In 1913, the Liberal government led by Herbert Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC, FRS [1852-1928] from 1908 to 1916, introduced the so-called ‘Cat and Mouse Act’, during which Suffragette leaders on hunger strikes could be released from prison, allegedly in order to recover their health, and subsequently re-arrested on the original charge. The WSPU responded by establishing an all-woman protection unit referred to as the ‘Bodyguard’, to safeguard fugitive suffragettes from re-arrest.
Edith Garrud became the first person to train members of the Bodyguard in the art of jiu-jitsu, and the use of Indian clubs as defensive weapons, at secret locations to avoid police attention. The Bodyguard fought a number of hand-to-hand battles with police officers which were attempting to arrest their leaders, most famously during the so-called ‘Battle of Glasgow’ in March 1914 and two months later during the WSPU ‘Raid on Buckingham Palace’.
On several occasions they were able to stage successful escapes and rescues, by making tactical use of disguise and the use of decoys to confuse the police. A number of such incidents were exposed in an unpublished account written by Bodyguard member Katherine ‘Kitty’ Marshall, née Willoughby, [1870-1947] called ‘Suffragette Escapes and Adventures’.
The sixty-three year reign of Queen Victoria [1819-1901] was fast approaching its end, and with it the close of the Victorian era. During which the urban dwellers of the impoverished districts of London endured gruelling times. Particularly the slums of the infamous Whitechapel area of the East End, which were plagued by thieves and street ruffians, including a mounting number of brutal attacks, customarily upon female prostitutes, attributed to the mysterious serial killer known as Jack the Ripper. As a consequence, it is suggested that in 1898–1902 the mixed martial art system known as Bartitsu was developed as an effective means of self-defence, allowing men and women to live without fear of attack.
Bartitsu is identified as the first mixed martial art system to combine both the Western and Eastern martial arts systems utilising methods developed to incapacitate or restrain bigger and stronger assailants. At the time Bartitsu was not considered a competitive sport, its aim being to quickly take control and safely resolve a situation by integrating the fighting methods of early bare-knuckle boxing, with low kicks, grappling and rudimentary forms of weaponry.
Motivated by his visit to the USA, where Fr. Schröder had witnessed the popularity and widespread development of mini-golf courses across the country. On his return home in 1926 Schröder was inspired to build the first mini-golf course in Hamburg Germany. And many other mainland European countries were similarly motivated by the American mini-golf boom of the 1930s, and as a consequence numerous mini-golf courses were developed leading to a European rise in the sport which still continues to flourish.
‘Pia’s Minigolf’. Meersburg, Baden-Württemberg. Germany Swedish Min-golf Youth Championship 2020
And yet there are few places in Europe that can boast a mini-golf history to compare with that of the city of Eskilstuna, in Södermanland County, Sweden. It began in the 1920s when Edwin O Norrman moved to the USA, where he spent ten years witnessing the golden years of the American mini-golf boom. He returned to Sweden in 1930, armed with a host of innovative ideas, and together with his close friend, Eskil Norman, formed a company, ‘Norman & Norrman Miniatyrgolf’. Its goal being to introduce mini-golf to Sweden, and develop standardised mini-golf and crazy golf courses in public parks and other suitable locations through the Country.
The oldest course, the Eskilstuna Bangolfklubb [EBGK], was founded in 1932 and was curiously closed down in 1933, but then re-opened in 1934. During the 1950s and 1960s, EBGK won three Swedish championship gold medals. EBGK was one of the seven clubs which originally founded the Swedish Mini-golf Federation [Svenska Bangolfförbundet].
Founded in 1937 the Swedish Mini-golf Federation is the oldest mini-golf sport organisation in the world, with a registered membership of approximately 10,000 competition players. National Swedish Mini-golf Championships have been played annually since 1939. By 2006-2007, Sweden had become a European Mini-golf super power, closely followed by Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Eskilstuna Bangolfklubb
In 1955 Dr. Walter Spier introduced mini-golf to the spa town of Traben-Trarbach, which lies in the ‘Valley of Dawn’ at the foot of the former fort of Mont Royal on the banks of the Middle Moselle in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The country’s first mini-golf club was founded in Traben-Trarbach in 1958, two years after the first German national championships were held there.
By 1960 mini-golf was becoming incredibly popular, with 15,000 people playing on Hamburg’s five miniature golf courses. And five years later, over 100 miniature golf courses existed in Germany.
With more than 20 million Germans now playing the sport for fun, it is claimed there are about 4,000 courses in Germany, and more than 300 mini-golf clubs. According to the 2002 World Minigolfsport Federation [WMF] it is ‘the ninth most popular leisure time sport activity of the Germans’. With a national federation of 11,000 competing members, a national coaching structure has been established to support the junior, adult and senior national teams.
Austria emerged relatively late on the European mini-golf scene, when it formed the ÖMSV [Österreichischer Minigolf-Sportverband] in 1961. Two years later it created the ÖSVM [Österreichischer Miniaturgolf-Sportverband] in Vienna. The two organisations, Minigolf and Miniaturgolfverband, were amalgamated in 1967 with the establishment of the ÖBGSV.
Both Austria and near neighbours Switzerland can lay claim to a few thousand licensed competition players, and even though Italy, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands cannot count their licensed players in thousands, they have traditionally all sent strong teams to compete in international championships.
Fifty-four players took part in the first known Finnish championship in the south western city of Pori, in 1973, and an annual championship has been played ever since. Finland’s first concrete course was built in Pori in 1988.
