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Croquet England Diplomas Awarded in 2024


Alan Mayne - Bowdon Croquet Club

Picture: /infra/55490-1.jpgAlan Mayne

Alan Mayne joined Bowdon Croquet Club in 2006. It was clear from the start that he had a keen interest in all things lawn and ground maintenance. In July 2007 he was co-opted onto the Club Committee. In November 2007 Alan was elected as Honorary Ground Manager, a post which he plans to relinquish in November 2024. During his tenure he has sought ways to maximise club members' access to the lawns, enabling all year round use of the lawns, and increasing the playable area, allowing 4.5 lawns to be laid out.

Alan has always been keen to pass on his love and knowledge of the game to others. He has given informal coaching to players at all levels but in particular to new members and improvers. This has been much appreciated by those players. He has also introduced a regular one-ball competition to encourage as many members as possible to take part in the game. Additionally, he organises the local heat of the annual national one-ball charity event and created our Poppy Roquet contest held near to Remembrance Day.

Alan has been a regular member and captain of various of our club teams in the North West Federation and for teams competing in the national knock-out competitions. He represented Cheshire at the Inter-Counties tournament.

As well as all of this, if there is a social event it is as if by magic all the tables and chairs just happen to be ready for the event. Thank you, Alan for your contribution to Bowdon Croquet Club in so many ways over so many years.

Andrew Jackson - Guildford and Godalming Croquet Club

Picture: /infra/55490-2.jpgAndrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson took up croquet at Guildford and Godalming in 2018. Since that time, he has exemplified the word 'invaluable'. We really don't know what we would do without him.

He is an enthusiastic GC player, competing typically in C-level tournaments with occasional forays towards B-level. He has represented the club on many occasions, particularly in the SECF/Croquet SE leagues. But his main, and huge, contribution has been off-court.

His jams and preserves have brought in funds for the club, and he is a frequent member of the tournament catering team. Seeing that we were relatively short of GC referees, Andrew qualified a couple of years ago and now regularly gives up weekend days to referee. That has helped managers of tournaments enormously. He is also very active in setting up lawns, erecting marquees and so forth when tournaments are run. Andrew is a keen and effective handyman. All clubs need one and Andrew has, over the years, played this role to perfection. If he becomes aware that a job needs doing, it's as likely as not that he will have done it before anyone has asked him.

Over the past year or so the club has undertaken the major development of installing an irrigation system for all four lawns. It was a complicated project needing the coordination of club members, electricians, suppliers and contractors. That coordinating function was performed by Andrew, whose background is legal rather than construction - or engineering-related, and who had to operate outside his comfort zone. We take our hats off to him for what he achieved for the club.

We believe that all-round commitment of this nature is deserving of recognition, and we have no hesitation in proposing him for the award of a Croquet England Diploma.

Angharrad Walters - N. W. Federation

Picture: /infra/55490-3.jpgAngharrad Walters

Angharrad appeared on the croquet scene as a member of Bowdon Croquet Club in 1991 - some 35 years ago. After a spell away working in the US, she came back and has been a well-known face in the North West for over 20 years. As well as being an A Class player at both AC and GC she has represented the club at both local level in the North West Federation leagues and National inter-club competitions but also Wales and Glamorgan on numerous occasions. Angharrad has many Croquet England qualifications: Grade 2 GC Coach and a Grade 3 AC Coach, National Handicapper for both disciplines and a Championship Referee.

Angharrad has also served on many committees. She has been a most efficient Honorary Secretary at Bowdon for the last 9 years and has made a valuable contribution to all aspects of life at the club whether it be in catering for tournaments and making excellent cakes or tending to the flower beds around the clubhouse. Angharrad has also been Secretary of the North West Federation since 2018.

Angharrad is always around and is very approachable. She is willing to talk to, help and advise anyone. Angharrad is one of the most valued members of the croquet community in the North West.

Catherine Bass - Fylde Croquet Club

Catherine BassCatherine Bass

Catherine joined the club in 2008 and plays both disciplines of the game. In her 2nd year, she took on the role of Social Secretary on the Committee and organised many social events. She served in this role for 2 years.

In 2015 Catherine became secretary of the club and has continued in this role for the last nine years. She has steered the club superbly through what we can all agree have been difficult times.

