Bowling Along For 100 Years

Acknowledgements

In researching this book I have had to rely hugely on past minutes books from the club, some of which were not available, and before the entry of the typewriter and later the PC, were written sometimes very legibly and at others in a hand that was most difficult to decipher.

Another source of information has been the local newspapers, the Leamington Spa Courier and the now defunct Leamington Morning News, and I am grateful to Martin Lawson, editor of the Leamington Courier, for permission to use information gleaned from its columns. All of the newspaper research was carried out at Leamington Public Library and I am indebted to Judith Harridge and the rest of the staff there for their help and co-operation, always cheerfully given.

I have been helped by some of our older members and by the families of former members with the supply of photographs and details, and although I have not used all that was loaned or given to me, it has all helped to build the bigger picture. One of my best sources was to have been Lol Hooper, and we were already in discussion when he regrettably passed away two years ago. My thanks therefore go to Ann Clark, his daughter, and to Alan Alderman, Peter Chater, Ivor Harris, Binky Herbert, Bill Jennings, Janet Langston (nee Sayce), Roy Scrivens, Jean Simmons, Pat Smith, June Sumner, Maureen Sumner (nee Whittaker), Ian Thorburn, Mark Thorburn, Bill Ward & Kath Winbush. My apologies go to anybody I have inadvertently missed off this list. Thanks also go to Robert Finn for proof-reading the book.

Likewise I offer sincere apologies to those who are not mentioned in the book and feel that perhaps they should have been. I can assure you that the information I first put together and drafted into rough form was about three times the size of the finished article, and a line had to be drawn somewhere. Those that are missing may well have featured in the original, and you can be assured that no slight is intended if your name or photograph is not in the finished article.

Should I have made any errors of fact or omission, may I plead ignorance or incorrect information. All details have been assiduously checked, as far as I am able, to ensure accuracy.

I would like to offer a big thank you to those who have advertised to help defray some of the cost of production. At the time we were seeking to finalise our advertising contributors, the country went into a serious monetary downturn, and many who would otherwise have supported us felt in the financial climate that they were unable to do so. For this reason we are more than ever grateful to those who did and I hope that you will give them your support in return when you can.