Last month The Hockey Museum (THM) hosted a group visit by Halow Project. They are a local charity which supports young people (16+) with a learning disability on their journey into and through adult life.

Halow project - nurturing independence

Photographs from the Halow Project's visit to The Hockey Museum in February 2023. Images above and below courtesy of Halow Project.

The morning visit was organised and hosted by our volunteer Education Officer Jon Rye who travelled up from Kent especially, with input from Curator Shane Smith. Jon reflected that it had made his month such was the students’ enthusiasm and evident joy!

Our visitors were treated to an exhibition tour and an object handling session which drew on both replica and genuine heritage items to bring to life aspects of hockey history such as the development of hockey sticks and balls, and Olympic medals. They even had the opportunity to hold a London 2012 Olympic torch!

When the students were asked what the best part of their visit had been, the response by one excited young lady captured it all in just one word, “Hockey!"

"The group had a wonderful time. They can find new experiences a little overwhelming so thank you for making them feel so welcome.”

-- Sonia Booth, Building Futures Year Leader, Halow Project.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan

The Halow Project visit followed the launch of The Hockey Museum’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan which was approved by the Board of Trustees towards the end of 2022. The Plan will span several years and build on our current inclusive practises to uncover hidden histories within our collection and open up THM to new audiences in increasingly accessible ways, in-person and online – hockey and its history and heritage is for everyone.

Our Action Plan aims to align THM with the EDI goals of our key partner England Hockey and better position ourselves to be in receipt of heritage sector grant funding as we seek a sustainable future and a permanent home.

The Hockey Museum (THM) is indebted to have received recent donations from the National Hockey Foundation, Tramps Hockey Club (both of which came from their residual funds prior to winding up) and the John Laing Charitable Trust. These donations are really helping us towards bridging our annual deficit for 2023.

Tony Billson, Chairman of the National Hockey Foundation, presents a cheque to THM Hon, Curator Mike Smith and Museum Vice President Katie Dodd. The National Hockey Foundation was created to charitably distribute the money left from the National Hockey Stadium in Milton Keynes. 30 years later, their residual funds have been given to THM to support our work to educate young and adult minds alike in the history of hockey.

Trust fund donations - can you help?

The John Laing Charitable Trust donation came about because one of our volunteers, a retiree from the John Laing Group, suggested that the Trust might like to support THM with a donation.

Should you know of any trusts that might be persuaded to assist us, please put pen to paper, finger to keyboard or make contact in any way that suits you.

Should you wish to discuss opportunities or enquire after THM’s financial position, our Trustee Head of Fundraising, David Knapp, and Treasurer, Mike Barford, can be contacted via our online contact form.

Contact Us (hockeymuseum.net)

Why you should support The Hockey Museum

THM is undoubtedly one of the real success stories of English and British hockey during this century. Prior to THM there was no concerted effort to preserve the history and heritage of our sport, a great shame since hockey started in the UK just over 150 years ago.

THM has accumulated over 80,000 artefacts, developed into a fully accredited museum, attracted some 70 volunteers and employs two professional staff. Importantly, we have a home at 13 High Street, Woking, that includes space for careful collection storage and small exhibitions. We are already growing out of the premises we occupy.

All this progress costs money and to a certain extent it is money that we don’t have! That does not mean that THM is going broke, but it does mean that we are currently operating on a significant annual deficit. As with many philanthropic organisations there is a need to continually raise funds from donations and other sources to balance the books. We are always looking for more financial support to enable us to keep up, expand and improve upon THM's amazing progress in giving hockey’s history a future and sharing engaging stories representative of our sport’s evolution, values and people.

We are extremely grateful to all who have contributed to our cause over the years and could not continue our work without you. Thank you.

The Hockey Museum (THM) is saddened to convey news of the recent passing of two notable members of the hockey family whose involvement and successes within hockey had a positive and lasting impact on many.

Joan Wall, 1933-2023

Joan was a former England international player and an accomplished county-level track athlete who also had an outstanding record in the development and promotion of hockey. As a player, Joan became a world champion with England at the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations (IFWHA) Tournament in Amsterdam in 1959. As a grassroots administrator she founded two hockey clubs and became heavily involved in the governance of the Midlands indoor hockey scene, ultimately rising to the level of England indoor selector.

