Southwark Park History - Athletics

I said I would post some history of the park. Here is something I wrote over two years ago. Sadly the athletics track remains in a dilapidated and unused state.

Some Races Run
Glimpses of Athletics in Southwark Park
by
Pat Kingwell



“An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets.
He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.”
Emil Zatopek

© Patrick Kingwell

Introduction

I write this as Southwark Council is about to consider what to do about athletics in its oldest public park. The existing facilities are no longer fit for purpose and need to be replaced, or at the very least, significantly upgraded. The good news is that with the London Olympics just five years away there is no better time to be making plans and putting them into practice. In the athletics world there is palpable support for realistic improvements to the Southwark Park Sports Complex, and amongst those who control the purse strings an apparent desire to provide the money to make it happen. Seize the day indeed.

This little history harks back to very different times. If you grant me the kindness of reading what follows, you will meet up with the pioneers who introduced organised athletics into Southwark Park in the last decade of the nineteenth century. You will find out about the thriving schools sports festivals run by teachers prior to the First World War. You will also be reminded of the contribution made by those in the local labour and trade union movement in the years before the Second World War. Coming to more recent times you will be reminded of the development of the existing athletics facilities in the 1980s.

I am struck by the obvious dedication and passion of the early athletics enthusiasts who were determined to do the best for their sport and for the people who took part in it. I take great pleasure in mentioning their names, as I also do in recording details of certain competitors and their achievements – long forgotten, but recalled once more.

I have relied heavily on contemporary local newspaper reports for much of the information. The detail contained in the articles from the unattributed reporters is a marvel. Thank you scribblers unknown, your words live again. I have also consulted the records of the London County Council and Greater London Council held at the London Metropolitan Archives. Last, but certainly not least, as always the Southwark Local Studies Library has been invaluable.

Pat Kingwell
Greenwich
August 2007


Cricket Was King

Today it is common to find urban public parks with sports facilities and Southwark Park is typical in catering for a wide variety of games. But this was not always so. The movement to create Southwark Park began in the 1830’s, yet in the thousands of words written and spoken by its proponents, you will search long and hard to find any reference to sport in general, let alone athletics in particular. Back then the broad arguments for creating the park were based on health, moral and economic considerations. By the mid 1850s Bermondsey and Rotherhithe was an area notable for outbreaks of cholera and other epidemics, and a park, so it was argued, was needed for fresh air. It offered recreational alternatives to the vices of drinking, prostitution and crime, which so exercised the minds of respectable Victorian society. It allowed workers the necessary relaxation to keep fit to do their jobs, and during construction there was employment for local people as well as wealth for businesses.

For the Victorian reformers the park was about nature, tranquillity, health and moral improvement. Sport was not on the agenda, except for cricket, which was deemed to be both morally and physically uplifting. Within a year or so of Southwark Park opening in 1869, the Oval, the largest space within its boundaries, became the preserve of local cricket clubs. Despite attempts by other sports to gain a foothold that is how it remained for about twenty years. An exchange of letters in a local newspaper of the time gives a taste of the power the cricketers enjoyed and an insight into the Victorian’s paternalistic perception of the benefits of sport:

“Dear Sir - Will you kindly permit me to occupy a space in your valuable columns on behalf of the boys of Bermondsey? It appears to me that when our boys leave school and go out into the world as clerks, etc., they have very little chance of acquiring that bodily as well as mental improvement so necessary for the support and enjoyment of life, and consequently they become dull, unhealthy and insipid. As however, all the talking in the world will do the matter no good, I beg to submit a proposition for the stoppage of such a growing evil.

I see the Southwark Park authorities have recently erected some gymnastic bars, swings, climbing poles etc., and that is certainly one step in the right direction. More, nevertheless, is yet needed, and as the spacious oval at this period of the year is almost unused on Saturday afternoons, I beg to submit that the park authorities take into consideration the fact that the ground might well be used for such sports as running, jumping, etc.. If such a thing could be carried out the various little items connected with it could easily be arranged.

For instance, by a little judicious management the ground might be slightly improved and adapted for the sport. Each boy that entered a race should subscribe a small sum (say 2d or 3d), and the better part of the stakes should go to the winner, with a smaller sum to second and third. The ages of the competitors might very well be limited to between 10 and 18. The sports should commence about 3.30 or 4 p.m. I certainly think that if this proposition could be carried out our boys would eagerly patronise such a splendid chance of acquiring the prizes given, and at the same time (what is more important) the muscular development certain to emanate from such manly, healthful and invigorating exercise, would, I am sure, serve for to chase away the apathy and want of animation seemingly characteristic of the boys of Bermondsey during the winter months.
I am Sir, yours truly, Pater.”[1]

“ Sir - I would like to place one or two facts before ‘Pater’ in connection with the subject he has taken in hand for the sole purpose of seeing his name in print, as there could be no other reason for such a letter.

Now, Mr. Pater, are you a resident of this district? If so, how often do you go to the park for I am inclined to think it is very little...I think when you go into the park you only go to one part...if you take a walk all around the park and look about you...you will find plenty of open spaces that will do for the object you have in view without making the ridiculous proposition you have been pleased to make, viz., using the oval for running and jumping. Probably Mr. Pater is not aware the oval is a cricket ground, but if he has been in the park in the summer he could not have failed to see the hundreds of men and boys who enjoy themselves on a summer’s evening playing the noble game of cricket... If he understands anything about cricket, which is pretty evident he does not, he must know that running and jumping on the ground would make it quite unfit for cricket...I also beg to point out to him five different places on which he could hold his races instead of the cricket ground. There is the open space by the workhouse, one by the Rotherhithe New Road, another along the rope-walk, and another between the main entrance and Christ-church, and there is the open space where the band used to play... Mr. Pater, if he knows anything at all, must know that it would be impossible to interfere with the rights of the many to please the few which would surely be the case, as where one would prefer Pater’s races, fifty would prefer cricket...
Yours truly, Pater’s Admirer. “[2]

Cambridge Harriers

No doubt there was plenty of informal running and jumping taking place in the park, but it was not until the 1890s that organised athletics emerged. The records suggest that the first request to the London County Council (L.C.C.) seeking permission to use the park for athletics practice was made on 14th January 1890 by E.E. Rendle, 115 Lower Road, on behalf of Southwark Mutual Harriers. There is no indication of a decision either way.

On 12th December 1890 the L.C.C. agreed Cambridge Harriers could hold a sports day on the edge of Oval the following spring.[3] This was the start of serious athletics in the park and heralded the beginning of a relationship between the club and the park that lasted until the First World War.

A little context on the origins of Cambridge Harriers may be helpful. Today Cambridge Harriers Athletics Club is based in Greenwich, but its beginnings can be found in Bermondsey. From the 1870s both Oxford and Cambridge Universities developed settlements in South London where graduates and undergraduates lived amongst the poor, devoting their time to philanthropic, educational, social and religious activities.

In June 1885 the Clare College Mission was established near Southwark Park. In 1889 Rev. A. Amos, a rugby blue, took charge and helped form a number of clubs for men and boys in the district. Cambridge Harriers developed out of a cricket club, and in 18th July 1890 held its inaugural meeting. The main instigators of the Harriers were Messrs Sayers and Russell, and the first Secretary was J. Cottrell who lived in Rotherhithe New Road, and later Bolina Road.

