Colin Greenhalgh, Boxing Day 2015. Photograph courtesy of the family.

22.07.1931 – 19.12.2022

Colin Greenhalgh died on 19 December 2022 at the age of 91. He was the Secretary of Hampstead Hockey Club (before it became Hampstead & Westminster HC) for an unprecedented term of 11 years until 1971, in the days when that post covered virtually the entire administration of Club affairs.

As the Club grew and prospered in later years and in particular after its move to Paddington Recreation Ground (that brought with it the consolidation of a women’s section and greater success on the pitch) there is no doubt that this came about, in no small measure, through Colin’s dedication to the Club in earlier years and his remarkable leadership and other attributes.

Colin was a true gentleman in everything he did. He always had a smile. Almost single handedly, he navigated the Club through troublesome times at Hornsey (a north London district in the London Borough of Haringey), with frequently waterlogged pitches at Tivoli Road. This was combined with comparatively poor match results and when morale was often at a low ebb. Colin was found frequently engaged in struggles with the Hornsey Club, whose ground it was and whose cricket members were generally reluctant to expend funds in improving the playing surfaces in winter. The negotiations of tenancy agreements for the Club’s use of the ground in winter tended to be afflicted with the same sensations of quagmire. 

Childhood and education

Colin was an only child, born on 22 July 1931 in Stockport to Harold Greenhalgh, who worked behind the counter in Boot’s, and Marjorie Batt, who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and was wheelchair-bound for most of her life.

During his primary school years, Colin and his parents left Manchester under the threat of bombing in World War 2. He was evacuated to Blackpool, where he lived for a number of years with a couple he had never met before – he went from being an only child to being a solitary child without even his parents. Prompted by the experiences of Manchester during World War 2, his parents then moved in 1942 to the most remote place they could find – Holyhead on Anglesey.

Colin had just turned 11 and had been hoping to attend King Edward’s Grammar School in Manchester. The move put this out of the question. He was unable to be admitted to the local grammar school, Rhyl GS, but did obtain a place at St Asaph GS. That involved at least a 1.5-hour journey by bus and train. Peter Macauley-Owen, the Head Teacher and Maths Teacher at the school, spotted Colin’s mathematical abilities and prepared him to enter for a scholarship to Oxford University – which he achieved.

Career

His solitary childhood made him fearless of adventure. Having finished his exams one summer, he took off by his motorbike to Wimbledon, to see if he could get a job, which he did – updating the manual scoreboards at the All England Lawn Tennis Championships.

After graduating, Colin went into the world of market research. He worked for the British Market Research Bureau, SmithKline Beecham and Taylor Nelson. In 1973, he set up his own market research company – Product Testing Research. This allowed him to carry out pure research, as well as commercial projects.

In one piece of work, he purchased many boxes of small soap samples – all smelling exactly the same. He labelled them with different codes and then asked members of the public to smell them and indicate which smell they preferred. He wanted to understand the innate bias that people have for some letters over others – the obvious being A over B or X over Y – but there were also other less obvious and product related preferences. For example, the letter P always came out very well and Colin concluded this was down to an assumption that people were smelling a Pears soap.

Through this project he managed to find codes for putting on samples that would not have any built-in bias. He was also the first person, in this country at least, to develop exit polls and conduct them in a way that would properly represent the electorate across the country.

Colin received two gold medals from the European Society of Market Research for his work.

Sporting and recreational pursuits

At Oxford University, Colin played tennis and hockey for Jesus College. He kept them up afterwards – hockey in his younger years and tennis when he became older. With tennis initially at Teddington Tennis Club and later at what started as informal tennis at Carlisle Park and then Hampton School, Colin became involved in the administration, introduced structure and demanded standards, especially over notifying him of attendance.

Jesus College Hockey Club, Oxford University: Colin is seated far left as viewed from the camera. Photograph courtesy of the family.

He took a similar approach to the amateur dramatics – taking over the running of committees. His love of amateur dramatics took over once he became less able to run around a pitch. Colin became increasingly involved and requisitioned his own house as a rehearsal room and for making props.

Colin in the play Charley’s Aunt (where he played the character Brassett), with Teddington Theatre Club. Photograph courtesy of the family.

On his move to Cornwall to be closer to his daughter Sally, Colin enjoyed going to Tideford Cricket Club to watch one of his grandsons play cricket and to Lux Park in Liskeard to watch the other playing hockey for the Caradon Hockey Club. Several spectators at Caradon HC are now probably more conversant with Hampstead Hockey Club than their own club.

Of Colin and Hampstead Hockey Club

Colin was elected a member of Hampstead Hockey Club on 14 November 1955. He was a moderate hockey player, predominantly a half back in the 3rd XI, alongside John Chaumeton, who captained the side in the early 1960s. Sometimes Colin was called up to the 2nd XI – for example against Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) on 10 March 1962 – and was happy to drop down a team (such as agreeing to play for the 5th XI against Cheam on 27 October 1963 and to be a reserve for the 4th XI on 30 January 1966) when the need arose. He frequently volunteered as an umpire, conscious of the few that were willing to officiate. In October 1962, facing the usual initial enthusiasm generated by the optimism of a new season, the Club ran a Wanderers XI, in effect a sixth team and Colin played for them.

Under John Chaumeton, the 3rd XI went undefeated in the 1962-63 season at Christmas, with six wins and three draws, scoring 29 goals and conceding 15. This run could not be sustained however and a rude reminder was given by St Albans, who won 7-0 on 31 March 1963.

On 7 October 1957, Colin was appointed 3rd & 4th XI Secretary and became a member of the Club’s Committee upon taking up the post of Assistant Hon. Secretary to Hugh Wickham, having been proposed by Morley Pecker at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 11 April 1958. He was busy straightaway, eager that something should be done about recruiting good College players to the Club for the forthcoming season. He also encouraged the formation of a 5th XI.

On 1 April 1960, Colin was appointed Hon. Secretary, in succession to Hugh Wickham, who was thanked at the AGM “for five difficult years”. Hugh agreed to act as Fixture Secretary and Colin found further support from a trio of respected members, Stan Elgar as Treasurer, Noel Cardoza as captain of the 1st XI and Hugh Avey as Match Secretary. Together they sought to revive the days of the mid 1950s when the Club had so rapidly restored its playing fortunes after it was re-formed in 1951.

Almost immediately, Colin became involved in the search for additional pitches, especially if the Club was to expand with the formation of a fifth team. On 8 December 1960, he reported to the Committee that he was pursuing an extra pitch at St Aloysius’ College and had made contact with Finchley Borough Council, Hornsey Borough Council, the London County Council and J F Lyons Sports Club to seek an additional ground. The only positive response was from London County Council that offered space at Victoria Park in Hackney.