She is more than thorough in her secretarial duties and if and when she relinquishes the role will be an impossible act to follow. Apart from her secretarial duties (reporting, dissemination of information and recording meetings), she aligned the club's constitution with CA /NW Fed requirements ensuring the club operates in a professional framework. This has now been further modified by her to the new Croquet England label.

She played a key role during COVID when she provided club guidelines (in conjunction with the committee) to allow play to continue throughout the COVID period whilst complying with Governmental and CA guidance.

Catherine will always step up to Captain a team when necessary and runs corporate events for the club.

In recent years she was nominated and accepted a position on the Croquet England Dispute Panel and has already used her expertise to sit on a panel dealing with a dispute. She has been asked to sit on future panels.

Fylde considers itself lucky to have Catherine as a committed member of the club.

Christine Fagan - Leicester Croquet Club

Christine FaganChristine Fagan

Christine has been a committee member and a conscientious and very efficient secretary of Leicester Croquet Club for many years. She is a good communicator, constantly keeping members informed of everything that's going on. She is also the playing captain of the Leicester golf croquet B-team, arranging all league matches and team members as well as providing homemade, delicious lunches and refreshments for visiting teams.

Christine even provides her husband Ron as a timekeeper and scorer for the B-team matches! She is ever willing to help in whatever the club is involved in - arranging and running social Sundays, assisting with the club's group taster sessions for outside social groups and generally lending a willing hand with whatever needs doing for the smooth running of the club. Christine is the very essence of the type of club member that every club would aspire to have as one of their own.

David Gregory - Darley Dale Croquet Club

David GregoryDavid Gregory

In 2008 David and two other men started the Croquet Club in the Whitworth Park, Darley Dale. They negotiated a contract with the Whitworth Institute for grassland to be made available for 3 courts and obtained a lawn mower, white lining machine and borrowed necessary equipment.

David became the Secretary, a role which he held until 2024, reluctantly retiring at the age of 80.

He started a monthly Club Newsletter, that keeps all members informed

He registered the Club with the Croquet Association and manages the B Team - a role which he is continuing to do. He qualified as a coach and continues to teach old members tactics and new members the game.

A temporary shelter was erected which deteriorated. David took responsibility for fundraising, and successfully raised over £7,000 allowing us to have a new shelter erected. He was solely responsible for negotiating with the Whitworth Institute where the new shelter should be erected; purchasing the shelter, overseeing the groundwork and finally its erection and painting, which took a lot of his time.

He has held Garden Parties at his house to raise funds for the Club.

David has been the GC league manager and an active committee member for the East Midlands Federation since 2017. He has devoted a great deal of time and energy to ensuring the GC leagues are run successfully and as a result, the number of GC league matches has increased significantly during this period. Last year 98 matches were played involving 180 players, this has increased from 63 matches when he took over. He is very keen that the views of all clubs are considered when league decisions are made and we are very grateful for all he has done in this very important role.

David King - Sussex County Croquet Club

David KingDavid King

David has been a member of the club since 2011. He is always ready to offer help and is very keen to help people play and improve their game. David is a club coach and he coaches on Academy GC courses as well as helping with newcomers on our four free lessons introductory offer. His welcoming nature and friendly patient approach have been key to getting many newcomers to join the club.

David's background as an accountant means he is of great assistance to the club treasurer and he acts as the examiner of the club's annual accounts as well as helping out with monthly accounts and the financials for special events. He also acts as the Treasurer for the South East Federation.

It was in the three GC World Championships that the club has held since 2019 that David's organisational and people skills came to the fore. In 2019 he acted as the main point of contact for visiting players on their transport arrangements between the four host clubs - Southwick, Compton, Tunbridge Wells and West Worthing. In 2022 and 2023 he ran the player-registration process and the gate for spectators.

David has captained club teams, most recently in the South East Fed GC Restricted league where the club has been champion in 5 of the last 11 years. David regularly plays in tournaments. In doubles, his regular partner is Richard Brooks and they are a very successful pair in local tournaments.

David is a regular helper at our corporate and society events and has taken on organising a couple of them this year.