The Harriers’ opening run was held on 6th October 1890 from the Tranquil Restaurant, 56 Tranquil Vale, Blackheath, and was attended by fifteen members. Encouraged by this the club sought, and was given approval from the L.C.C. to hold a sports meeting in Southwark Park.

On 28th March 1891 the Harriers held the first annual sports day on the Oval. Upwards of 1,000 people attended, and although “ a capital programme was presented, unfortunately the harriers were unable to carry it out because of the conduct of some of the spectators, who had evidently assembled with the intention of spoiling the arrangements…. the officials deserve great praise for the manner in which they worked under such trying circumstances.”[4]

The first item on the programme was a mile handicap race for novices, “which was run with but little interruption.” Those taking part were H. Judd (scratch); J. Dutnall (3 seconds start); A. Russell (7 seconds start); F. Coaffee and A. Wallond (10 seconds start); H. Quarterman (15 seconds start); T. Taylor (20 seconds start); C. Vennell and G. Head (25 seconds start). Dutnall won in a time of 5 minutes 35 seconds, followed by H. Judd and A. Russell some ten seconds behind.

The 100 yards handicap was next attempted, but “it was with great difficulty that the heats were run as the crowd frequently broke through the ropes and stopped the racing at least for a time.”

Four heats were completed, as follows:

Heat 1. A. Wallond, 1 yard start, first; J. Dutnall one yard start second; A. Neale, scratch, third.

Heat 2. T. Taylor, 8 yards start first; J. Cottrell, scratch, second.

Heat 3. A. Chambers, 6 yards start, first; F. Smerdon 3½ yards start, second; J. Hetherington, scratch, third.

Heat 4. W. Smerdon, 1½ yards start, first; C. Vennell, 6 yards start, second.

A two miles match between J. Hetherington and J. Cottrell, described as a good race, was won by Hetherington in 11 minutes 35 seconds.

The running high jump was contested by Messrs. Dutnall, W. Judd, F. Judd, Smerdon, Hetherington and Russell. ” This went very smoothly until the five feet jump, when a party of roughs broke into the ropes and the sport had to be brought to a hasty termination. All further sport was now entirely suspended although the programme had not been half carried out.”

The judges were: Messrs. R. Wennell, F. Craske, H. Taylor, E. Coaffee, and A. White, and the referee, Mr. W. Franks. The stewards were Messrs. J. Cottrell, J. Hetherington and A. Russell. Mr. A.H. Orbell acted as starter, and Mr. H. Rolfe as timekeeper.

In 1892, presumably chastened by their experience of crowd participation the year before, Cambridge Harriers sought their own athletics area in the park, but were refused permission. In the spring of 1893, a body known as the Public Athletics Tracks Association prepared a petition to L.C.C. calling for running tracks in the parks and open spaces. J. Cottrell of Cambridge Harriers was a signatory. The petition read:

“Your petitioners base their request for your favourable consideration of this appeal on the following grounds:

That whilst cricket, football, lawn tennis and other pastimes are provided for, there is a total lack of accommodation for running, the result being, that a number of races are at present held (when not prohibited by the police) on the road, to the inconvenience of the public, and the risk of accident to the competitors.

Your petitioners therefore pray that, where practicable, a staked level track be provided, and also where possible dressing accommodation.

In order to overcome any possible difficulty with regard to the proper control of persons using such tracks, your petitioners humbly suggest the adoption of the following rule, together with such others as your Honourable Council may think fit.

Each person using the track for training purposes must be an amateur, and be provided with a permit, to be obtained of such authority as your Honourable Council may appoint.”[5]

The L.C.C. remained unmoved, but Cottrell continued to petition. In a letter to the local newspaper he called for support:
“Our objects are to petition the London County Council with a view to their laying out running tracks in some of our parks and open spaces, and so to put the amateur foot-racer on the same basis as cricketers, footballers etc. Not only that; should a track be provided in Southwark Park, I am sure it would be a source of amusement and pastime to the local public, as are the other outdoor sports that are catered for. Will those gentlemen willing to assist in this matter by obtaining signatures send a postcard, which would be forwarded. Secretaries of clubs and other institutions in the neighbourhood are invited to communicate with a view to assisting us to obtain signatures.”[6]

Although they were unable to change the minds of the L.C.C. the Harriers continued to flourish and hold athletics meetings in Southwark Park, and in May 1895 were finally allowed to use the Oval.
“The Oval is to be closed to spectators who will obtain a splendid and uninterrupted view from the rails, only the officials and competitors being allowed inside…The nomination fee is 1s; a season subscription 2s 6d; entrance fee to races 1s or by composition fee 3s. For boys under 16, season subscription is 1s and entrance fee to races 3d. The usual valuable prizes will be given, viz. three for each race, besides the first twelve in each race scoring points for the challenge trophy presented by the proprietors of Kop’s Brewery Co., and known as Kop’s Ale Challenge Cup.”[7]

Despite the name Kop’s Ale was a soft drink favoured by the temperance movement, and maybe it contributed a little to the success of the event:
“The spectators, who were compelled to remain outside the rails, were very numerous. The contests taking place on the side of the Oval the public had a splendid view of them.”[8]

The 100 yards handicap was run over four heats and “the final caused much excitement. So close did the competitors keep together that it was exceeding difficult to see who was leading. Near the conclusion, C. Hetherington, putting on an extra spurt, forged ahead and came in first. J. Cottrell came in second, with A. Southwell close behind.”

Prizes were awarded – the winner received a case of carvers; the runner-up a pair of field glasses; and the third, a biscuit box.

The 100 yards handicap for under-16s was contested by T. Chandler, A. Blackmore, C. Jackson, H. Cox and C. Champ. Despite his surname the latter did not prevail. The winner was Chandler, who was awarded a solid silver chain as a prize, and the runner-up Jackson was presented with a volume of a contemporary magazine, “Illustrated Bits.”

The next meeting on 21 June 1895 consisted of a 300 yard members’ handicap and a one mile invitation inter-team race between local cricket clubs. For the latter race it was decided each club should enter six men and to allow competitors to wear any costume, running, cricket or football. Only three cricket clubs took part – St. Winifred’s, Cambridge and Sutherland. Of one of the heats of the 300 yards handicap it was reported: “This race caused a little excitement amongst the spectators, inasmuch as J.J. Lamb had the misfortune to be thrown to the ground. While passing between the other two competitors he happened to get in front of W.W. Burroughs, who had been leading, and who, it was alleged, pushed him, causing him to fall. The second place was therefore given to J.J. Lamb, the first having been taken by H. Finch.”[9]

The meeting on 12 July 1895 consisted of a half-mile members’ handicap and a 200 yards handicap for boys under-16. The half mile race had a field of seventeen, made up of Messrs. Cubbage, Cottrell, Everson, Hammond, Braddick, Allen, Rodwell, Finch, Johnson, Lamb, Nash, Lagdon, Beaven, Stubbs, Hall, Burroughs and Argent. The winner was Burroughs, followed closely by Cottrell and Finch. The under 16s race was contested by seven young men – T. Chandler, G. Clamp, A. Blackmore, P. Jackson, C. Clamp, H. Neale and H. Cox. The winner, Neale, received a silver medal presented by the proprietors of Tit Bits.[10]

On 15th April 1896 the Harriers’ Annual General Meeting was held at Duke of Suffolk pub in Hawkstone Road, and the reports of the time list those who were connected with the club:

Chairman: A. Sayers
President: J. Cumming Macdona M.P.
Vice Presidents: C. Oscar Gridley; A.H.A Morton, L.C.C.; W.H.Payne, L.C.C.; E. Spencer Stidolph; W. Wells; R. Davy; J.J. Lamb, Snr.; C. Darling, Q.C. M.P.
Captain: A.F. Burroughs
Vice-captain: C.E. Nash
Secretary: J. Cottrell
Assistant Secretary and Handicapper: J. Wilkinson
Concert Steward: C. Hetherington
Committee: J. Lamb; W. Fricker; A. Holland; A. Sayers; A. Hammond; W. Beaven; H. Rodwell [11]

On 28 April 1898 a Harriers meeting attracted about 600 spectators and included a novelty mile walking race in which one contestant gave the other a quarter of a mile start. “T.E. Brooks had set himself an impossible task of endeavouring to give W. Sutton 250 yards start in a mile walk, consequently Sutton won an uninteresting race by quite the full length of his start. No doubt a match on level terms would make a splendid contest.”