Joan was also one of THM’s very first volunteers. She donated her personal hockey collection to the museum on her first visit in March 2012 and began volunteering thereafter.

Click for Joan's obituary: Joan Wall, 1933-2023 (hockeymuseum.net)

Bill Felton, 1940-2023

Bill was a dedicated match official and administrator whose commitment to hockey, despite not having been a player himself, saw him receive recognition from England Hockey and the Hockey Writers’ Club.

Click for Bill's obituary: Bill Felton, 1940-2023 (hockeymuseum.net)

On 28 January, the third Great Britain (GB) honours caps presentation in Scotland was held at the Scottish Indoor Finals at Bell’s Sports Centre, Perth.

Dennis Hay, the only Scot to be both a player and a coach for GB at the Olympic Games (1972 Munich and 1992 Barcelona, bronze medal winners) presented the honours caps.

The recipients (left to right): Amy Gibson, Marie MacGregor, Ken Dick, Stuart MacGregor, Gerry Carr, Charlie Donald. Credit: Scottish Hockey.

Marie and Stuart MacGregor are the only Scottish husband and wife combination to receive GB caps.

It is very fitting that the presentation was at Bell’s as there is a historical link with some of the cap recipients. The first ever men’s indoor international played in Scotland took place at Bells in January 1975, 48 years ago. It was televised by the BBC! Ken Dick was the Scottish captain on that day, Dennis Hay was the coach and Stuart MacGregor was the organiser of the event, working on behalf of Perth Council. Marie MacGregor, then as Marietta Craigie, was a superstar of the women’s indoor game in the 1980s and developed her indoor skills as a youngster at Bells, often training with the men. Gerry Carr played indoor hockey at club level and coached hundreds of youngsters at Bells.

The Torbay Easter Hockey Festival returns to the English Riviera for the 71st time this April, following a very successful post-pandemic event in 2022 (note the witty festival pennant). Along with the festivals taking place in Blackpool, Canterbury, Folkestone and Skegness, Torbay is maintaining the historic tradition of an Easter hockey festival.

Left: Souvenir programme from the first Torbay Easter Hockey Festival in 1951. Right: Pennant from the 2022 Festival with its witty nod to its two absent years caused by the COvid-19 pandemic.

Taking place from Good Friday through to Easter Monday, on two local pitches at Clennon Valley Leisure Centre, Paignton and Torquay Girls Grammar School, ten teams have entered to date, maintaining the level of entries seen from 2017. One of the most notable of the features enjoyed by the Torbay Festival is the remarkable loyalty of the participating clubs – eight of the ten will have attended for at least sixty-one festivals, with the average attendance of sixty years.

Although an eleven-a-side men’s festival, women players are encouraged to supplement the team. Youngsters also participate; indeed, the Festival does not ban under 18s, as do some other some festivals around the country (both at Easter and in the summer).

The Torbay Festival is semi-competitive. There are two cups to be claimed: the Bill Stickells Cup for highest scoring team over the weekend and the Redcliffe Cup for fair play (judged by teams’ opponents). Last year, the Buffaloes (Smethwick HC) won the Stickells Cup with 42 goals and the Redcliffe Cup was awarded to the Oddfellows, the only ever-present team.

Normally, the Festival would be opened by a flag raising. The tradition was started at the sixth Torbay Festival in 1956, where the ceremony took place on Good Friday morning at Victoria Park, Paignton.

The flag raising ceremony at Torbay Hockey Festival, around 1986. Festival President, David Powell, is flanked by the Torbay Mayoress and the Mayor, with Tony Forward, Festival Chairman on the latter’s left. In his forty years of raising the flag, David Powell never got to understand the mechanism involved, as illustrated in the photograph. Image credit: Mike Carter, Festival Historian and Archivist.

In 1989, the opening was moved to the Clennon Valley Leisure Centre and carried on to 2019. In 2022, the plan was to once more to open the Festival traditionally but, on arrival, the gathering was faced by a hole where the flag pole should have been – the Council had removed the pole without informing the Festival Committee! This led to the impromptu alternative flag raising ceremony pictured below.