Deirdre Cochrane - Blewbury Croquet Club

Deidre Cochrane Deirdre Cochrane

At Blewbury Croquet Club (BCC), Deirdre Cochrane is a force to be reckoned with. As is right, because it wouldn't exist in its current form without her. One of the very few founding members still active, she served as Chairman - and latterly also as Secretary - from 2008 to 2018.

Following an inauspicious start on rough terrain in 1993, BCC relied on the generosity of Deirdre and her husband Malcolm for the use of their court at Hall Barn over the next ten years. Deirdre won the club's inaugural Founders Cup in 1996, a victory she repeated a decade later. Her trophy cabinet includes an unrivalled six wins in the club's internal one-ball competition, as well as four in its autumn doubles - most recently in 2023. The designer sundial at Hall Barn has pointers to Hurlingham, Johannesburg and Palm Springs, scenes of more distant triumphs.

Deirdre remained just as active in the club after BCC moved to its current premises in 2003. The next year, she allowed her party barn to be used for the May Day weekend celebrations, hosting and playing against a team from Bayeux. She was also part of the puppet-making team for the winning float, themed on flamingo croquet from Alice in Wonderland, in Blewbury's 2004 Boxing Day village parade.

In the early years of her Chairmanship, Deirdre helped to renegotiate, and became a Trustee for, the club's lease on Tickers Folly Field, the village recreation ground. She remains a key member of the lunch rota, famous for stylish meals using home-grown ingredients.

As impeccably polite as she is immaculately dressed, Deirdre conceals a wicked sense of humour that occasionally slips out. Where would Blewbury be without her?

Frances Low - Sussex County Croquet Club

Frances LowFrances Low

Frances has been a Grade 2 AC coach since 2006, an examining coach since 2014, a GC coach since 2016 and an AC referee since 1998.

She is a founder member of the committee that runs the Croquet Academy and has been a strong advocate of AC coaching. Her teaching background gives her a good basis for coaching and she sets high standards.

Frances is also a member of Rottingdean Croquet Club and coaches members there in AC as well as encouraging them to enter South East Federation and other events.

Frances has been very concerned about the decline in AC playing numbers. To counter this, she has led the introduction of Short Croquet at Southwick. Initially with Winter modular courses that she ran in 2021, 2022 and 2023 to introduce people to Short Croquet. During the playing season in 2022 and 23 she backed these courses up with regular Wednesday morning roll-up sessions. She has gone further in 2023 and 2024 with Short Croquet doubles tournaments and in 2024 two Short Croquet jamborees with teams from Southwick and other local clubs (several players for other clubs have benefitted from her Short Croquet Coaching as well). We now have more people playing AC than for many years, many of whom played only GC a couple of seasons ago.

Frances helped during the recent World Championships at Southwick with the player registration process and by scoring on the lawn side scoreboards.

Frances is a regular tournament manager for our one-day GC and AC tournaments and for SE Federation events held at Southwick.

Frank Collins - Caterham Croquet Club

Frank CollinsFrank Collins

Caterham Croquet Club would like to acknowledge the outstanding contribution of Frank Collins over nearly two decades. He has been a true stalwart and has undertaken numerous committee and non-committee roles with multiple responsibilities over his time with us. He consistently supports new and developing members in learning the game through his role as coach and has always made himself available to assist other committee members in club development.

One of Frank's greatest contributions to the club is his care of the facilities and grounds. He has engineered tools and equipment to make the laying out of the lawns and the setting of hoops simple and he keeps a close eye on the condition of the lawns, liaising with our groundkeepers to ensure we have the best possible lawn to play on. He has also fabricated trolleys for moving equipment, fixtures for placing parasols, and will often repair mallets for other members. He looks after our clubhouse, often undertaking maintenance tasks himself. There is very little that Frank cannot fix.

Frank has for many years organised and run internal club competitions and whether or not he is competing himself will attend and support teams when they play home matches at Caterham, often arriving early to help set up the lawns. He was also the treasurer for many years with his spreadsheets and trackers still being used by his successors.

Beyond all the practical contributions Frank makes to our club, he is also a great friend and smiling face, someone we all respect and care for. As he retires to Cornwall to be closer to family we cannot think of a more appropriate time to recognise his unwavering commitment to Caterham and to the game of Croquet. Thank you, Frank from all of us.

