Cardiff Hockey Club in 1905
Roath Hockey Club to Cardiff Hockey Club
Roath Hockey Club, formed in November, 1896, was one of the first clubs in Cardiff. The headquarters were at the Albany Hotel, and the first game, Captain’s v Vice-Captain’s team was played on 5th December. Within months the name had been changed to Cardiff Hockey Club, and it was under the new name that the Club played on Roath Park in March 97 when they beat Cardiff Celts 1 – 0.
The report of the match says “Towards the end of the game the Cardiff team showed their usual form, S Chubb scoring a fine goal after pretty passing.” This is the only available result from the first season, but the report also states that it was the return match against Cardiff Celts whose home ground was Cardiff Arms Park, so the Club must have played there by February at the latest.
The Club rapidly established itself as a force in South Wales hockey and by 1898-99 had formed a 2nd XI which met with a fair amount of success. In 1901 GN Howell became the first in a long line of Cardiff players to be capped for Wales when he was selected to play against Scotland and Ireland. In 1902 both CR Lundie and B Turnbull played in the 0-7 defeat by England when the Newport based players failed to turn up for the game. However, there was a happier result in 1903 when A M Murrell, C R Turn-bull and E W Evans all played in the match against Scotland. Both Turnbull and Evans scored in the 5-1 win, which was the first for Wales.
The 1903-04 season saw the first of several matches played against FR Benson’s Co. For a long time I thought that this was a local firm until I came across a report which made it clear that FR Benson was one of the old tradition of actor managers and that it was his Shakespeare company (who were performing at the New Theatre) who were the opposition. For what it’s worth FR Benson bullied off for Ireland v Scotland in Dublin later in the season.
South V North
In 1906 EW Evans was the Welsh captain, and the increasing influence of hockey in South Wales was leading to political upheaval in the WHA which had been dominated by the North Wales clubs, particularly for selection. When Wales lost all their games, a local critic said that he could raise a side to beat the selected team. After a lot of diverting correspondence a challenge match was played and there was Cardiff representation in the side which beat the Welsh Team 1-0. However, Evans retained the captaincy for 1907-08, when Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart became president of the Club.
In 1908 Bert Turnbull was the first player from Cardiff to play Olympic hockey when he was the goalkeeper for the Welsh team that played in London and were defeated 1-3 by Ireland in the semi-final. He was in the Welsh team from 1907 until 1914, winning 19 caps.
The Club had soon moved from Roath Park and were playing on Llandaff Fields and/or the Whitchurch Polo Fields. The Club 1st XI went from strength to strength and in 1903-04 were undefeated by any Welsh side. In that season and a further 5 before 1914 more than 100 goals were scored, and when this target was not reached fewer matches were played.
World War 1
Records for the 2nd XI are not complete, but sufficient exist to show steady development and by the outbreak of World War I there were more than 50 active Clubs in S Wales with Cardiff preeminent amongst the leaders. The Club was restarted for the 1919-20 season, but the aftermath of the War and the general social upheaval of the 1920′s took their toll on the Welsh hockey scene. Results remained good for Cardiff but many of the prewar clubs went out of existence, although there are some who have the same name who have no knowledge that they they are the second (or third ) or-ganisation to have the same name.
This fate nearly overcame Cardiff when in 1926 they changed grounds again, and this time also changed name when becoming part of Kingsholm Recreation Club in Rhiwbina. They did however retain the Club colours of red and blue vertical striped shirts. They now entered on a flourishing period, as the name of Cardiff was soon reintroduced when a second team of equal strength was introduced, and by 1939 there were two Cardiff Men’s and one Cardiff Ladies team all based at Rhiwbina, as well as a King-sholm Men’s and a Ladies’ Team.
The results for the Cardiff section are well documented, and the Club thrived throughout the 1930′s, with such luminaries as KG Hughes and Ken Ingledew prominent both on and off the field. G Hughes captained the 1st XI in season 1931-32 and again in 1947-48 – a long interval in any terms, while Ken Ingledew managed to combine a solicitor’s practice with total devotion to the cause of Welsh hockey, serving as Secretary of the WHA for many years and eventually receiving the gold medal of the FIH for his services. He also umpired the Final of the Hel-sinki Oplympics in 1952.
During this inter-war period there was the great development and flourishing of hockey festivals and of invitation teams. Cardiff were at the heart of the Welsh Druids who competed regularly at the Brean Tournament held at Weston super Mare, and the preserved scrapbooks with press reports, programmes, fixture lists, autographed dinner menus and photographs are a nostalgic tribute to the passing of an unrecoverable age.
