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Fleet & Ewshot HC, the First 100 Years - A Brief History

Fleet & Ewshot HC, the First 100 Years - A Brief History

Robert Scott13 Mar - 08:42

James Edwards has written a brief of history of our club for our centenary year. Many thanks for all your work on this excellent article!

Fleet & Ewshot HC, the First 100 Years - A Brief History

Introduction

Fleet HC was formed in 1926 and Ewshot HC in 1976. The clubs merged in 2007.
An earlier Fleet Ladies Hockey Club existed from 1897 to 1905 but then disbanded as members preferred the superior attractions of the recently opened North Hants Golf Club. In its short existence this club which had colours of grey shirt and scarlet tie was quite successful winning 50 of 84 matches and producing at least two Hampshire County players.

The separate clubs and then ‘our Club’ as we know it today have had intriguing, successful, sometimes challenging but ultimately fascinating histories. Much has happened over the last 100 years with the key events, features and achievements of both clubs pre and post-merger set out here.

Fleet HC

The 1920’s to WWII
In 1925 Aldershot was a garrison town of 30,000 soldiers, 60% of whom had been to India and had played hockey and as that was one of the main forms of recreation, there was a lot of local interest in the game.
Local lads, mostly from Odiham Grammar School, some bank clerks, one or two Army people and some farmers got a team organised and Fleet HC was established the following year. Dr Frere was President and Eric Jannis Secretary and Treasurer.
A Mr W. Edwards, a builder, made the goal posts (the club bought the nets) and with some borrowed tools from Mr Cyril Hankins’ hardware business (now Propaganda) the far comer of the cricket pitch at Calthorpe Park was cleared and levelled so that a pitch could be marked out without infringing on the wicket, (Mr Edwards’ father, incidentally, had been a founder of Fleet Cricket Club in the 1890’s). A roller was borrowed from a local cab driver which was apparently never returned.
The Men’s team consisted of a pool of sixteen players and paid a subscription of 25 shillings (£1.25), they had changing facilities but no showers, kitchen or bar. Cyril Hankins, obviously a great supporter of sport, used to pile the team into his first lorry (which he was converting from horse to petrol) and drive them to all their away games for about 3/6d (17p). By the 1927/28 season his invoice rose to the dizzy heights of £7, 13 shillings and 4d. This was the first season the club was affiliated to the Hampshire County Hockey Association. They wore the same colours as we wear today.

