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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE WEST SUSSEX BOWLS TOURING CLUB
In early 1955 a group of 30 bowlers got together and arranged a bowls tour. Under the directorship of Chairman / Captain A. G. Smart of the Tithe Green BC and Secretary C. J. Uncles from Worthing Pavilion BC, they left Worthing Central Railway Station on 15th May 1955 by coach and headed for the Royal Hotel, Weymouth. The next day Greenhill BC in Weymouth played host to the clubs first tour match – against Weymouth and District.
On this first tour they travelled under the name of ‘The West Sussex Tourists’ and so successful was the week that it was decided to put the tour on an official footing and accordingly a meeting was called for 21st July 1955. Mr. Artlett of the Maltravers club was elected President and a name of the Sussex Martlets Bowls Touring Club was agreed. By November 1955 the club name had been changed to it’s current title of the West Sussex Bowls Touring Club, Sussex County BA having objected to any club prefixing it’s name with the word ‘Sussex’.
We would like to record our thanks and appreciation to Worthing Pavilion BC who allow us to play ‘home’ matches at their venue. We took advantage of this kind offer by hosting matches in 2005 (our 50th year) against both Sussex County and English BA. In 2015 (our 60th year), once again we hosted Sussex County. Thanks also to Worthing Indoor BC who allow us to hold committee meetings and our AGM on their premises.
The club have toured every year since and a total of 349 members have enjoyed bowling with the club on their annual jaunts. This remarkable touring record came to an end in 2020 and 2021 due to the awful Corona-virus Pandemic. We can proudly boast of 18 members who have each toured on 20 or more occasions. Our 2019 tour saw our club secretary Chris Rolph create a new touring record having travelled 36 times. His record has now been extended to 39 tours. The previous record holder Ken Armstrong went on 35 tours before he passed away in May 2014. Steve Hawkes has travelled 34 times, Cecil Wadey 32 and Roger Ayling 26. Graham Allen, Alan Catterson and Harry Gosnell have been on 25. Kevin Mitchell 24, Geoff Armstrong, Ron Hyam, Cecil Salisbury and Charles Walkden 23, Bill Bryder, Wally Edwards and Ted Lane 22. David Dallyn, Joe Gilpin achieved 21.
WE MUST SURELY BE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT!
To view a spreadsheet of all the matches (and results) of matches played on tour since 1955 (up to and including our 2024 tour – 2020 and 2021 both cancelled due to Covid) please click WSBTC – tour results etc
To view a spreadsheet of all the members who have toured with the club and the years they travelled (1955-2024) please click WSBTC – tours travelled 1955 to date 24.06.07
ARE WE THE CLUB FOR YOU?
You are interested in becoming a member?
Some information about the club that may help you make your mind up as to whether joining us is for you.
The club was formed in 1955 by a group of bowlers from in and around Littlehampton and Worthing. The sole purpose of the club was to provide social recreation and a bowling holiday for male bowlers. Nothing has changed since these early days except that the club has developed a regular ‘non tour’ fixture list in both the Outdoor and Indoor seasons.
We have been lucky enough to have had in our membership no less than four Sussex County Bowling Association Presidents, three Sussex County Indoor Presidents, at least three Sussex County selectors, our members have won numerous County Competitions and three National Titles.
Although competitive on the green we pride ourselves on being a club for all standards literally from beginners to National Champion. We believe our club has a tremendous reputation for camaraderie both on and off the green and this is paramount in the thoughts of the committee when reviewing applications from new members. Potential members must at the time of their application be a member of a Bowling Club within the County boundary of West Sussex or be a member of a club from outside West Sussex but be resident within West Sussex.
Applicants should be aware that the club is run for members who wish to: a) travel on our annual tour (we usually leave Sussex on the second Saturday in May). b) partake in our ‘non tour friendly’ matches and invited ‘opens’ both indoor and outdoor. c) have an interest in attending our annual dinner (usually the first Friday in May). d) enjoy themselves in the company of likeminded bowlers. The club wear Burgundy coloured shirts (and Burgundy coloured jumpers if one is worn) together with Grey trousers or shorts for all their matches. Upon acceptance to the club details will be given re purchase of the garments.