Graham Withrington - Merton Croquet Club

Graham WithringtonGraham Withrington

Graham has been an active member of Merton Croquet Club for more than 12 years, supporting the club in many different ways.

He is our main coach for Golf Croquet, but also gives valuable advice and support for

Association Croquet. Each year he gives regular coaching sessions for new and less experienced members. He also willingly gives informal advice on techniques when requested by any member of the club. As a direct result of his input, the standard of play in the club has improved.

Graham helps to organise our tournaments and competitions. He assists in the management of matches both internally and against other clubs. He also regularly acts as manager for our internal tournaments.

Another important aspect he undertakes is to provide club members with advice when purchasing new equipment such as mallets. He ensures that the club mallets are maintained in good order, e.g. replacing handle grips when necessary. He also willingly assists in setting up and maintaining the lawn, especially at the beginning of the season.

Graham is a reliable club member. He plays regularly in all our more informal sessions as well as participating in matches. He is always keen to encourage others with their play regardless of their ability, frequently showing great patience.

Merton Croquet Club values and appreciates Graham's many contributions to all our club's activities. We especially appreciate his good nature and wry sense of humour.

Hilary Bird - Guildford and Godalming Croquet Club

Hilary BirdHilary Bird

Hilary Bird has been a member of Guildford and Godalming for some 10 years and a committee member for around 7 of them, serving as Secretary from 2017 to 2023. The club transformed from 4 lawns in a part of a field to 4 lawns in a separate, fenced-off, area with a simple clubhouse, opened in 2017. That made it possible to run more tournaments, mainly through the Croquet England Fixtures Calendar but also events hosted on behalf of Croquet England and the WCF.

This transformation has, naturally, involved members in a huge amount of extra work and organisation, and Hilary has been at the centre of that. She took over responsibility for maintaining the clubhouse, together with organising and providing catering for tournaments and club matches.

Hilary is active in GC, AC and short croquet, and is a keen promoter of SC as a stepping-stone from GC to AC. She manages GC teams in the jurisdiction of the SECF/Croquet SE and is the club's representative on that body. Within the club, she was instrumental in the construction of a new website, took responsibility for liaison with our overarching organisation, serves as our safeguarding officer, and was responsible for the researching and procurement of club logo clothing.

But it's not just all those official things that Hilary is noted for - it's all the unofficial tasks she volunteers for - hoop setting at 6 am, giving tournament competitors lifts to the station, helping to erect marquees, setting up lawns on tournament days, doing laundry for a visiting competitor (yes, really!) and so forth. There must, by now, be hundreds of people from outside the club who are aware of the huge contribution made by Hilary.

Jenny Keen - West Chiltington Croquet Club

Jenny KeenJenny Keen

Jenny has been a key member of our club for more than ten years. Throughout that period she has been Membership Secretary and was also Treasurer from 2016 to 2023.

As Membership Secretary, Jenny is the first person that new members come into contact with. She arranges and runs taster sessions which are highly successful in recruiting new members.

However, Jenny's contribution does not stop there!

Our lawns are not available in winter, but our club is still very active, thanks to Jenny, who organises weekly bridge sessions, monthly mahjong sessions, country walks, and other social events.

In summary, Jenny carries out a multitude of tasks with amazing enthusiasm and cheerfulness, and can be described as the lifeblood of our club.

John Crisford - Compton Croquet Club

John CrisfordJohn Crisford

John Crisford has made an outstanding contribution to the Club over the years. He was granted Life membership to Compton Croquet Club with overwhelming support at the AGM in 2022.

This was in recognition of the enormous contribution he had made, and continued to make, to the condition and management of the excellent lawns at Compton. He has 'retired' from active work on the lawns a few times now but cannot sit still if he sees that something needs to be done, climbing onto the tractor mower to cut the borders, removing the bags of clippings, preparing the lawns for a competition.

Lately, John is less physically able and has had to sit back more and supervise work parties and contractors taking on the work he used to carry out by himself. He is very aware of the need for a succession plan and has been training up a group of members in the art of moving hoops, white lining and the like.

John has also been very active in other ways in the Club undertaking such responsibilities as being a Committee member and Trustee of the Club for several years; Captain of one of the handicap teams; part of the recruitment team that offers introductory games to newcomers; acting as Play Leader for visiting parties; helping in the kitchen; maintenance of the mowers; and acting as a resource to the rest of us - knowing everything about the clubhouse and maintenance sheds and where things are and how they got there.

