LITTLE
MARLOW CRICKET CLUB
The First Club 1857-1866
The first known reference to a Little Marlow Cricket Club is seen in a “South Bucks Free Press” report from September of 1857. It states that a club had recently been formed in the village and that several matches had already been played ‘in all of which our young pioneers have gained the victory’.
The accompanying scorecard is for a match at Hedgerley. It was a typical encounter of the times – low scoring and extending to more than one innings per side. Although the use of mechanical mowers, introduced in the 1830s, became commonplace on major cricket grounds during the second half of the 19
th Century, a vast majority of village pitches were still cut by scythe. Long grass on outfields, likely to be ‘mown’ by grazing livestock, added to the difficulties. Any batsman reaching double figures had produced a noteworthy performance, whilst 50 would be a reasonable team total.
Little Marlow dismissed their hosts for 51 and 39. Having made 96 themselves, the winning margin was by an innings and 8 runs. The bowling would have been round-arm or under-arm, over-arm not being permitted until 1864. Sporadic reports of the team’s activities appear until 1866, after which it seems to have been discontinued. Curiously, all games were midweek affairs. With relatively few clubs in existence, the village sometimes had to travel considerable distances. As well as Hedgerley, Lewknor were regular opponents – arduous journeys in those times. The Wycombe Union Club, Cookham Dean, Great Marlow and Wooburn Green provided more local opposition.
Little Marlow relied heavily upon two of the area’s farming families. Home games were played in the grounds of Westhorpe House, where Harry Calcutt was the tenant farmer. His eldest son, Harry jnr, was very much the star bowler and also a useful batsman. Brother Horatio was amongst the leading run scorers.
William Morris and his sons, Thomas and Charles, were in business at Little Marlow Farm (now called Wilton Farm and owned by the Emmetts) and Spade Oak Farm, off Coldmoorholm Lane. All three played, Thomas being the club’s outstanding performer with the bat.
The Jackson family was another to provide several players. George, father of fifteen children, leased Westhorpe Farm from 1863, having resided at the Manor House from 1852. Sons Richard, Robert, Arthur and Gerald all turned out, as did George, although at this distance it’s uncertain whether this was the brothers’ father or their eldest sibling. Gerald, then a teenage boy, was ordained in 1872 and, after working in several parishes, returned briefly to Little Marlow as its vicar in the early 1900s. He appeared in a few more games for the village, thus becoming the only cricketer to definitely play for both the 1857-66 club and the one established
in the mid 1890s.
In 1869 the Jacksons’ eldest sister, Marie, married John Pattison Ellames, owner since 1862 of the Manor House and Westhorpe. He and his family became the later club’s chief benefactors.
Other Little Marlow players in the 1850s and 60s included the vicar, Rev. John Baines, and the Lunnon brothers, Thomas and William. They ran Hedsor Paper Mill and were leading
performers for the Great Marlow team over many seasons. Clubs had small fixture lists and it was not uncommon for loyalties to be divided. The Jacksons also represented Marlow.
The Lunnons became a well-known sporting family. Thomas had seven sons, all of whom played cricket. Several siblings often represented Wooburn Park and Great Marlow together. All seven and two cousins played in a Lunnon X1 that met Wycombe C.C. in the 1880s. Robert and Richard were strongly linked with Marlow F.C., the former being a highly respected captain of both his club and the Berks and Bucks team. He also represented the South of England.
For a few years after 1866 occasional reports of games played at ‘Westhorpe Park’ appear. There was an annual parochial match (married v. single in 1868) and in 1870 two teams styling themselves Little Marlow and High Wycombe Gentlemen contested home and away fixtures. The following year saw “Westhorpe”, captained by Richard Jackson, play away at Gerrards Cross. Mr Richard Jackson’s X1 then lost to Mr Darvill’s X1 ‘in the beautiful grounds of Mr Jackson of Westhorpe Park’. However, it seems that L.M.C.C. did not take the field again until 1894.
The Second Club 1894-1914
The second club’s first recorded match took place at Bisham on Saturday 15
th September 1894. Although it is not possible to say for certain that this was its inaugural season, a “South Bucks Free Press” report from June of 1895 describes it as being ‘in its infancy’.
Games continued to be low scoring affairs and Little Marlow were dismissed for 32, to which Bisham replied with 46. The visitors fared no better second time around, scoring just 30. The hosts reached their target and, as was common practice, batted on until time ran out at 42 for 8. The margin of victory was duly recorded as the difference between runs scored, as opposed to number of wickets remaining when victory was achieved.
Where time was called before a positive result could be achieved over two innings, the match was decided on first innings. Unless rain intervened, nearly all games reached a decisive conclusion. Little Marlow’s first recorded draw did not occur until 1913.
Transport remained a problem but limited leisure opportunities had made cricket clubs attractive, to players and spectators alike. There were now many more teams than there are
today and, with a large majority of players living and working within a relatively short distance of their home ground, finding local opposition was easy. Wycombe was about the furthest that Little Marlow travelled prior to the 1914-18 hostilities. As well as Bisham, fixtures were arranged against sides from Bourne End, Well End, Wooburn, Flackwell Heath, Marlow, Pinkneys Green, Cookham Dean and Loudwater. Home games were played on the present site, which formed part of Mr Ellames’ Little Marlow Estate. He and his wife lived at the manor house.
At a time of high manual labour levels, many businesses and places of work had their own elevens. In the early years of the 20
th Century Little Marlow played Glory Mills, Marlow Brewery and Davenport Vernon. Taplow Station ran a regular Saturday side.