The opposition included two Woking clubs, Basingstoke, Merrow (now Guildford), several London banks and of course teams from the Army. There was a claim Fleet held the Army to a 1-1 draw on one occasion but a stronger Army side subsequently beat them 9-0!. They went to the Worthing Hockey Festival in the early years but never won it.
The Fleet Ladies section was formed around the same time by some like-minded local ladies who wanted something to do during the winter months. They played their home matches on the same pitch at Calthorpe Park on alternate weeks to the Men’s team. Initially it was difficult to find other Ladies teams to play, but by the 1928/29 season many opposition fixtures had been secured and clubs played included Basingstoke, Godalming, Byfleet and Reading. The captain at the time was Miss Marjorie Pidwell.
Until the outbreak of WWII both Men’s and Ladies sides continued. Although there are limited details of the club and of matches played in this period, Hockey World Magazine reported in October 1936 that the club had secured ‘an attractive range of fixtures for the forthcoming season’ but that there was a need for a regular Men’s goalkeeper! These fixtures included matches for the Ladies against Camberley, Woking, Odiham, Aldershot Traction Co and Aldershot High School and for the Men included a number of military teams one being the Royal Artillery Ewshot as well as civilian clubs such as Alton, Ascot, Basingstoke and Woking.
Other regular opposition in the 1920’s and 1930’s was ‘Flamingoes’ from Camberley who beat Fleet 6-3 and 6-2 in 1927 and 1928 respectively with Fleet winning 7-3 in a match in 1931. Fleet also played Reading University in this period. Inevitably the club broke up as men enlisted, fought for their country and in some instances never came back from the war.
1946 – 1960 period
The club re-started after the war in August 1946. It initially concentrated on mixed hockey due to low member numbers and continued to play at the Calthorpe Park cricket ground. In October 1947 it was reported that the nets and posts had been destroyed (it is unclear who the perpetrators were) and that there was a need to find changing facilities for opposition teams. The number of fixtures was affected by the abolition of the basic petrol ration that limited the scope to travel to away matches.
In 1949/50 the club took part in a six-a-side tournament at Basingstoke and for the following season the Ladies became affiliated to the All England Women’s Hockey Association for the first time.
At the AGM in September 1953 it was reported that the club really needed a pitch of its own and the council would be approached for support. “A” Men’s 2nd XI was formed for the 1953/54 season. At the AGM the following year it was noted there were over thirty members on the Men’s side but that more Ladies were needed. A proposal was also made to hold an end of season Dinner for the first time.
The fixture list for the 1955/56 season saw the Men’s 1st XI playing no less than five military teams as well as familiar names such as Camberley, Trojans, Winchester, Haslemere, Havant, Andover and less familiar ones like Frensham and Odiham. The “A” team had similar opposition but less matches while the Ladies team played teams such as Flamingoes, Omegans, Woking Fawns and March Hares. Mr W. Edwards was still with the club and was now President.
By 1956/57 there were insufficient members to field a Ladies team although two Men’s teams continued, the 1st XI and the A XI through until the 1959/60 season. Unfortunately overall member numbers had declined and the club was then essentially mothballed and remained dormant for most of the 1960’s.
Re-launch of the club
In 1968 the club was effectively re-formed under the vision and guidance of Rex Morris who had formerly played for Spencer HC in London and was an active Southern Counties umpire throughout the 1960’s. He became Chairman of Fleet HC in 1971.
Trials for players were held in Calthorpe Park which were well attended by locals including members of Fleet Cricket Club and employees from Solartron, the large electronics company based in Farnborough (where future club player Brendon O’Malley a friend of Rex Morris worked). With many trialists new to the sport a selection of sticks was lined up against the club house so players could get a feel for the equipment! With agreement from the cricket club an area of the outfield was laid out for hockey.
At the time there were still no regular leagues so matches were friendlies for a few years against teams such as Courage (the brewery), Guildford Shadows, Masonians, Travaux, Silverwing and Swans. Initially there were only Men’s teams but for the 1971/72 season a Ladies team was formed. Interestingly for just this season the teams played in an all blue strip with annual subs of £3.50 for Men, £2.50 for Ladies and £1.50 for Under 18’s plus match fees of 25pence (Men/Mixed) or 20pence (Ladies) per match; a ‘beer kitty’ contribution could also be charged, a feature that lasted for many years!
Unfortunately the Ladies section was initially short-lived due to insufficient numbers only lasting a few seasons although the club was able to field regular mixed hockey teams. Ladies opposition in these seasons involved matches against Camberley, Southampton, Egham, Marlow, Gregarians and Old Issonians amongst others. Home matches also moved away from Calthorpe Park in the 1970’s following complaints from the cricket club that the outfield was being cut up and the home pitch was officially the Officers Club in Aldershot.
Introduction of League Hockey
With the advent of league hockey a decision was made to enter not the league for Hampshire or Surrey but the one covering Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire with the reason for this choice unclear. The club played in this league for six years from 1972/73 with the Men’s 1st XI being promoted in their first season from Division 3 and then performing solidly in Division 2 through to 1977/78. In these years league opposition came from places such as Henley, Banbury, Newbury, Woodley, Wallingford and Farnham Common.
The following season in order to benefit from a higher standard of matches the club moved to the Surrey League with the Men’s 1st XI winning Division 3 having been unbeaten all season. They repeated this feat the next season in Division 2 and were promoted to Division 1. In 1983/84 another unbeaten season saw the team promoted to the Hampshire/Surrey Regional League where they performed strongly in to the 1990’s. Leading goalscorers for the club in the 1970’s and 1980’s were Rex Morris’ sons Paul and Kim with league records showing Paul scoring 77 goals in 41 matches from 1975-88 and Kim 29 goals in 27 matches from 1977-87 for the Men’s 1st XI, but there were many more with Paul scoring over 100 in just one season when taking account of goals in Indoor, Mixed and Cup competitions – and Paul started off as a goalkeeper! And talking of goalkeepers while all these goals were going in for Fleet at one end, the inimitable Steve Davies Men’s 1st XI keeper for many of these years was thwarting most efforts against us at the other end!