Colin was prepared to risk favour by his suggestion of introducing a match fee, to cover the cost of teas, the post-match shandies and the first round of the beer kitty. The other members of the Committee were less than enthusiastic and regarded it as undesirable, suggesting instead that the responsibility for covering such matters should be left to team captains.

In March 1961, Colin agreed to act as Team Secretary for the Spaniards, then the Sunday team of mixed ability that usually toured to play varied opponents, not necessarily in the immediate vicinity. Colin was a significant supporter of the Spaniards and later, with Hugh Wickham, of the Puritans HC. As Secretary, one pleasure at the time was to convey the Club’s congratulations to Jim Deegan upon his selection for England.

In January 1962, Colin devised the Club Bulletin, intended to notify members of team selections, replacing the postcard system that had operated for a few years. It would also provide an opportunity to relate current news of the Club. In the first edition he set out his thoughts:

“This bulletin comes to you by way of an experiment … This could have several advantages, not the least of which, I hope, will be that you will have a much clearer idea of where not only your own team but also the whole club is going from week to week, who is winning and who is losing, who is being promoted et cetera. And it also provides a useful vehicle for getting odd snippets of news to you which do not warrant a circular of their own. I hope I shall be able to make this bulletin business work: if you have any suggestions for improving it (without adding to the workload involved) please let me know.”

This set in train a sequence of Bulletins that were continued in regular form throughout Colin’s stewardship and continued by Richard Shaw, Dave Teale and Norman Borrett, before they began to decline in influence.

Colin was also a supporter of the Spaniards on their visits to the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) Easter Hockey Festival at Teddington, when the Spaniards B XI represented the Club. Colin took part in at least four consecutive events.

Some of the most challenging aspects of Colin’s tenure were his dealings with the Hornsey Club. The state of the grass pitches in winter bedevilled the Club for almost 30 years before artificial surfaces began to appear and ease the burden. The cricketer members of the Hornsey Club tended to benefit from the dry conditions of the summer, possibly unaware of the adverse effects of autumn rains and the underlying London clay geology in autumn and winter months. Or, if they were aware, they were ill prepared to accept a burden of expenditure to make the grass pitches usable in winter. It may have been an unwillingness to accept interference in the maintenance of the ground for the summer’s cricket.

The Club had moved to Hornsey after a few torrid years of finding a home ground in the mid-1950s and was eager to establish something a little more permanent. As an example of the rather awkward dealings with the Hornsey Club that were to predominate affairs for the next few years, in November 1962, Colin reported to the Committee his correspondence and conversations with the Hornsey Club officials since the preceding August.

These were to the effect, first, that the Club was to be given notice to leave the Hornsey Club at the end of the current season because of the continuing deterioration of the outfield but, second, (and rather mercurially) because a full-time groundsman had been appointed and had started work, this notice was withdrawn. Instead, the Hockey Club’s tenancy was assured to the end of the 1963-64 season (at the existing rent of £150 for the season but to be renegotiated for 1963-64) and then to be reviewed in the light of the state of the outfield. After discussion about this and the long-term future, the Hockey Club’s Committee agreed to offer the previous negotiated rent of £175 for that season and to ask the Hornsey Club to meet a negotiating Sub Committee to discuss next season and thereafter.

In light of the threat of eviction, the Sub Committee began to explore other options. One that was negotiated at some length was to play at The Oval Cricket Ground. In February 1965, Colin reported that Surrey County Cricket Club had finally rejected the Club’s application, despite the intervention of Cyril Wilkinson, CBE, a former Hampstead Hockey player and 1920 Olympic gold medal winner, who had also captained Surrey CCC.

Colin added that the Sub Committee had carried out an extensive search of North London, which had not been very encouraging. Many other grounds large enough already accommodated football or rugby. There were one or two possibilities, including Finchley Cricket Club and South Hampstead Cricket Club. It was agreed a 12 months’ extension at Hornsey would help in investigating these possibilities thoroughly. Colin was asked to approach the Hornsey Club accordingly but, in the meantime, the Sub Committee was given freedom to make other approaches felt desirable.

In November 1966, Colin was able to report that a five-year Agreement had finally been exchanged with the Hornsey Club. The promised perimeter drainage was due to be installed within a week or so. However, that good news was rather quickly dissipated, as frequently seemed to be the case.

As a grant from the Ministry of Education was now unlikely to materialise for a year, the Hockey Club would need to fund the £50 balance of the cost of the drain. At least turf had now been laid on the second pitch extension to make possible its enlargement for viable hockey in the new year. Frustratingly, it was believed that the Hornsey Club had increased the price of teas to 2/6, contrary to the recently signed Agreement (in which prices were quoted at 2/-). The Hockey Club had reluctantly agreed that if this price increase were confirmed, the Hockey Club would need to ask for lower quality teas to sustain the price of 2/- in order to keep the matchday kitty within its previously accepted level. However, in view of the likely £50 (for the perimeter drainage) it was agreed the Hockey Club ought not to run a deficit again. It therefore accepted the need to raise the matchday kitty to 7/6 per game, leaving 3/- per game as a contribution to club funds.

In September 1969, Colin reported to the Committee his discussions with the Hornsey Club over the Hockey Club’s request to renew the mole drainage beneath the playing surface. The groundsman was reported to be resolutely opposed, as he reckoned that it could not be done by him at economic cost. Colin felt that this advice had to be accepted, provided the groundsman agreed to explore how the renewal could be carried out economically next year. Unabashed, the Hornsey Club then demanded a contribution towards the estimated cost of £40 to fertilise the ground that autumn. The Hockey Club agreed not to accede, given the Hornsey Club’s contractual obligation to provide adequate hockey pitches. Instead, it was agreed to try to purchase a self-propelled spiker that the groundsman felt would be valuable (even if providing it might exceed the budget of £100 set by the Hockey Club).

Perhaps the best example of the tortuous nature of the negotiations is the summary provided by Colin to the Committee on 1 June 1970. At a meeting with the Hornsey Club representatives, it had been agreed:

• To enter into a contract with Sherwoods for ploughing, levelling and re-seeding one half of the outfield in the coming autumn;
• To instal the necessary land drains for effective mole drainage at the same time;
• To provide mole drainage equipment and a suitable tractor for moling this autumn and whenever necessary later; and
• To plough, level and re-seed the other half of the outfield in the following autumn, or as soon as the first half was ready to accommodate hockey again.

The Hornsey Club had also agreed a method of financing these works that would involve:

• The Hockey Club contributing £500 to the total estimated cost of £1,300;
• The Hockey Club extending a loan to the Hornsey Club by putting up an initial £600 of the £900 investment that autumn;
• The Hornsey Club granting the Hockey Club a ten-year tenancy, of which the first five years’ rent would be £400 (for winter and summer play) and the remainder of the term at a “slightly higher” rent, to be agreed; and
• The loan to the Hornsey Club to be repaid by a rebate in the first five years’ rent in the order of £110 per annum.