George Almond was a leading figure in the club’s early development. He was a useful batsman and outstanding bowler who in 1895 took 6 wickets for 1 run, including his second hat trick of the match, as visitors Flackwell Heath were dismissed for just 9 in 20 minutes. They seem to have been Almond’s favourite opponents – he took another hat trick against them 12 months later. Those were just three of the many wickets he captured during the 1896 season.
Tragically, seven weeks later he was dead. Taken ill, he died in Marlow Cottage Hospital after only two days from agonising lockjaw and spinal pains. Aged just 21, he was Club Secretary and had recently been presented with the leading bowler award at the annual dinner. His cousin, Henry, a regular with Bisham, was another talented cricketer. He played a few games for Little Marlow during what proved to be George’s last season.
Quite a few Little Marlow members found employment at the local board and paper mills, whilst some were gardeners or farm workers. Others, such as William Heath, were labourers. He took many wickets for the club during its formative years.
William Clifford was another who enjoyed success with the ball. For nearly 40 years until 1907 his father ran the village bakery at what is now ‘Old Barn Cottage’, the home of Quentin Falk, Little Marlow’s longest serving player. Charles Herbert and Edward Messenger fared better than most in overcoming the odds stacked against batsmen.
Tea intervals did not start to gain favour until the end of this pre-War period. Refreshments would be made available after the game. Just as they had in the 1850s and 60s, for matches at Little Marlow all adjourned to “The King’s Head”, at least two of whose landlords turned out for the club. An evening’s entertainment might include musical renditions by players and others.
A report on the fixture between Wycombe West End’s “Chairmakers’ Arms” and Little Marlow in 1898 includes a detailed description of the post match ‘Smoking Concert’. A full list of the songs and their performers is provided. Proceedings concluded with the National Anthem. Similar events were still taking place in the 1930s.
In 1902 Little Marlow joined forces with the cricket club being established by the recently formed Well End Working Men’s Club, and became ‘Well End and Little Marlow C.C.’ That remained the club’s official name for 24 years, but home matches were still played at the Recreation Ground and from 1909 most reports refer to the teams simply as ‘Little Marlow’.
This link brought the arrival of Edward ‘Ted’ Shaw, one member of a sporting family who were well known boat builders in Marlow and Bourne End. Educated at Marlow’s Sir William Borlase School, he’d gone on to make a name for himself as an accomplished footballer for the town’s highly rated club and the Berks and Bucks team. He succeeded Robert Lunnon as captain of both elevens and, like his predecessor, represented the South of England. An extremely popular man, who was always amongst the first to volunteer his services when it came to organising local sports events, his quiet and unassuming demeanour made him many friends amongst all classes of the community. He proved to be an outstanding performer with bat and ball for several years. He was also a
fine shot, clever fisherman, good billiards player and all-round river man. In addition to all this he found time to serve on the Little Marlow Parish Council before moving to Maidenhead after the family business was in 1914. He became licensee of “The Prince Albert” In King Street where he died, at the desperately early age of 49, in 1917.
Ted Shaw
A further major development took place in 1907. After Mr Ellames’ death in 1899 a cousin, Lt.-Col. William Bradish, had inherited the Little Marlow Estate and adopted the surname Bradish Ellames. He died six year later and the Estate fell to his nine year old son, Montague, and widow, Amy. She was to become well known for her great generosity, and this was exemplified when she funded the erection of a clubhouse. The building, officially opened at a Smoking Concert on the 7th November, was to be used as a cricket pavilion and tearoom in the summer, and as a Working Men’s Club and place for cookery classes in the winter. Having benefited from several extensions and refurbishments, the original 30 ft x 16ft timber construction is still in use today. Whether or not the cricketers had previously erected tents on match days isn’t clear – perhaps they simply repaired to “The King’s Head” if rain intervened.
Len Smith was another who came to the fore during this period, particularly as a bowler. He was to be a stalwart of the club, as player and umpire, for forty years. Sons Wilf and Eric became regulars in the 1960s and grandson Jake is a current member.
Clifford was a prominent name throughout the first five decades of Little Marlow Cricket Club’s history. During the first two William played alongside his father, William snr, and brothers Frank and Reginald. A second Clifford family were market gardeners who came to Well End from Mortlake in Surrey. They established Cliffords Orchards, which was situated above the Chalklands estate, off Bourne End’s Blind Lane. The business was sold to housing developers in the 1950s, but is commemorated by the road ‘Cliffords Way’. Charles and his son Val playedfor many years, often opening the batting together before the First World War. Clifford senior also kept wicket.
After his father died in 1927 Val, a dapper, well-spoken man who sported a cravat and striped blazer, continued to represent the village for another 13 seasons. He was also an accomplished singer and musician who regularly performed at the club’s annual dinner and fund raising concerts.
The Inter-War Years 1919-1939
In common with all clubs, Little Marlow C.C. ceased to function from 1915 to 1918. Many had no choice, as members departed to serve their country. Others regarded it as unpatriotic to play on. The club suffered its share of tragedy, Hon. Secretary Henry Haddon and batsman William Tolman being amongst those who gave their lives.
The post-War years began with one of the most significant events in the club’s history when, in July 1919, Mrs Bradish Ellames made a present of the Recreation Ground and pavilion. Little Marlow Parish Council, their new custodians, received the title deeds during a ceremony held in the village school. At their request it was decreed that the gifts be named “The Bradish Ellames Recreation Ground and Institute.
Sgt H.J.P. Haddon, who died in Gallipoli Amy Bradish Ellames in 1933
The land comprised a little under half the current area, that to the school side of a line drawn from the pavilion through the middle of the ground. The following year Mrs Bradish Ellames and her son paid for the pavilion to be enlarged and, in December, presented it and the remainder of the field by way of a War Memorial.
