.

Fortunately the period of poor results was shortlived and in 1909/10 every team in the club had a good season. The first eleven recorded a massive 21-2 victory over a club called The Downs but unfortunately no account of the match can be found as some of the forwards must have scored very heavily Gilbert scored 8 for the third eleven against Bush Hill Park II which appears to be the best performance of the season. One other performance that should be recorded is the concert that was held after the annual general meeting in September at which a number of members, including the President, entertained. During the evening presentations were made to Mr. E. G. Griffen and to Mr. W. Torry for their services to the club. This was the season in which an emergency fixture bureau, as it would be called today, was set up and the club featured in the advertising copy. In November, the new hockey correspondent of The Sporting Life, Eric Green, who was to become one of the most famous of all the newspaper correspondents over the following half-century, established a “Hockey Bureau’’ for arranging fixtures. It operated day and night up till i p.m. on Saturday by telegram or by telephoning Holborn 87. In the advertisement for the service an example is given of how the Richmond 3rd XI match against Harlesden was fixed up on the Friday morning through the Bureau.

In the account of the annual general meeting held in September 1910 one has the first indication of the finances of the club. Income in the previous season amounted to T73.14.od, of which subscriptions were £6o.io.6d suggesting a rate of £1 per player as four teams were run. The major items of expenditure were £35.o.od for rent and £2o.7.od for teas but other items included groundsman £5.0.od, dressing rooms £3-3.od and lemons £i.8.od. This suggests that, as was to happen later, the club did not use the Richmond Cricket Club pavilion but had to find dressing rooms in a nearby school. This meeting was important for two changes; a new president and a new captain of the first eleven. Mr. E. G. Griffin, who had done so much for the club on the field became the new president as Mr. Brown had moved away from Richmond and could no longer take an active interest in the club. The new first eleven captain was Mr. G. Lindsay Holt and this marked the start of an association that was to continue for more than 30 years as player and administrator. The outstanding team in the 1910/11 season was the third eleven who scored 134 goals, the most yet recorded in one season in the club’s history and included a victory by 18 -1 over Southgate III. The season ended with a smoking concert at the Greyhound Hotel to which members of Kingston Hill, Tulse Hill, Barnes and other clubs were invited. Songs and other items were contributed by various members of the audience and exchanges of compliments between the teams were of frequent occurrence. The proceedings were brought to a conclusion with the singing of the National Anthem.

Still the fixture list was being improved and for the 1911/12 season Hounslow, Staines and Teddington were included. Although it seems strange that fixtures with Teddington, the nearest local club, had not been arranged in previous seasons it must be remembered that they were one of the strongest clubs in London at that time and Richmond had to prove themselves worthy of inclusion in the highest class. This they were clearly doing. Again the third eleven was the outstanding team, with only two defeats in twenty games and scoring 138 goals including 14 against Battersea, 13 against the H.A.C. and 11 against Brockley, Brondesbury and West Ham. High scores were obtained by every team during the season, with 12 against Staff College, Camberley, the greatest for the first eleven. The success of the club was reflected in the enthusiasm of the members, as before the season started practice games were arranged for every evening in the middle of September and all members were asked to turn out and this had been the form for some years. During the season Surrey played a number of games on the ground and the Southern Counties trial was staged in January, as was a game between the Stock Exchange and Lloyds. Among the new members this season was D. T. Richardson, who had played in the Midlands and for Scotland, and when he played for Scotland against England in March he became the first Richmond player to be selected for his country. Unfortunately he only stayed a season with the club as he was posted North with his regiment.

The season was notable, also, for the first mention of two clubs that were to play a prominent part in the future. Firstly the Philistines, a club that played a limited number of mid-week and Sunday games and fostered a friendship between the Richmond and the Kingston Hill clubs. The other club was The Ghosts, perhaps the most famous of all the nomadic clubs and one with which so many Richmond players have enjoyed the highest standard of club hockey.

Despite the loss of Richardson, the 1912/13 season was reasonably successful. Claude Russell joined the club as Hounslow had ceased playing and he had played for Middlesex for some years. Other new players included Greville Smith, the Cambridge forward who scored eight goals in the defeat of the Staff College, Camberley, and 1. A. N. Bolton, a founder Ghost. They were joined by players of the calibre of H. E. Lunn who had played for the Midlands and Captain Basil Maclear, the former England Rugby International. A foreign team was seen at the Old Deer Park for the first time when, in March, The Ghosts beat a German team, nearly all of whom were internationals, by 4 goals to 2.

In the 1913/14 season matches were played for the first time against both Oxford and Cambridge Universities and George Lindsay Holt could be satisfied at long last that he had made Richmond one of the very top clubs in London. Each year he had improved the fixture list and, by improving his team all the time, he had maintained a high standard on the field. Richmond were the only club to defeat the full Cambridge University side and during the season A. Archibald, L. R. Chapman, R. F. Cloete-Scott and G. Lindsay Holt played for Surrey, A. L. Hill and C. Russell for Middlesex and R. C. Knight for Worcestershire. Surrey played a number of matches on the ground including one against the Association Beige de Hockey and one against Lincolnshire whom they beat 15-0. Off the field the club was equally established as E. G. Griffin, still the President, was appointed treasurer of the Surrey H.A., and G. Lindsay Holt had built for himself such a reputation within the game that he was interviewed in a national sporting paper, the Sportsman.

On the 28th March 1914 the club drew 3- 3 with Wimbledon in what proved to be its last game of hockey as in September of that year the Hockey Association wrote to all clubs suggesting that all club matches for the coming season be cancelled and, a few days later, at the Annual General Meeting a toast was drunk to those members of the Club who had gone to the front.