Cardiff Athletic Ladies HC
A parallel development came in 1920 when a Ladies Hockey Club, Cardiff United, was formed. This club (a photograph of which is held in the Cardiff Library) existed in a fairly hand to mouth way until 1927, when they became part of the Cardiff Athletic Club, and played from then until 1939 under the name of Cardiff Athletic Ladies HC. It is a great pleasure to record that a few players of that era are still alive, notably Enid Williams who, as Enid Winfield was club captain for 6 seasons, was capped for Wales and toured Ireland, Germany and America. Rugby followers ought to recognise the name of Winfield as being that of one the Welsh team who beat the 1905 All Blacks. Since Gwyn Nicholls and HB Winfield married sisters, Enid is the niece of the immortal Gwyn Nicholls.
After becoming a section of the Athletic Club they were very successful, and several players were capped for Wales, and the Club also had an International Umpire. They were also responsible for arranging some International matches which were played on Cardiff Arms Park, and these were very successfully organised. We are lucky to have a team photograph from the 1930′s with most of the players identified, as well as a tunic badge.
A 2nd XI also played from 1927-28 onwards and, when not robbed of their better players when the 1st XI had lost theirs to County or International calls, were very successful.
World War 2
And then came World War II. “In May 1945 the Management Committee of Cardiff Athletic decided, as part of its post-war reconstruction plans to form a Hockey Section. At this time there was no active Hockey Club in Cardiff. The Cardiff Hockey Club had been forced to cease its activities in 1939, and although Kingsholm had carried on until 1942, the game had only been kept alive by the colleges and the High School.” This is a paraphrase of the CAC
Cardiff Hockey Club Badge
Annual Report for 1945-46. For some reason the CALHC was not reformed in 1945, and this section lapsed until 1985. I believe that Cardiff/Kingsholm Ladies were also invited to join but that they preferred to retain their own identity, and still survive today, playing in the original Cardiff colours of red and blue.
The Club now entered on the most successful period of its history so far. In 1945-46 they had a 2nd XI; in 1950-51 the first 3rd XI in a Welsh Club appeared. This was bettered in 1956-57 when the 4th XI first played, in 1973-74 when the 5th XI had a full fixture list and in 1975-76 when the proud members of the 6th XI collected their inaugural tankards. From the start of competitive hockey in 1964-65 the Club has won the Welsh Cup 9 times, the Wares Ibrahim (South Wales) Cup 6 times, the Welsh Shield once, and the Premier Division of the South Wales League 7 times. They have also won the Welsh Indoor Cup 14 times (including 5 in a row). The 2nd XI have won the Welsh 2nd XI Cup 7 times, League Division 1 once, and Division 2 4 times, while the remaining teams have all won their respective divisions or at least gained promotion. At times we have run a Veterans side, although there is no truth in the rumour that it is also known as the 1st XI. There has also been League and Cup success for the U-14, 15 and 16 teams.
The European Cup
The Club has staged European Cup rounds and Finals at Sophia Gardens, and has competed in European Finals in Amsterdam, Gibraltar, Yugoslavia and Sweden, as well as the European Indoor Championships which are held at Zwolle. Many International caps were won at all age groups, both indoor and outdoor, and a further three Great Britain players (Peter Mills, Bryn Williams and Howie Williams) were proud to have Cardiff as their Club. Success was not confined to the players, as apart from the honours already mentioned for Ken Ingledew Cardiff have also had other International umpires and administrators, and also a President of the WHA (as it then was) in Neil Pallot, whose father’s Olympic Cap is in the Trophy Cabinet.
Cardiff Athletic Ladies HC Reborn
In 1985, an initiative by Tony Rhys-Jones led to the rebirth of the Cardiff Athletic Ladies HC, a move which surprised the Athletic Club, although they were unperturbed by having a mixed Tennis section.
After a tentative start the Ladies soon progressed and after gaining promotion in successive seasons are now in the National (i.e. Senior) League, have already won the Welsh Cup once, and have taken part in two European Championship campaigns, one of which the Club hosted at the Welsh Institute of Sport. Again there is an impressive list of GB, Welsh International and Junior caps for the Ladies and they have also been a decided asset to the social side of the club.
In 1996 the Men’s Seconds team won the Welsh 2nd XI Cup, beating Swansea 2-1 and in 1999 were runners-up in the Welsh Cup. Meanwhile the Ladies team had developed into one of the best in the country, consistently challenging for the Welsh title and representing Wales in Europe. They played tournaments in Warsaw and Vienna as well as hosting the tournament in 2002.
In 2001 an Australian called Sean Hogan joined the club, which was the turning point for the Men’s First team. Two other Australians followed and, guided by Welsh development officer Alan Lints, so did four New Zealanders (two of which remain to this day ). Other Kiwis and home grown players followed as Cardiff secured three consecutive promotions under the leadership of Jon Painter, to bring them to the cusp of the National League. They also beat Swansea 2-1 to win the Welsh Cup in 2002.
Three consecutive Welsh championships (2004-6) followed and along with it more European campaigns. Although the 2003 trip to Croatia and 2005 visit to Belarus were ultimately unsuccessful, the 2006 return to Croatia resulted in victory.
