The Hockey Museum (THM) has acquired four framed pieces of artificial Poligras turf from hockey pitch manufacturers Polytan. Each originates from a different Olympic Games:

• Sydney 2000
• Beijing 2008
• London 2012
• Rio 2016

Can you work out which is which? Answers are at the bottom of this article.

They look like a series of modern artworks, ready to take their place on the walls of an art gallery. Is it too much to suggest that there is something of the great American Abstract Expressionist Mark Rothko about them?

Rothko’s art is known as colour field painting. His works are an exploration of the emotive power of colour. Sometimes touching, occasionally disturbing, his large-scale canvases can range from ecstasy to anger, joy to despair.

These Poligras pieces recall Rothko’s vast fields of colour and evoke memories of much larger surfaces – the resplendent coloured fields of play upon which Olympic hockey teams pit themselves against each other. Rothko’s art is renowned for stimulating emotional highs and lows – emotions familiar to elite athletes. At the Olympic Games, on these very pitches, they test themselves at the highest level; four years of dedication and sacrifice played out on a canvas for the ages.

Discover more about Mark Rothko's life and work by clicking here.

ANSWERS

Top left:  Poligras pitch from the London 2012 Olympic Games
Top right:  Poligras pitch from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games
Bottom left:  Poligras pitch from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
Bottom right:  Poligras pitch from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

This July we have thrown the collective weight of our wonderful volunteer team at an Olympic research project in support of Great Britain Hockey.

Across 35 days, 22 volunteers and staff researched and collated historical match statistics, photographs and anecdotal information. This related to each opponent nation that GB’s men’s and women’s hockey teams have and will face in the group stages of the Tokyo tournament, as well as each opponent they may eventually face in the knock-out stages.

We drew on the data from our developing GB player and match stats database. We utilised the magazines and books in THM library, as well as various online sources including FIH's records within their Tournament Management System (TMS). We engaged the support of professional photographers to request Olympic imagery, as well as contacting former GB players for their memories of matches through the Hockey Internationals' Club. We also mined the collections of former hockey magazine editors and scanned prints, negatives and slides which had not previously been digitised.

The information is now being used across GB Hockey and THM’s social media platforms (see above example) and in preview articles on the GB Hockey website in the build up to every GB match. Be sure to check them out as the Olympic tournament progresses. Our social media channels are linked to in the footer of this email.

All in all, a very strong piece of work by our dedicated volunteer team, with THM once again demonstrating the fascinating and inspirational value of history and heritage.

GB men vs India, 30 July 1992.		GB women vs Argentina, 12 August 2008.

Position: Charity Trustee
Organisation: The Hockey Museum
Location: UK, Surrey, Woking
Closing date: 27 August 2021
Job Type: Voluntary

Are you an experienced professional looking for an opportunity to actively contribute to the development of a young, vibrant and rapidly expanding museum?

The Hockey Museum opened in 2012 and has a growing collection of objects and archive material from England, the rest of the UK and from abroad. The Museum, based in Woking, Surrey, is primarily a volunteer-led organisation with about 30 volunteers who support the museum (physically and virtually) to undertake numerous activities, plus a further 25 volunteers around the country who work on specific projects.

We gained Museum Accreditation in 2018 and have embarked on the implementation of an ambitious, audience-centred Strategic Action Plan which focuses on storytelling and digitisation to increase the Museum’s sustainability and future growth. The museum is a champion of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) within its collections and project work and is working with England Hockey to improve awareness and understanding.

Who Are We Looking For?

The current board of nine Trustees is looking to expand and recruit a number of additional Trustees to address the following identified roles:

1. A museum professional looking to broaden their experience and support a growing museum around best practice, particularly around one or both of:
           Digital audience engagement (including social media)
           Collections management and digitisation
2. An experienced person with a background in finance to support the Treasurer as part of our succession plans;
3. Someone with experience of successful grant applications to lead on grant writing with support from the curatorial team, and to manage funder relationships. Grant projects are identified against the Museum’s robust Strategic Plan; and
4. An enthusiastic person who can support the curatorial team to lead and develop the museum’s current and future academic and other research initiatives.

The Trustees are particularly interested in applications from currently underrepresented groups including women and people from ethnic communities to enable the Board to better reflect the gender and racial diversity of hockey.

