My Sporting Life - continued - Page 2

My playing career started after I left school and started work at Bowmans Chemicals in 1961. The lunchtime sporting activities of the factory consisted of Table Tennis (in the Canteen dining room), Snooker (in the Snug), Darts and Dominoes in the lounge and during good weather there was always the football and cricket out on the fields (for the guys) and Rounders (for the girls).

I think I took to the game naturally and picked it up very quickly, playing against some good "works" players (Bowmans, Moss Bank Works that is...) in Fred Merrill, Ronnie Thornett, Tommy Purcell (Jnr), Jack Daintith, John Bibby, Peter Quinn, Bob Williams, Rodney Turton, Brian Gilmore, Charlie Appleton (the Rugby Referee from Warrington) and Billy Ogburn to name but a few of my earlier opponents and teachers of the "old game played with Barna bats".

I then started to play in the local Widnes and Runcorn League (now the Halton TT League) at the Vine Rec Club (the Orrs Zinc White Chemical company's recreation club in Coroners Lane) in the 1962/3 season (I think) in the Third Division. I played with Mike Gibb and Rodney and a number of other players and found I enjoyed the competitive element of the league games and fairly quickly was winning most of my games in the division. I quickly changed to the "sandwich rubber" bat from the Barna and found my game improved. (At one time I was the proud owner of a "square bladed" green rubber Chester Barnes bat and not many people played with them!!).

Anyway, you will not doubt recall where you where when John F Kennedy was shot..... well I was playing table tennis at the Vine when I went to watch TV in the lounge during the game. The programme was interrupted for a "Newsflash" and the news came through about the events in Dallas that sunny afternoon.

After 2 seasons at the Vine, and being tipped as the upcoming young star of the future for the Vine Club, I moved to form a team at Bowmans (Moss Bank) with some of the many good players who knocked up at lunchtimes in the canteen. Peter Quinn, Fred Merrill and Billy Ogburn (a great junior player who "retired" early from playing competitive games and made his comeback for the Bowmans Team).

On our first season in the 3rd Division of the league, we won the Division and on receiving the trophy on Finals Night discovered that we had won the "Bowman Trophy" !! It transpired that Bowmans had entered a team in the league 10 years earlier and Mr Pert (our MD) had donated the trophy for the 3rd Division champions - which Bowmans won in their first season - what a coincidence that was........

PRESENTATION NIGHT

This is the only picture I have of me receiving a medal for winning something at my sport. I think it was for the Second Division Singles title or runner up - not sure of the year but was probably in the early - mid 70’s.

That’s me on the near right at the end - I think the picture may have been distorted as I don’t remember looking that tall even in my prime!!

Well you may be pleased to know that in my 50th year of competitive Table Tennis I can still win trophies...

In the 2010-2011 season we won the 2nd Division Championship......

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