In addition, while only one pitch was available at Hornsey, the rent would be reduced by the cost of hiring a replacement pitch (but at the cheapest rate, for the benefit of the Hornsey Club). Colin understood that the Hornsey Club Committee has agreed this outline proposal (including that of the Treasurer regarding the capital expenditure) and on that basis it was also approved by the Hockey Club’s Committee.

On 6 August 1970, Colin was able to report that the order for the groundworks, agreed with the Hornsey Club and recorded in the Minutes, had been placed. However, he then learnt that the Hornsey Club had (apparently without notice) sought the advice of the Bingley Sports Turf Research Institute, who had advised that sub-soil cultivation and heavy sanding would provide better drainage than mole drains, though their recommendation on the quantity of sand would involve considerably higher cost. As a result, it was recognised that a further meeting was needed with the Hornsey Club to agree a revised scheme – provided the cost of the sanding would be similar to the amounts in the original agreement.

Colin also had a pivotal role in agreeing the date of the Club’s 75th anniversary in 1969 and how it should be celebrated. Odd though it might seem, the anniversary date was in some doubt, with suggestions that it should take into the account the start of hockey played as a section of Hampstead Cricket Club, which, at its latest, was in 1890 – and not the date when the hockey players seceded from Hampstead Cricket Club in 1894 to form their own hockey club.

To mark that anniversary Colin wrote and published Hampstead Hockey Club 1894-1969: A Short History (pictured) drawing upon archive material that had been passed to him as Secretary (and that at one time was thought to have been lost). Its 41 pages include a succinct narrative of the 75 years, a tailpiece containing the reminiscences of former players and members Jack Bennett, Ruari Milsted and John Sankey, as well as schedules listing representative honours, administrative honours and the officers of the Club.

A postscript to book added:

“The best works of scholarship always have a contribution by that well-known busybody, Another Hand. This one is necessary to point out a grave omission. The lynchpin of Hampstead Hockey Club for the past decade is someone who has barely received a mention in this otherwise excellent history. Colin is coming up for his tenth year as a devoted and indefatigable Honorary Secretary. The amount of time he gives to Club affairs is heroic. His annual intervention at the Club Dinner, if not always printable, is a highlight of the London season. No one in the last 75 years has deserved the praise and thanks of members more.”

Another significant achievement for Colin was in persuading Peter Boizot to join the Club when he enquired in 1967, having been rebuffed by two other leading London clubs. That connection was something that Peter frequently mentioned and made evident the respect that he had for Colin. Peter’s benevolence to the club and hockey (and things Peterborough related) has become the stuff of legend.

Colin retired as the Secretary of the Club at the AGM on 1 April 1971. The Chairman, Jeremy Potter announced that on Colin’s retirement after 11 years in office, he, the Vice Presidents and members wished to mark their appreciation by the presentation of a pair of decanters. The minutes read, “Mr Greenhalgh, who was specifically instructed by the meeting to minute these sentiments, coupled with gratitude to Mrs Greenhalgh for her tolerance, thanked the club for the elegance and totally unexpected munificence of their gift and, in outlining the achievements (and some of the minor disappointments) of the Club’s last 11 years, said that the pleasure of serving such an admirable membership had been reward enough in itself.”

Colin did agree to remain a member of the Committee, which he did until standing down in 1974 at the same time as Peter Boizot; in the latter’s case as he was about to launch a campaign to become a Member of Parliament for Peterborough.

In later years, Colin was instrumental in maintaining a dialogue between the club and its former players and members, especially through his regular newsletters to those he called Old Members or OMs. He was already on hand to include past Presidents and stalwarts when in poor health and to pay them visits to boost morale. In March 1989, after the death was announced of John Sankey, renowned as one of the three who managed the Club’s revival in 1950 after the dispersal of members at the end of World War 2, his daughter discovered two whistles that John had used and donated them to the Club. They were mounted and framed by Colin and presented to the Club. Colin requested that they be named the Sankey Siffleurs and awarded for some extraordinary commitment to umpiring in the Club.

The Club tended to turn to Colin for anecdotes. One of the more entertaining was of the events that gave rise to the dents in the original Barnard Cup – a Club trophy awarded to the captain of the side with the best playing record each season. These dents came from it hitting the tarmac when deliberately thrown from a car at speed on the A3 Kingston By Pass by a disgruntled non player, fed up with the disproportionate attention given by the other occupants to hockey. Soon after the same Barnard Cup was stolen in broad daylight from the Carlton Tavern, an insurance claim was successfully made, despite there being no photograph of the Cup. Colin made a sketch drawing of it from memory, which proved sufficient to support the claim.

Colin was also a significant contributor to the debate over the expansion of Vice Presidents of the Club, promoted at the time by Peter Boizot. Colin provided a valuable oversight and measure of proportionality, conscious of the roles of past Vice Presidents when far fewer in number. He encouraged the formation of cohorts of similar aged former players in four distinct groups, conscious of the differing experiences of the Club within those age groups and for the better (or more informed) understanding of how to communicate with them.

Hampstead & Westminster Hockey Club Vice Presidents. Seated centrally, from left to right: Anthony Swing, Colin Greenhalgh, Alan Kurtz and Peter Boizot. Photograph courtesy of Ian Smith.

Colin’s Passing and Funeral

Colin moved from Hampton to Liskeard in Cornwall in 2016. His daughter reported that her father died peacefully in his sleep on the night of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) World Cup Final, having enjoyed the evening watching the victorious Argentina, the team he had favoured to win. His funeral was held on 14 January 2023 in Hampton, where his ashes and those of his wife were scattered on the Thames at the end of the road where they had lived for many years.

By Ian Smith,
Hampstead & Westminster Hockey Club Historian.

Explore the incredible website dedicated to the Club's history and heritage: Hampstead & Westminster Hockey Club: through the years | hwhockey.co.uk

Sources

1. The Minute Books of Hampstead Hockey Club 1954-1975.
2. Bulletins of Hampstead Hockey Club, ed. Colin Greenhalgh.
3. Personal recollections of Sally Daulton.
4. Hampstead Hockey Club 1894-1969 – A Short History by Colin Greenhalgh.
5. Website hwhockey.co.uk (The Registry of Hampstead & Westminster HC).
6. Hockey News magazine.

08.02.1940 – 13.02.2023

The Hockey Museum is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Bill Felton after a sudden illness on 13 February, five days after his 83rd birthday. Bill was an incredibly active administrator within hockey who was recognised for his outstanding services to our sport.

Born on 8 February 1940, he left school at 16 and worked as a shipbroker at the Baltic Exchange in London. He retired at age 55 but continued on a consultancy basis.