The 100 yards boys handicap race was won by H.C Foss (12 years of age) with J.A. Card (9 years of age) second and H.W. Foreman (5 and half years of age) third. Other races included a three-quarter mile challenge handicap which attracted a good number of runners. The race was won by A.F. Burroughs, and the reporter noted “The large number of competitors made it a very pretty sight…there was an entry of 33 which constitutes a record, and goes to show the popularity the club is attaining locally.”

Although there was growing access to athletics the following comment shows that certain sartorial and social barriers remained:
“It does not seem to be generally known that the permission has been obtained through this club from the London County Council for the use of the cricket oval on Monday and Wednesday evenings during the summer, for the purpose of training...Although the permit has been obtained through the medium of the club, it is open for anyone (not necessarily a member), to use the oval, provided he is attired in proper University costume.” [12]

On 29 June 1898 a Harriers meeting attracted a record attendance of over 2000: “If any doubt previously existed as to the popularity of these sports none will exist after the gathering on this occasion. From the commencement of the programme a keen interest was taken in the racing, a fact demonstrated by the hearty applause that greeted the close finishes.” There were also comic costume races, the final being contested by runners dressed as a policeman, a soldier, a swell and a Scotchman. The policeman won.[13]

On 20 July 1898 again over 2000 people attended: “In consequence of the recent influx of the heel and toe division to the club, the committee decided to alter the one mile walk to a race of two miles…the race being considered an ordinary club handicap, instead of a novelty event, as before.” In this first serious walking race recorded in the park, F. Huggett prevailed over R. Harvey and H. Finch, with nine other competitors further behind. The boys’ 150 yard handicap was contested by sixteen runners aged between seven and thirteen years of age, with F. Hilling winning the final in a time of 25 seconds.[14]

By 1899 Cambridge Harriers had been given permission to use the cricket pavilion for changing, but had to meet the costs of the dressing room attendant. Over the next few years the club continued to prosper, and in 1903 the Bermondsey and Rotherhithe Advertiser could report:
“The flat season of the local harriers has been very successful, and deservedly so. The club was originally formed with the idea of keeping together a dozen or so young fellows belonging to a cricket club, but now finds itself with a membership of some 150 enthusiastic runners. Much of this success is due to the secretary, Mr. J. Cottrell, whose wide experience has been invaluable…” [15]

In October of that year, in his annual report to the L.C.C., the Park Superintendent James White commented that athletics was thriving on Monday and Wednesday evenings and early mornings from 6am – “mostly men employed in the printing trade.”

In a review of local sports in 1907, J. Ogilvie, “Olympian,” of the Bermondsey and Rotherhithe Advertiser concluded: “Nature, or should I say art, has denied to our district many facilities for the cultivation of sports and games, but the sporting spirit which permeates mankind finds ways and means for the indulgence of many forms of recreation…Turning to the world of athletics… splendid progress has to be recorded. One of the features of the athletic year has been the unprecedented success of the Cambridge Harriers in open meetings. And this continued success has been the result of steady, well sustained practice and of perfect esprit-de-corps on the part of the members. The summer meetings have done a deal to foster pure sport, and have provided entertainment for many. If the championship of the South of the Thames Cross Country Association falls to our local cracks next month, the victory will be most popular.” [16]

It is clear Cambridge Harriers played a major role in the development of athletics in Southwark Park. The club was organised and run by local people, had local political supporters, and the Secretary, J. Cottrell, must have been a man devoted to his sport and fellow athletes. The Harriers were important too in bringing spectators into the park – as we have seen the summer meetings were watched by thousands, albeit at times in a rather high spirited way. When the existing facilities in the park are eventually improved, and if there is an opening ceremony, it would surely be most fitting for Cambridge Harriers to be invited to take part?

Some Other Athletics Clubs

If Cambridge Harriers was the predominant athletics club in the park up to the First World War, there were others, most notably St. Katherine’s Harriers and the Southwark Park Club and Institute.

St. Katherine’s (Rotherhithe) Harriers held their first practice and meetings in the summer of 1901, and they seem to have continued to at least 1908. The 27th June 1903 meeting attracted over 2000 spectators to the Oval. The Secretary of the club was Mr. P Card of 14 Stalham Street, and the results that day included:
120 yards handicap had 23 entrants and the final was won by F. Hobbs
Two miles walking handicap had 11 entrants and was won by A. Banbrook
Flying squadron race was contested by 7 teams. Each team had 3 members who ran a relay format of 100 yards; followed by 440 yards and finally 880 yards. The victorious team comprised F. Jager, A. Butcher and E. Newton.
200 yards boys’ race had 76 entrants and was won by W. Scading.[17]

We know the Southwark Park Club and Institute held annual athletics meetings, and on the 28th October 1910 the local newspaper reported of the seventh such meeting, “considerable popularity attaches to the event.” E. Steele of the Raymouth Arms was commended for his services as starter.

The records show the following clubs also used the park for athletics – Christchurch Institute (1893); Baroda Athletics Club (1902); Oxford Medical Mission (1903); Charterhouse Mission (1906); and Kennington Harriers (1908.) From 1902 the City of London Police were allowed to train at athletics on the Oval one night a week during winter.

Bermondsey and Southwark School Sports Festivals

For all their fine work the athletics clubs of Bermondsey and Rotherhithe were limited in that they catered for male adults, and most probably from the better off working-class community. Children and women appear to have had no place in their story. This was to change to some degree with the emergence of the school sports festivals held regularly in Southwark Park from 1902 until the First World War. The origins of these festivals deserve fuller historical investigation, but it seems they emerged as a result of the influence of the Southwark Association of the National Union of Teachers, backed by the School Board of London. Another factor was the post-Boer War call for a nation of youths strong and fit enough to defend the Empire.

The first Bermondsey and Southwark School Sports Festival was held on 11th July 1902.[18] In order to facilitate the event the L.C.C. had granted a general holiday to its schools, and most of the voluntary schools also took part. Several thousand spectators watched and 37 schools took part - over 2,000 competitors and about 5,000 race entries. The key organisers were Mr. H. Court as Chairman and Messrs. S.B. Stotter and G.J. Davies as joint secretaries.