The other Men’s teams playing in Hampshire also had their successes with the 2nd XI winning their leagues in 1981 and 1986 and the 3rd XI their league in 1988. Indoor hockey was popular in the 1970’s and 1980’s before the widespread use of Astroturf pitches and Fleet ran a number of teams entering four during 1986/87 and ended up winning the league that season. Matches took place in Fleet and Aldershot sports centres. In 1982 the Men’s 1st XI also won the Rushmoor Indoor League.
Club developments 1970’s - 2000
The Mixed teams played regularly on Sundays from the 1970’s to the early 2000’s. Opposition teams included RAE, ICI Paints (Slough), Ferranti and AWRE as well as more familiar names such as Havant, Andover and Yateley. In 1977/78 there was a Mixed match away at Ewshot with the unusual Bully-Off time of 11am! They also took part in tournaments and festivals at Windsor, Sunbury and Worthing. The interest in the mixed teams finally enabled there to be sufficient members to re-launch the Ladies section by the late 1980’s and there were regularly two Ladies teams by the mid 1990’s.
Teams from the club usually entered the Hampshire Cup each year sometimes progressing to the later stages (Men’s 1st XI reached semi-final in 1977/78) but never won it with strong clubs such as Havant and Fareham usually cleaning up. The Men’s 1st XI did however win the RAE Tournament that season.
After the one season of all blue strip, by the mid 1970’s the club colours had changed to amber shirt, blue shorts/skirts and amber socks and by the late 1970’s to yellow and black half shirts, black shorts/skirts and black socks with yellow tops. Club kit was available from Fleet Sports in the High Street. In the 1990/91 season the yellow on the shirts had been replaced by gold and the socks with a more familiar black and yellow striped design.
In addition to the Aldershot Officers Club with more teams being fielded other pitches used in the area were the polo fields at Aldershot, Gibraltar Barracks at Minley and in later years when Astro became available Sandhurst Sports Centre, Frogmore School in Yateley and Wellington College in Crowthorne.
In the pre Astro days training took place at various venues including Fleet Sports Centre and for some years in the 1980’s in the corner of Church Road car park in Fleet once the shoppers had removed their cars!
When the need to play home matches in Fleet became more pressing later in the 1970’s a plea was made by club President Dr. Scott (Rob’s father) to the council for support and in October 1977 they approved plans to lay out two pitches at the far end of Calthorpe Park. The club swung in to action to move the plans forward and in early 1978 organised a ‘baked bean’ eating contest which raised £250 towards the cost of the new pitches. Unfortunately progress was very slow but in September 1982 players and family members cleared debris from the site for the new pitches (it had previously been a refuse tip) to push matters forward with the hope they would be ready for the 1983/84 season – in the end it took until 1984/85!
In 1986 to coincide with Fleet HC’s 60th anniversary an agreement was reached with the cricket club and local company System Designers International for the club to use the recently improved and expanded Calthorpe Park clubhouse throughout the hockey season. [SDI used the clubhouse for employee social functions]. An event to launch the partnership was held at the start of the season with extensive publicity to attract new members. By this time the club had well over 100 members.
With its growing membership the club was able to take part in numerous other hockey activities outside regular league fixtures. These encompassed many pre and post-season tours and festivals including trips to the Isle of Man, Jersey, Weston Super Mare, Hailsham and Windsor. However the most ambitious and exciting was undoubtedly the Kenya Tour in 1988. This was organised by Alban and Shelagh De Souza who had joined the club in the 1980’s. Over 30 players and family members went on the highly successful trip which encompassed a number of matches against local sides. Alban and Shelagh were Men’s 1st XI and Ladies 1st XI captains for a number of years in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
In the league the Men’s sides continued to perform solidly. The Men’s 1st XI remained in the Hampshire/Surrey Regional League until the mid-1990’s when they were relegated. They were promoted back in 1997/98. Following the re-launch of the Ladies teams the 1st XI were regular members of Hampshire Division 1 with the Ladies 2nd XI also playing in the league and being used to develop younger and newer club members. The Ladies 1st XI was the best performing team in the club three times in the 1990’s per the criteria of the ‘Scott Cup’.
The 1990’s saw Fleet playing and training regularly on the local Astro pitches (but none in the town!) enabling the club to remain competitive with other clubs as the sport continued to evolve rapidly. The clubhouse in Calthorpe Park remained in use for post-match teas.
Off the pitch the end of season Dinner Dances continued to be well attended and were often held at local golf clubs which allowed some keen members a round during the afternoon before dressing for dinner! As well as the Scott Cup a number of other trophies recognising achievements during the season for teams and individuals were awarded during these evenings.
Into the 21st Century
With the ongoing logistics of using various Astro pitches becoming more difficult to manage the club was able to secure regular use of the two Army Astro pitches in Princes Avenue, Aldershot for matches and training from 2000. Although outside Fleet itself this nearby facility offered great potential for the club to develop teams and players
In this vein specific training for Juniors was geared up and usually took place on a Saturday morning before matches with members encouraged to come and support this before playing later in the day. A number of Junior friendly matches started to be arranged against local clubs. The club also started to attract U18s who were playing hockey at Farnborough 6th Form College.
At this time there were three Men’s, two Ladies and a Mixed team. The Men’s 1st XI was relegated back to Hampshire Division 1 in 2001/01 and remained consistently mid-table there until 2006/07 when they were unfortunately relegated to Division 2. The Men’s 2nd XI had a very strong season in 2004/05 winning Hampshire Division 3 comfortably only losing one match but unfortunately could not build on it the following year.
The Ladies 1st XI continued to perform strongly in the top Hampshire League but there was quite a gap to the 2nd XI which played in either Division 4 or Division 5 which made player movement between the teams tricky.
There were a number of key goal scorers for the club in this period including Paul Gibson, Gary Madge, Alban DeSouza and Matt DeSouza for the Men and Karen Ferguson (Videlo), Tessa Lewinton, Nicole Blackford, Adrienne Lavery and Bernice Gunn for the Ladies.
In 2007 in a nod to the past another overseas trip was organised when members went to Driehuis in Holland to take part in the Strawberries Easter Hockey Festival with other clubs from Holland, Belgium, France and the UK. A lot of fun was had and some hockey was played while wearing dazzling Tour shirts!