A humble man but a huge asset indeed.

Kay Martin - Bowdon Croquet Club

Kay MartinKay Martin

Kay Martin joined Bowdon Croquet Club in 2010. It soon became apparent that she was well organised and had good leadership skills. In November 2011 she joined the committee and in 2012 took on the role of Minutes Secretary, a challenging role that she has executed well with great patience & good humour. In 2018, Kay ably managed the re-writing of the Club's Constitution & Rules.

Driven by her love of cooking and entertaining, she quickly became involved in catering for tournaments and other club functions. Kay also took on responsibility for organising social activities within the club, which has been greatly appreciated, particularly over the past few years.

Kay has also been a driving force in the creation of a Health & Welfare group that has maintained contact with members whose health issues have limited their ability to participate in club activities.

Kay has often represented Bowdon as a member of club teams and is a regular participant in the club roll-up sessions.

She has been a team player in every sense of the world and has made a great contribution to everyday life at Bowdon Croquet Club.

Ken Cooper - Bowdon Croquet Club

Ken CooperKen Cooper

Ken Cooper joined Bowdon Croquet Club in 1986. Having served an initial spell on the Club Committee in the 1990s, Ken rejoined the committee in November 2011, and was appointed Hon. Croquet Secretary, a post he held until 2023. He also represented Bowdon at meetings of the NW Federation.

Ken's many accomplishments as a Coach were formally recognised by the Coach of the Year award in 2013. Since then, Ken has continued to act as Bowdon's Club Coach, leading the introduction of beginners to croquet through Taster Sessions and following on with a variety of skills development sessions.

As a player, Ken has been a regular member of Bowdon's teams in the North West Federation and for teams competing in the national knock-out competitions. He has been on the winning side in the Mary Rose (2001) & Secretary's Shield (2014). Ken also reached the finals of both the Longman Cup (1989) and the AC Inter-Club Championship (2007). He has also represented Cheshire at the AC Inter-Counties.

Ken was instrumental in the development of Bowdon's much-used website in 2003 and served as our webmaster for many years.

Thank you, Ken for your contribution to Bowdon Croquet Club in such a wide variety of roles over what will soon be forty years!

Linda Pike - Craig Y Don Croquet Club

Linda PikeLinda Pike

Linda is a founder member of the Craig y Don Croquet Club now in its 13th year. We started this 2024 season with 60 members, 45 are ladies most of whom play socially.

We have the use of a single crown green bowling lawn from 1st April till October 31st yet offer two 90% sized long lawns with an overlapping rectangle. Members play both Golf and Association.

Linda is the bridge between the two groups, competitive and social, the life and soul of the party and the super glue of the club.

She organises all the refreshments both the purchasing and serving. She has a regular group of friends who play socially yet fiercely and meet all year round for coffee mornings and meals.

She is co-leader of our weekly u3a Group bringing a revenue of £1,000pa, plus generating new club members each season.

The club entered The Federation's Golf league last season for the first time. Only a dozen members have played so far in the league and other lengthy competitive matches against neighbouring clubs, one of whom of course, is Linda!

The club is currently raising money for a new Clubhouse. Part of the fundraising is a bimonthly tabletop sale, organised and run, by Linda. She has recently taken over the role as Club Treasurer for the year as we seek a permanent replacement for that office.

We really don't know what we would do without her.

Mike Cockburn - Compton Croquet Club

Mike CockburnMike Cockburn

Like another Compton stalwart, the late Graham Thompson, Mike came to croquet from rugby. He joined in 2001, since when he has been active as both a player and in most other aspects of club affairs. He qualified as a coach and as a referee, led an operation to level the lawns, and could be found painting hoops and benches, or attending to the welfare of our ornamental cherry tree.

Mike joined the committee in 2008 and undertook an 8-year term as chairman two years later. His leadership and counsel were particularly valuable during this period when a general reluctance to raise subscriptions adversely affected the club's finances; and initial plans to replace the rapidly deteriorating clubhouse fell apart and were only rescued by the determined efforts of Caroline and Ray Cosham.