The Bradish Ellames Recreation Ground, Pictured In The Late 20
th Century
1. The Pavilion (Institute) partially visible behind trees
2. The Vicarage
3. Manor Farm
4. St John The Baptist Church partially visible just visible behind trees
5. Manor House
6. Old Barn Cottage, formerly the village bakery
7. “The Queen’s Head”, Little Marlow’s second pub, has shared the cricket club’s patronage
since the 1960s.
8. “The King’s Head”. Little Marlow’s cricketers have been drinking here since 1857.
9. Little Marlow/Wilton Farm
Westhorpe House is to the right of this picture and the village school, Alma Mater to many Little Marlow players, overlooks the ground to the left.
When play recommenced in 1920 most of the club’s matches continued to be low scoring. However, it would seem that pitch preparation temporarily improved in 1923. Totals rose dramatically, before returning to type the following summer. In a memorable match against Cliveden the village recorded its highest score to date, 164 for 6 declared. Ernie Southam, a talented all-rounder who divided his loyalties between Little Marlow and Marlow Working Men’s Club (now Marlow Park C.C.), and Bert Wootten produced an opening partnership of 125. The opposition were summarily dismissed for 31, to complete victory by a massive 133 runs margin.
The record score was exceeded twice that year. On one occasion, in a 12-a-side match, a P.A. Taylor registered Little Marlow’s first century. It was the only time he is known to have played for the village.
Well End and Little Marlow Cricket Club 1921
Back row: ? Swadling (umpire), unknown, Percy Hussey, Len Smith, Edwin Moore, William Southam,
Ted Jolley, Harry Southam (scorer)
Front row: Bert Adams, Bill Goodall, unknown, Val Clifford, Charles Clifford, Ernie Southam, ? Lewis,
George Appleton, Frank Howard
It was decided to run a 2
nd X1 during the following season, in order to encourage younger players. Frank Howard was duly elected captain at the February A.G.M. and, with Ernie Southam’s brother, William, enjoying great success with bat and ball, the team won 6 of the 11 matches for which scorecards have survived. For 1925 the local press has reports of 9 victories in 10 games but, despite this significant achievement, the side does not appear to have survivedbeyond the 1926 season. Reasons for its demise are unclear, but it would be 1933 before the club again ran two elevens. This time the 2nds survived until the Second World War.
From 1924 to 1936 Tommy Smith completely dominated the club’s 1
st X1 batting. A small man with a big talent, this freeflowing opener had previously played for Marlow Working Men and stood, figuratively, head and shoulders above his contemporaries. He captained the side for nine seasons, and in 1929 became the first regular Little Marlow cricketer to reach three figures. His son became a teacher at Great Marlow School, where he was Sir Steve Redgrave’s first rowing coach.
George Yates starred with the ball during this period. He was a leading wicket taker for the 2nd X1 in 1924 and ’25 before graduating to the 1sts and becoming their most influential bowler for the next eight summers. In 1926 the club underwent a further name change when, following a second amalgamation, it became ‘Little Marlow And Bourne End’. They played under that banner until the Second World War.
Tommy Smith
With road transport now a much more viable proposition, fixtures began to be played a lot further afield. By 1928 the club was engaged in annual home and away matches against Yates’ former teammates at Silchester C.C. The journey to the old Roman village in Hampshire was made by char-a-banc.
By 1930 three figure totals were regularly being achieved and a vast majority of games were one innings per side. However, the practice of batting on after successfully chasing a small target still persisted.
Although the Bradish Ellames Recreation Ground’s outfield continued to be grazed by cattle, horses and sheep throughout the 20s and 30s, the cricket club also paid for the grass to be mown. It was also responsible for looking after the square; a fact that helped to ensure its annual rent was maintained at £2 per annum throughout the inter-war period.
The increasing availability of motorized machinery was undoubtedly improving playing surfaces and batsmen cashed in. Smith and Wootten were supported by a number of fine players. They included Frank Howard, a regular throughout the inter-war years and Dr Gilbert Scott, who shared wicket-keeping duties with opener Vic Dandridge and George Tew, a postman who first appears in the records in 1911. His son Dennis also played in the late 1930s, and went on to become P.T. Master at Great Marlow School. Bill Perfect was a good batsman and outstanding point fieldsman whilst Vernon Blunt, a handsome, colourful character who was very much a ladies man made telling runs during the last few seasons before the Second World War.
Another significant development was the introduction of Sunday cricket in 1933. Before then games were played only on Saturdays, together with occasional mid-week fixtures. That season also saw the earliest known instance of Little Marlow scoring 200. This notable landmark was reached in the President’s Match, Smith carrying his bat for an undefeated 105. In the evening an al fresco concert, organized by President Lionel Walter, was held outside the pavilion. Motor lights and fairy lanterns lit the stage.
Sam Gammon succeeded Yates as the club’s premier bowler. He and his father, who had played for Cookham Dean, were tenants at the Lunnon family’s watercress beds in Hedsor Road, where Bourne End garden centre now stands. A somewhat portly off-spinner, he must have seemed less than threatening as he shuffled towards the pitch on his idiosyncratic, stuttering run up, trousers held up by one of several brightly coloured ties. However, he turned the ball and, above all, bowled with an unerring accuracy. Regularly claiming five or more victims in an innings, he also made runs as an aggressive middle order batsman with a penchant for hitting sixes. B. Pepper provided excellent support with the ball, whilst Cliff Waggett contributed runs and wickets.