Ewshot HC

The Early Years

Ewshot Hockey Club was started in 1976 by predominantly villagers and members of Ewshot Cricket Club including Val Harder (Clive’s Dad) and Bob Dugay who were looking for some outdoor sporting activities for the winter period. Many other hockey clubs have originated in such a fashion with close association to local cricket clubs.
There is no record of the fixtures played in 1976 but the Club focused on friendlies and a number of members travelled to Jersey for a tournament as this is mentioned in the minutes of the first AGM held in 1977. At this meeting the annual subscription was set at £3 for adults and £1 for students.
At that early stage there was sufficient interest to form a Men's team, a Ladies team and a Mixed team and there were also plans to offer coaching to youth players despite the fact that there were only a few – a far-sighted approach and certainly unusual for a club of its size at the time. In June 1977 agreement was reached for the Juniors to use Ewshot Village Green for some training.

Matches were played at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Sandy Lane, Church Crookham. Not surprisingly it was a grass pitch which was very bumpy, not the smooth surface offered by (most) Astroturf. Fortunately a local farmer and club member volunteered to roll the pitch. In the following years as well as further rolling, members undertook marking and mowing and the key task of constructing the backboards for the goals! The lawnmower was stored in a nearby building.
The QE Barracks was the home of the Gurkha Regiment and Ewshot members recall watching the Gurkhas play hockey in full kit and gas masks! Unfortunately usage of the Queen Elizabeth Barracks came to an end in 1987 following a decision to turn the hockey pitch into a football pitch. The site of course is now lost under the Crookham Park development.
By 1981 the club had sufficient female players to form a second Ladies team with overall membership now up to about forty committed players.

League Hockey

Matches continued to be friendlies until 1982 when the decision was made to enter both Men's and Ladies teams into the Hampshire leagues. In the 1982/83 season the Men's team finished fifth in their league which was a considerable achievement at their first attempt, while the Ladies 1st team also had a great season winning 14 out of 19 games. The Ladies 2nd team managed to win five matches in their initial season. There were also Men's and Ladies Indoor sides playing during this season with mid-week indoor hockey still prevalent during the 1980’s.
The season before the club entered the Hampshire leagues there was a stand-out performance by the Ladies in one match beating Alton 14-0 with leading goalscorer Elaine Wightman (Alderton) netting a double hat-trick!