APPLICATION FORM
If after reading all the above information you feel the club is right for you please click WSBTC – application form and info page to download an application form. Alternatively please contact the Honorary Secretary on 07876/538583.
THE THOUGHTS OF PRESIDENT JON (posted on 23rd June 2024)
Fellow tourists, as we enter a summer full of Euro football, the Olympics, Wimbledon and the General Election, now is a good time to reflect back on the last couple of months. Firstly, it was great to see so many members at the club’s annual dinner and my thanks go to your generosity in supporting the raffle which continues to both help part fund the evening and provide the post-speech entertainment. To me it certainly appeared that everyone had an enjoyable night and once again we must thank Mandy and her team for another excellent meal – long may this continue for many years to come.
We then moved swiftly on to the bowls tour and whilst it was a shame not to visit Scarborough again, I think we can all agree that Bedford turned out to be an extremely good week. Whilst there were a couple of early hiccups, the hotel generally exceeded expectations (ignoring the lack of cupboard space in the rooms!). As a team we remained unbeaten with four wins and one draw, and we clearly made a good impression with the locals with our match Vs Datchworth being reported in several of their local newspapers. A big thanks to everyone on tour for making the committee’s job easy during the week, and we must all give Chris a massive debt of gratitude for making the ultra last minute tour rearrangements at probably great stress to himself.
Back to the present, as I sit watching our first outdoor friendly at Beach House Park, I look forward to seeing as many tourists as possible throughout the summer season.
J.R.Clear (President)
CAPTAIN ROGER’S RAMBLINGS (updated on 18th June 2024)
Gentlemen, our 2024 tour is all done and dusted and we all owe Chris a debt of gratitude for all the hard work he put in to ensure the club got away this year. To get the news we did that for the second time in three years our hotel was reneging on the booking we had must have been deflating for Chris knowing what lay ahead of him to get us a tour.
After contacting over 50 hotels around the country and only finding two or three that could accommodate our group (and most at way over our budget) we settled on The Mercure Bedford Central Hotel. Thankfully all ended up well and a first class tour was enjoyed by 36 of our members. The staff and food at the hotel were great and the 5 clubs we visited were wonderful hosts – some even gave us home-made cake. Now, I am not really a cake person but at one club I tried the Lemon Drizzle, the Fruit Cake and a Chocolate Fairy Cake. On the way out of the clubhouse after tea I spotted another one on a plate and not wanting it to go to waste I enjoyed number four. We had four wins and one draw during the week so thank you all for your efforts in managing to go unbeaten on this our 68th tour.
Overall a great tour finished off with a lunch stop at The Hinton Arms, Cheriton. I had the Fish Pie (it was superb) and took home two Steak & Kidney Pies. I’ve had one already but I’m reluctant to eat the other too soon as it will be a year until I can stock up again.
On behalf of the committee may I thank all you tourists, we had not one person moan and groan (with anything serious) and we only had to say ‘help’ and someone jumped up and did exactly that. Be it playing at short notice or some other small task. I chatted to all the new members and to a man they all told me that they had enjoyed the week and can’t wait until next year.
Our outdoor season started last Sunday with a win against Worthing BC by 62 shots to 60. I hope to see as many of you as possible during the season either playing or supporting your friends at our summer games.
All the best Roger.
CLUB CALENDAR 2024/25 (updated on 23rd June 2024)
2024 TOUR CHAMPION – Jon Clear
2024 Tour champion Jon Clear receives the Ken Armstrong Champions Trophy from Immediate Past President Derek Brockhurst.
OUR RECORD BREAKING TOURIST – Chris Rolph
Chris Rolph being presented with his engraved trophy to commemorate his attaining a club record of 36 consecutive tours in 2019. Paul Armstrong the son of the previous record holder Ken Armstrong travelled to Tenby to present the award. Chris has now extended his number of tours to 39.
OUR NEW PRESIDENT – Jon Clear
Our new President Jon Clear proudly wearing his Presidential Chain after being presented with it by Acting President Derek Brockhurst at the 2023 AGM.
OUR NEWEST HLVP – Derek Ford
Derek Ford receives his HLVP certificate from Acting President Derek Brockhurst at the AGM in November 2023. Congratulations Derek.
To view the club calendar of events for 2024 and 2025 please click this link: WSBTC – calendar 2024 and 2025 as at 24.06.23