CONTACT: Spring 1966
At the fourth Annual General Meeting of the Club, held at Head Office by kind permission of the General Manager, the following resolutions were passed:-
That the following officers should be re-elected en bloc -
Chairman - W
G T Gray
Secretary - P H Aston
Treasurer - D M Rose
That the annual subscriptions should remain at 5/- and be credited to the club's account at Sutton Coldfield - SC24377: weekly subscriptions are also to remain at 2/-.
The parks to be used for club evenings will be those at Yardley and Cannon Hill. The club will also be entering into the Inter-Departmental Tennis League in which it is hoped that with a little luck we could repeat the successes attained in our first season.
The attendance at the meeting numbered 15 club members in all - this equals the largest attendance at any of our club evenings last year and in view of this fact I am expecting to see hoards of happy players turn up for a game on Thursdays during the coming season. So if by any chance you wish to follow a healthy pursuit and you have not tried tennis before - how about giving it a try? No one need be afraid that they may be made fun of if they do not play well at first because we in the tennis club realise that we all have had to learn to play at some time. The first club evening is to be held at Yardley Park on Thursday, 5th May 1966, when anyone coming along will be sure of a warm welcome.
P
H Aston
Hon Secretary
CONTACT: Summer 1966
The 1966 season began in fine style with attendances of 11, 9, 9, 18. Eighteen is the highest attendance since the inception of the club. Regular attendances of these proportions could create difficulties in that we may not be able to hire sufficient courts. In a recent circular I stated that in this edition of "CONTACT" I would give the reasons why Cannon Hill Park could not be used for club evenings. Firstly a Parks Tennis League has been formed using Cannon Hill most Thursday evening. These matches will have priority over any other games on Thursdays and secondly none of the club members who asked for this park to be used turned up on the one occasion we played there. That evening we were allocated one court for nine club members as there was a league match in progress. This fact, coupled with our rising membership, means that in future Cannon Hill will not be sufficient for our requirements.
The annual subscription of 5/- is now due and should be credited to account SC 24377 at Sutton Coldfield. Until this amount has been paid members should be charged an extra 6d. per week subs. and cannot be considered for selection in the Bank team. The club will again enter a team in the Inter-Departmental Tennis League this year and June's fixtures were:
6th June - Public Works
21st June - Education
30th June - Town Clerks
The dates for the other fixtures have still to be arranged. All these matches are played at the Municipal Sports Ground, Yardley, so if anyone would like a pleasant evening's entertainment, why not come along. Full details of all matches will be circularised to all Branches.
P H Aston
Hon Secretary
Ronnie Moll and Linda Miller
Ron and Linda are the club's new mixed doubles champions, which they achieved by whitewashing all their opponents. Their success was centred around two rubbers; firstly they toppled the former champs John Ordish and Doreen Rose, 7-5, then they clinched the championship by beating Peter and Janet Aston, who were unbeaten until then, by 6-2.
The
team in the Inter-Departmental Tennis League has had a fair year, finishing with the following analysis:-
Played 5; Won 2; Drawn 1; Lost 2
The following members have played in the matches:-
John Britten and Ronnie Moll 5 matches
John Ordish and John Roberts 3 matches
Graham Capener and Larry Sharrard 2 matches
In the two matches we won against the Public Health and the Police, we whitewashed the opposition. The two matches we lost against the Water Dept. and Town Clerk's the score was 1-3.
In the rubber against the Town Clerk's, with a little luck we may have obtained a draw. The Club intends entering two teams next year and with this end in view a couple of friendly matches involving Club members who should be in the second team have been played. The first, against the Public Works was unsatisfactory because the weather was typical of this summer - cold and wet. The second, against the Bank's league team, was better for the following two reasons - the weather was much kinder and the second team were extended to the limit.
Next year the Club intends to have more tournaments than in previous years, starting in May with a gentlemen's doubles 'American Tournament', the results of which could have a marked bearing on team selection.
P H Aston
Hon Secretary
CONTACT: Spring 1967
The fifth Annual General Meeting held at Head Office by kind permission of the General Manager, on 14th February 1967, passed the following business for the 1967 season.
Club Officials
Chairman
- Mr W G T Gray
Secretary - Mr P H Aston
Treasurer - Mrs D M Rose
The Club shall enter a second team in the Corporation Inter-Departmental Tennis League. To help in deciding the composition of the teams for 1967 a doubles tournament will be played at Yardley Parks on TUESDAY, 16th MAY. This tournament will be open to all members of the Staff, both male and female.
The park to be used for Club evenings is to be Yardley and the first Club evening is to be 27th April 1967. By an oversight the subscriptions for 1967 were not settled and to rectify this a subsequent committee meeting of the Club's officials decided that the subscriptions should remain at 5/- annually. These are now due and should be credited to account SC 24377 at Sutton Coldfield with the name on the back of the slip. Weekly subs. will remain at 2/-.
The Club made an application to the Staff Association for a grant of five guineas. This was considered and passed at the February committee of the Association. On behalf of the Club I would like to thank the Staff Association for their continued financial support.
The thanks of the Club are due to the Head Office Secretarial staff, the Typists and all others who have helped with administration work of the club.