For the first time in reporting athletics women and girls are mentioned, albeit in the condescending tone of the time. “It may be noted that the ladies who worked were Miss A. Baldwin, Miss P.R. Price and Miss Walker who deserve every compliment for the – shall we say masterly – way in which they helped to carry out the arrangements connected with the girls’ events.“

After the races the Mayor of Bermondsey, Samuel Bevington, gave a speech in which “he emphasised the benefits which accrued from healthy and systematic physical exercise and outdoor sports…A good athlete was generally well-fitted for the exercise of his intellectual faculties as well as his physical…”

Mrs. Elizabeth Burgwin, a former local teacher, and currently superintendent for special schools, spoke, and “in a very forcible way enlarged upon the need of providing and caring for children of all classes. Such a festival as they had been witnessing that day was a splendid means of making the children’s lives happier and brighter. She thought that the one great object should be to make the children of this country intellectual and their lives full of promise.”

For no other reason than it would be nice to do so, here is a list of winners of the various events at that first festival.

Boys
100 yards (under 10) – A. Ibbett – 14 seconds
100 yards (under 12) – V. Cushing – 13.35 seconds
100 yards (under 14) – S. Reynolds – 13 seconds
High Jump (over 12) – R. Archer
Sack Race – W. Simmonds
Three Legged Race (Juniors) – Cooper and Kinber
Three Legged Race (Seniors) – F. Warwick and E. Portrey
220 Yards (under 12) – A. Ibbett – 31.20 seconds
220 Yards (over 12) – A. Underwood – 29 seconds
Catch-the-Train-Race – J. Mayho
Egg and Spoon Race – G. Chapman
Quarter mile (under 12) – A. Ibbett – 74 seconds
Quarter mile (over 12) – L. Watson – 70 seconds
Tug-of-War (seniors) – Monnow School beat Rolls Road School
Tug-of-War (juniors) – Rotherhithe New Road School beat Alma School
Long Jump (under 12) – A. Porter
Long Jump (over 12) – G. Tuffill
Throwing the Cricket Ball (under 12) – W. Cox
Throwing the Cricket Ball (over 12) – W. Rutherford
Obstacle Race – J. Salter

Girls
100 yards (under 10) – E. Johnson
100 yards (under 12) – A. Owen
100 yards (under 14) – F. Rogers
Dustpan, Brush and Corks – A. Jordan
Skipping Rope (under 12) – C. Walker
Skipping Rope (over 12) – C. Rand
Egg and Spoon Race – M. Thornton
Catch-the-Train-Race – O. Altham

On 10th July 1903 the second Southwark Schools Athletics festival attracted over 1800 child participants in a day-long event, which was accompanied by music from the band of the Royal Hospital School Greenwich. Over 8,000 watched and the Mayors of both Bermondsey and Southwark attended, as well as numerous local councillors. “The programme of events was a stupendous one, the number of children who entered for the many items totalling 1,800, whilst the total of separate entries reached the big total of 4,000. A start was made at eleven o’clock, and seven o’clock had nearly struck when the last prize had been handed over by the Mayor of Bermondsey. The very best organisation was needed to carry such a huge programme through with success…”[19]

The report then dutifully lists the names of referees, judges, starters, marksmen, timekeeper, whips, clerks, stewards and members of the reception, events and finance committees. In all there were over 150 adult participants!

The importance of the festival can also be gauged by those who contributed to the prize fund – the Mayors of Bermondsey and Southwark; Colonel Bevington; Lord Llangattock; Henry Cust M.P.; Dr. Macnamara M.P.; L.C.C. representatives Dr. George Cooper and A. A. Allen; School Board for London members Rev. F. Brown; Alderman Dumphreys; Red. J. Scott Lidgett; J. Pascall and T. Gantrey; the directors of the Surrey Commercial Docks; T.H. Flood; H.N. Philcox; J.J. Cunningham; T.H. Venables; G.Girling; A.G. Wedmore and J.W. Brown.

It is interesting to see the credit given to the teachers in some of the speeches made on that day. The Mayor of Bermondsey, A. Burton said “he had been greatly pleased with what he had seen that afternoon, for there was no question at all to the good effect that such work the teachers had engaged upon beyond their ordinary labours had upon the children, both physically and morally…He heartily congratulated the teachers upon their sacrifice of leisure to indulge in such labours, and was glad to see that success had crowned their efforts that day.”

The Mayor of Southwark, T. Bryan “remembered that when he was a lad he went to a Board school, but his teacher no more thought of playing with him than he thought of flying. Instead he used to, with the aid of a big stick, try to cram as many facts into his head as he could, and when he had done that he considered he had done his duty.. But in these days a teacher did not think he had done his duty until he had worked and also played with his pupils.”

Rev J. Scott Lidgett also touched on a wider issue and “observed they were all deeply sensible of their obligations to the many teachers who had made that gathering so great a success. They had given abundantly of their time and leisure, their energy and enthusiasm to what they all more and more perceived was a case of the greatest importance to the whole community. Their were some who were filled with anxiety as to whether Englishmen would maintain their physical condition, size, strength and constitution under the conditions of our modern city life…they who had to do with the schools had their part to play…and sports organised and carried out like those that day would do a great deal to bringing up a race of strong, healthy boys and girls to take their places as the workers in the days to come.”

Mrs. Burgwin went political and said “it was not right that Southwark children should have to travel to Bermondsey to find an open space in which to carry out their sports, but if the inhabitants returned Mr. Bryan as Mayor a few times that would be remedied...It was a pleasure to see the local prime ministers taking an interest in the children, because it was an example to the child that in his own immediate district he should live honestly and well, and be able to look forward to the time when he, a poor Board school boy, might become the chief citizen of his borough.”

By the third Southwark Sports Festival in 1904 the initial enthusiasm for the event was tempered with some criticism of the arrangements:
“ Granted that Southwark Park Oval is not exactly an ideal place for the purpose, something better could easily be done…May I suggest that for a year or two, until the officiate acquires experience, outside judges be asked to act – they can be had for the asking; the programme be drawn up without bunching the finals at the end, a very bad practice; second rounds be avoided except in the sprints; the starters of boy’s and girl’s races to see that they do not fire the pistol when confusion in starting may ensue; a clerk of the course and enclosure stewards be appointed to keep the ground clear; the names of competitors in the teams and tug-of-war, with reserves, be printed on the programme; all competitors be numbered; and the programme timed.

It may be thought that the first suggestion is unduly severe on the judging, but when I state that on one occasion a girl, who instead of skipping ran the last six yards was placed first in her heat, that another heat was awarded to a lad who ran outside the posts and did not touch the worsted, that a boy had to run twice for a place which he clearly occupied in the first instance, that “no pull” was declared in the junior final of the tug-of-war by a referee without any appeal from the judges, and that in one race several minutes elapsed ere judges could be found for a race in which the competitors were waiting on their marks, it will be seen that the suggestion is not entirely unwarranted. I have written freely because there is scope for a grand meeting, and nothing should be allowed to stand in the way of complete success.”[20]

In reply the obviously proud organisers were quite happy to dip their spoon deep in the irony jar:
“Please permit us to state at the outset that we arrange these sports purely for the enjoyment and physical benefit of our children, and not with a desire to train them to become professional athletes. We mention this because we fancy we can detect a thread of professionalism running through the whole skein of your critic’s remarks. The report of the festival published in your last issue is very generous in amount, and we are grateful to you for your kindness in dwelling on our humble efforts at such length. But we do feel at the same time it is hardly the place for detailed criticism, particularly as you allow that liberty in a special column. Much of the criticism you will notice, Sir, is repeated and, as you know, according to the Greek version, “Cabbage twice over is death.”