Mike was elected a vice president in 2018 and has continued to organise the club's U-league fixtures. On tournament days his early-bird help in setting up for the day is always appreciated and we are very fortunate to have use of his GP skills on the rare occasions when medical problems arise. Last but not least, mention must be made of his culinary skills demonstrated annually at the club barbeque: lamb and salmon to die for!

Peter Lowe - Tyneside Croquet Club

Peter LowePeter Lowe

Peter joined Tyneside Croquet Club in the early 90s and since then has played a key role in the smooth running of the Club. His early roles included becoming a Golf Croquet coach, Club handicapper and team manager for several of our competitions.

In 2015 Peter was voted in as our Club Secretary and, during the next 6 years, he introduced croquet 'away days' to the employees of local firms. These sessions, as well as being enjoyable, helped to boost Club funds.

He developed a good relationship with Urban Green who became the agency responsible for the maintenance and running of Exhibition Park, ensuring any issues we raised were dealt with promptly. He assists in the many tasks that are involved in our lawn care. He also agreed to be the Club representative at the meetings of the Board of Park Trustees.

Peter also organises our Annual Presentation Dinner and has set up a very successful monthly pub lunch where members can meet during the closed winter season.

After stepping down from his role as Secretary, Peter was voted in as Club Chairman and for the last 4 years has ensured the smooth running of Tyneside Croquet Club. Although he is no longer our Chairman, he continues to be an active member of the Committee.

Peter is a dedicated and committed member of Tyneside Croquet Club and is always available to help and encourage new members to improve their game.

Peter Nelson - Sidmouth Croquet Club

Peter NelsonPeter Nelson

Peter Nelson has been a key member at Sidmouth for many years taking on a number of roles and applying his clear strategic thinking and skills of persuasion to move the club forward to its current strong position. At the same time, he has also been playing and enjoying croquet to a good standard locally, in tournaments around the country and overseas.

Peter volunteered to join the club committee in 2012 and has been Treasurer, and was Chair for six years until 2020. He returned to the Committee in 2021 to take over the role of coordinating open tournaments.

Sidmouth is a multi-sports club and Peter serves on the General Management Committee overseeing the running of the bar. He takes a leading role in promoting the club and developing players through coaching, especially efforts to help GC players to try AC which is his preferred format.

With his background in engineering, Peter has been a great help in the practical side of running the club, helping with maintenance of the buildings and even mastering the verticutter to enable the smooth running of major tournaments.

Beyond the club, Peter has served on the committee of the South West Federation, was the SWF representative on the CA and has recently served as Vice-chair of the Croquet Association Council.

Rena Souten - Huddersfield Croquet Club

Rena SoutenRena Souten

Rena Souten joined Huddersfield Croquet Club in 2004 and quickly became a committed and active member. She joined the Committee in 2005 and was elected President in January 2008. Standing down as President in 2012, Rena took on the role of Secretary which she still performs.

As Secretary, she has dealt with publicity, and taken charge of the Club's website and our presence on Facebook. The Club has benefited from Rena's organisational skills, evident in many ways over the years: setting up our "Pay and Play" and taster sessions; organising Croquet afternoon/cream teas; liaising with charities for our fundraising events; communicating with the Local Council, who maintain the Club's venue; and in particular when coordinating our 30th Anniversary celebrations in 2022. These included a 30-hour non-stop Croquetathon played across two venues with Club members and visiting players participating.

Rena regularly plays in our Short Lawn and Full Lawn AC Federation League teams. She has attended CA Courses to improve her play and competed in CA Tournaments around the North and the Midlands. After taking the CA Course to qualify as a Club-Level Coach, Rena has organised and successfully co-led our Beginners Courses for the last three years.

In 2023, the Huddersfield Croquet Club members voted Rena as Member of the Year. A good Secretary is a foundation stone for a good Club and we are fortunate to have Rena Souten as ours. Alongside this goes being a good club member and Rena excels at this, being welcoming, willing and keen to share her knowledge and skills with patience and encouragement.

Rena is simply an asset to our Club and a Secretary any Club would be proud to have.

Roger Thorn - Exeter Croquet Club

Roger ThorneRoger Thorn

Since the mid-1990s Roger has been an honoured, much-valued and hardworking member of the Exeter Croquet Club.