P H ASTON
Hon Secretary
CONTACT: Summer 1967
The 1967 season has opened in fine style with, despite the atrocious weather, no club evening having had to be cancelled. One club evening had to be finished early for what we hope will remain a unique reason, namely - snow!
The doubles tournament to help decide team selection was won as expected by John Britten and John Ordish. They had a relatively easy passage until the final, when they played Ronnie Moll and Linda Miller. They eventually won this rubber after a struggle, 6-3. These four on present form should make up the composition of the Bank's first team. None of them should become complacent and think that they have their places assured, for the club has at least six players ready to take over from them should any of them falter.
The Annual Subscriptions of 5/- are now due and should be credited to the Club Account SC 24377 at Sutton Coldfield. Any member who has not paid by the end of July will have to be charged 2/6d weekly subs. as from then.
The Club still has room for any Staff members who would like to join. The club evenings are held at Yardley Park at 6pm on Thursdays, so if you are interested - how about coming along.
P H ASTON
Hon Secretary
CONTACT: Autumn 1967
BANK ‘A’ ARE CHAMPION!
On 24th August Bank ‘A’ became the champions of the Inter-Departmental Lawn Tennis League for
the first time by beating the Water Department by 4 rubbers to nil. John Britten, John Ordish, Ron Moll and Linda Miller carried
the main burden of the matches, while Graham Capener, Larry Sharrard, Wilfred Gray and Peter Aston each played in one match. The
team was undefeated throughout the season and their success has broken a three-year run of the Water being champions. It has also
demonstrated how much the standard of play has improved over the last six seasons. This is surely due to the practice afforded by
the Club evenings held every Thursday at Yardley Park.
This year the Bank also entered a second team in the league for the first
time and, although not of the standard of the ‘A’ side, have exceeded everybody’s expectations by winning two matches and drawing
once in six starts. The following represented the ‘B’ team during the season :- John Roberts, Graham Capener, Michael Tarver, Michael
Bourke, Larry Sharrard, Roger Garner and Peter Aston. Both teams are now looking forward to 1968 when, with luck, we could finish
as champions and runners up!
The Club evenings have been a great success with not one having to be cancelled and an average of
a dozen members turning up each week. The mixed doubles tournament was won once again by John Ordish and Doreen Rose. They have now
won the title 4 times in the last 5 years - an achievement that will be difficult to equal. The Club hope that this year’s success
will encourage people to seek membership, for whatever their standard of play they can be assured of a welcome next May when the 1968
season opens.
The thanks of the Club are due to the Head Office Staff involved in the production of the Club circulars and also to the Football Club Pontoon Committee for their financial assistance.
P.H. Aston.
CONTACT: Spring 1968
The agenda for the sixth Annual General Meeting of the Tennis Club which is to be held by kind permission of the General Manager at Head Office on Monday 22nd April 1968, at 4-30pm, is as follows:-
1 Apologies
2 Minutes of the 5th AGM
3 Matters arising from the minutes
4
Treasurer's Report
5 Secretary's Report
6 Election of Officers
7 Presentation of League Trophies to members of the Bank 'A' Team
8 Any other business
The Club Committee have decided to present the League trophies to John Britten, John Ordish, Ron Moll and Linda Miller as they played in the majority of matches. The Shield to be awarded to the Club as champions will be on show at the meeting and afterwards in the Assembly Room at HO.
The 1968 season should be the most important one so far from the teams' point of view. It will be the first time that the Club will be playing as defending champions. With last season's experience behind them Bank 'B' should also be a force to be reckoned with. The match between Bank 'A' and 'B', assuming it is not too early in the season, will be a date for one's diary.
The 1968 season is due to start on Thursday 2nd May at Yardley Park. All members of the Staff, both new and not so new, are welcome to come along and can be assured of a warm welcome and an excellent evening's enjoyment.
P H ASTON
CONTACT: Christmas 1968
1968 in many ways has been a frustrating year. At the start Bank 'A' were determined to retain the championship they won in 1967, while Water Department were equally determined to regain it. At present the two teams stand in the league as follows:-
Bank
'A' played 6 - points 10
Water played 3 - points 5
Bank 'A' have completed their matches, but Water have been trying without success since the summer to play their outstanding games. By winning all three matches they could 'pip' us for the championship.
Our other problem is over the hire of courts. The Parks Department do not like the way we hire all three courts at Yardley for the whole evening and they would prefer us to hire one court for the whole season for £13. None of this fee is returnable should the weather be inclement and our use of the other two courts would depend on whether they were free. The Parks Department admit we are not breaking the rules at present, but they say they will bring pressure to bear to make the Club conform to their wishes. This, I feel, is the most disturbing part of the affair.
Despite these frustrations the Club has had another successful year; the Club evenings have been well attended and the weather was reasonably kind to us. The Mixed Doubles Tournament was won for the second year by Linda and Ron Moll. With luck, by 1970, they could equal the record of four successive wins by Doreen Rose and John Ordish.
The match between Bank 'A' and Bank 'B' was a classic, resulting in a win for Bank 'A' by 4 rubbers to Nil. The result does not give a true indication of the way the match went. Bank 'A' had to struggle and lost two sets more than they did last year in winning this encounter.
Once again the Club is looking forward to another successful season next year. Should any newcomers to the Staff like a pleasant evening's entertainment, they are welcome to come along next May when the 1969 season begins.
P H ASTON
Hon Secretary