Another player of note in the 20s and 30s was Ralph Burrough, apparently a ‘bit of a dandy’ who liked to wear a neckerchief. In 1876 his grandfather, William, had acquired the tenancy of Little Marlow Farm from the Ellames family. It was sold when the Little Marlow Estate was broken up in 1917 and Ralph’s father, Richard, bought Spade Oak Farm. After his death, Ralph ran the business until 1954.
Village teams were still able to attract a significant number of spectators, especially if an important match was taking place. When Blunt arranged a game against the Lord’s Staff eleven. In August 1937 it commanded a great deal of local interest. The opposition contained many past, present and future county professionals, including a then relatively unknown Bill Edrich.
He made his England debut, against Australia, nine months later. Excellent bowling from Gammon and Waggett helped to restrict the visitors to a lowly 110. In reply the villagers lost two early wickets before Blunt (37) and Gammon (30) put together a halfcentury partnership. After they were separated only Waggett, with 19, was able to reach double
figures before Dr Scott’s 17-year-old son, Michael, walked to the crease at 109 for 9. Undeterred, he completed a remarkable victory by despatching the ball to the boundary.
The pictures below are from a Bucks Free Press group photograph taken at the Little Marlow and Bourne End v Lord’s Staff
match on Sunday 8th August 1937.
Ralph Burrough Bill Perfect George Tew Sam Gammon Vic Dandridge
This game was one of several between the two teams. Lord’s Staff travelled to Little Marlow in an open topped double decker bus, which served as changing room and grandstand. Denis and Leslie Compton played. Sadly, the 1937 match is the only one for which written records have survived.
There was great excitement two years later when Hollywood film star Robert Montgomery, who’d taken the Manor House as a residence for nine months, joined the club. Wally Faulkner was then a young lad growing up in the village, where his father was groom and groundsman to the Bradish Ellames family. Wally played a few games for the club’s 2
nd X1 and remembers Montgomery employing him, at the princely rate of two shillings an hour, to bowl to him on the Manor House Lawns. On one occasion an extra fieldsman, one James Stewart, joined them. A large crowd gathered for Montgomery’s first appearance, the home game against Jackson’s Mill on Sunday 27th August. Unfortunately, despite hiring all the necessary gear from Moss Bros, his practice sessions failed to bare fruit. He went to the crease and, holding his bat as if to receive from a baseball pitcher, didn’t bother the scorers in what turned out to be his only match. His failure was perhaps to be expected; it was only the second time he’d played the game.
A month earlier the club had registered its highest recorded pre-Second World War total. Having bowled out Mr A.W. Gibson’s X1 for 102, the hosts replied with a mammoth 292 as Vic Dandridge and Sam Gammon made half-centuries. They then dismissed their opponents a second time, for 122. Gammon took eight wickets in the first innings to follow figures of 7 for 12 in 33 balls the previous day – a prolific weekend even by his standards. Little Marlow and Bourne End C.C. was an impressive outfit from the mid-1920s, a blend of individuals from various backgrounds and professions who bound together to form a highly
successful club. Perhaps it was too good to last. Although, unlike the First World War, sporting activity was encouraged during 1939-45 conflict, the village club did not survive. After a few occasional games it folded and Frank Swift, the Manchester City and England goalkeeper, conducted P.T. exercises on the ground for soldiers of The Black Watch, who were stationed nearby. It would be twenty years before play resumed.
An Extended Break 1940-1959
On the 30
th November 1946 Mr Leslie Powell, Honorary Secretary of the Little Marlow and Bourne End Cricket Club, wrote to the Parish Council seeking its approval for his club to use the Recreation Ground and pavilion ‘as they did for nearly fifty years before the War’. Agreement was unanimous. However, Ralph Burrough and Val Clifford, who succeeded his father as a Councillor in 1928 and was now Chairman, reported that the square had been badly damaged during the war and would cost a considerable sum to repair. It was resolved to request compensation from the Military Authorities, who’d vacated the premises in September 1944, and also to ask the Playing Fields Association for a grant. Sadly, no monies were forthcoming and the matter was dropped.
A little over two years later the Parish Council received a letter from Miss Helen Jackson, daughter of the Rev Gerald Jackson and companion to the late Amy Bradish Ellames, who died in 1934. They lived together at the Manor House. She expressed hope that the ground ‘be made ready for cricket etc, as in the old days before the war’ and enclosed a cheque for £30 on behalf of the W.V.S. Pie Scheme. Following a meeting with representatives of the Little Marlow Sports Club, which was renting the ground for football, it was decided to spend the donation on putting the cricket square in order, and that the Sports Club Committee should then be responsible for keeping it so.
Christopher Avery, a Little Marlow cricketer in the 1920s, was hired to carry out the work. This he completed to great satisfaction, and at an extremely reasonable cost of £38:15:0.
Unfortunately, the Sports Club was unable to raise a cricket team, and therefore failed to maintain the turf. As a result, an application from The Vauxolian Cricket Club, an outfit linked to the Esso Oil Company, to use the facilities in 1951 was readily accepted. At a rate of £10 per annum, it included an option for ’52 and ’53 in view of the considerable amount of expenditure that would be required to prepare the field.
In 1952 the Well End and Bourne End Hockey Club, having agreed to share grass cutting costs with ‘The Vauxolians’, received permission to play at the ground. The two clubs coexisted for two years. The Parish Council Clerk then reported lengthy correspondence with the V.C.C. regarding their objection to the hockey club’s presence, and to a proposed charge of £5 per game for two cricket matches arranged by Mr Charlie Bourne, landlord of The King’s Head. There seems to have been some history of bad blood between the cricket club and Mr Bourne. Apparently he once took a deck chair out to the square before a match and refused to budge.