Now to deal with the suggestions put forth for our benefit and future guidance. “The arrangements left much to be desired” is the well-worn, and elastic phrase, used on two occasions. Was there ever anything devised by mortal man, or is there ever likely to be anything, which did not, or will not “leave much to be desired?” We have to confess frankly, Mr. Olympian, that we are only mortal, and venture to ask you with equal frankness, if you have ever done anything you considered perfect. Of course you have often done your best, and often set up high ideals, and so have we, but has there not been some unintentional discrepancy somewhere?

…Then our poor judges! We are cordially sorry for them. After such a tiring day to be treated thus! But there is, we think, something to be said in their favour. They gave up the day, willingly and ungrudgingly, on behalf of the children, and are always willing and anxious to do likewise. More experienced and even more competent judges may possibly be found. That is hardly for us to decide; we leave that to others. But this we can say, without any fear of criticism, you will find no judges elsewhere who will take up the work so enthusiastically, wholeheartedly and considerately, as our judges do. Mistakes they may have made – and must have made in fact. Some were imaginary, some were real. But was there ever a referee of a cricket or football match, for instance, however eminent, just and discerning he might be, who gave decisions which accorded with everyone’s idea of justice? To touch on the competency of the judges we will only point out they were gentlemen of prominence in the teaching profession, and in many cases great athletes themselves. It may be interesting also to know that the referee who judged the final tugs-of-war has been the greatest army athlete of his day, and he was especially asked to undertake this particular work. No, Mr. Olympian, we cannot adopt your suggestion, excellent though it may seem, of importing an outside officiate. We want to retain as far as possible the active interest of the teachers in the sports which they help to arrange for the children under their charge, and while the festival is a triumph as far as sport is concerned, we do not deem it necessary or desirable to make any change.

…The starters too, with three years experience, should certainly have known better than start the races at a point when “confusion may ensue,” but we will admonish them severely and threaten them with divers pains and penalties in the future if they repeat the offence...

As you say yourself, Southwark Park is not exactly an ideal place for the purpose, although you do not say why. It is because the park, including the oval, is a place where our children can roam and romp and play at will. They rarely know hard and fast restraint there, a condition of things which is a real boon to them and very commendable all round...”[21]

The fourth festival was held on 14th July 1905, and it was reported:
“The Southwark sports’ day is a teachers’ day for the children and resembles in many particulars a gigantic Sunday School treat. If a thoroughly enjoyable and healthy day is spent, the highest consummation is attained...The proceedings were enlivened by the strains of the Shirley School Band, numbering upwards of thirty young musicians in military uniform...all the young bandsmen were Bermondsey boys, coming as they did from the Bermondsey Guardian’s School, and their performances astonished not a few of the spectators.” [22] For the first time the finances of the event were recorded. The cost of the festival was about £70 annually, and the sum was raised as follows: donations from patrons - £15; subscriptions from teachers £17; proceeds from entrance fees £13 and programme sales £18.

The fifth festival was held on 13th July 1906, and by then J.H. Engledow of Keeton’s Road School had taken over as Secretary. Once more the arrangements were criticised by the Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder:
“Southwark Park is not an ideal place for a gathering of this sort, and on Friday this was very apparent. A small track of 220 yards had been marked out by a slender rope, but soon after the beginning of the meeting this was found to be of little use in keeping off a most unruly crowd, whose notions of sport, were to say the least, most primitive. The invasion of the enclosure terribly hampered the judges, whose work was made exceedingly difficult. At the same time it must be confessed that a very large number of the officials simply hung about in groups gossiping when they could have easily have kept the enclosure clear. Those who were willing to work were left to do their best, and, under the circumstances, it was a very good best indeed. It certainly seems strange that among the vast number of teachers in Southwark so very few are willing to take up this particular burden, and by the exercise of a little public spirit act as enclosure stewards on such an occasion. The public would soon learn to keep their place, and the whole racing could be worked off in a couple of hours less time… Turning to more pleasant matters, what struck one most forcibly was the splendid running of a large number of the children…The outstanding competitor was T. Walker, Mawbey Road School, whose running suggests a brilliant future on the cinder path.”[23]

The sixth festival was held on 28th June 1907, with G. Cashmore as Chairman of the event and J.H. Engledow as secretary, and things were looking up:
“The event differed in many respects from any of the previous meetings. Of these the most prominent was the improvement in the management. A strong body of stewards, both amateur and professional, was engaged to keep the enclosure clear of unauthorised intruders, and with the exception of a few minutes at the close, when a few intrusive guests, whose curiosity exceeded their sportsmanship, rather interfered with the clear course, the officials worked with the maximum of comfort, with the result a complete success… Turning to the sport itself, the two prominent figures among the boys are A. Walker, Mawbey Road and B. Beedham of Monnow Road…Another good lad was W. Fearn…The only other performance of outstanding merit was I. Byford, a girl from Mawbey Road, who won her heat in every contest open to individuals, and was actually a prize winner in every final – a very hard days work indeed. She also secures a points medal and fully deserves it.”[24]

On 26th June 1908 the seventh festival was pronounced “an unqualified success and was generally voted the best gathering of the series. The weather was ideal, the competitors were keen, the finishes were generally close, the whips were simply perfect, the marksmen never wasted a minute, the stewards had little trouble in managing a perfectly behaved crowd, the judges were alert and untiring. The enclosure was kept clear so that the working officials had room; the general arrangements were beyond reproach, and what more could be desired to ensure success?...The girl’s championship fell to a smart little runner, N. Stockwell, of Albion Street.”[25]

Schools represented at the festival included Alma, Arthur Street, Keeton’s Road, Rotherhithe New Road, East Lane, Boutcher, Marlborough Street, Pocock Street, Bacon’s, Galleywall, Farncombe Street, Albion Street, Monnow Road, Fair Street, Riley Street, Holy Trinity Rotherhithe, Snowsfields, Weston Street, Rolls Road, Mawbey Road and Southwark Park.

The tenth Southwark Schools Sports Festival on 30 June 1911 “was held under weather conditions, which if not so scorching, would have been ideal. The excessive heat did not, however, melt the ardour of the juveniles who perspired from one race into another and emerged hot and happy from the struggle. “ [26] Some 2022 competitors took part, and the championship medal for boys was won by C. Williams of Rolls Road School, ahead of J. Topping Keetons Road and S. Hall Rotherhithe New Road. The girls championship medal was won yet again by Nellie Stockwell of Albion Street, ahead of E. Stagg and F. Wood of Mawbey Road and G. Miles and B. Smith of Rotherhithe New Road

The 5th July 1912 saw another successful Sports Day, with over 4,000 participants. “Favoured by fine weather, the eleventh annual sports attracted a huge attendance to the Oval…The sports are better year by year, and on this occasion the management is to be congratulated on the splendid success they achieved...The feature of the sports was the success of Nellie Stockwell, Albion Street School, who for the fifth year in succession won the championship medal in the girls’ events...”[27]

We do not know if Nellie Stockwell carried on her winning ways because from 1914-1918 during the course of the First World War organised sport in public parks was largely suspended, and that appears to have included school sports days. After the war it is not clear if the large gatherings of the annual Southwark School Sports Festivals were resumed. However we do know that individual schools began to hold their own sports days.