Bill did not play hockey but began umpiring in Essex in the late 1980s after his son, who was a junior international, went to university. For many years in the 1990s he ran the Centenary Club which organised travel for supporters to England games away from home. Bill built up an amazing camaraderie between those on the trips, alongside another fantastic servant of the sport, Kate Billson, who sadly passed away in 2020.

He was President of the East Region Hockey Association in 2008-09 and Chairman of England Hockey’s Youth Trust. In 2007 the Hockey Writers’ Club awarded Bill the Sydney Friskin Memorial Silver Goblet for outstanding service to the sport.

Bill was a tournament director and a very active match official clocking up many games in the East and in London. He was a conscientious, super-organised official who always worked closely with teams to establish a good relationship.

Stephen Barlow, England Hockey’s Competitions Manager, said on hearing the news: “Bill was a great ambassador for the sport; his friendly face was a welcome one when you arrived for a game; you knew you’d be in safe hands but a smile and a joke would never be far away.”

Bill, who lived in Hoddesdon, Herts, leaves a daughter Julia and a son Clive.

The Hockey Museum sends its sincere condolences to Bill’s family.

Bill Felton – Funeral Arrangements

Bill’s funeral will take place on Wednesday 8 March at 10:00 at Woollensbrook Crematorium followed by a Celebration of Life for both Bill and his wife Maureen at Brickendon Grange Golf Club.

Bill always wanted to have an event to celebrate his wife’s earlier passing but COVID-19 restrictions prevented that. It is fitting to acknowledge them together. They were married for nearly 55 years and were lifelong partners.

To ensure effective catering, it would be appreciated if those attending the Celebration of Life could email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. advising their name and how many people are attending as there is limited capacity at the venue.

For those unable to attend on the day, the service will be live streamed on the web. To obtain a password to watch please email the above address.

As opposed to flowers, any donation in support of the Stroke Association would be greatly appreciated: Julia Felton is fundraising for Stroke Association (justgiving.com)

Addresses

Woollensbrook Crematorium - 9BS, Hertford Rd, Hoddesdon EN11 9BN.

Brickendon Grange Golf Club - Pembridge Ln, Brickendon Grn, Hertford SG13 8PD.

Joan Wall (née Barnett), early 1950s. Courtesy of the family.

 10.10.1933 – 05.02.2023

The Hockey Museum (THM) is saddened to report the recent death of Joan Wall (née Barnett) – an ex-England international player who also had an outstanding record in the development and promotion of hockey before becoming one of the first volunteers to support The Hockey Museum (THM). Additionally, Joan had a fine career in athletics at county level before serving with distinction in various administrative capacities for both sports.

What follows is a personal appreciation of Joan by THM’s Honorary Curator and President Mike Smith which complements a formal obituary. Mike was Curator when Joan started as a volunteer. Funeral details follow at the end.

An Appreciation of Joan Wall

By Mike Smith

I first met Joan in the earliest days of THM’s first home in Butts Road, Woking, on 16 March 2012. In those days we could drive right up to the museum with easy parking. It was a Saturday morning and Joan pulled her car up to the front door. She had come to deposit her collection with the Museum – we were actually the National Hockey Museum then. I don’t recall how Joan had come to hear of us, but she was very keen for us to have her collection. Joan was very keen, full stop!

We carried her material in from the car and I showed her round, such as there was to show at that time! She asked if she could help and Joan became one of our first volunteers. Over the next few years (during which time we moved premises to Poole Road) Joan did the usual volunteer jobs, mainly entering and cataloguing collections which were coming in in at the rate of two per week. Yet Joan wanted to do more. Having been very heavily involved with the early days of women’s indoor hockey she decided to write a history of the subject. We are still waiting for someone to write the men’s history!

I vividly remember discussing her next project with her, which was to try to list all the hockey clubs that have existed in England since 1871. We still don’t know how big that figure is, but Joan made a great start. She would go through the handbooks on her visits to the museum and then take the list of clubs home and spend the evenings trawling the internet for information. Occasionally she would find brief club histories on websites and these she would copy, print and file within our filing cabinets. We had to do this because clubs are very good at deleting information on their websites! This is an amazing project that needs revitalising.

With Joan it was also a case of ‘buy one, get one free’ because her son John also became a volunteer. Initially John escorted Joan on the train when she could no longer drive, but even though he was not a hockey player he caught the bug and is one of our staunchest supporters.

Joan was a wife, a mother, a teacher, an England hockey player, a coach and an administrator. Her drive even saw her found two hockey clubs in Nottinghamshire. Also, if you look at her scrapbook, you will learn that she was no mean athlete in her day, a true all-rounder.

My abiding memory of Joan will be that first day when I first met her. She presented us with her England blazer and then handed me her stick, with the words, “I played with that at Wembley”. As I held it, I thought, this stick has played on the hallowed turf of Wembley, that is true history.

Thank you, Joan.

Joan was an early supporter of The Hockey Museum. In 2013 she attended our display at the Investec World League Semi-Final at Chiswick where upon she handed over a cheque donation for £1,000. Joan is pictured here front and centre accompanied by the Museum's founding trustees; from left to right: Pat Rowley, Dil Bahra, Katie Dodd, MIke Smith and Ian Wilson.

An Obituary of Joan Wall

Joan Barnett was an only child, born in Bermondsey although evacuated during the war. Returning to London, she was inspired by her gym teacher at Bromley Grammar School to take up hockey in her early teens. Joan played for her school and local club Atalanta before attending County trials where she was selected for Kent Schools and then East Juniors.

Having made an early impression in the game, at 17 Joan was invited to take part in a 7-a-side exhibition game at the Festival of Britain in 1951.

She progressed to playing for Kent 1st XI before relocating with her new husband, Leslie ‘Les’ Wall, to Nottingham in 1955. Les was appointed as a junior school teacher in Nottingham whilst Joan became a teacher and hockey coach at a nearby secondary school, although she took several years out from teaching when her two children arrived – John in 1962 and Lynne in 1966.

Changing her hockey allegiance to Nottinghamshire, Joan was selected to represent the County, the Midlands and then for an England touring side which travelled to Germany in 1958. Following a series of convincing wins against German club teams, the England side met Germany in Berlin. This necessitated crossing the border into East Germany at which point the ladies were all required to open their cameras – thus losing all the pictures they had taken!

Joan’s international career was confirmed by selection for the full England team to play Scotland on 7 March 1959 and then South Africa at Wembley the following week. South Africa was the first non-European nation to play at Wembley as they were en route to the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) Tournament to be played in the Netherlands shortly afterwards.

The England team that beat South Africa 4-1 at Wembley in 1959. Joan Wall is second from the left with her early Indian-head hockey stick.

Joan also played in this event, where, helped by ‘speedy Wall’, England were crowned unofficial world champions following a round-robin tournament. Capitalising on her notable speed, Joan was also an athlete of some note; she held county records at 100, 200 and 400 yards for many years. No doubt her athletic prowess aided her rise to international hockey recognition.