The Turku Mini-golf Club was founded on the southwest coast of Finland in the city of Turku the following year. The region was originally called Suomi [Finland], which was later taken as the name for the Country. But it is said the oldest mini-golf club in Finland is in the ancient early 17 century city of Vaasa on Finland’s west coast. The Finnish Mini-golf Association was founded in 1980, and became a member of the WMF in the same year. Still in their infancy Hungary and Latvia joined the World Mini Golf Sport Federation in 1996.
The Israeli Mini-golf Association [IMA] was formed in 2010, and there are now a number of attractive mini-golf courses in prime locations situated around Israel. Since its formation it has founded the first competitive league, playing in accordance with the rules of WMF [World Mini-golf Sport Federation] and USPMGA.
Today almost all European countries have an official national federation for promoting mini-golf as a competitive sport, which young and old can enjoy on a regular basis. The bi-annual European Championships attract competitors from more than 20 European countries. Most of which were not founded until the late 1950s, due to the economic recession which followed World War II.
The European Mini-golf Sport Federation [EMF] was established in Romania in 1959. Its members are national mini-golf federations, and it is the umbrella organisation for mini-golf players throughout Europe. Managed by an Executive Board it hosts a delegate’s conference every two years. Competitions promoted by the EMF include the European Championships, Nations Cups, and the Mini-golf Champions League Final, which was formerly known as the European Cup. The Seniors World Championship is supported by the EMF, while World & European Youth Competitions are promoted by the WMF.
Many of the mini-golf federations in mainland Europe receive annual funding from their respective governments, but in England, where the British Mini-golf Association [BMGA] was founded in 1998, the national sports organisation Sport England refuse to accept the BMGA as a member. Since Sport England can only accept one variant of a sport into membership, mini-golf is not accepted as it is designated a variant of conventional golf.
Internationally the sport of miniature golf is governed by the WMF, which represents around 40,000 registered competition players from 37 countries. It has its headquartered in Göteborg, Sweden, from where it organises biennial World Championships for youth and elite players, and Continental Championships in Europe, Asia and the United States. Even though the playing skills of Men and women are recognised as being similar, they continue to compete separately in competition. The exception being some team competitions and pairs competitions.
The WMF is a member of Sport Accord, a global not-for-profit sports event organisation involved in the development and business of sport. Sport Accord annually brings together representatives from more than 125 International Sport Federations.
As a result of the interest shown in miniature golf by a number of celebrity golfers, such as the legendary ‘Golden Bear’, Jack Nicklaus [Born 1940], one of the greatest golfers of all time, country club style miniature golf courses began to make a comeback towards the end of the 1990s. And today a select number of miniature golf tournaments are held on Mini-golf Open Standard courses [MOS] in conjunction with some specific major events. Most common in North America and Great Britain, these types of tournament course were approved by the WMF in 2007, in an attempt to strengthen the position of the WMF and develop the mini-golf movement worldwide.
The most prestigious MOS mini-golf competitions include:
The US Masters Tournament: Held at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, one of the most famous and exclusive golf clubs in the world. The Masters Tournament Par-3 contest is a golf competition that precedes the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. The first Par-3 contest was held before the 1960 tournament.
The US Open Championship: This 72 hole open national championship is staged annually by the USGA over a variety of different golf courses.
The Open Championship: Often referred to as The British Open, is the oldest and arguably the most prestigious golf tournament in the world. Founded in 1860, it now rotates between a select number of coastal links courses in the United Kingdom, under the authority of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. The Open is one of the four major golf tournaments, the others being the Masters Tournament, the PGA Championship and the US Open Championship.
The World Crazy Golf Championships [WCGC]: Inaugurated in 2003, is held annually at the Adventure Golf Complex on the Crazy Golf Course located on the seafront at Hastings, East Sussex. Players from all over the world compete for the prestigious trophy;
The World Adventure Golf Masters [WAGM]: The WAGM was also founded in Hastings in 2011 where it was held for the first three years. It is an annual miniature golf competition organised by the WMF for competitors from around the world.
There are also two organisations arranging national tournaments in the USA:
The Professional Putters Association [PPA]: Founded in 1959 by Don Clayton, the founder of Putt-Putt Golf, the organisation was formed to provide tournaments and competition for those who viewed putting as a sport. The PPA has awarded over $8,000,000 in prize money since its inception.
The US Pro Mini-Golf Association [USPMGA]: The USPMGA has represented the USA in the WMF since 1995. Known for its PGA Style tournaments it incorporates divisions for professionals, seniors [50+], women, and juniors [12 and under], the association also has a division for beginners.
No player is likely to earn sufficient to make a living from competing in mini-golf tournaments, although some may take home sufficient by engaging in a variety of types of work associated the sport. The highest amounts of prize money are invariably earned in the USA, where the winners of major competitions can pocket as much as $ 5,000.
Conversely in mainland Europe financial reward is extremely rare, including from international championships, where the pleasure of victory is usually the only reward remaining to cherish.
Only a small number of countries outside Europe have participated in international mini-golf competitions, including China, India, Japan, Taiwan, and the USA. And although national mini-golf federations exist in Australia, Mexico, Moldova, and New Zealand, very few players having ever participated in international events from any of these countries
In 1961 Arnold Palmer Enterprises was created and developed to incorporate a myriad of different business ventures, when the legendary golfer’s name became licensed and franchised to a wide-range of activities and products, including an Arnold Palmer Hospital for Women and Children, Dry Cleaning centres, and an Arnold Palmer foot detergent.