The outcome of these exchanges was The Vauxolians’ termination of their tenancy and, despite ’pitch for hire’ advertisements being placed in the “Bucks Free Press”; the Parish Council was unable to attract a replacement.
The pavilion continued to be maintained, with electricity replacing the old gas lighting in 1955-56, but once again the field fell into disrepair, cut intermittently by Mr Parker, the new owner of Spade Oak Farm who’d harvest the first crop for hay in late June.
Finally, in May 1959, the Parish Council agreed to purchase a set of reconditioned gang mowers, with the new Village Committee providing the labour for their operation. Twelve months later Little Marlow Cricket Club was reborn.
The Third Club 1960-1982
In 1959 John Tate, a Yorkshireman and cricket addict who’d recently moved into Little Marlow as the school’s headmaster, was asked if he would be prepared to take a lead in reactivating the village club. He needed no second bidding and after being put in touch with Well End’s Jimmy Doe, the pair examined the ground. It was immediately obvious that a great deal of work would be required – rumour has it they were unable to locate the square.
Undaunted, they convened a meeting, held in the pavilion on Tuesday 2
nd February 1960. Also present were Bill Emmett, owner of Wilton Farm, together with Don Walker, another Yorkshireman who lived in the new bungalow next door to the pavilion, and Len Smith’s sons, Wilf and Eric, who’d played a few games for Little Marlow and Bourne End as teenagers before the war. Encouraged by Emmett pledging full support, including a generous starting donation, after a little hesitation they agreed to press ahead.
Emmett was elected Chairman, Tate Secretary, Walker Treasurer and Doe Captain. The Smith brothers, Bert Gorton and Alf Aldous joined them on the committee. The Manor House’s Earl of Ronaldshay, whose father had purchased the property from Major Montague Bradish Ellames in 1947, was invited to become President.
The Parish Council waived rent in return for the club undertaking to maintain the ground. Various items of machinery and playing equipment were acquired and, with help from Manor Farm’s bailiff, the field was prepared for gang mowing during spring 1960.
The new club enjoyed an extremely promising first season, registering 13 victories from 25 matches. These included a number of exciting games; particularly one against local rivals Flackwell Heath. The club also arranged Tuesday evening coaching sessions for juniors. About fifteen boys attended regularly, two of whom played occasionally for the senior team.
Some fine cricketers turned out. The fiery Ian Lowe and left-arm ‘quickie’ Alan Mott supported Eric Smith, an accomplished medium-pacer, in the attack. Double- barrelled seamers John Murray-Clarke and Peter Wood-Smith soon joined them, to be followed in 1966 by a lively young pace bowler called Quentin Falk. Now having superseded Val Clifford as Little Marlow’smost durable cricketer, Falk is still an effective medium-pacer, and very much the club’s senior statesman.
Lowe and Mott also made useful runs alongside Tate, ‘Tosh’ Archer, Joe Race - remembered for his ability to late cut the ball almost out of the keeper’s hands - and the gargantuan wicket keeper/batsman Pat Paice. Despite his height and heavy build he was an impressive gloveman who stood up to nearly all bowlers. In 1964, the only sixties season for which a complete record has survived, he registered 28 stumpings in 34 matches.
However, the leading light throughout this period, and into the early seventies, was David Baldwin, a slow left arm bowler and left-handed batsman. His finest hour came in the fixture at Knotty Green in 1971. From 106 for 8, he and Murray-Clarke added an undefeated 130 before Little Marlow declared. Their partnership is still the club’s ninth wicket record stand, and Baldwin’s 152 not out remained the highest individual score for 23 years.
Knotty Green reached 189 for 7 before David came on to bowl and won the match for his team by taking a hat trick. He was subsequently presented with the game’s scorecard, printed on silk.
Played on hastily prepared pitches, match scores were similar to those of the 1930s. In 1964 Little Marlow’s average team total was 117. However, off-field facilities were greatly improved when the pavilion was connected to the main sewer and a new kitchen and toilets added in 1963. This project was funded mainly by a grant from the County Council Education
Department, which benefited when the village school began using the building as a temporary canteen, together with monies raised by the Pavilion Improvement Fund Committee.
1974 saw the debut of Little Marlow’s best-known modern day player, the prolific Dave Glennerster, whose elder brother Tom was a jovial opening bowler, reckoned to be at his best after a few lunchtime pints. For ten years Glennerster jnr shared the limelight with his Winchbottom Lane neighbour Dennis Exall. They were consistently the leading run scorers and wicket takers and, in 1978, became the first Little Marlow players to make over 1,000 runs in a season. Glennerster also took 110 wickets with his leg-spinners to complete a remarkable double.
In 1982 he upstaged even that performance. Again he took 100 wickets, but on this occasion his runs tally went past the 2,000 mark. Able to play all the strokes, seven centuries flowed from his bat, including three in succession during a run of five in eight innings. This amazing scoring attracted the county selectors, who the following year invited him to play for Buckinghamshire’s under 25 team – a rare honour for a village cricketer. He has now made more than 28,000 runs for the club, and taken over 1,000 wickets.
Having joined his brother Ged at the club in the late sixties, Exall developed into a steady and reliable opening batsman, bowled slow-medium pace with great accuracy and showed quicksilver reactions at short leg. He left after the 1984 season and played at Marlow Park for several years.
There were, of course, a number of other talented players during that period, especially the wily medium paced swing bowler, Mike Thomas, who joined the club from Marlow together with limpet like opener Ron Passfield. Gerry Keeler was a fine wicket keeper/batsman, possessor of an incredible eye that enabled him to drive slow bowlers to distraction by hitting them across the line - many a ball search was required in the School Lane cornfield. He and Thomas were lecturers at Wycombe College, Dave Glennerster being one of Keeler’s students.