The new form of flag raising ceremony in 2022. Image credit: Mike Carter.

Torbay Festival 2023

In 2023, there are no Council dignitaries to lend support to the Festival President, Ms Nicole Amil and Chairman James Carter.

The Committee is keen to attract another two or three teams to maximise pitch use and to this end have pegged the entry fee to the pre-pandemic level.

You can find out more about Torbay Hockey Festival, one of the few festivals continuing the historic Easter tradition, on their dedicated website where you can also register to bring your team to the English Riviera!

Easter Festival | Torbay Easter Hockey Festival | Torbay (torbayhockeyfestival.org.uk)

Festivals Research Project

Meanwhile, The Hockey Museum’s research into historic festivals continues. For more on this project, click below.

Festivals (hockeymuseum.net)

By Mike Carter
Torbay Festival Archivist and volunteer with The Hockey Museum.

Many of our supporters will fondly remember Alan Walker who passed away nearly five years ago. Alan was a great devotee of The Hockey Museum (THM) and one of hockey’s great historians. Thankfully his very considerable collection (approximately 100 boxes) was collected by THM from his house last Saturday. At his late widow’s request, we have not been able to access this unique collection until now, but it is in good order and now in safe hands.

Late Navy hockey historian Lt. Cmdr. Alan Walker RN.

Lieutenant Commander Alan Walker was a Royal Navy man through and through and a totally committed hockey enthusiast. Fortunately, he also loved history. His collection represents the second largest that THM has ever received – we are not aware of anything as big still to come.

Alan was secretary of Royal Navy Hockey for a quarter of a century and his collection naturally contains an enormous amount on Navy Hockey and significant Navy hockey players. However, he was also one of the few that set up the English coaching qualification system around 1970. He went on to become an England team manager; he was significantly involved in Combined Services Hockey; he founded Gosport Hockey Club and the list goes on! Alan was also responsible for our Hon. Curator’s son joining the Royal Navy.

We have managed to ‘borrow’ a small warehouse to temporarily house Alan’s immense collection and vitally sort it into its different areas. We moved all the material to Woking last Saturday; now we must organise and archive it. If you would like to assist with this fascinating work, please let us know using our online contact form.

Contact Us (hockeymuseum.net)

Monica Pickersgill is presented with her Lifetime Achievement Award by England Hockey President Mike Stoddard.

On 29 December 2022, former All England Women’s Hockey Association (AEWHA) and English Hockey Association President Monica (Mon) Pickersgill was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by England Hockey (EH). In a surprise visited co-ordinated with her family, Mon was presented with her award by current EH President Mike Stoddard.

Mon was one of the most influential and significant figures in bringing the men’s and women’s hockey associations together as a joint association in 1997 and led the new organisation, the English Hockey Association (EHA) as it was known, as its first President for a full three-year term.

Mon Pickersgill presents the trophy for the Wembley Legends vs Celtic Warriors exhibition match during the Women’s Champions Trophy at Nottingham in 2010. Sandie Lister (right) was captain of Wembley Legends team on the day and was joined by Jill Atkins (left) to receive the trophy. Both are former England captains. Credit: England Hockey / The Hockey Museum.

The Hockey Museum’s (THM) former Chair Katie Dodd and long-time THM supporter Sue Catton were instrumental in lobbying for Mon’s overdue recognition. This award is a recognition of her foresight, influence and her work to unite and professionalise the governing bodies of English hockey.

Mon has been a great supporter of THM over the years and in 2014 she presented us with the official AEWHA President’s brooch. As the final AEWHA President, her name concludes the President’s Honours Board (pictured below) which is now held by THM.

The All England Women's Hockey Association (AEWHA) President's brooch. It was donated to The Hockey Museum by Monica Pickersgill following the merger of the AEWHA with the Hockey Association (HA) in 1997.

Further Reading and Listening

Read about the presentation on the England Hockey website: Monica Pickersgill awarded Lifetime Achievement Award by England Hockey

Listen to The Hockey Museum's oral history interview with Mon Pickersgill: Oral History Interview: Monica Pickersgill (hockeymuseum.net)