The first British Arnold Palmer mini-golf course opened in Coventry in 1965, as part of an Arnold Palmer Driving range. Palmer Mini-golf Courses quickly spread throughout Britain, and became as much a part of the British seaside as buckets and spades, cod & chips and sporadic rain showers. They included all the elements that made Crazy Golf fun, often featuring holes taken from Palmer’s favourite courses.
Fortunately, one of the very best examples of an Arnold Palmer Putting Course, which opened in 1975, can still be found at Hastings Adventure Golf in East Sussex.
Hastings – Home of the World Crazy Golf Championships Arnold Palmer Putting Course Skegness in 2015
Sadly over the years a great many of the UK Arnold Palmer Putting Courses have been abandoned and demolished, or converted beyond recognition. And nowadays, there is no reference to Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf on the Arnold Palmer website.
The Arnold Palmer branded miniature golf courses were once a major part of ‘Arnie’s Empire’, and by 1966 there were 130 Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the USA, with ten in Japan and some in South Africa.
All forms of competition approved by the WMF are played on one of four different types of standardised course, where the design has been checked and confirmed as being suitable for competitive play. They are:
BETON: sometimes called ‘Bongni’ after Paul von Bongni, the Swiss garden designer, who had the foresight to patent the name ‘Mini-golf’, and standardise the sport by specifying 18 types of holes and obstacle, and the order in which they were to be played. The holes were defined to be ten to twelve metres in length and one and a quarter metres wide.
Beton Design
In the early 1950s the first Swiss designed, visually uninspiring, Beton concrete course was built in Locarno near Lake Maggiore, Switzerland, where it still exists and is used by the Bosco Isolino Club. .
The first Beton championship held in Europe took place in 1959 in the small tourist resort of Gardone, situated in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy, on the western shore Lake Garda. Within the next three years 120 Beton courses had been established throughout Europe.
ETERNIT: sometimes called ‘Europabana’, ‘Miniaturgolf’ or ‘Abteilung 2’. This European variant was invented by German businessman Albert-Rolf Pless. The first Eternit course was opened at the ‘Planten un Bloomen’ Leisure Park in Hamburg in 1958, and the First European Eternit championships were held in 1963 in Dortmund, the third-largest city of Germany’s federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Players are not allowed to stand on Eternit courses, which are constructed of board tracks partly covered with linoleum, incorporating a range of curious examples of obstacles allegedly designed by the Hamburg University of Arts, which at a distance give the impression of a children’s play area.
Eternit Design
A demonstration of the Eternit method of the sport of mini-golf was given at the 1989 World Games in Karlsruhe, Germany.
The world record for a perfect round of mini-golf is 18 strokes over 18 holes on an Eternit designed course. More than a thousand players are recorded as having officially achieved this score. A perfect round played over 18 holes on any of the other approved playing systems is extremely rare, and as yet has never been achieved in an official national or international tournament.
FELT: sometimes called ‘Swedish felt runs’. Sweden and Finland are known for their Felt courses, which have become quite popular in Europe.
Felt Design
A player is not allowed to stand on Felt courses to play a stroke, as it risks contaminating the surface of the course. As the name suggests the playing surface are felt, and the borders are made of wood, with the length of some of the holes much longer than those on mini-golf courses. The design of the holes used may be selected from a variety of around 40 different types, although not all of these are used in competition play.
MINI-GOLF OPEN STANDARD or MOS: A non-standard system relating to all mini-golf courses not covered by the three other standardised systems.
Mini-Golf Open Standard Design
The final hole of a great many miniature golf courses is designed to capture the ball at the end of a round, in order to prevent players from playing an additional ‘free round’. A popular method often used depicts the face of a clown, and if the ball enters the clown’s mouth, a bell sounds and the player wins a free game.
‘Glow in the dark’, miniature golf courses have also become quite popular in the cold, darker climates of countries like Canada and Finland.
Glow in the Dark
The British writer Andy Miller’s book ‘Tilting At Windmills [How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Sport]’ tells the story of the former sports atheist who, at the age of thirty, decided to try to change his way of life and become a lover of sport. After shivering for a season in the stands at Queens Park Rangers FC, he endured several futile attempts to learn to love other sports, before really showing his commitment by taking up the one sport which would ultimately become dear to his heart … crazy golf !
Ultimately, he headed for Europe where he competed in numerous international miniature golf events. In the Guardian’s review of the book it reported,
‘He proves himself to be an amusing and occasionally very funny writer. That may sound like faint praise, but it really isn’t, the writing of halfway decent comic prose being a skill even more underrated than winning a Crazy Golf hole’.
The ultimate ambition of the WMF is to have mini-golf recognised and included as an Olympic sport, with the first step being to achieve the inclusion of mini-golf in the World Games. However, snobbery and social suffocation by some of the members of the established golfing world still grips like poison ivy.
Golf has been played on the links at St Andrews since the 15 century and became a way of life for many local people. No one can precisely say who is to be credited with the invention of miniature golf, except that in the late 19 century the St. Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club undoubtedly initiated its evolution. So when next you chance to pass by a mini-golf course, perhaps during a stroll along the promenade at your favourite resort, take time to pause and reflect upon the essential contribution made by those youthful ladies of St. Andrews, which so many of us now enjoy.