Little Marlow Cricket Club 1981
Back row: Iain Angus, Mike Storey, Alec Warner, Phil Oscroft, Ron Passfield, Mike Thomas, Ivor Storey, Richard Tedham
Front row: Dennis Exall, Dave Glennerster, Quentin Falk (Captain), Gordon Sears (Chairman), Les Meaden
Richard Tedham, Iain Angus, Dave Stoolman and Les Meaden all joined the club as youngsters during the 1970s. The first three, together with Glennerster, are still playing today. Angus stands second only to Glennerster in the list of leading run scorers and has taken 700 wickets, mainly as a naggingly accurate slow right-armer. Stoolman is a strong bottom-handed batsman, nicknamed ‘Deadshot’ due to his powerful short corner conversions on the hockey field. Meaden and Tedham opened Little Marlow’ s bowling together in the ‘80s and were known as ‘the aerosol twins’ – no prizes for guessing the derivation.
However, it is as the club’s groundsman that Tedham has made his greatest contribution. He began to transform the square during the late seventies, and has since turned it into one of the best to be found anywhere. This, together with another major extension to the pavilion when a purpose built changing rooms and showers block was added in 1975-76, meant Little Marlow C.C. was equipped for the next major step in its history.
The Berkshire League 1983-1992
League cricket was gaining in popularity throughout southern England and dictating an improvement in playing conditions. In Little Marlow’s area the Thames Valley, Berkshire and Chilterns competitions were all founded during the 1970s. Although the club did not immediately jump on the bandwagon, by the early 1980s it had a number of ambitious young cricketers who played home matches on high quality pitches and who had access to good off-field facilities.
With so many teams now playing competitive cricket, it was becoming increasingly difficult to arrange attractive fixtures and, following an investigation by the committee, with some reservation an E.G.M. in May 1982 agreed to make an application to the Berkshire League. The club duly gained admission and played its first league match, at home to Theale, twelve months later.
The team was led by Dennis Exall and included, in addition to several players already mentioned, a young Mark Fisher. He didn’t deliver a ball, and batted at number ten, but has since developed into perhaps Little Marlow’s finest quick bowler of the modern era. Ivor Storey and his son Mike also played. Mike scored many runs during the 1980s and possessed the rare ability of being able to bowl right arm off-breaks and orthodox slow left arm with almost equalfacility. He usually employed the former in matches.
Only three victories were recorded in that inaugural league season but, perhaps encouraged by the fact that two of them came in the final matches, it was unanimously agreed to field a 2
nd X1 in the 1984 competition. Ivor Storey, a veteran of the Yorkshire leagues, was elected captain. A dogged middle order batsman and canny slow medium-pacer, he commanded several established players, including Falk, Passfield and Tedham. The wicket keeper was Les Ryan, who opened the batting with Passfield. He’d made his debut the year before and has since been ever present.
Wilf Smith’s son Mike, a tall swing bowler better known by his nickname, Jake, was leading wicket taker. Another north-country veteran, from the west of the Pennines, supported him and Storey. Colin Parkes, similar in bowling style to his captain, became a leading 2
nd X1 performer for nine seasons. New Zealander Jim Kyle was another front line player during the Berkshire League years. A compact and combative batsman, Kyle began in the 1st X1’s middle order before making thenumber three slot his own. He went home after the 1992 campaign, only to reappear ten years later for one last hurrah.
The village spent ten seasons as Berkshire League members, enjoying mixed fortunes and picking up 1
st X1 Division 2 runners-up medals in 1986 and 1992. However, by the end of 1991 concerns were being expressed about the quality of some of the grounds they were visiting. The highly rated Chilterns League was looking to expand, so an application was agreed at that year’s A.G.M.
The Chilterns League 1993-2007
Having gained acceptance Little Marlow joined the competition in 1993. The 1
st X1 then spent three seasons gradually improving until the pinnacle of their achievements was reached in 1996. After a closely fought battle, the club was just pipped at the post by Farnham Common and had to settle for second place.
An indifferent first half of the summer came to its nadir when the team failed to defend 306 at Hurley. The captain resigned in frustration, a move that he later jokingly described as his greatest tactical manoeuvre. Austin Callaghan, a technically correct and accomplished batsman playing his first season for the club after moving south from Lancashire, accepted command. Five wins from the next six games propelled his side towards the top of the table. Sadly it was not quite enough. The last two matches were drawn, leaving Farnham as deserved champions. The team has failed to scale such heady heights again, its best performance being fourth position in 1998. A year later they were relegated to the newly formed 2
nd Division and, despitea couple of good summers, have not been able to climb back. Nevertheless, the side has included a number of fine players.
Glennerster and Callaghan, also an outstanding slip fieldsman, have been the leading run scorers, supported by Angus, Stoolman and gifted all-rounder Roger Fenwick, a tall, accurate quick bowler and powerful middle order batsman. Capable of hitting the ball huge distances, he was formerly employed on the M.C.C. Young Professionals Staff and is undoubtedly one of the most talented players to represent Little Marlow.
Fenwick and Fisher, also capable of scintillating performances with the bat, have spearheaded the attack, with medium paced back up from the likes of Graham Field, Stuart Drury and leftarmer Stewart Taylor. Glennerster, Angus and off-spinners Callaghan and Mike Bath have provided the slow bowling. The latter, a former Royal Navy submarine commander, joined the club in 2003 and soon established himself as an influential member of the team. He has a solid technique with the bat, being particularly strong off his legs.