Meetings

Daytime Board meetings are held quarterly. Trustees are encouraged to attend as many museum events as possible including Volunteer days, exhibitions and two regular social events each year. We are also looking for Trustees to actively contribute to the Museum development and/or running outside of these meetings.

As a small charity, it is not possible to offer any travelling or other expenses to Trustees.

Contact

If you would like any further information, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Please email your expression of interest with a CV to our Secretary, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Interviews will be undertaken in August with a view to successful candidates taking office in September.

The Hockey Museum is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (Registration no. 1170979).

It is a story that has been years in the making and started when The Hockey Museum began looking at how to collate accurate statistics for the sport. High up on the list was creating a definitive record of Great Britain international matches that would allow physical honours caps to be awarded and individual player numbers to be calculated.

Five years ago, the project began in earnest with a focus on Great Britain internationals. A dedicated team of volunteers came together and have put in an immense amount of work:

Steve Ellis, Sue Lane, Katie Dodd and Mike Smith have worked tirelessly at The Hockey Museum, with support from GB Hockey’s current and former Presidents Sheila Morrow and Richard Leman, as well as ex-GB internationals Simon Hazlitt and Rob Clift from the Hockey Internationals Club. Player representation on the project meetings came from Olympians Helen Richardson-Walsh and Simon Mantell.

As we launch the GB Caps programme today, we are now approaching 1,000 matches played by 581 Great Britain men and women, and the sport has an definitive record which is providing a lasting and proud legacy.

The project continues with a focus moving to home nation caps. In the meantime, there is ongoing work to organise the presentation of all the GB caps to past players. Current members of the Great Britain squad were presented their caps during the recent FIH Hockey Pro League matches in London.

Current members of the Great Britain squad were presented their caps during the recent FIH Hockey Pro League matches in London. Images courtesy of GB Hockey.

Great Britain Chief Operating Officer Nick Pink said:

“Everyone involved should be hugely proud of their efforts to bring this work together for the good of the sport.

“We are immensely grateful to The Hockey Museum and all the volunteers who have spent thousands of hours producing a high-quality historical record of all men and women who have represented GB alongside their individual player records.

“With the Tokyo Games almost upon us, this is a perfect time to be sharing this piece of work and congratulations to everyone who played a part.”

Mike Smith, Curator of The Hockey Museum said:

“We are very proud of what we’ve done, it’s been an amazing project all carried out by volunteers. We’ve created a legacy for our sport which previously did not exist.”

https://youtu.be/jnUdp3wWEcs

Watch behind-the-scenes footage as the GB squads receive their honours caps from current GB Hockey President Sheila Morrow and former President Richard Leman.

https://youtu.be/9QADGijNtvk

Curator, Mike Smith discusses the extensive statistical research project undertaken by volunteers at The Hockey Museum, which led to the awarding of honours caps and unique player numbers to the GB squads.

Former GB Players

If you are a former Great Britain player or know of one, and if you would like more information on caps or the Hockey Internationals Club, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Bridget Cannell's daughter, Tracy French, and son, Mike Cannell, received their mother's honours cap from former Great Britain internationals Jan Burrows (former England captain, second left) and Mary Eckersall (former England & GB captain, far right).

The Great Britain (GB) caps initiative – an ongoing project to recognize the achievements of current and former GB international players by awarding them honours caps – is a direct product of The Hockey Museum’s (THM) wider National Playing Statistics Project. It continues to uncover amazing and emotional stories.

Other articles can be found on our website (click here and here), but the most recent presentation was to the family of the late Bridget Cannell. Bridget was a member of the very first GB women’s team which toured the USA in 1965.

The Great Britain & Ireland Touring Team of 1965. Back row: Jennie Braham (England); Joan Horne (Ireland); Maureen Short (E); Helen Weir (Scotland); Bridget Cannell (E); Thelma Hopkins (I); Valerie Sinclair (S). Sitting: Mary Hyland (Wales); Janice Mitchell (S); Joyce Hunter (S); Mrs Hopkins, Manager (I); Nan Thomas (W); Ellen Toulson (E); Helen O’Neil (I). Kneeling: Barbara Stacey (W); Janet Morgan (W).