Although 1867 was not a particularly historical year, it did mark the conclusion of almost thirty years of Queen Victoria’s [1819-1901] sixty-four-year reign. It also gave rise to a number of significant British sporting clubs, including the oldest Scottish Association Football Club Queen’s Park FC, and the Sheffield Wednesday FC which also came into being, when it was inaugurated at the Adelphi Hotel in Sheffield. It was initially an offshoot of The Wednesday Cricket Club and went by the name of The Wednesday Football Club until it changed to its present title in 1929. In common with all rugby union clubs at the time, the Wasps Football Club kicked off as an amateur team. Now known as the Wasps Rugby Football Club it was based in Middlesex, West London until 2014 when it relocated to the 32,000 seat Ricoh Arena in Coventry.
However, arguably the most remarkable sporting creation of that specific year was the foundation of the oldest miniature golf course which still in existence, the St. Andrews Ladies’ Putting Club. Founded as a ladies only member’s club, it was required to closely observe the masculine self-indulgent customs of the day, declaring it undignified and conspicuously unladylike to raise a golf club past shoulder height.
Around 1860, caddies from the St. Andrews course laid out a small putting area, close to where the Rusacks Hotel now stands, just a flick with a sand-wedge from the world-famous 18th hole of the Old Course. There they would pass the time of day polishing up their putting skills while waiting for a golfer to engage their services.
At the time croquet, battledore and archery were just some of the sporting pastimes in which respectable young women might actively engage. But when the caddies’ course was quiet, a few of the more adventurous young ladies would venture out and play, which resulted in significant friction developing between the caddies and the spirited ladies. So much so that a piece of ground to the north of the Swilcan Burn was put aside, where the ladies could indulge in a little demure putting, as long as they remained ladylike and didn’t make too much noise. The ground was rough and pitted with rabbit holes and was used by local washer-women to dry their clothes. Nonetheless, a nine-hole miniature links was laid out by the St. Andrews keeper of the green and professional, Old Tom Morris [1821-1908], and the vilified ladies were presented with their own little piece of St Andrews upon which the St Andrews Ladies’ Golf Club was formed.
Situated in the North Atlantic Ocean to the north east of Cuba, and north of the British Virgin Islands, lies the self-governing British overseas territory of Bermuda. With its tropical, climate, sandy beaches and clear blue waters, it attracts more than half a million visiting tourists each year.
Bermuda plays host to the primary Royal Navy base located in the western hemisphere, where it was not long before its naval and military personnel introduced and formalised a number of sports, including cricket, football, rugby and tennis, which were popular back home. The first recorded cricket match held in Bermuda was in 1844, and the following year the Bermuda Cricket Club was formed, assisted with the helping hands of British troops.
From time to time, the Bermuda national cricket team played matches against visiting international teams as they travelled between their organised tours of the West Indies. One such fixture held in 1972 against a New Zealand national team, captained by Graham Dowling [born 1937], was even granted first-class status. The match, held in Hamilton, one of the smallest capital cities in the world, was won by New Zealand by an innings and 31 runs.
During a match against Yorkshire during a cricket festival in 1964, the traditionally strict rule which prohibited anyone born outside Yorkshire from representing the ‘White Rose’ county, was temporarily abandoned in order to allow for an eminent ringer, the Barbadian, Gary Sobers [born 1936], to become the first person to turn out for the ‘Tykes’ in several games captained by Brian Close.[1931-2015]. His impact was immediate, as in his initial appearance he returned a score of 117, to dig his team out of a hole as it floundered on 48 for 5. Close summoned up the greatest praise he could possibly muster, when he said, ‘I wish Sobers was a Yorkshireman’.
A further thirty years would elapse before regular tours by West Indian, and other international teams, would become common place. And yet since 2006, after the government of Bermuda proudly announced its intention to provide substantial financial support for the development of its cricket and football teams, Britain’s oldest overseas territory still remains relatively unknown in terms of sporting achievement.
Even the most ardent of cricket fanatics might struggle to name a prominent Bermudian Test and international cricketer. It’s a tough ask, but why not try Dwayne ‘Sluggo’ Leverock for size!
Born in 1971, the mightily built former Bermudian spin bowler, and defender of a copious appetite, appropriately lived above an Indian restaurant, and once self-righteously revealed to a BBC Sport reporter, ‘There’s another one next door too !’
Dwayne weighed in for the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies at a stout 20 stone [280 pounds–127 kilos], and yet the beefy ‘Sluggo’ was not the heaviest man to ever play international cricket. That dubious record goes to the all-rounder and former Australian captain, Warwick ‘The Big Ship’ Armstrong, [1879-1947], who played 50 Test matches for the ‘Baggy Greens’ between 1902 and 1921, tipped the scales at around 22 stone [308 pounds -140 kilos].
Away from cricket ‘Sluggo’ Leverock was a jailer who drove a prison van and, in all probability, even the most hardened criminals would know how to behave in his presence, while no doubt enjoying his amusing recall of cricketing anecdotes.
‘Sluggo’ Leverock
Built like a bouncer rather than a bowler, the slow .left arm orthodox spinner proved an enormous asset to the Bermuda cricket team, both in terms of wicket-taking and entertainment value.
Leverock represented his country in all eight of its ICC Intercontinental Cup matches. In his first-class losing debut against the USA in Hamilton in 2004, his bowling average from a 16 over spell was 7 wickets at a cost of 57 runs. In the following year, against the Cayman Islands in Toronto, Bermuda declared after posting a first innings score of 387 for 7, when in the Burmuda attack, the resolute ‘Sluggo’ assembled an overall total of 11 wickets for 72 runs from his 39 over combined spell, ensuring victory by an innings and 105 runs.