During much of this time, he was the club coach and only retired from that role recently. Despite having to give up playing because of injury he still took a keen interest in the club and still, from time to time, continued to attend coaching sessions and loved the company of our members.

From the outset, Roger played AC and was diligent in seeking to introduce new members to that code. With the increase in the popularity of GC Roger adapted his role accordingly but never ignored the interests of AC and continued to seek to introduce new members to it.

He qualified as a coach and was also a regular and highly skilled team player.

He devoted hours to the role and often would be found at the club four or five days a week. He was welcoming to new players and always patient and understanding with those of limited ability. He was an encouragement to all.

He was a man of compassion who took it upon himself to bring an elderly member to the club and also a member confined to a wheelchair. Furthermore when one of our senior members succumbed to dementia Roger would regularly visit her and for as long as it was possible involve her in the life of the club.

Small clubs like Exeter would not survive without the likes of Roger Thorn.

Very sadly Roger died on 12th July 2024. His contribution to our club was immense.

Sara Anderson - Woking Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club

Sara AndersonSara Anderson

Sara Anderson epitomises all that is laudable in a talented, committed Croquet England player, coach and administrator, operating with remarkable efficiency at multiple levels.

Nationally, she is a member of the Handicap Committee.

In 2023 she was key in organising the hosting of rounds of the World Croquet Federation's AC World Championships at Woking.

She is the tournament entries secretary for Croquet England tournaments hosted at Woking (generally eight tournaments spanning 15 days annually). She manages most of them.

She is a Grade 1 AC and GC coach and, at club level, she is extremely successful in introducing new members to croquet and in helping experienced players achieve improved levels. She is a knowledgeable AC referee.

From 2006 until 2018 Sara was club secretary at WLTCC. During that time her interest in croquet was stimulated and she met with remarkable success:

In 2011 she was the Most Improved Lady Player (awarded the Steel Memorial Bowl).

She won the Thorpe Cup at Roehampton in 2012.

And was a member of the Woking team winning the Longman Cup in 2013.

Since that time a series of injuries has curtailed her progress.

She remains a regular player at the Inter-Counties, at other Croquet England tournaments, and in inter-club and internal matches.

Sara is also the Croquet Section's secretary at the club. In that role she is indefatigable. She promotes new initiatives, which range from advocating the adoption of Golf Advantage play to doubters of change, to improving the catering for visiting club teams.

Her latest project is to engage home-schooled children in croquet, who are more readily available to coach than children constrained by the school curriculum.

In summary, Sara Anderson is a croquet powerhouse.

Simon Turner - Ealing Croquet Club

Simon TurnerSimon Turner

Simon took up croquet and joined Ealing Croquet Club a few years ago, but in that time has contributed an astonishing amount.

He took on the mantle of volunteer lawns manager, looking after our three lawns, sourcing a new contractor, overseeing the purchase of our own mower, and doing much of the work around the site himself.

This year he also commissioned much-needed work creating new steps and ramps to provide safe access to the lawns, and was on site for most of the seven days that the operation took. This piece of work was key to improving safe access for those moving around the site.

In 2023 Simon studied and qualified to become a club coach, actively encouraging members to improve their game, and running regular coaching sessions for newer members to try other variants of the game, as well as arranging and running social events.

He manages and officiates at tournaments and matches in his role as a qualified referee.

The club became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation a few years ago, and in 2023 Simon was appointed a Trustee, ensuring good governance and sound management, and taking the lead in Safeguarding, thoroughly reviewing our procedures and policies to ensure best practice in all areas. In addition to this he sits on the Executive and Tournament Committees.

Finally, Simon has managed to be a rapidly improving player of both Association Croquet and Golf Croquet. Perhaps most importantly of all, he runs our "bar" (in reality a fridge) and keeps it well stocked with the necessary beverages!

Croquet clubs have always relied on volunteers to survive and thrive, and Simon is an outstanding example of someone who has brought energy and commitment to Ealing Croquet Club, respected and looked up to by all members.