Being a member of that first ever GB team made Bridget women’s GB player number 6. The next GB team was not formed until the late 1970s meaning she only ever won the two caps from that tour. She did win England caps in this era but that is another story entirely. The plot thickens further because originally this USA tour was not recorded in any British records. None of the British players who participated were recorded as having won international caps. On the other hand, the USA did count the games as full internationals and with THM compiling the GB match records as part of its statistics project, it seemed obvious that these matches had to be recognised.

Tracing all of the players from this 1965 tour has proved an interesting and as yet incomplete exercise, but we are getting there. Indeed, tracing all of the 581 men and women players who have ever represented GB hockey is a major task. We estimate that about 150 will have passed away and this is backed by actuarial tables. For those who have died we are endeavouring to make contact with their families and Bridget Cannell is a case in point.

Having made contact with Bridget’s daughter Tracy French, we looked to set up a presentation. Making the contact with Tracy was an amazing piece of detective work by Katie Dodd (ex Met Police!) who, supported by a number of THM’s other volunteers, used many contacts to track down Bridget’s family in Cumbria. Once the contact was made, Tracy and her family became very keen to see her mother honoured and her achievements remembered. With national Covid restrictions in place the event was held at Tracy’s home with her family, her brother and her aunt who was Bridget’s sister. We arranged for former GB international players Jan Burrows (former England captain) and Mary Eckersall (former England & GB captain) to attend and present the cap. Also in attendance were Tracy’s cousins who have played hockey in Windermere, so the hockey connection continues.

Sadly, the Cumbrian weather did not play its part on the day but an emotional and joyful presentation was not dampened. Jan and Mary were very pleased and proud to present the cap on behalf of Great Britain Hockey and THM; it is fair to say that the whole family were truly moved to receive Bridget’s cap. Jan and Mary had never met the family before the presentation but at the end of an amazing afternoon Mary said that she almost felt part of the Cannell family.

From left to right: Jan Burrows, Tracy French, Tricia Mossop (Bridget Cannell's sister), and Mary Eckersall.		Not even inclement weather could dampen the spirits during a wonderful day celebrating Bridget Cannell's hockey achievements.

Tracy wrote to the Museum after the presentation:

“Yesterday was perfect. The gathering of a group of people to remember one person brings you all very close to the presence of who they were, perhaps even more so yesterday as I looked at Jan and Mary and saw determined women made with the same strength and resilience as Mum. The cap is beautifully made and will be treasured … This has been a delightful journey that kept our spirits up during Covid lockdown and started conversations about Mum that I wouldn’t have had.”

This whole story gives truth to the strength of the 'Hockey Family'. We now look forward to arranging the presentation of honours caps to Jan and Mary and to the hundreds of other GB players.

The Hockey Museum (THM) enjoys a close and fruitful working relationship with Sporting Heritage, the subject-specialist network that supports the collection, preservation, access to and research of sporting collections in the UK.

Arising from this, THM was recently offered the opportunity to feature in a national newspaper editorial promoting the diverse wealth of sporting heritage in the UK. We seized this opportunity with both hands and the editorial appeared last weekend in The Daily Mirror travel supplement.

To read the editorial and familiarise yourself with some of our fellow sporting heritage institutions, please click the PDF icon.

The culmination of The Hockey Museum’s (THM) project to create definitive playing records for Great Britain (GB) international hockey players matches will be the presentation of honours caps to every player with whom we can make contact.

We can now state with confidence that 578 men and women have represented Great Britain since the first outing at the Antwerp Olympic Games in 1920. Of this figure 368 of them are men, the disparity between the numbers of men and women being because women’s hockey was only introduced into the Olympic programme in 1980.

Honours Cap Awards

THM has so far made the following awards of GB honours caps. If some of the cap totals of these former players seem small in comparison to today, it is because there were many fewer international matches played in years gone by.

John Peake

7 GB caps; debut in 1948.

John played in the 1948 Olympic Games when GB won the silver medal. He is now the only surviving member of that team. We are pleased to report that John is very fit and well and living in a care home in West London. We were not able to make an official hockey presentation because of the ongoing Covid-19 situation (in January 2021), so the Manager of the home, Gayane Selimyan, was truly delighted to present the cap on hockey’s behalf, as John is a very popular resident.