His final first-class appearance came in the ICC International Cup against Namibia in the National Stadium, Hamilton, in early September 2008. Namibia won the match by 103 runs, and ‘Sluggo’ bowed out with 3 wickets at a cost of 88 runs, his contribution with the willow also nothing special, just an easily forgotten single run from 12 deliveries.
From 2006 to 2009 the cricketing cop featured in 11 One Day International matches. Making his debut in Bermuda’s first ever ODI against Canada in Port of Spain, where he claimed a solitary wicket in the ‘Gombay Warriors’ three wicket victory, decided after employing the complicated Duckworth-Lewis mathematical method to obtain the result.
Dwayne collected the first ODI five-wicket haul by a Bermudian bowler in 2006, when he opened the bowling in an ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Kenya at the Mombasa Sports Club Ground. No mean feat for a spinner, he scooped up 5 wickets for 53 runs. Sadly the ‘Gombay Warriors’ came up short once again, this time by a margin of 104 runs.
The first of of the right-handed batsman’s two half-centuries for his Country came against the Netherlands in a drawn game in the 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup, in the South African capital Pretoria. ‘Sluggo’ posted a score of 51, including 8 fours, sharing a 132 run partnership with the left-handed batsman David Hemp [born 1970] from the Glamorgan Free State, who contributed 247 in Bermuda’s first innings total of 620. It is said ‘Sluggo’ enjoyed his time at the crease so much that he expressed dissent when he was given out lbw, and was consequently fined for the action. His second half-century, a score of 52, was again made in a match against the Netherlands in the second innings of the 2007 ICC Intercontinental Cup match in Amstelveen, which the Netherlands won by an innings and 44 runs after knocking up a first innings total of 410.
His final ODI appearance came three years later against the Netherlands in the Group B ICC World Cup Qualifying event in Potchefstroom, South Africa. After setting Bermuda a target of 304 to chase in the 50 over contest, the Netherlands ran out trouble-free winners by 63 runs. In his 10 over spell with the ball ‘Sluggo’ conceded 39 runs and took one wicket, and only contributed 5 runs in his final visit to the crease.
In a warm up game against England in Saint Vincent, in preparation for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the clumsy looking Leverock collected the wicket of the captain of the 2007-2008 England ODI team, and Durham CCC all-rounder, Paul Collingwood [born 1976], who was drawn forward edging the ball into the safe hands of keeper Dean Minors [born 1970]. Moreover he added to his tally the scalp of the celebrated right-handed South African-born batsman, Kevin Pietersen [born 1980]. Who it is said had been quietly chuckling at some of ’Sluggo’s’ deliveries, but the smile was ultimately wiped from his features when the wily Leverock tempted him out of his crease, the bails whipped off and he was stumped. The England captain, Michael Vaughan [born 1974], praised Leverock’s performance saying,
‘He bowled very well. Any spinner that drags Kevin Pietersen out of his crease and does him in the flight, is a good bowler’.
Predictably it was Sluggo’s imposing 20-stone gargantuan girth the cameras spotlighted, yet England still managed comfortably to find a way around the biggest obstacle in Bermudan cricket, registering a tidy total of 286 runs for the loss of 8 wickets to record a crushing 241 run warm-up win. Subsequently, after disintegrating to a miserable total of 45 all out, Bermuda was labelled rank outsider for the cup.
The England team may well have been as fit as a warehouse full of butcher’s dogs, but were no match for the podgy policeman’s 10 over quality bowling spell of 2 for 32, which resulted in cult following throughout the cricketing world. He told BBC Sport:
‘It was the first time I have played against a team like this. I settled into a rhythm, and when I settled, I took wickets.’
In the second over of the game against India, Leverock took a stunning, diving one-handed slip catch to dismiss Robin Uthappa [born 1985] off the right-arm medium-fast bowling of Malachi Jones [born 1989]. It was Jones’ first ball in World Cup Cricket, and one of the most replayed pieces of sporting action in 2007, triggering seismic celebrations and delighting devotees of cricket across the globe. Leverock also took the wicket of Yuvraj Singh [born 1981], although his 10 over haul at a cost of 96 runs was expensive.
Following a memorable year Dwayne remarked,
‘A lot of people do recognize me now, which surprised me. I noticed it most coming through Heathrow on our tour of Europe. English people, Indians, Sri Lankans, anyone who knew cricket seemed to recognize me. Quite a few came up and asked for a picture or an autograph, which is a nice feeling’.’
When asked what his personal highlights were for 2007, Dwayne recalled,
‘Obviously the catch was one of my highlights and the two wickets I took against England.’ And on the subject of the two England dismissals, ‘I saw Peterson was trying to come down the wicket and I thought he would toss it up higher and wider. He came down the track, tried to drive, missed and Dean Minors took off the bails. With Collingwood it was just a delivery that pitched on off stump and turned in a bit. I wasn’t trying to do nothing special, just do what I do every week’.
‘I heard it was on the back page of every paper in England. I knew I’d done something pretty good but I didn’t expect the coverage to be that huge. It was on various newspaper reviews and the catch was described as the ‘catch of the year’ in CricInfo’.
The Bermuda coach Gus Logie [born 1960], a former West Indies international cricketer, and enthusiastic admirer of Leverock said,
‘He’s big and because of that he attracts a lot of attention, but it does not deter him’.