There have been a number of wicket keepers, with Pete Wesson undoubtedly the pick. Formerly a gifted footballer for Burnham F.C., in 2001 he joined Little Marlow from Farnham Royal, for whom he was a leading light for twenty years. A boyish enthusiasm, together with fast hands and quick reactions, made him an inspiration behind the stumps. He was also a consistent performer at the top of the batting order. A keen physical fitness fan, his tragic death in a May 2006 road accident shook the club to its core.
The 2
nd X1 has had mixed fortunes in the Chilterns League, their best season being 2003 when they finished fifth in the 1st Division. Les Ryan has kept wicket in nearly all matches since the beginning of the 1994 season, and also been amongst the chief run scorers. Ged Holmes has provided aggressive middle-order runs and many wickets with his medium-paced swing. He enjoyed a golden summer in Little Marlow’s promotion clinching 2001 season, when 535 runs earned him the 2nd Division’s Batsman of the Year Trophy, whilst only one bowler exceeded his 34 wickets.
For six years former Frieth slow left-armer Chris Sledge was one of Holmes’ main allies. Although not a big turner of the ball, he combined great accuracy with clever variations of flight. Ten years ago Little Marlow were fortunate beneficiaries when Steve Shore and Brian Robinson decided to move from Farnham Common Cricket Club. Shore, a dependable accumulator,
rapidly established himself as the Seconds’ best batsman, whilst Robinson’s intelligent subtleties at a low-slung slow-medium pace won him the 2nd X1’s bowling shield for four consecutive seasons. Perhaps the most significant recent development in the club’s history has been the influx of Asian players, mainly from the Wycombe based Pakistani community. A slight sixteen-year-old called Arfan Sharif paved the way in 1997. Many have followed in the now powerfully built 1
st X1 all-rounder’s footsteps, including Tahir Rashid, Imran Ali, Anwar Mahmood and three Hussains - Mansoor, Imran and Farooq.
Rashid, like Sharif a positive batsman and medium-fast bowler, was one of the 2
nd X1’s most valuable assets and has now graduated to the 1sts. Ali, a tall, angular batsman is hoping to make a success of league cricket after developing his abilities in the Sunday team. Mahmood, an opening batsman and wicket keeper, concentrated on the former during his first three seasons with the club. Then, following Wesson’s untimely death, he moved into the 1sts andwas elected captain for the 2007 season. Sharif has now succeeded him.
Imran Hussain, although small of stature, bowled highly effective medium-fast swing from a chest-on action between 1999 and 2003. His namesake, Mansoor, an aggressive batsman and lively bowler, has produced a number of fine performances despite his intermittent availability. Farooq, effervescent and heavily built, takes great pleasure in launching long leg-side sixes.
Little Marlow Cricket Club 2004
Back row: Ian Clements (umpire), Roger Fenwick, Farooq Hussain, Rahim Dad, Tahir Rashid, Anwar Mahmood, Austin Callaghan
(Chairman), Brian Robinson, Dave Stoolman, Nick Podger (umpire)
Middle row: Mike Bath, Imran Ali, Dave Armitage (Sunday Captain), Roger Smith (President),
Arfan Sharif, Steve Shore (2nd X1 Captain)
Front row: Dave Glennerster, Richard Tedham, Ben Falk
The ground’s infrastructure continues to be developed. On Sunday 19
th October 2003 John Warr, former Middlesex and England cricketer, officially opened a newly refurbished pavilion. The works were financed by a government grant, augmented by donations from the Parish Council, Cricket Club, Village Amenities Committee, local residents and Bourne End Junior Sports Club, whose football section use the ground. They included vastly improved changing rooms, together with new showers, toilets and kitchen facilities. Two and a half years later Brian Robinson and Richard Tedham completed their construction of new practice net facilities; two concrete bays replacing the single one built in the early 1970s.
Mark Fisher on his way to a magnificent 153 in the 2005 President’s Match. The original pavilion, fronted by a verandah, was built in
1907. It was extended in 1920 and the changing rooms block, initially a flat roofed building before it was enlarged during the 2003
refurbishment, was added in 1975/76.
Without Whom
Like all amateur clubs Little Marlow C.C. owes its existence to generous benefactors and unpaid volunteers. Over the years many have given freely of their time and contributed both materially and financially.
Mrs Bradish Ellames and her family undoubtedly were the club’s most influential patrons, but there have been numerous others, Henry Stephenson being one worthy of mention. He was a successful Stock Broker’s Agent and Little Marlow Parish Councillor who lived in Well End. For many years from early in the twentieth century he raised an eleven to play the village. The encounter was always keenly anticipated, especially as his side often contained professionaland county players. After the game he would treat everybody to a meat supper at The King’s Head. Mr James Brock, Chairman of the club prior to the First World War, entertained similarly for Well End and Little Marlow’s annual fixture against his side.
Robert Haden Tebb, architect and speculator at the forefront of developing the Abbotsbrook Estate in the 1890s, spent several years as club President at the beginning of the 20
th Century. Alex Browne, Secretary, and Edwin Day, Treasurer, both held long terms of office at this time. The latter managed Well End’s post office and was a keen amateur photographer. It must be safe to assume that he took pictures of the club, but none are known to have survived.
Two other long-serving officers supported Tommy Smith during his spell as Captain from 1928 to ’36. George Yates was Secretary and Hampton Lane, dairy farmer in Well End, was Treasurer.