The cap includes John’s record of his debut in 1948, his having played seven times for GB and that he was the 44th player to represent Great Britain.

Colin Dale

4 GB caps; debut in 1956.

Colin Dale played for GB in the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games and was capped 36 times for Wales.

Owing to Covid restrictions (in April 2021), Colin received his cap at his home in Lincolnshire from his son Graham, who is himself a former Minor Counties cricketer with Huntingdonshire.

In very exciting news, The Hockey Museum (THM) is re-opening this month!

We will be welcoming back our volunteers, socially distanced and safely, from the week commencing 17 May 2021 and returning to our regular public opening hours from the week of 21 June 2021 in line with the current government road map.

Should members of the public wish to visit before June, we will return to accepting visits by appointment outside of our volunteer days to minimise risk.

A New Exhibit Telling The Story of Changing Goalkeeper Equipment During The 1980s

Ahead of re-opening, the museum team have been undertaking some light refurbishment works before we welcome back our wonderful volunteers and the visiting public. Keen to create a fresh, welcoming experience we’ve changed a few exhibits and had a good de-clutter to boot.

One new exhibit, co-curated with former England and Great Britain (GB) goalkeeper John Hurst, tells the story of the innovative introduction of new protective kit by GB’s Ian Taylor during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Technological developments in hockey equipment and playing surfaces in the years prior to 1984 demanded an evolution of goalkeeping technique to counter the improved pace and accuracy of outfield play. Goalkeepers were now expected to charge down shots as they were struck (a technique known as ‘logging’) rather than relying solely on their reflexes – a much more dangerous style. Yet Taylor met this challenge imperiously with a little help from the ice hockey shops of Los Angeles.

Taylor’s standout performances in his new ‘body armour’ changed the face of hockey goalkeeping. GB claimed an unexpected bronze medal in 1984 beginning the journey to 1988 gold medal success in Seoul, and Taylor’s innovation led ultimately to the foam armour that is so well established today.

In recent years, The Hockey Museum’s Hockey’s Military Stories (HMS) research project has become one of our more extensive activities. It came about because of feats of valour shown by hockey people, yet it goes much further than just wartime exploits and it also extends beyond Britain to include the actions of hockey people throughout the world.

Helping to create this breadth is John Sanders, a great friend of the museum in Australia. Not only does he do an incredible job on Australian hockey statistics but he too has a great interest in hockey in the forces ‘Down Under’!

Left: Major-General Robert Harold Nimmo who served in the Australian Army in WW1 and WW2. Right: The Australia team that played New Zealand in Brisbane in August 1927. Nimmo, who played half back, is in the back row, furthest right.

This weekend is ANZAC Day, a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served". We are pleased to share a presentation of John’s ongoing research into Australian and New Zealand forces hockey as The Hockey Museum’s appreciation of their great contribution and sacrifice.

Left: Jean Adeline Kerr (Harrison) served in the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service during WW2. Right: Jean, from Western Australia, was first selected in the 1947 All Australia Blue Ribbon team. Jean (back row, fourth left) played in the forward line.

For more information on the individuals featured above as well as the profiles and stories of other servicemen and women, download John Sanders's presentation by clicking the PDF icon.

You can follow John's Australian hockey research project through his Facebook page, click here.

This year is the 70th anniversary of the Festival of Britain in 1951.

This was an enormous, nationwide celebration of all things British. Yes, very jingoistic but it was only six years after the end of WW2, times were hard and spirits needed lifting. Events across the whole social spectrum took place all over the land and there was a huge exhibition in London. Your Curator remembers going to the British Industries Fair (BIF) in Birmingham held in the enormous aircraft hangers where thousands of Spitfire aeroplanes were built during the war.

The events covered all aspects of society including sport and hockey played a small part. At THM we are only just discovering hockey’s involvement and so we are appealing to you for any memories or information that you may have about hockey during the Festival of Britain. We know that internationally we hosted a hockey event at Twickenham rugby ground for both men and women. At club level we know that the premier men’s festival in the Midlands was held at Leamington.

If you have any information about this significant national event please let us know via the website contact form.