Dwayne only made two appearances in T20I cricket. His debut against Scotland in Belfast in 2008, when Scotland, with just 14 balls remaining, posted a score of 100 to win by 8 wickets. His last appearance came on the same day against Ireland, which the home side won by 4 runs after settling for a paltry score of 43 for 7, using the Duckworth Lewis method.
Leverock announced his retirement from international cricket in 2009 after Bermuda finished in ninth place ahead of Denmark in the 2009 ICC World Cup Qualifier in South Africa, which resulted in the teams failing to qualify for the 2011 Cricket World Cup, and losing their ODI status.
‘There comes a time in your career when you need to take a step back. You’ve given all you can and your body sometimes tells you that it is time to slow down.’
However, it is unlikely Leverock will be lost to the game entirely as he has plans to go into coaching with the aim of helping the next generation of cricketers.
A keen golfer, in his younger days, Leverock was a hurdler for Bermuda, and once won a silver medal in a Caribbean youth games. He later played as a striker for the Bermudian football team the Zebras, once travelling to England to play football at Boothferry Park against the Hull City Tigers.
Numbered amongst the unlikeliest looking sportsmen, time and again his bulk has overshadowed his indisputable cricketing ability, which ensured his status as Bermuda’s most consistent bowler in limited-over and first-class cricket. But perhaps best remembered for his diving slip catch against India at the 2007 World Cup, and the earth-shattering victory spirit it fostered.
Golfers looking for a minor miracle may find deliverance through a scoop of water served from the ‘Holy Well’, which can be found immediately to the right of the 8th tee at the Notts. Golf Club in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, or Hollinwell, as the course is known colloquially. It is said the spring, inherited its saintly name since the monks from the nearby 12th century Newstead Priory used to collect their water from it. And to this day golfers may still quench their thirst and enjoy a taste of the extremely pure water which retains a constant temperature throughout the year.
Notts. Golf ClubThe ‘Holy Well’
The Notts Golf Club, home to one of England’s most outstanding golf courses, was founded in 1887, on common ground on the outskirts of the city of Nottingham, which it shared with two other clubs. When the Nottinghamshire Council threatened to convert the land into a cemetery, its members decided to seek a new home, and in 1899 came across a large area of heath land 14 miles north of the city in Kirkby Forest. Its undulating sandy soil was ideal for golf, and the Scottish professional golfer Willie Park Junior [1864-1925] was commissioned to design a layout, with the provision, stipulated by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, that it could not be used for golf on Sundays. The course opened in 1901, and was later modified, to include bunkers and lengthened in preparation for the rubber-cored ball, by the golf course architect, J.H.Taylor [1871-1963], one of the pioneers of the modern game of golf, and the club professional and head green keeper, Tom Williamson [1880-1950], who served the club for more than half-a-century,
Early in your round, on your way to the ‘Holy Well’, you will come across a rocky outcrop behind the second green, which is known as ‘Robin Hood’s Seat’. Where it is said the legendary outlaw would sit and watch the road below, waiting for suitable victims to pass by. Towards the end of your round, at the rear of the relatively short dog-leg par four 16th green, lies a large stone which some members describe as ‘Maid Marian’s Bed’.
The story of the legendary Holy Well began in the 12th century when the priory of St. Mary of Newstead was founded around 1170 by King Henry II [1133-1189], the first King of the House of Plantagenet, in reparation of one of the many penances he is said to have paid following the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the venerable Thomas a Becket [1118-1170]. However, contrary to its current name, Newstead was never an abbey, it was originally an Augustinian priory for a group of black-robed monks, known as the ‘Black Canons’, said to be the inspiration for Friar Tuck in the tales of Robin Hood…
The enforced Dissolution of the Monasteries [1536-1541] was one of the most radical events in English history. The English lawyer and statesman, Thomas Cromwell [circa 1485- 1540] the 1st Earl of Essex, KG, PC, served as Chief Minister for Henry VIII [1491-1547] until his execution on the orders of the King. During his term in office Cromwell created the series of administrative and legal processes for the Dissolution, including the Parliamentary Act of Supremacy [1534] which defined the reigning monarch as Supreme Head of the Church, severing England from its ecclesiastical links with Rome.
Newstead Abbey [circa 1880]Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex
With one adult male in every fifty in religious orders, Henry disbanded all the monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland, disposing of their assets to increase the income of the Crown and fund his military campaigns. Newstead Priory was surrendered to King Henry VIII in 1540, who later gave it over to Sir John Byron [1599-1652] of Colwick, who converted it into a private country house, launching the Byron families association with the estate which endured for over two centuries.
Rumour has it Sir John’s actions resulted in a curse placed upon those who lived in his birthplace of Newstead village. A ‘Goblin Friar’ was said to appear to the head of the Byron family scowling angrily at happy events, and gleefully grinning before any sorrowful happening, especially when a member of the Byron family died.
The 13th century ecclesiastical buildings were largely ruined during the dissolution of the monasteries, and many additions have subsequently bben made to the original buildings. Early in the 18th century the gardens were extensively landscaped by William, the 4th Lord Byron [1695-1736], who amassed a hugely admired collection of artistic masterpieces.