Stuart Smith - Broadwas Croquet Club

Stuart SmithStuart Smith

Stuart Smith joined Broadwas Croquet Club in 2008 having had a little experience of the sport in his formative years. It quickly became apparent that Stuart would be a very good player and as such rapidly became club captain. As well as continually improving his own game, Stuart actively encouraged individual club members to expand their horizons by entering national events such as the All England championships and Grass Roots and also encouraged the club to enter more Federation leagues as well as National Championships. Spurred on by Stuart the club won the Murphy Shield in the first 2 years of its existence and also the West Midlands GC League for 7 of the first 8 years of entry. None of this would have happened without Stuart's efforts and captaincy.

After about 4 years of captaincy, Stuart took on the role of Chairman, and helped to increase the capacity of the club to five lawns with a membership of about 80. He helped to organise and run many events both social and croquet-related, where his tact and diplomacy were put to good use. He continued his work as Chairman, relinquishing the role in 2023. Additionally, Stuart took on the duties of club Treasurer, where his accountancy skills are greatly appreciated to this day.

Added to all this, Stuart's work 'behind the scenes' includes organising the club's fixtures with other clubs; organising mowing teams; working on the club committee as well as 'getting his hands dirty' mowing or painting the clubhouse.

Stuart has worked tirelessly to improve the running of Broadwas Croquet Club using good management practice as well as helping to extend the playing boundaries of club members - so much so that Broadwas are one of the English teams 'playing in Europe' this summer.

Sylvia Wheatley - Worthing Croquet Club

Sylvia WheatleySylvia Wheatley

Sylvia was one of the founding members of Worthing CC back in the 1980s. She saw the club grow in membership and move venues until finally settling at Field Place.

Sylvia is instrumental in the smooth running of the club.

She is currently our Match Secretary and as such, organises internal competitions and those against other clubs.

Sylvia acts as our club referee and is our go-to person for any queries on the rules, solving any disputes calmly.

She welcomes new members to the club and offers taster sessions to those who are thinking of joining the club.

She runs a "New to Croquet" competition every year and encourages all members, regardless of ability to play their best and "have a go".

Sylvia organises fun competitions, such as Speed Croquet and Pirates, encouraging members to come along and bring a picnic and friends who might like to play or offer support.

Sylvia keeps in touch with all members and ensures that she makes contact with them if they are ill or have not played for a while.

Sylvia has been the club handicapper for several years and is ensuring a smooth handover of that role as she retires from the committee.

She will be missed in lots of ways, but we're hoping will continue to play croquet for many years yet.

Terrey Sparks - East Anglian Federation

Terrey SparksTerrey Sparks

Terrey has been an integral part of the East Anglian Croquet Federation for twenty five years. He has taken on most official roles in the organisation (Chairman, Secretary, Tournament Organiser, CA Representative) but more importantly has always been an enthusiastic creator of events, which he continues to set up and run. These include the two Club Champions' tournaments (AC and GC) in which top players from the region's clubs compete, the Anderson Shield (named after our wonderful, sadly missed original Secretary, Judy Anderson) which is an AC club knockout competition and the Ken Wheeler Shield a GC tournament for East Anglian county teams. Terrey plays to a high standard and manages tournaments with the same dry humour that characterises his competitive play.

Tim Spores - Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club

Tim SporesTim Spores

Tim has been a member of Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club for eight years. As a qualified GC referee, he is a skilful exponent of the game and one of the most widely respected members in the club

He has shown complete dedication to the club in a great number of ways including:

Tim's contribution to the club is outstanding.

Viv Staley - Nottingham Croquet Club

Viv StaleyViv Staley

Viv joined Nottingham Croquet Club as a new member in 2013, and quickly got to grips with Association Croquet to become a competent player, and got her handicap down to single figures. More importantly, she rapidly got to know everyone in the club and became part of the social glue which holds the club together.

She has willingly undertaken a wide range of roles in the club, including running the club clothing "shop", looking after first aid equipment, and in recent years editing and publishing our monthly newsletter, which contains a wealth of information and images of club activities. Viv's most notable contribution, however, has been as the club's coaching coordinator - a role where she has made a huge contribution, particularly in reinvigorating our beginner coaching and creating our flagship "Learn to Play" course. In this role she has recruited and nurtured a succession of coaches, organising and facilitating training courses for them. Viv has also laid great emphasis on post-course support and follow-up which has undoubtedly contributed to improving retention of beginners. She is also always willing to offer high bisquers a game herself.

The club is indebted to Viv.