Sport

Christmas Eve at the Front

An interesting letter has just been received by Mrs Packer, of Broadclyst, from her husband, Corpl Packer of A Company, 1st Battalion Devonshire Regiment, who is serving with the Expeditionary Force in Northern France. In the course of a letter he describes a remarkable incident which occurred on Christmas Eve between the British and German trenches.

"Bert Hodge?

Always a chap to help you enjoy a laugh" so say his many friends.

Seen on the right is Mr Bert Hodge, who was responsible for this quartet dressing up in top hats and frock coats at Torrington Bowling Green.

"In the old days bowlers used to dress up like that and I thought it would cause some amusement if our rink did the same. Before the game in the county rinks championship at Torrington we marched around the green and then played a couple of ends," explained Mr Hodge. These four - left to right, Messrs F Vodden, R Walsh, W Plucknett and B Hodge - won the county rinks championship two years ago and have now won the North Devon section for three consecutive years.

Incidentally, the veteran standing in the background is Mr Jimmy Huxtable, of Bideford Bowling Club.

Gazette article 19 July 1957

Senior Champions of the West

With triumphant smiles

the Bideford Amateur Rowing Club senior crew, now champions of the West of England, pose for the camera before setting out on a training spin in preparation for the National championships at Shoreham when they will be representing the West of England Amateur Rowing Association.

Members of the crew are: F R Way, L Bright, W Lee, J Edwards, and G Tithecott

The Club’s junior crew of K Hearn, G Cox, J Eastmond, R Cann, and J Evans who have won the Junior Championship of the West of England will also be competing there in the open senior fours. This crew are prevented by National Amateur Association rules from contesting the national junior title because they won the junior fours event at Bideford Regatta last year after they had gained the novice championship.

Gazette article dated 27 August 1954

Torridge Sunbeams Win N Devon Championship

Here are the victorious Sunbeams, who are a Bideford Liberal Club team

They are: Mesdames E Waldron, G Taylor, R Evans, C Lucas, D Hammett, O Nicholls

Skippered by Mrs Olive Nicholls, the Torridge Sunbeams prevented a Bideford eclipse when they won the women’s championship in the North Devon Skittles Association’s annual championships at the BAAC Hall, Bideford, on Monday evening.

It was in the final that the Sunbeams really shone, however, rattling up a score of 306 to defeat the Merry Macs, of Fremington, by 16 pins.

The Merry Macs took a two-pin lead in the first rub but the Sunbeams were three up in the next rub and they stayed in front to the end. Spares of 17 and 13 in the third rub by Mrs C Lucas and Mrs R Evans contributed to a third rub of 61 for the Sunbeams, the best of the game, which gave them a lead of 14. In the next rub Mrs E Waldron and Mrs D Hammett weighed in with spares of 12 and 11 and the Sunbeams were 22 up. The Bideford team slipped badly in the fourth leg, however and led by only 9 at the start of the final rub. The Merry Macs failed to press home their chance and the Sunbeams were left needing 39 to win on the last rub. Mrs R Evans clinched victory with a 14 spare which brought her personal total to 61, one of the best of the evening.

Bideford area hopes of the ‘double’ in the championships faded in the early rubs of the semi-final between Buckland Brewer A, representatives of Bideford and District Skittles League, and Wrafton, the Braunton League team going on to win the men’s championship by defeating Single Pins, of Ilfracombe, by 16 pins in the final.

Buckland won the toss and skittled first in their semi-final game but Wrafton, skittling consistently, took a lead of 13 on the first rub, added 18 on the second and at the half-way stage had a lead of 48 pins. In the last three rubs Buckland did manage to pull Wrafton back to a lead of 33 with the scores ending 309-276. Bill Lawrence, Bill Tucker, Cyril Babb and Leonard Blight were Buckland’s spares marksmen.

Article dated 27 April 1956