The 5th Baron William Byron [1722-1798], and great uncle of the literary Lord Byron, was a politician who in 1765 became known as the ‘Wicked Lord’ after killing his cousin, a neighbouring landowner, in a duel. He was tried for murder before his peers in the House of Lords, but was convicted of manslaughter, which at the time was considered so insignificant that he was only required to pay a small fine and was released and returned to Newstead, where he lived until his death. During his tenure the Abbey suffered a severe downturn in fortune. William lavished money on the estate, building Gothic follies, staging mock navy battles on the lake, and taking out loans to pursue his pleasure of horse-racing and gambling. Though-out the late 18th century he ruined the estate, felling trees, killing off deer, and stripping the Abbey and estate of its artistic treasures and furniture, to raise cash to pay off his debts. But it was not enough and there was no hope of restoring the Abbey to its former glory.
The title and Newstead Abbey then passed to his great-nephew, the famous and notorious poet., George Gordon Byron, who became the 6th Baron Byron [1788-1824] at the tender age of 10. When the young Lord Byron inherited Newstead he was greatly impressed by the estate, although the scale of the problems presented were enormous. Essential repairs were imperative, and yet the Abbey’s annual income had fallen to around £800. Consequently, in 1803 the Abbey and park was leased for five years, for the sum of £50 a year, to 23 year-old Henry Edward Yelverton [1780-1810], the 19th Baron Grey de Ruthyn. And Byron and his mother moved to the nearby town of Southwell until in 1808 he returned to Newstead and began extensive and expensive renovations.
Byron’s had a much loved Newfoundland dog named Boatswain, which died and was and buried at Newstead Abbey. Where an impressive monument now stands, inscribed with one of Byron’s best-known poems ‘Epitaph to a Dog’.
Boatswain’s Memorial MonumentNear this Spot
Near this spot are deposited the Remains of one who possessed Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferosity, and all the virtues of Man without his Vices. This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery if inscribed over human Ashes, is but a just tribute to the Memory of Boatswain, a Dog who was born in Newfoundland May 1803 and died at Newstead November 18th 1808.
Byron is said to have pledged, ‘Newstead and I stand or fall together’. But without adequate financial means, in a final attempt to resolve the crippling fiscal issues, he endured a disastrous marriage to the heiress Anne Milbanke [1792-1860]. Shortly before which, the 6th Lord Byron is said to have encountered the ‘Goblin Friar’. When asleep in his Newstead bedroom, the poet was woken by the sensation of something mounting the bed. On sitting up he was confronted by the apparition of a black shapeless mass, with red glowing eyes, which rolled from the bed onto the floor and disappeared.
The Byron family occupancy of Newstead came to an end following the death of the eminent poet in Missolonghi in western Greece. Although Byron had wanted to be buried with Boatswain, his body now lies in the peaceful church dedicated to St. Mary Magdelene at Hucknall Torkard, on the site of a medieval Saxon church built in the 12th century a few miles from Newstead.
In addition to the ‘Goblin Friar’, the ancestral home of the Byron family provides the setting for a collection of ghosts and ghoulish stories.
The Black Friar:
There are many stories about appearances of the Black Friar. In the 1930s the wife of a resident of Newstead village was due to give birth, and her husband telephoned the doctor to attend her as soon as possible. However, it was some time before the doctor finally made an appearance, when the nervously anxious husband scolded the doctor, announcing that he ‘was only just in time’.
The doctor replied he would have been even later had he not stopped by a waterfall in the grounds of Newstead Abbey and asked the way from a monk that was standing there. The black-robed figure said nothing but pointed him in the right direction.
However, there had been no monks at the Abbey for several hundred years.
The Rose Lady:
At a certain spot in Newstead Abbey, a passageway crosses the bottom of a staircase, where there is often a heavy, scent of roses and lavender. Although nothing has ever been seen, there are numerous stories of people smelling the fragrant aroma.
From time to time, the Abbey staff organise ghost tours as a visitor attraction, and on such occasions re-enact some of the ghostly goings-on. Although the Rose Lady is not usually included on the schedule it is said occasionally has other ideas, and the group of visitors become aware of an extremely strong scent of roses and lavender. Convinced it is a staged effect they refuse to believe it is out of the ordinary. But the staff know otherwise !
The White Lady:
Soon after the 6th Lord Byron finally left Newstead Abbey, he sold it to an old school friend an British Army officer during the Napoleonic Wars, Thomas Wildman [1787-1859]. Shortly afterwards, Sophie Hyatt, a devoted follower of the poet’s work, came to live at a nearby farm. When the Wildman family learned how much she loved Byron’s work they thoughtfully allowed her to wander freely around the grounds whenever she wanted.
Sophie lived on revenue provided by a relative who died in 1825, consequently the money dried up. However, Sophie had another relative in America and decided she must try to make contact with them and ask for their help. Before setting off she left a written note for the Wildman’s to let them know what she was doing. But when Mrs Wildman read the note she immediately dispatched a rider to intercept Sophie and offer her accommodation in the grounds of Newstead for the rest of her life.
The horse and rider set off in hot pursuit and upon reaching the Market Square in Nottingham, came across a large crowd of people gathered around a horse and cart outside the Black Boy public house. The rider dismounted and pushed through the people to find Sophie lying dead on the ground. Sophie had failed to hear the drayman’s warning cry and was had been run over by his cart.
Sophie Hyatt can still be seen wandering through her beloved gardens at Newstead Abbey, especially along one particular path now known as the ‘White Lady’s Walk’.
The Rooks:
Washington Irving, the American author of the famous ghost story. ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’, once stayed at Newstead in the 1800s. During his stay he noticed that every morning the rooks would fly off and sweep the countryside for food, returning in the evening when their crowing discussion of the day’s events would echo around the estate.