The England touring team that were crowned unofficial world champions in Amsterdam in 1959. Joan Wall is third from right.

Joan was awarded 14 international hockey caps for England over two years between 1959-60. During that time England won 13 matches and drew one, against Australia. Joan played in all these matches as a half back. She was one of the first England international players to play with an Indian-head hockey stick and was moved to write to the Hockey Field magazine to complain that umpires were blowing her for obstruction just because she played on the reverse side!

After her international hockey career came to a close, Joan continued to exercise her love of the game by founding, in 1961, the first junior hockey club in the country – Sherwood Juniors Hockey Club for 15-18 year olds. Not content with that, 10 years later Joan founded another club, Carlton Ladies Hockey Club, which later became Redhill Ladies Hockey Club after they moved to a nearby all-weather pitch in 1978.

When the new women’s hockey league was set up in Nottinghamshire, Carlton LHC were the first winners – in their inaugural season! Joan was a key member of the fledging club for many years until she moved to Hampshire.

Redhill LHC celebrated its 50-year anniversary in 2022 (delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic). The current Club Secretary, Melissa Lau, commented: “Redhill has gone from strength to strength in recent years and now has a permanent base at Goosedale Sports Club, running three teams and with active junior and masters sections – we have a lot to thank Joan for starting all those years ago.”

Joan was also active in the indoor game, becoming Indoor Secretary of Nottinghamshire Women’s Hockey Association, then Midlands Indoor Chairman and an England Indoor selector for 10 years, seven as Chairman. She also served in several administrative roles culminating as Secretary of the new joint men’s and women’s Nottinghamshire County Hockey Association.

She also found time to qualify as a coach and official for all athletics track and field events and, perhaps inevitably, got involved in athletics administration. In 1980 she became President of Midlands Women Amateur Athletics Association and Nottinghamshire WAAA and the Midlands WAAA in 1987.

Her skills as a sports administrator were much in demand and she became heavily involved in the East Midlands Federation of Sport and Recreation and the East Midlands Regional Sports Council serving on their Executive Committee and their Strategy and Investment Panel.

Notwithstanding all these commitments, Joan was still teaching until taking early retirement in 1989 whereupon she became a Food Advisor for Sainsbury’s until 1998.

Joan was a devoted wife, and mother to Lynne and John who recalls growing up always surrounded by various pieces of hockey and athletics equipment. Joan remained competitive in later life and joined local bowls clubs after moving to Farnborough, Hampshire, in 2010; although she left at least one bowls club as they were only really ‘social’! For over 30 years Joan and John travelled the world from Mexico to China – she particularly loved Egypt – and John continued to accompany her during her volunteering with THM.

Joan’s infectious enthusiasm and dedication to hockey were evident well into her eighties.

She will be sorely missed by John and Lynne and fondly remembered by her friends at the Museum and by the wider hockey family.

Funeral arrangements

Joan Wall’s funeral will take place on Thursday 16 March 2023 at 12:15 at Aldershot Crematorium. The service will be followed by memorial drinks at The Hockey Museum in Woking, Surrey from 13:30.

15.10.1945-26.5.2021

It was with great sadness that we heard of the sudden death of Peter Thompson in May 2021.

Peter was a committed member of the ‘hockey family’ at Brigg, a small market town in North Lincolnshire, for 50 years. He was proud of the growth of Brigg Hockey Club since he started playing in the early 1970s. Then, the men’s section had two teams comprising mostly teachers, farmers, and a vicar from time to time. The ladies’ section merged and today the Club has four men’s teams, three ladies’ teams and junior teams.

What typified Peter was that he gave back to the game more than he took from it. When the time came, he transitioned from player to coach to umpire and on to administrator seamlessly and often combined them at the same time. He led the Club for several years as Chairman. Peter did all this because of his enthusiasm for the game and the satisfaction he got when others enjoyed it. Not that he would say so!

In the late 1960s Peter played at Brigg Grammar School, at College in Chester and during his first teaching post in Lancashire he played at Warrington. On returning to Brigg in 1972 he taught at the Vale of Ancholme school, coaching and encouraging boys with no knowledge or experience of hockey. One or two became Lincolnshire junior and senior players; others played in Brigg lower teams. On to Caistor Grammar School he developed hockey for boys who followed similar paths to Brigg Hockey Club and Lincolnshire.

By the 1990s artificial pitches were appearing, though not many in Lincolnshire, and not in Brigg. Junior County teams were developing, and Peter was the Secretary of Lincolnshire School and Youth Hockey from 1990 to 1992. Indoor hockey was also late on the scene but for a period it flourished in the north of the county at Cleethorpes Leisure Centre with teams such as Brigg, Grimsby, Caistor, Hull and Hall Cross (Doncaster). Peter was the driving force in all this. (Those present had the chance to see Barry Middleton in the early part of his career).

League hockey replaced friendly fixtures when the Lincolnshire League was set in the 1977-1978 season. By this time Peter was captaining the 1st XI. As time moved on, he captained the 2nd team and then with the 3rds and 4ths to encourage his and his friends’ offspring to play and move in the opposite direction. Ahead of the 1989-90 season, Lincolnshire was split: north Lincolnshire to the Yorkshire League and the south Lincolnshire to the East League.

A career change around this time saw Peter move into photography and journalism. Through this he was able to promote local clubs by providing scores and brief match reports. He also developed a fine reputation as an after-dinner speaker, able to embellish tales of his numerous exploits on the pitch to entertain his audiences.

By this time, he was an umpire. He joined the Yorkshire League Pool around 2000 umpiring at all levels as far as the East Pennine Division. Other roles followed as umpire appointments, Umpire Disciplinary Panel and President of the Yorkshire Umpires. On the pitch he could be described as firmly in charge with a good rapport with players. In time Peter felt he could not keep up with the pace of higher standard hockey but couldn’t resist volunteering to cover lower league home matches and sometimes at Hull University on Wednesdays.

Peter is missed by all who knew him and those who will come realise what an important contribution he made to their enjoyment of hockey over years to come.

Peter’s wife Gwen survives him along with his daughters Lucy and Nichola, son David and granddaughter Eloise.

January 2023
Tony Stamp and Adrian Broome

The England men's hockey team, 1952. Bob Schad is standing third left (with glasses) behind Norman Borrett, the captain.

Still playing golf at 93, Robert (Bob) Schad’s long-lasting batteries finally ran out of juice on 17 November 2022, drained of life after 96 well-filled years by the pernicious Covid disease.

An exceptional all-round athlete who reputedly beat Gordon Pirie over a mile while at university, Bob won hockey blues for Oxford University in 1946, 1947 and 1948 and in 1952 was selected at centre-half for England. Bob played in a team that comfortably won all three internationals against Wales, Ireland and Scotland and beat a much more experienced France team 2-0 at Wimereux near Boulogne. England’s goalkeeper on those four occasions was Sir Derek Day (winner of a bronze medal for Great Britain at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games and later British High Commissioner in Canada), a direct contemporary at Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex where Bob was educated during the war years.

