Club Centenary

Narratives By Eddie Hawkins, Braintree Bowling Club

100 Anniversary Clipart

1919 - 2019

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To celebrate our Centenary Year, our club played several special events during the season including:

Playing The Royal Household Bowling Club, Windsor

Royal Household

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April

Centenary Day - Roll Up

Tuesday 30^th April marked the actual celebrations of Braintree Bowling Club’s Centenary Day. Past, present and new members, numbering over 100, gathered at the club for an afternoon of competitive club member bowls.

Centenary Roll Up Players

Photo By Eddie Hawkins

Back Row (Left to Right): Tom Rackley, Barry Jowett, Jan Kodz, Chris Long, Dave Hart, Steve Wilkinson, Ian Norgett, Henry Edwards. Middle Row (Left to Right): Tony Skingley, Nick Brown, Ian Rubens, Dave Barker, Tony Heales, Rob Doleman, Ernie Sutton, Andy Beatty, Richard Dodd, Eddie Hawkins. Front Row (Left to Right): Pauline Green, Silvia Spratling, Donna Fennelly, Pat Hart, Olive Hawkins, Gill Costin, Sandra Mayne, Loraine Wilkinson.

Centenary Day - Wine and Cheese Evening

The daytime roll up was followed by a wine and cheese evening, enjoyed by members and visitors.

Photos by Steve Wilkinson

Centenary Day - Hoisting The Flag

During the Wine and Cheese evening, three life members - Anne Beale, Una Gill and Malcolm Stark, unfurled and hoisted the newly purchased Centenary flag.

Centenary Flag

Photo By Eddie Hawkins

Unfurling the New Club Centenary Flag on Centenary Day, 30th April

From Left to Right - Anne Beale, Una Gill And Malcolm Stark (Life Members of the Club)

This event marks another historical legacy which will be handed down from present members to future participants of bowls at the Club.

Photos by Steve Wilkinson

The Club will now be focussing on some very prestigious games throughout the season, with a visiting Bowls England team booked to play in June. There will also be several County Teams and Executives also visiting the club during the season, to celebrate this momentous year.

June

Braintree B.C. v Bowls England - Centenary Celebration

Flowers for EBA Match Following on from the Braintree Bowling Club's Centenary Day event in April, the club hosted a friendly match against Bowls England on Thursday 20th June. This was the second time that England Bowls Association had honoured the club by attending one of its anniversary celebrations.

The first was in 1994 when the club celebrated their 75th Anniversary, giving good account of themselves by winning on one rink, drawing on one rink and losing on two rinks with only 18 overall shots between the two teams. The very experienced national bowlers included many celebrities, namely Michael Swatland (EBA Senior Vice-President), Roy Peacock, George Firmin and Mel Hughes (England Team Manager and TV Bowls Commentator).
Braintree players on this 75th Anniversary Day were: F. Morgan, W. Whates, A. Brown, B. Simpson, P. Kelly, M. Riordan, K. Collett, C. Rowling, W. Cowell, A. Stewart, L. Dalton, R. Lovell, R. Moore, B. Wyatt, N. Barrett, R. Barnard, J. Wooding and B. Hayward.

Starting Equipment The warm, sunny weather on this Centenary Day was more in keeping for bowling than on the overcast, windy 75th Anniversary Day. There was good bowling on the 6 pristine rinks, appreciated by the bowlers and spectators alike. The result was a win for the hosts with an overall difference of 28 shots, narrowly beating the EBA score by 2 shots, winning on 4 rinks to the visitors winning on 2 rinks.

Braintree players taking part were :- G. Lowe, E. Hawkins, L. Hopkins, R. Dodd, D. Hart, V. Taylor, V. Cole, A. Beatty, C. Long, K. Rixon, G. Costin, M. Stark, O. Hawkins, D. Grice, D. Hunt, G. Easterbrook, I. Norgett, P. Costin, T. Heales, J. Kodz, J. Laidlaw, D. Fennelly, J. Heffernan and P. Stowe.

EBA BBC Teams Members of the EBA Team & Braintree Bowling Club

EBA Pennant to Andy The 6 England Bowls Teams travelled from different counties across England, including Bedfordshire, Royal County of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Huntingdonshire, Norfolk, Northumberland, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Surrey and Yorkshire.

After the match, a meal was prepared for all the players and some visiting supporters, followed by speeches, toasts and presentations of memorabilia to other parties including the greenkeepers, bar staff and meal serving ladies.

The EBA President, Hazel Marke congratulated Braintree Bowling Club members for a splendid competitive and welcoming day and presented a Bowls England 2019 Pennant to the Braintree Club Chairman, Andy Beatty.

Following EBA Article and Pictures from Braintree & Witham Times - 27th June 2019

EBA Article, Braintree & Witham Times, 27.06.19

CMBL Presidents Day - Centenary Celebration

There was yet another prestigious Centenary match hosted by Braintree Bowling Club, on Thursday, 27th June against the Central Midweek Bowling League President's Teams.

CMBL Presidents Team

CMBL Paul and Gill The day began with a spider bowl (a toy spider with a jack under it) placed in the middle of the green and all the players stand around the edge of the green and bowl at the spider when a bell is rung. The winner is the player who gets the nearest to the spider jack, in this instance Gill Costin, who won a bottle of whiskey.

The weather was excellent and produced some good bowling on the well-prepared pristine greens, with teams of 4 players on 6 rinks. What made this match noteworthy is that a member of Braintree Bowling Club, Paul Costin is currently the CMBL President and is the first from the club to hold this position.

Picture: Gill Costin, Winner of Spder Bowl and Paul Costin, CMBL President.