On 29th June 1923 Bermondsey Central School held its third annual event in Southwark Park, in fine weather before a large crowd. “The school championship was won easily by G. Carder…In the House competitions the Commercials repeated last year’s victory over the Industrials by a large margin of points. Some exciting contests were witnessed and new school records set up in the Hop, Skip and Jump and Throwing the Cricket Ball.”[28]

Three years later, on 1st July 1926, Bermondsey Central School held the sixth annual sports day. Denness won the championship of the school with a total of 21 points out of a possible 27, amassed by means of six first, one second and one third. The Industrials won the House competition, beating the Commercials 96-75. The local newspaper observed that “Every event was contested determinedly and the greatest excitement prevailed from start to finish of each trial of speed, strength or agility. A large crowd witnessed the events, which took place under ideal weather conditions.” The managers of the event were Rev. Bevan Jones (chairman), Miss W.E. Davis of Bermondsey Settlement and Mrs. Elliston.” [29]

The records also show that on 28th and 29th June 1934, Mawbey School’s sports festival had nearly 700 entries from the four houses – Nelson, Wellington, Gordon and Slade – and there were visiting relay teams from Arthur Street School, Camberwell and Canonbury Road School, Islington.[30]

The story of athletics in Bermondsey and Rotherhithe schools deserves more detailed research. Based on what we have seen it is reasonable to believe that in the years between the two World Wars, Southwark Park was the premier venue for many local schools sports days.

The Labour Movement and Athletics in Southwark Park

We have seen how religious, philanthropic, sporting and educational organisations made efforts to advance athletics in the park. The labour movement also played its part. From about the last decade of the nineteenth century trade unionism became an important force in the lives of those who lived in Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. In due course labour representatives were routinely elected onto the Bermondsey Borough Council and the L.C.C. For well over half a century after the First World War the voters also regularly returned Labour Party MPs, such as Alfred Salter, Ben Smith and Bob Mellish.

As far as athletics is concerned the first intervention by labour movement representatives may have been through the Southwark Park Improvement Committee. This Edwardian version of a friends-of-park group was active in the early 1900s, campaigning for the general betterment of the park. Key members included trade unionist William Smith, his daughter “Sissie” and Arthur Harris, secretary of the South Side Labour Protection League, the local dockworkers union. After the success of achieving a boating lake in 1908, the Committee turned its attention to sports matters. On the 14th October 1910 the Committee took a deputation to the L.C.C. Parks and Open Spaces Committee calling for the provision of an athletics track. The L.C.C. prevaricated, and with the advent of war, the suggestion was shelved and the object not realised until seventy years later!

In the immediate aftermath of the First World War, right through the 1920s, poverty was rife in Bermondsey and Rotherhithe, and the energies of labour organisations naturally focussed on bread and butter issues rather than sports. However, as difficult as things were the Labour controlled Bermondsey Borough Council organised Peace Day Celebrations in 1919, and included a children’s sports day in park.[31]

On 16th August of the same year the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society put on a children’s sports day which was attended by hundreds of members of the Co-op Junior Guilds of South London: “It is easy to recognise a ‘co-op’ child. He is bright, healthy, generous; knows his manners without being a prig; clean in mind and limb. There were hundreds of them in Southwark Park...They had a glorious time romping in the sunlight or keeping cool in the shade; making a real joy day of the event, as only children can, not at all enervated by the heat, though everyone envied the boy who made a bathing costume his only clothing for the day.”[32] The winners of the events that day were:

Boys’ scratch 11-15 years – J. Colbran of New Cross
Boys’ scratch 10 years – W. Tucker of Lambeth
Girls’ scratch 11-15 years – C. Leonard of Tooting
Girls’ scratch 10 years – E. Mitchell, New Cross
Boys’ Guild Relay race – Walworth Team
Girls’ Guild Relay race – New Cross Team
Guild Championship race – C. Searle, Angus Street, New Cross

An evening concert was held on the bandstand from where the young Herbert Morrison, chairman of the London Labour Party, and future Deputy Prime Minister, delivered an address on the importance of the co-operative movement. The concert programme was contributed to by Miss Nannie Soutter, Miss Winifred Maurice, Messrs Donald Ball, Lal Edwards and Wal Barker.

Throughout the 1930s the Bermondsey and Rotherhithe Trades Council and the Bermondsey Labour Party organised an annual Children’s Sports and Gala Day, usually coinciding with the May Day celebrations. Reports indicate that activities took place on the open land alongside Abbeyfield Road rather than on the Oval. The first such gala took place on 1st May 1931 and proved auspicious enough to warrant a special arrangements committee for the following year. W. Setchell was Chairman and Ada Broughton the Secretary.

On 30th April 1932 “The sun shone and the Clerk of the Weather was on his best behaviour.” A crowd of about 500 adults watched and about 600 children, of which 344 were competitors. There were over 117 separate races and competitors were given a bag of pastries and lemonade courtesy of the Labour Co-operative Bakery and RACS. The Trades Council and individual Labour Party members provided prizes. The victors in the different contests received prizes from the mayor of Bermondsey in a special ceremony on 30th May at the Bermondsey Library Hall. They included:

Sylvia Coombs, Catlin Street
Dennis Ahrunson, Drummond Road
Beatrice Chapman, Layard Road
Albert Jaggers, Catlin Street
Ellen Jaggers, Catlin Street
John Conroy, Davis Buildings, Tanner Street
Rose Huggett, Ainsty Street
John Williams, Oldfield Road
Rose Lutz, Drummond Road
Ellis Ahronson, Drummond Road
Francis Cushing, Balaclava Road
Albert White, Layard Road
Frank Cushing and Walter Cushing, Balaclava Road
Elsie Brown, West Lane
Robert Simpson, Oldfield Road[33]

On 6th May 1933 over 460 competitors entered for the various events, with 1516 entries for the 155 races, a marked increase on the previous year. A crowd of several hundred spectators watched. W. Setchell again acted as Chairman of the Arrangements Committee, and Alderman H. Balman was Chief Judge. J.A.W. Douglas and H. Webb were the organising secretaries. The preliminary work had been carried out by Ada Broughton, who unfortunately fell ill and was unable complete her job or attend the event. “A special word of thanks and appreciation should be extended to the Ward Secretaries and Ward Committees of the West Bermondsey Labour Party for the splendid manner in which they organised socials in aid of the sports finances.” The prize winners included:

Sheila Galloway, Park Buildings
Ernest Wilkes, Layard Road
Doris Tovey, Jamaica Road
James Pettengell, Rouel Road
Stanley Bridges, Seaford Buildings
Rosina Allbury, New Church Street
Rose Day, New Church Street
Alfred Pilbeam, Plough Road
Hannah Taylor, Collet Road[34]

The 1936 Gala had over 500 participants. The girls’ champion was Louise Jackson of Millpond Estate, and the boys’ champion was John Collins of Paradise Street. More than 1200 children and parents crowded the Bermondsey Town Hall to see the prizes distributed. Musical entertainment was courtesy of Alf Hammond’s Southern Railway Concert Party. Alderman John Douglas of the Trades Council was chief organiser.[35]

On 21st May 1938 the Gala had over 1000 entries and 150 races. “The sack race in particular caused much merriment, and it was really comical to see the competitors in sacks as big as themselves coming to grief as a result of ignoring the old adage “more haste less speed.”[36]

The annual Children’s Sports and Gala Day and prize giving became established and well loved events in Bermondsey, but the Second World War put paid to them and other sports activities. Most of Southwark Park was requisitioned for military purposes and remained generally inaccessible. The records reveal one brief interlude in the summer of 1942, when in accordance with the Ministry of Labour’s Holidays at Home initiative, the Bermondsey Holidays at Home Council set up a programme for Whit Monday consisting of sports and entertainment for all. The afternoon included “running races for men and women, tugs of war between the services, sack races, egg and spoon races, three legged races, and pillow fights for boys…open-air dancing, including a foxtrot competition.” [37]

Athletics after the Second World War

The war had a devastating impact on Bermondsey. Practically all 19,000 dwellings were damaged and over 4,200 vanished completely or were rendered unusable. Over 6,500 people had to be rehoused by the borough council. Nearly 300 warehouses had been obliterated, half the schools gone, the Town Hall and other public buildings mostly destroyed or damaged. By 1945 Bermondsey’s pre-war population of 90,000 was reduced to around 47,000.