Bob Schad's England record.

Despite the clean sweep of victories, curiously Bob was not selected again for England; one can only speculate as to whether he might have had a difference of opinion with his captain, the famously headstrong Norman Borrett.

Tall, lean and tireless, for many years Bob was a mainstay of Cheam Hockey Club 1st XI, playing well into his fifties, and also represented Surrey and the South.

Cheam Hockey Club men, early 1950s. Bob Schad is seated second left.

Following Oxford, Bob undertook National Service, being commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the RAF, and teaching maths at the RAF College, Cranwell. This experience led him into following a career in teaching and he subsequently spent no less than 48 years on the staff at Whitgift School in Croydon, thought to be a record for long service. At Whitgift Bob took charge of hockey and cricket and ran the Air Cadets for 30 years. He played in the Hurstpierpoint College Old Johnian cricket week for more than 50 years and in his 70s was still turning out for the Old Mid-Whitgiftians 3rd XI.

Also in his 70s, Bob took up golf and while on a golfing holiday in Scotland at the age of 79 discovered the hidden joys of Scottish Country Dancing. By virtue of practice three times a week, he learned the steps of well over 100 dances, each dance consisting of 32 bars with a change of formation every 8 bars. He was also an accomplished bridge player, winning the Daily Telegraph worldwide sim pairs, with a massive 83% score.

Bob leaves a widow Carole, a son James (also an Oxford University hockey blue), two daughters and three grandchildren.

Allan Mayo celebrates with the Over 65s Masters World Cup which England won in 2018 in Barcelona.

27.07.1949 – 23.11.2022

By Avtar Bhurji OLY

Allan Mayo, a very good friend for the last 45 years is no more.

I met Allan in Belgium in 1973. After our first meeting we connected like lost brothers; we stayed in touch until his last day.

Allan Mayo was a great hockey player, even better was his personality and as a person.

My journey started with Allan in 1973. We became very close when I was elected captain of London Indians Hockey Club. London Indians was famous for its brand of Asian-style hockey. Allan fitted into the Asian style of hockey very well; he was deceptive on the pitch, quick hands, silky skills and very humble on and off the pitch. His name used to be the first on my team sheet. London Indians played against the Counties, England and Great Britain, and toured abroad.

He was well liked by everyone who met him.

At his peak Allan played for Teddington Hockey Club and Hampshire County. Allan was a very good indoor player; he was the captain of Teddington Hockey Club in 1976 when they played against my team, Blackheath Hockey Club in the National Indoor Championship. We narrowly defeated them.

Allan was capped 4 times for England at indoor hockey. He later coached England indoor Under 21s, winning a silver medal at the European Cup in Orense.

Allan Mayo started playing for Spencer Hockey Club Veterans team about 4 years ago.

Allan represented England over 70s and he was due for trials on Wednesday 23 November 2022 for the next season. He went to sleep early on Tuesday night to wake up fresh for the trails. He never got up, passed in his sleep.

We travelled abroad many times together; I have many sweet memories of Allan. If I was invited by a team to travel abroad, I made sure he was included.

One thing is for sure: I will never see him again, never feel him, never touch or share any banter with him.

Not knowing this would be our last quip, a few weeks ago when he told me he may not be able to play well the coming Saturday as he was recovering form celebrating England’s victory over India (in cricket), I told him "You were never a good player so I don't expect anything from you."

I never expected Allan Mayo to go so soon. He was a very fit, brilliant player and an even better human being.

He leaves behind his widow Nancy Mayo, his son, daughter and grandchildren. He will be greatly missed by the hockey world.

May God bless his soul. Rest in peace my good friend.

First published on Fieldhockey.com: RIP, my friend (fieldhockey.com)

Allan Mayo (left) with Avtar Singh Bhurji, his friend of 45 years and fellow London Indian. Image courtesy of Avtar Bhurji.

By Tochi Panesar

I have known Allan Mayo since mid 1970s, initially as a formidable opponent playing for Teddington HC and then as a teammate as a London Indians player. Over the last five years I knew Allan as a fine player and as a friend in our Spencer HC masters team.

Alan was a gentleman whose silky and highly effective hockey skills split defences. On the Saturday before he passed away, I was complimenting him on the defence-splitting trademark passes in the game he had just played.

Allan will be missed at Spencer and all across the hockey world where he was very well respected.

By Katie Dodd

I first met Allan back in the early 1980s when he was recommended by colleagues at Teddington HC as a possible indoor coach for Ealing Ladies Hockey Club. It was the early days in the development of indoor hockey in the women’s games and what a difference he made. Allan wasn’t the first man to find coaching a women’s team a ‘challenge’, but his indoor skills were fantastic and his enthusiasm infectious. His own hockey commitments meant that his tenure as our coach was short, but he certainly put the club on the road to what would be an era of indoor success. Our friendship didn’t end there as many of us kept in touch with Allan over the years and have enjoyed many ocassions in his company, notably at the Hockey Writers Club lunches – such an interesting and interested person. His friends at Ealing LHC will miss him.

Left: Slough HC Manager Ian Mitchell with the European Club Championship trophy in 1980. Right: Slough HC First XI c.1965. Captain Ian Mitchell is standing third from the left.

13.07.1931-19.07.2022

Ian Mitchell died on 20 July 2022 at the age of 91. He was born in Redcar, Yorkshire in 1931. His early sporting interests were in swimming and rugby but due to injury he switched to hockey when at Newcastle University, where he played in the university team. He qualified as a Civil Engineer and became a Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers. After a short spell of working for British Rail he joined the Central London Polytechnic (now University of Westminster) as a lecturer. He remained there for the rest of his working life. In retirement, apart from a continuing interest in Slough HC, he travelled the world extensively.

Ian joined Slough HC in the early 1950s and played in the First XI for some 20 years. He was captain from 1960 to 1967. He also captained, and later managed, Buckinghamshire. Both Ian and his wife Angela captained the county side at the same time. Both of their children Neil and Jenny played hockey for Slough, with Jenny playing at the top level of the sport. From his early days until 2016 Ian was an active committee member at Slough, serving two spells as Club Chairman.

Slough Hockey Club men's fixture cards, 1970s & 1980s.

He retired from playing top level hockey in 1975 to devote time to managing the Slough First XI, who were then becoming a power in English hockey at both outdoor and indoor level. The first great success was winning the London Hockey League in 1976. Slough then became National Champions in 1977. From 1975 for the best part of the next 20 years, Ian managed the team to winning every championship available to them, as detailed below.