Development of the club
Unlike Astro pitches which enable matches at various times across the day, in the 1970’s and 1980’s it was usual for matches to be played early afternoon normally starting at 2:15pm (or 2.45pm if still BST). This tended to cause problems when there were two Ladies teams playing at home on the same day and therefore the club sought another pitch.
In 1982 agreement was reached with Crondall Parish Council for the use of the outfield of the cricket pitch. Again this required volunteer support to mark out the pitch once the requisite line marking equipment had been acquired. So at this time considerable effort was required to mark out and set up the goals on pitches a few miles apart on the morning ahead of matches and then take down the goals afterwards.
With the loss of the pitch at QE Barracks, Ewshot started to use grass pitches in Aldershot owned by the Army in the 1987/1988 season and in about 1990 were able to play on the (one) Astro turf pitch in Princes Ave, being the only civilian club at the time to make use of this new facility.
Unfortunately Aldershot Garrison decided no further civilian use was going to be allowed on this pitch after the end of the 1992/93 season. However a new Astroturf pitch was being constructed at RAF Odiham which was used for a number of years. The club also played on pitches at Oak Farm Community School, Farnborough Sixth Form College and Ash Manor School in Aldershot.
Although a small club Ewshot enjoyed a reasonable amount of success in the leagues with the Men's team finishing runners up in Hampshire Division 3 in the 1997/98 season and being promoted to Division 2. The following season the Men were again runners up and went up to Division 1.
The Ladies 1st team also had successes with two promotions in three seasons - in the 2000/01 season as runners up in Hampshire Division 5 and in 2002/03 as runners up in Hampshire Division 4. During this time the club’s main coach was ex-Welsh international Lorraine Sharpe who remained with Ewshot until 2003.
In 2001 after some research and liaison with schools, a ‘Colts section’ was set-up for the 2001/02 season having secured some Lottery funding support. Links with schools particularly Greenfields School in Hartley Wintney were facilitated through having three players who taught there. Colts training and coaching took place at Lord Wandsworth College.
The Colts section continued to grow with teams at U12, U14 and U16 representing the club. Notable performances at the time included a 9-1 win against Camberley by the U14 team. By January 2002 there were more than 40 Juniors regularly training every week with some players progressing to Hampshire County coaching sessions. Such success was reflected in sponsorship being obtained from Redfields Garden Centre in Church Crookham for the Junior section. The club continued to develop its teams particularly the Juniors up to the merger with Fleet in 2007.
Ewshot was always a very welcoming and social club with the village hall hosting Christmas parties as well as cabarets and shows performed by members; there were also a number of tours particularly to the Isle of Wight and club member organised ski trips!

Fleet & Ewshot HC

With an already good relationship, close proximity, shared outlook and complementary strengths a pooling of resources of the two clubs was a logical step to take. Fleet and Ewshot (F&E) merged at the end of the 2006/07 season. The new club’s foundations were greater depth in the Adult teams, a stronger Youth section, a wider coaching capability and the use of excellent facilities at the Army Hockey Centre in Aldershot. The merged club had four Men’s and three Ladies teams, an occasional Mixed team and many more Juniors from U12 to U16.
The Lytle Pavilion clubhouse was constructed in the early 2000’s between the pitches at Princes Ave and this became fully available to the club for post-match teas and hospitality, use previously having been limited to just the changing rooms. A few years later a change of policy by the Defence Contractor managing the Aldershot Garrison again led to restricted use. After a somewhat tricky relationship for a period the club regained full use for weekend matches as well as evening training from 2015.
With the merged teams bedded in the club looked to develop further through investment in new coaching resources with particular emphasis on growing the Youth sides. Ewshot’s previous relationship with Lord Wandsworth College was maintained with Junior training continuing there for a number of years.
Well known local coach Angie Cottee was brought in to the club so F&E could establish relationships with local schools, provide coaching on-site at schools and attract new Junior members to the club, a policy that worked extremely well. In subsequent years the number and spread of Junior teams increased from U8 through to U16 and in some seasons to U18.
A key aspect in growing and improving the club was seeking ClubMark accreditation from England Hockey. This required considerable effort by the committee and other members and was finally completed in early 2018 at which time F&E was only the second club in Hampshire to receive it. Since then the accreditation has been renewed twice and through this process updated plans for the ongoing development of all facets of the club have been put in place.
Since the merger the Adult teams have had mixed fortunes. Following some re-organisation of the Hampshire League the Men’s 1st XI played for a number of years in Division 3, were relegated to Division 4 in 2015/16, but then bounced back convincingly with successive promotions in 2018/19 and 2019/20 winning the league on both occasions and scoring 105 goals in the 2019/20 season. The other Men’s teams played in lower Hampshire leagues with younger and developing players able to be introduced to Adult hockey through the Men’s 3rd XI and 4th XI’s.
A few years after the merger due to the loss of a number of players moving out of the area it was only possible to field two Ladies teams. In 2013/14 the Ladies 1st XI secured promotion to Hampshire Division 3 with the 2nd XI playing in Division 6. With the introduction of Back2Hockey sessions aimed at former players and through developing younger ones it was possible to re-launch a Ladies 3rd XI in 2015/16 and then start a 4th XI in 2018/19. By this season the progress made in the Ladies section was clearly apparent with the 1st XI up to Division 2, the 2nd XI in Division 4, the 3rd XI in Division 6 and the new 4th XI in Division 7.
Under their inspirational coach and previous long term club player the late Chris Bennett the Ladies 1st XI also had a double success in the Hampshire Trophy winning it in 2018 and 2019. On the first occasion the final was held at Princes Ave as F&E hosted the Hampshire (Cup Finals) Day for the third successive year.
Following the introduction of the new England Hockey regions from 2021/22 the club elected to join the South East region. So instead of some far flung trips to the likes of Bournemouth, the Isle of Wight and Dorset some of the teams now go to deepest Croydon. Since then both the Men’s 1st XI and Ladies 1st XI have played in the respective Division 1 Oaks leagues. The other Adult teams play in lower Oaks Divisions. There are currently five regular Men’s teams, four regular Ladies teams, occasional Men’s and Ladies Masters and Mixed teams, Junior teams at Minis, U12, U14, U16 and U18 for Girls and Boys plus an U18 Mixed team.
Through the concerted efforts of the committee, coaches, members, parents, umpires and supporters the club has been able to undertake, develop and support many other hockey related activities in recent years. These have encompassed:
 Back2Hockey sessions for Men’s and Ladies where former players of any age are able to re-start playing again have proved very successful with a number of parents of Junior members tempted back while watching from the sidelines