The war also took a heavy toll on Southwark Park. The Bermondsey Official Guide of 1951 recalled: “During the war the park and buildings suffered considerable damage by bombing. Previous to 1939 the lake was used extensively for boating but this has been discontinued since the war, as the boathouse was damaged. The lake itself also suffered but has since been repaired. The children’s paddling pool was extensively damaged and is no longer in use. The open-air swimming bath…was another casualty during the bombing, but is still in use…Before the war the cricket “oval” was very popular, and had eight pitches for cricket for adults, and was also used at other times for organised games for children. The “oval” was requisitioned by the military authorities during the war…Altogether 21 acres at the southern end of the park were requisitioned by the War Office for use as an AA gun site. Underground air raid shelters were constructed near Christchurch Gate, and the lake was used as an emergency water supply reservoir… Though damaged by enemy action the gymnasium is still in use, but the sandpit has been reduced to half its original size…In pre-war years the Winter Garden was a great attraction, but this was destroyed by bombing...”[38]

In June 1945 the L.C.C. agreed plans for improvements in its parks. The five year programme for Southwark Park included repairs and improvement to the lido; a lido café; a new bandstand; a solaria; a cricket pavilion; resurfacing of hard tennis courts and children’s playground; better WCs; and floodlighting of play areas.[39] With so much to put right specific provision for athletics was not seen as a priority. Promised improvements to the park were slow in coming and the Oval remained under government requisition until 1951. For almost a decade then, the largest sporting and recreational space in hugely deprived Bermondsey was given over first to the military and subsequently to the production of oats and potatoes and allotments.

On 24th April 1951 the L.C.C. approved a revised layout of Southwark Park, adding a small piece of land formerly occupied by war-destroyed houses fronting Hawkstone Road. The Oval borders were extended, and it was agreed the previously dominant cricket would share the space with football and hockey pitches, with new changing facilities nearby. Elsewhere in the park tennis courts were to be provided. Athletics seem not to have been considered.[40]

The new facilities were in place by 1955 and were to serve the community for a generation, especially for football. More research is needed to ascertain the extent to which they were used for athletics, but it is likely that school sports days were revived, although probably not on the scale of earlier generations. We know from contemporary newspaper reports that the labour movement held some events. For instance on 16th July 1955 the Bermondsey Labour Party Sports Day was attended by over 300 children. Bob Mellish M.P., Cllr. Culling, Mayor Cllr. F.W. Florence, Cllr. Bill Ellis and Labour Agent John Thomas won the adults tug-of-war. Every child got free lemonade, ice cream, sweets and biscuits. Commented the perspiring Mr. Thomas, “We are not fussy whether they are children of Party members or not – so long as they are children we don’t mind.” [41]

The Southwark Park Sports Complex
By the late 1970s the daunting task of reconstructing Bermondsey had largely been completed. The pre-war pattern of terraced housing with gardens had given way to densely populated housing estates. The responsibility for Southwark Park had transferred from the L.C.C. to Southwark Council in 1971 and the local authority began to look seriously at sports provision for the youth of the area. This coincided with a range of Sports Council campaigns such as Sport in the Community, Sports for All and Action Sports, and the availability of central government funding through the Urban Aid Programme. The prospect of major capital investment in sports facilities in the park was real.

On 29th November 1978 Southwark Council approved a synthetic sports pitch in Southwark Park, once finance permitted. On 24th October 1979 the Council endorsed the construction of an “Astroturf” in the south of the park near the Hawkstone Road boundary, in partnership with Lewisham Council, and works began shortly after, under the management of Southwark Council’s Engineers Department. The project was completed in June 1980 at a cost of c£700,000, 75% of which was funded by Urban Aid Grant from government.[42] The contractors were as follows:

Monsanto Recreational Products Ltd -Main Contractors (Astroturf)
Redland Ltd - Preparation for pitch and track
3 M’s Ltd -Tartan Track
G.E.C. (Floodlighting) Ltd and Christies - Floodlighting
W.H. Penfold - Fencing
J. Sugrue Ltd. -Earthmoving and Landscaping
Overhead Irrigation Ltd. - Sprinkler System
Cantabrian Ltd. - Sports Equipment
International Athletic Track Markings Ltd. - Track Markings

On 18th June 1980 an opening ceremony was presided over by the Mayor of Southwark, Cllr. W.H. Payne, accompanied by the Mayor of Lewisham, Cllr. W.C. Simson. The day included an informal programme of sports activities by members of Elephant and Castle Gymnastics and Aikido Clubs, Scott Lidgett School, Sultans of Spin Frisbee Team and a special appearance of the new European Freestyle Champions, Adrian Wainwright and Jason Salkie.

There was an inter schools athletics competition organised by Herne Hill Harriers, with Southwark schools represented by Peckham Manor and St. John the Apostle Schools, and Lewisham represented by Roger Manwood and Samuel Pepys Schools.

In addition Millwall F.C. organised a six-a-side football exhibition, in conjunction with Leyton Orient and Queens Park Rangers. The Condor Parachuting Display Team also took part.[43]

“ ‘As fine a facility as anything I’ve seen in Europe’ commented Sports Council member and European Athletic Association president Arthur Gold, as he surveyed the combined international standard Tartan running track and Astroturf soccer pitch, nestling in the heart of London dockland. And everyone agreed. Mayor of Southwark, William Payne, told guests at the opening that to have started and completed the complex in the space of seven months was ‘a wonderful achievement.’ Meanwhile, chairman of the Council’s Amenities Committee, Councillor Len Henley, made the proud boast, ’We’ve gone and upstaged old Horace Cutler’s Olympic Games!’ ” [44]

The new facility brought with it other opportunities. On 3rd March 1982 Southwark Council reported that a Sports Council initiative – Inner City Sports Motivators – was to be funded for 3 years and based in Southwark Park. A year later the Greater London Council provided a grant of £377,000 towards new sports changing rooms, a mechanical sweeper, extra sports equipment and mobile spectator seating. The grant was reported to have left G.L.C. Conservatives as “furious.”[45]

However a snapshot of sports activities during the 1980s and early 1990s shows the investment to have been worthwhile. From 1983 the complex became the venue for the annual Southwark Sport and Fun weekend. On 8th September 1983 the facility hosted TV’s Junior Superstars. [46] In May 1985 Southwark’s Sport Action Team organised an athletics competition for people with learning difficulties and over 50 competitors took part. [47] On 28th and 29th June 1986 the Sport and Fun Weekend included a Five Mile Road Race, as well as professional wrestling; cycle speedway; City of Coventry Band; steam traction engines; Morris dancing; majorettes; and a dog show.[48] In October 1986 it was reported Southwark Park Athletics Club was set up and based in the park. [49] From 1990-1993 the annual Southwark Irish Festival, Feile Shamhraidh, organised Gaelic games in Southwark Park, making use of the complex and associated grass pitches. Major events such as the Women’s 5K race and the Carlton (later Nike) London Run became regular dates on Southwark’s sporting calendar. On the 19th June 1999 Southwark Council held a 130th Birthday Party for the Park, at which the Heritage Lottery Fund made a formal presentation of a grant to bring about much needed improvements. The Friends of Southwark Park organised informal sports and athletics, including games that had been so popular in earlier days, such as the three-legged, egg and spoon and wheelbarrow races. A splendid time was had by all.