National Club Champions 1977, 1979, 1980 & 1981
European Club Champions 1980
National Indoor Club Champions 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982 & 1983
London League Champions 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985 & 1987
National Inter League Champions 1976, 1980, 1981, 1982 & 1983
Glenfiddich International Indoor Cup 1982 – Zwolle European Indoor Cup 1981
English County Champions - Buckinghamshire 1980 & 1982

Left: Slough HC, winners of the National Club Championship in 1979. Manager Ian Mitchell standing arms folded, far right. Right: The Slough HC team with the European Club Championship trophy in 1980. Ian Mitchell furthest right.

Funeral Arrangements

Ian MItchell’s funeral will take place at 13:00 on 31 August at Slough Crematorium. If you wish to watch the service remotely details are below. If you knew Ian and would like to pay your respects, you are very welcome to attend both the funeral and the wake which will be held back at Slough Hockey Club.

Https://watch.obitus.com
Username: sazi9487
Password: 637608

A further obituary of Ian Mitchell is available on the Slough Hockey Club website: Obituary: Ian Mitchell, 1931-2022 (sloughhockeyclub.co.uk)

A Career Forged in an Era of Flux

16.05.1947 – 28.06.2022

By Nikhilesh Bhattacharya

World hockey lost another link to its rich past when Indian Olympian Varinder Singh died on 28 June 2022. He was 75. Varinder Singh’s international career spanned the 1970s, a decade that witnessed seismic changes in the world game and fluctuating fortunes for India.

His death from a heart ailment at a private hospital in Jalandhar, Punjab came forty-seven years after his crowning moment with the national team, India’s only World Cup triumph in Kuala Lumpur in March 1975. A year later, in Montreal, India returned from the Olympic Games without a medal for the first time as the traditional powerhouses of hockey struggled on the artificial surface to which the sport had shifted in the interim. Varinder Singh, at right half, was an integral part of both the 1975 and 1976 campaigns. He also played in the teams that won a bronze at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, lost the 1973 World Cup final to the Netherlands in Marbella, Spain and won silver medals at the 1974 and 1978 Asian Games.

Gurbux Singh, who won the Olympic gold in Tokyo in 1964 and a bronze in Mexico City in 1968, was the coach of the national team in Montreal and saw Varinder Singh at close quarters. Despite the team’s failure to win a medal, Varinder Singh’s game impressed Gurbux Singh. "He was calm, quiet and a compact player. He was very intelligent. In his younger days, Varinder played as a forward and that made him a very attacking right half. During my time as coach, I would encourage him to switch places with inside right Ashok Kumar when the latter was being body checked by opposing defenders," Gurbux Singh told The Hockey Museum (THM).

Ashok Kumar, son to Indian hockey legend Dhyan Chand, revealed to THM that the tactics, in fact, had been first used during the World Cup in 1975. It was forged by a group of players – Varinder Singh, Ashok Kumar, right out V J Philips and left back Surjit Singh – before a crucial league match against Olympic champions West Germany to decide the pool leaders. The idea was for Surjit to take his 16-yard hit and strike the ball across the field to where the inside right would usually be, Ashok Kumar recalled. "I knew I would be marked, so the plan was that I would track back to our own half while Varinder would move into the space thus created and intercept the pass and then try to feed the other forwards. It worked only because Varinder had the experience of playing as a forward and possessed a good turn of speed and excellent ball control". Varinder Singh’s attacking game set up goalscoring opportunities and India won the match 3-1, topped Pool B and set up a semi-final against hosts Malaysia.

Made in (Independent) India

Varinder Singh, Ashok Kumar and their contemporaries were raised after the Subcontinent gained independence from British rule but was also partitioned into India and Pakistan. Gurbux Singh was a member of the preceding generation that bridged the gap between them and independent India’s first hockey heroes, who learnt the game during colonial times. Having played with and against those who routinely won the Olympic gold from 1948 to 1956 and also their successors who had the unenviable task of trying to replicate the success in the face of myriad challenges, Gurbux Singh enjoys a unique vantage point regarding the history of the game in the Subcontinent and knows a good player when he sees one. Varinder Singh impressed him just as much. "He was soft-spoken, very gentle," Gurbux Singh said of his fellow Sikh, a religious minority in India who have contributed immensely to the development of hockey in the Subcontinent.

Varinder Singh was born in the village of Dhanowali near Jalandhar on 16 May 1947, mere months before the end of colonial rule. Punjab had long been the cradle of hockey in the region and Varinder Singh evidently picked up the game at a young age. Ajit Pal Singh, the captain of the 1975 World Cup team and Varinder Singh’s regular roommate during their time in the national team, remembered coming up against the latter in inter-school tournaments. "We also went together to the Lyallpur Khalsa College in Jalandhar," Ajit Pal Singh told the Hindustan Times newspaper after Varinder Singh’s death.

Despite the early start, it took Varinder Singh time to break into the national team. "Compared to the rest of his teammates in Munich [Olympic Games 1972], Varinder was a late-bloomer, coming into the Indian side when he was 26 while most of the others were in their early 20s and already had international experience," K Arumugam writes in Profiles of Indian Hockey Olympians.¹ "However, he lost no time in making up for the lost time and since his debut, was rarely left out of the Indian squad till he quit playing [after the 1980 pre-Olympics]."

The 1970s saw the continuation of India’s rivalry with Pakistan. Two countries joined at birth and drawing on the same colonial legacy fought to carve out their separate identities. Pakistan had the better of the decade, winning the inaugural World Cup in Barcelona in 1971 and the fourth edition in Buenos Aires in 1978 as well as gold medals in the Asian Games in 1970, 1974 and 1978. Varinder was part of the India teams that lost to Pakistan in the last two of those finals.

The beginning of the end

However, the world order changed decisively in 1976, following hockey’s shift from grass to artificial turf. Not just India and Pakistan, but some of the other traditionally strong teams like the Netherlands and West Germany also struggled to adapt in Montreal, Gurbux Singh recalled. "You must remember, there was not even a patch of Astroturf in India at the time. The first time the team got to play on an artificial surface was in France at a pre-Olympics tournament," Gurbux Singh recalled. A "topsy turvy" Olympic Games was finally won by New Zealand (the country’s only ever medal in Olympic men’s hockey) as India finished seventh. The fact that Varinder Singh continued to play for the national team for four more years, however, was testament to his adaptability and tenacity.

Since 1976, India’s only Olympic medals have been a gold at the largely boycotted Moscow Games in 1980 and, after a 41-year wait, a bronze in Tokyo last year. They have never won the World Cup again.

Varinder Singh was an officer in the Northern Railways. He played for his employers as well as the combined Indian Railways team in the domestic circuit. After his retirement from the railways, he took up a job with the Punjab Sports Department. As decorated hockey players from India’s golden generations, Gurbux Singh and Varinder Singh would often cross paths. "I sometimes met him in Jalandhar, where he was looking after the youngsters," Gurbux Singh said. They were also Facebook friends, and more recently kept in touch with each other over the social media platform.