Lionel and Ada Falk, Quentin’s grandparents, were hosts during the 1930s when Little Marlow played an annual match against The Barnacles, a team from Merton College, Oxford. The fixture was arranged by Robert Levens, a great friend of the Falk family and pillar of the college side. Lionel was at one time President of both teams. His son, Sir Roger – Quentin’s father – fulfilled that role for Little Marlow from 1976 until his death in 1996. During those years he acted as mine host for the game against The Ferrets, a team raised by Quentin whose son Ben, a lefthanded batsman, represents the fourth generation of his family to be associated with L.M.C.C. Quentin was first elected to the committee in 1973 and has officiated in a number of capacities. He was Chairman from 1994 to 2002.
The Emmett family has been heavily involved with the club since its re-foundation in 1960. Having served as Chairman for many years Bill was elected President, whilst son Peter took on his father’s former role. Peter’s elder son, Philip, is now a Parish Councillor and, in that capacity, oversaw the 2003 pavilion refurbishment project. For a long period the family provided a tractor with which to tow the gang mowers, prior to Peter arranging purchase of the ground’s own machine in 1983. Since then he has assisted with its maintenance and repair. John Tate was Secretary throughout the 1960s and then elected President for four years. The mid-1960s also saw the arrival of Gordon Sears, a powerfully built left-hander who liked to hit the ball long and straight. A former Bradenham player, he was to become one of Little Marlow’s most respected parishioners. He served on the cricket club’s committee for more than twenty years, including fourteen as Chairman, and was also a member of the Parish Council. As such
he was in an ideal position to manage the 1970s pavilion extension project.
Roger Smith, a medium-paced bowler, joined Little Marlow in the early 1970s. Being a chartered accountant it was perhaps inevitable that he should become Treasurer. He did so in 1973 and held office for twenty-two of the next twenty-eight years. He was also responsible for arranging the club’s first tour, to Sussex and Kent, in 1977. This highly successful and enjoyable enterprise has been repeated many times, culminating in the village team’s initial overseas venture in 2000. Another Smith initiative, the long-weekend trip to Menorca was originally proposed by John Braithwaite, Club President from 1997 to 2001. A middle-order batsman and athletic cover fieldsman, who finished his playing career at Little Marlow in the 1970s after many seasons with Staines and Laleham, Braithwaite owns a villa on the island. Smith succeeded him as President and also audits the annual accounts. In recent years he has been responsible for generating considerable income for the club from sponsorship and advertising deals.
Aside from his input as Groundsman Richard Tedham has been Secretary since the October 1975 A.G.M. His work on the square has involved countless hours trundling up and down on the heavy roller, a machine donated by late Vice-President Ray Grant, who owned a plant hire business in Maidenhead.
Other long-serving officers have included Ron Passfield, responsible for a major expansion of the fixtures list in 1975, Iain Angus, Jake Smith and Dave Stoolman, Fixtures Secretary for twenty of the last twenty-four years. Steve Shore was 2
nd X1 Captain from 1999 to 2005 and is now Treasurer. Dave Armitage, a useful batsman and agile outfielder when not filling in behind the stumps, was Sunday Skipper for seven summers until the end of 2004.
The Future
The 2008 season may well be Little Marlow Cricket Club’s 101st. During the previous 100 well over 1,150 players have turned out, some of them for no more than a handful of games, others as regulars for many years. The current membership boasts plenty of the latter. Unfortunately, whilst this reflects favourably upon the club’s ability to retain loyal support, there is a distinct lack of youngsters waiting to fill their boots.
L.M.C.C. has developed considerably, both on and off the field, in recent years. Establishment of a colts section is the one glaring omission. Whilst many clubs reacted quickly to fill the void created by this country’s appalling school sports curriculum, Little Marlow lagged behind and relied upon its facilities to attract ‘passing trade’. To a large extent this seemed to work for a long time, but now the well would appear to have run dry.
Over half the regular players are in their late forties or older, and wont go on forever. A number of recruitment initiatives have borne a little fruit, but in the absence of a junior section it is easy to imagine playing standards deteriorating. That would be a great shame as the club has much to offer. Thankfully, since the end of the 2007 season, the club has acquired the services of a professional cricket coach, Ingram Jones, who is heading its determined drive towards establishing just such a section.
During the course of researching this history, I have often thought how fascinating it would be to climb into a time machine and witness at first hand the playing conditions and cricketers of past seasons. What would a similar journey into the future reveal? Where will the club be in twenty-five, fifty or even one hundred years time? I fervently hope that it will continue to flourish and provide sport, entertainment and pleasure for many generations to come. Out of respect for all those former players, administrators and benefactors we must ensure that it does.
Richard Tedham
6
th April 2008I would like to acknowledge the input of Messrs Len Dandridge, Wally Faulkner and John Lunnon, whose memories of Little Marlow cricket and cricketers in the 1930s are greatly
appreciated.
Photographs of Henry Haddon, Ralph Burrough, Sam Gammon, Vic Dandridge, Bill Perfect and George Tew reproduced by kind permission of the “Bucks Free Press” Photograph of Amy Bradish Ellames reproduced by kind permission of her granddaughter, Nancy Bradish Ellames.
Photograph of Ted Shaw reproduced by kind permission of Michael Eagleton, co-author with Ray Evans of ‘Marlow – A Trip Back In Time’ and ‘Marlow – Another Trip Back In Time’.
Photograph of Tommy Smith reproduced by kind permission of Marlow Football Club.
Bibliography
(South) Bucks Free Press
Maidenhead Advertiser
Gerald Howat: ‘Village Cricket’
R.D.C. Evans: ‘Cricket Grounds’
Brian Brenchley Wheals: ‘Theirs Were But Human Hearts’
Mrs Eric Weiss: ‘Little Marlow Manor’