Irving was informed the rooks observed the Sabbath Day, and would set out every day except on Sunday, when they remained in the Abbey grounds. At first Irving didn’t believe it until he saw for himself the rooks devoted Sunday to their nearest and dearest, and never left the estate.
Local tradition has it the rooks at Newstead are the souls of the ‘Black Monks’, reborn as birds to occupy their old priory. So strong was this belief that, contrary to common country practice, the Newstead rooks were left unhindered and never shot.
In the late 18th century, when dredging the fishpond lake at the Abbey, a lectern was discovered which had been thrown there by the monks, to save it from discovery during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. In 1805 the lectern was donated to the Southwell Minster situated 15 miles east of Newstead, where it still resides.
The century following the death of the 6th Lord Byron saw many changes at Newstead, before ownership eventually passed to the businessman, philanthropist and cricket enthusiast Sir Julien Cahn [1882-1944].
Born in Cardiff, Cahn grew up in Nottingham, where his father owned a furnishing company, which Cahn expanded to include more than 300 stores. On his retirement in 1943 he sold the business to Great Universal Stores.
During the great economic depression of the 1930’s and throughout World War II, Cahn sponsored several cricket clubs in need of funding, and in 1935 paid the annual membership subscriptions for more than 800 new members to join the Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. Cricket was Cahn’s principal sporting passion and he served as president of both the Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire County Cricket Clubs.
He was knighted in 1929 and made a baronet five years later for his charitable work and services to agriculture.
Newstead Abbey is now publicly owned by Nottingham City Council, and houses a museum containing Byron memorabilia.
The intrinsic practice historically found in almost all forms of sport, has been the inequality afforded to its female participants.
Fashioned through its Scottish heritage the game of golf is played throughout the world. Although initially the implicit understanding was that golf was for ‘gentlemen only, ladies forbidden’, and women were generally banned from entering most clubhouses until the 20 century. Nevertheless the involvement of women in the game goes back much further than some of us might think. For it is implied Caledonian women played stick and ball games as early as the 15 century.
As long ago as 1567, the Queen of Scots, Mary Stuart, [1542-1587], was accused of playing golf at Seton House, Longniddry, only a few days after the murder of her second husband, Lord Darnley [1545-1567], at Kirk o’Field, Edinburgh. In which her antagonists claimed she was implicated.
On the 6 December 1914 the Lancashire and England cricketer, Cyril Washbrook, CBE, was born in Barrow, Clitheroe, Lancashire. He played a total of 592 first-class matches, 37 of which were Tests, and was most famous for opening the batting for England with Len Hutton.
Cyril Washbrook, CBE
Educated at Bridgnorth Grammar School, he joined the Lancashire CCC aged 18, although it was not until two years later, in 1935, that he was fully established in the side, after scoring 1,724 runs and coming fifth in the national averages.
His first Test in against New Zealand at The Oval was in 1937, before the war interrupted his long career, when Washbrook became a physical training instructor in the Royal Air Force.
A strong leg side player, he was noted for his hooks and pulls, and was at his greatest in the late 1940s, when he was included in the 1946-47 Ashes series, and became a firm figure with cricket fans in Australia and England.
Named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1947, he was awarded a benefit by Lancashire in 1948.
An accomplished fielder, adored by the Old Trafford crowds. Washbrook was appointed Lancashire’s first ever professional captain in 1954. From 1989 to 1990, Washbrook was president of the Lancashire CCC.
Appointed a CBE in the 1991 Birthday Honours, he died in Sale, Greater Manchester, in 1999, aged 84.
On the 4 December 1858 the English sportsman, William ‘Billy’ Gunn, was born in St. Ann’s, Nottingham. A right-handed batsman who bowled slow underarm lobs, Gunn played professional first-class cricket for Norttinghamshire from 1880 to 1904. He represented England in 11 Test matches from 1887-1889. Noted for his accurate throwing, his most successful season was in 1889, when he was named Wisden Batsman of the Year.
Billy Gunn
Gunn first played football as an amateur for Nottingham Forest, making just one appearance in 1881. He signed for Notts County in 1882 and made his debut in a 6-1 win in the first round of the FA Cup against Sheffield. He made his League debut against Aston Villa when County lost 9–1. He also played twice for England, and scored a goal in the inaugural British Home Championship in 1884.
Gunn founded the sports equipment firm Gunn and Moore in Nottingham in1885.
He died in Nottingham in 1921, while still President of Notts County, aged 63.
On the 3 November 1863, the tennis player, Blanche Bingley-Hillyard, was born in Greenford in the London Borough of Ealing.
Blanche Bingley-Hillyard
Blanche competed in the first ever women’s Wimbledon championships in 1884., which she went on to win 6 Wimbledon singles championships [1886, 1889, 1894, 1897, 1898, 1900] and was runner up 7 times.
She also won the Irish championships 3 times [1888, 1894, 1897], the German championship twice (1897, 1900); and the South of England Championships at Eastbourne, 11 times between 1885 and 1905.
Blanche was the second strongest female player of her day, surpassed only by Lottie Dod, who defeated her in five finals.
The daughter
of a wealthy London tailoring proprietor, she was a member of the Ealing Lawn
Tennis & Archery Club, and competed until the age of 49, playing her last
Wimbledon in 1913.
Blanche Bingley-Hillyard died in London in 1946, aged 82, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013.