The Indian government honoured Varinder Singh with the Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games in 2007.

Varinder Singh is survived by wife Manjit Kaur and sons Gurpreet Singh and Harpreet Singh.

Varinder Singh, hockey Olympian, World Cup winner, administrator; born 16 May 1947; died 28 June 2022.

¹ K Arumugam, Profiles of India’s Hockey Olympians (New Delhi: Field Hockey Publications, 2012), 160.

26.08.1924 – 30.03.2022

“A Legend has left us” is certainly true of John Peake who died in March at the age of 97. He was the oldest living British Olympic medallist, having won a hockey silver medal at the 1948 London Olympic Games. In 2012, John was a celebrity guest at the London Games creating an Olympic bridge that spanned 64 years, and he was one of the Olympic torch bearers, too.

One of John’s proudest boasts was that his 1948 Olympic blazer still fitted him! He commented that he had purchased his own blazer as the only ‘freebies’ that the 1948 team were given were two pairs of Y-Fronts and some Brylcreem! He also recalled that the hockey pitch at Wembley Stadium created very challenging conditions. This was because the shot putt from the earlier athletics events had left divots all over the grass pitch. John’s memory and wit were sharp until the end.

John Peake receives his GB honours cap from Gayane Selimyan, Manager of his care home, in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sporting Prowess

John was born in Cambridge where he first played hockey and won a scholarship to Repton School in 1938. There his sporting prowess blossomed, including three years in the cricket 1st XI. It was then back to Cambridge University where he won blues for hockey, tennis and squash. It was at Cambridge that he met his wife-to-be Elizabeth. She was similarly skilled in the same sports, also winning blues. They were to spend 65 years of happy marriage before Elizabeth died.

There have been excellent obituaries of John in the Times and the Telegraph, but here we hope to give you a little more detail about John’s involvement in hockey and sport, much of it gleaned from the splendid eulogy delivered by his son Christopher at John’s funeral. The event was a fitting tribute to his long and varied life.

John was a multi-talented sportsman and as well as cricket and hockey he achieved high honours in both tennis and squash. In hockey, as well as representing Great Britain he played for England, Kent, The Royal Navy and the Combined Services. Such achievements are not really possible in today’s sporting world.

John retained a strong level of personal fitness even into his 90s. In May 2019 he completed the Westminster Mile and was greeted by a hockey stick guard of honour at the finish line (pictured).

Military and Civilian Career

John finished at Cambridge University during the Second World War and joined the Royal Navy in the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors. Apart from wide ranging work experience it gave him time to play sport, a period that took in the 1948 London Olympic Games. In 1950 John left the Royal Navy and having suffered a slipped disc his hockey days were over. He went on to have a very successful and distinguished business career, rising to Chairman of Baker Perkins (a British engineering company for food processing equipment). His 36 years culminated with being awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for services to industry in 1986.

John Peake and The Hockey Museum

John never lost his love of hockey and shortly after The Hockey Museum (THM) found a home in Woking, he contacted us to ascertain what was going on! There followed a decade of interest and involvement by John, though initially we had no idea what a hockey legend he was.

Another legend of the London 1948 era was Balbir Singh Senior. Balbir was also a great friend of THM and visited us several times, often commenting on how sad it was that India did not have a similar museum. On one of these occasions, we set up a meeting between John and Balbir, recorded by an ITV film crew. It was an amazing piece of sporting history. The two men had not met since they played in the Olympic hockey final in 1948, yet it was like they were old and close friends. The respect that they showed each other was palpable.

John Peake and Balbir Singh Senior at The Hockey Museum in 2012. Photograph: Dil Bahra.

John was always honoured to attend THM events but really it was us who were honoured. Another wonderful occasion took place in 2019 when THM set up a further great hockey meeting. This time John met with Tony Nunn, a hockey Olympic bronze medallist from the 1952 Olympic Games. Although John had finished playing by 1952, they were contemporaries and friends. Tony had attended John’s wedding in 1951. The story has a pleasing twist here in that although we are deeply saddened to lose a legend like John Peake, his mantle of being the oldest surviving Great Britain Olympic medallist has passed to Tony. So, hockey retains the honour of possessing the oldest living GB medallist.

Tony Nunn and John Peake during their joing visit to The Hockey Museum in 2019.

Oral Histories

We shall soon be able to offer you John Peake's oral history interviews on our website, though they are not currently available online. Transcripts can be made available to researchers. If you think you have the time and technical skills to help us achieve more oral history recordings online sooner, please get in touch. Meantime, please do listen to our already published oral histories and read the obituaries of hockey greats elsewhere on our site.

Contact Us | hockeymuseum.net

Oral Histories | hockeymuseum.net

Obituaries | hockeymuseum.net

1956 – 21.05.2022

Ken Wilson passed away peacefully in hospital on Saturday 21 May 2022 after a short fight with Lymphoma; he was 65. Ken’s family – his wife Kaye and children Hannah and James – meant everything to him. Ken was married to Kaye for 36 years after being a customer at the bank where she worked.

Ken was an avid sports fan and season ticket holder for his beloved Watford Football Club. He passed on his passion for sport to his children James and Hannah. They attended many sporting events with Ken, including the London Olympic Games, the Wimbledon tennis championships, summer athletics, hockey matches and Watford FC games.

Ken worked for the BBC for over 30 years, working his way up to the position of Senior Sports Producer for the World Service. During this time, Ken thrived as a multi-sports journalist and programme producer, covering a range of sports tournaments abroad. It was through his work that his engagement with the ‘hockey family’ began and Ken joined the Hockey Writers’ Club around 1997.

Ken’s career saw him cover three Olympic Games, football World Cups and Wimbledon before leaving the BBC in 2011 when the broadcaster moved to Salford, Greater Manchester. Ken was Media Manager at the Riverbank Hockey Arena for the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as Broadcast Information Officer at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Always smiling, Ken had been described as "one of the loveliest and kindest people" you could know, and his expertise was highly valued. He drew on his vast knowledge and experience from large sporting events to give his time freely in numerous volunteer and charity positions.

Within hockey Ken became a prominent figure, firstly at the National Hockey Stadium at Milton Keynes and then later at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre as a leading ‘Hockey Maker’. Ken joined the Hockey Writers' Club committee in 2015, becoming Secretary in 2016 – a post he held until his recent passing.

Away from hockey, Ken volunteered for the physically impaired sports organisation WheelPower based at Stoke Mandeville, and at DCFL, an educational charity teaching IT skill.

Ken brought light into the lives of so many people across multiple generations. He made a point of always helping anyone with whatever he could, never second-guessing his decisions. He will be missed by all who knew him.

Copy credit to the Hockey Writers’ Club with elaboration by The Hockey Museum.
With thanks to Mike Haymonds.