  • Encouraging members across family groups to play for the club, often when youngsters follow their parents lead and also through the Back2Hockey sessions
  • Hosting charity matches and events including a number for Hockey4Heroes
  • Improving and developing many new coaches, providing better coaching across the club and ensuring healthy numbers of Juniors can be put forward for Hampshire County training sessions each year. We are very fortunate to have our current club coaching lead by ex-international Lisa Scarborough
  • Successfully encouraging new and developing high quality umpires across the club with National League umpire and long-term club member Alan Dow taking the lead on this (we currently have 8 qualified umpires)
  • Providing informal summer hockey so members are able to keep playing all year round (if they wish!)
  • Providing a welcoming environment to all and offering a number and variety of social events for all ages in the club

Although the club does not play at the most elevated levels of the game it provides a high quality hockey environment for players of all abilities. And we are very proud to have provided the foundation for a number of players to progress to National League clubs as well as to National selections. For the latter these have included Alban De Souza (England and GB O50’s), Dan Wall (England O40’s), Amy Cradden (Wales squad), Paddy Cradden (Wales U18 squad) Jack Hobkirk (England U18 squad), Will Caine (Wales U18 squad) and Archie Rutherford (Scotland U16 squad).
Numerous club stalwarts have helped shape Fleet & Ewshot and the former clubs over the years (far too many to list here) but none more so than Rob Scott who has been ever present for 53 years, President for the last 20 years, undertaken many roles in that time and undoubtedly been our greatest ambassador. His parents were instrumental in developing the club and his mother and grandmother were also keen players for a number of years. Clive Harder will soon celebrate 50 years with Ewshot / Fleet & Ewshot and has been a highly energetic and keen supporter of the club’s activities both pre and post-merger through a number of roles including Chairman and particularly in developing Junior players. And not far behind ever present club member also approaching the 50 year mark is Simon Dearnley another great servant and still frustrating opposing strikers and making great clearances at the heart of our defence.

The Future – the next 100 years

For a relatively small club, Fleet & Ewshot HC and before that Fleet HC and Ewshot HC has achieved an enormous amount over our first century. It has indeed been quite a ride!
The club is in a strong position as we head in to our next 100 years. We will remain an inclusive club promoting social and competitive hockey in the Fleet and Ewshot communities and surrounding area and will continue to focus on developing players of all ages and abilities. There is much to look forward to, so let’s go!

Further reading