This match gave several new and experienced bowlers a chance to play against some of the past and present top bowlers of this CMBL organisation, including members of local clubs within the area. Braintree players taking part were: Tony Day, Donna Fennelly, Rob Jones, Eddie Hawkins, Eric Hockley, Olive Hawkins, Gordon Currie, Albie Ayres, John Vandome, Sylvia Spratling, John Laidlaw, Gill Costin, Joan Day, Peter Stowe, Veronica Taylor, Keith Rixon, David Davies, Graham Michaels, Jan Kodz, Ian Rubens, Nita Watson, David Grice, Dave Barker and Tony Heales. The overall winners of the match were the CMBL visitors.

CMBL Paul Costin There was an excellent meal in the clubhouse with speeches and toasts, and praise given to the organisers, executives, players, greenkeepers, bar staff and serving ladies.

Picture: CMBL President Speech.

The players of Braintree Bowling Club can now look forward to hosting the Essex Executives match on Sunday, 7th July and playing the Royal Household at Windsor on Saturday, 13th July.

July

Essex County Bowling Executives - Centenary Celebration

Braintree Bowling Club hosted another Centenary Celebration match on Sunday, 7^th July, against the Essex County Bowls Executives.

Essex Exec

Playing on six rinks of four players, the home team took advantage of their knowledge of the greens, by leading in the first 5 ends on all six rinks. However, the visiting executives gradually came to grips with the running of the greens and started to put pressure on their host's early lead. As the matches progressed, the visitors took the lead on all rinks except one, played on by the Braintree Club's Chairman Andy Beatty, Jan Kodz, Tom Rackley and Gill Costin. This situation remained throughout the match, with an overall shot score of 149 to the visitors and 91 shots to the hosts.

An after-match meal followed the games, with speeches, presentations and praise from both County and Club Chairmen to players, catering staff and helpers.

Braintree players taking part were:

Albie Ayres, Les Crow, Lyndon Hopkins, Rob Doleman

Jan Kodz, Tom Rackley, Gill Costin, Andy Beatty

Dave Davies, Olive Hawkins, Keith Rixon, Richard Dodd

Barbara Taylor, Dave Barker, Eddie Hawkins, Tony Heales

Dave Threadgold, Ian Norgett, Carl Cheetham, Malcolm Stark

Danielle Gibbons, Graham Michaels, Vic Cole and Josh Heffernan.

Royal Household Bowling Club, Windsor - Centenary Celebration

This must go down in the history of Braintree Bowling Club as one of the most privileged and memorable days for all members / players who attended this friendly Centenary match at the Royal Household Bowling Club in Home Park at Windsor Castle on Saturday, 13th July.

Royal Household

The coach journey included a stop at Windsor town centre, where some took advantage of a relaxing walk along the River Thames or a stroll around the town. The coach party then entered the Royal Household Bowling Club facilities, close to their Golf and Cricket areas and Frogmore House, within the Crown Estate. The Royal Household Bowling Club are affiliated members of the Royal County of Berkshire Bowling Association and will have their own Centenary year in 2020.

The Royal Household Bowling Club were excellent hosts making Braintree’s visit a notable occasion for all concerned. There were 6 rinks on which teams of 4 from both clubs played. Braintree started strongly on all six rinks, taking early leads, but the home team gradually took control, winning on 4 rinks to Braintree's success on 2 rinks, with an overall score of 136 shots to 91 shots.

After the game, the hosts laid on a meal in their clubhouse, where both parties made toasts and presentation to players and support staff.

Braintree Bowling Club players were as follows:

A. Beatty, S. Cannon, T. Cannon, C. Cheetham, V. Cole, M. Cowley, D. Davies, R. Dodd, R. Doleman, D. Fennelly, D. Gibbons, P. Green, D. Grice, P. Hart, E. Hawkins, O. Hawkins, E. Hockley, D. Hunt, K. Hunter, B. Jowlett, J. Kodz, F. Laidlaw, J. Laidlaw, S. Mayne, G. Michaels I. Norgett, T. Rackley, S. Spratling, B. Taylor and N. Watson.

Tri-Centenary Match, Sawbridgeworth - Centenary Celebration

Tri Centenary Match

Club histories were made when three bowling clubs, Braintree, St. Albans Townsend and Sawbridgeworth celebrated their 100 years existence with a Tri-Centenary friendly match hosted by Sawbridgeworth Bowling Club on Saturday, 10^th August. This was the first time these clubs had ever met, with the common purpose of celebrating their achievement, which all hoped would be a traditional annual friendly event, hosted by one of the individual clubs each year.

Everyone had a most pleasant afternoon of bowls, marred only by the blustering high winds, which had some adverse effects on the bowling for all teams. Braintree won on one rink and lost on one rink to both Sawbridgeworth and St. Albans Townsend, a satisfactory result for all parties on this occasion.

All were treated to a most enjoyable after match fare. Each Club President gave a toast to their fellow visiting club members and hosts on their centenary achievements, accompanied by gifts to commemorate their Centenary year.

Members of Braintree Bowling Club who took part were Dave Threadgold, Ian Norgett, Keith Rixon, Andy Beatty, Peter Stowe, Jan Kodz, John Laidlaw, Tony Heales, David Davies, Steve Wilkinson, Eddie Hawkins, Tony Skingley, Lorraine Wilkinson, Freda Laidlaw, Olive Hawkins and Josh Heffernan.

Front Cover Centenary Book

Address: Braintree Bowling Club, 29/31 Clare Road, Braintree, Essex, CM7 2PA

Telephone: 01376 320055