Conclusion

The full record of athletics in the Southwark Park Sports complex remains to be compiled, but it is evident from the foregoing that in the past it has served the local community well. Today, due to age, and perhaps not enough tender loving care, it stands largely unused. It should be a focal point for the undoubtedly talented youth of the area, but instead it is a quiet, sad place. There is now the opportunity to put that right and it must be hoped that Southwark Council’s vision and commitment to sport is equal to that of the earlier generations.

[1] Southwark Recorder 3rd November 1883
[2] Southwark Recorder 10th November 1883
[3] LCC/MIN/8700
[4] Southwark Recorder 4th April 1891
[5] Southwark Recorder 22nd April 1893
[6] Southwark Recorder 6th January 1894
[7] Southwark Recorder 25th May 1895
[8] Southwark Recorder 1st June 1895
[9] Southwark Recorder 29th June 1895
[10] Southwark Recorder 20th July 1895
[11] Southwark Recorder 4th January 1896
[12] Southwark Recorder 7th May 1898
[13] Southwark Recorder 2nd July 1898
[14] Southwark Recorder 30th July 1898
[15] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 5th September 1903
[16] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 11th January 1908
[17] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 4th July 1903
[18] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 19th July 1902
[19] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 18th July 1903
[20] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 16th July 1904
[21] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 23rd July 1904
[22] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 22nd July 1905
[23] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 21st July 1906
[24] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 13th July 1907
[25] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 3rd July 1908
[26] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 14th July 1911
[27] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 12th July 1912
[28] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 6th July 1923
[29] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 9th July 1926
[30] South London Press 3rd July 1934
[31] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 2nd May 1919
[32] Southwark and Bermondsey Recorder 22nd August 1919
[33] Bermondsey Labour Monthly April 1932 p14 and June 1932 p9
[34] Bermondsey Labour Monthly April 1933 p14 and June 1933 p8/9
[35] South London Press 26th May 1936
[36] Bermondsey Labour Monthly June 1938
[37] LCC/CL/PK/1/11
[38] Bermondsey Official Guide 1951 pp79-81
[39] LCC 20th June 1945
[40] LCC/MIN/8718
[41] South London Press 19th July 1955
[42] Southwark Council Press Release 18th June 1980
[43] Southwark Council Press Release 18th June 1980
[44] Sport and Leisure Aug-Sept 1980
[45] South London Mercury 31st March 1983 and Southwark Sparrow March 1983
[46] Southwark Sparrow August 1983
[47] Southwark Sparrow June 1985
[48] Southwark Sparrow June/July 1986
[49] Southwark Sparrow October 1986

Talking With Tom Ash

The Southwark Park reminiscence project – “Our Park” – involves capturing local people’s memories. On Monday I met with Tom Ash, a retired docker, aged 82, who lives on the Rotherhithe and Deptford boundary. He has lived in the area all his life. It was a really enjoyable session, not so much for what Tom could tell me about the park, but more for his obvious passion for books about London, the docks and the sea. Tom is an author himself, having self-published a lively account of growing up in Bermondsey, called “Childhood Days.” He kindly gave me a signed copy of his book, and because of the slowness of my journey home after I left him, I had it read by the time I reached my front door.

The book is very episodic, but enjoyable, and it contains some excellent insights into a docker’s working environment in the 1950s and 1960s. There is a chapter on docker’s slang, and a few are worth quoting to give you a flavour:

“Come Back When the Ink is Dry in Your Book” – said by the older men to younger and inexperienced dockers.

“Top Man” – each hold had a man who controlled direction for the crane driver.
“Muggo” – when the Top Man called this out, it was time for tea.

“Up the Road” – docker saying for the job is finished.

“Crack an Egg” – term the Top Man would use when he wanted the crane driver to lower the cargo gently.

Tom clearly loves his books and they were on display throughout his flat. He was very proud of many first editions on his bookcases, and equally so of some ancient prints displayed on his walls. One is a copy of the United States Declaration of Independence on vellum; another, a panorama of the Thames; and also a fine one of Paris in the 1700s.

I asked Tom why he had come to collect books and prints, and he said it was the influence of a stevedore he had worked with. This reminded me how important the idea of self-education was for many people of Tom’s age and background, and how they viewed literature and culture as well worth pursuing.

Music - five I love.

1. Astor Piazzola – Adios Nonino
Astor Piazzola is considered the most important tango composer of the twentieth century. He caused great upset amongst Argentina’s followers of traditional tango by updating the form in what some thought as a disrespectful fashion. He incorporated elements of jazz and classical music into his “neuvo tango.” He was physically attacked for doing so, because as they used to say in Argentina, everything can change but not the tango! One tango singer burst into the studio of a radio station where he was giving an interview and held a pistol to his head.

He wrote this composition on the death of his father. It is worth listening to closely. After just under two minutes of a dissonant piano introduction we are suddenly presented with an unforgettable theme. This is then replaced by some lively string and bandoleon (a type of accordion) playing, only for the violin to resurface with the theme once again with even more emotion. The quicker, urgent stuff returns, with sliding string notes and a little percussion. Then the bandoleon reprises the sad theme. The piece ends with the ensemble half joyously taking us to a quiet conclusion.

2. The Animals – We’ve Gotta Get Out Of This Place
How compelling is that bass line! The Animals were a Toon band and as you can hear they badly wanted to leave the place. This track was recorded over 40 years ago and is certainly not a romantic love song!. The singer is the legendary Eric Burdon, a tough little brick-shithouse of a man, who now lives in California, so he at least achieved his ambition. One of the earliest British teen-angst songs.

3. Ray Charles – Hit the Road Jack
Listen to that rhythm and Ray’s trademark voice. His backing singers were called The Raeletes, and it is said that the only way you could get in the group was if you let Ray. The duetting singer on this track had Ray’s child – in all he had eight by six different women. Probably explains the title of the song?

4. The Hollies -Bus Stop
Brilliant opening riff starts us on the way to just under three minutes of pop perfection. The Manchester lads are now oldies, and this was a hit in 1966 just before the England World Cup victory, so has always been a favourite of mine. The jangling guitar almost sounds like rain and the lyrics are at times laughable - “Bus stops, bus goes, she stays, love grows…” – simple really.

5. The Everly Brothers – Crying in the Rain
Kentucky brothers Don and Phil Everly were the ultimate vocal partnership in the 1950’s. They had many hits when I was a kid, and were firmly lodged in my head, never to be removed, I hope. Like all partnerships they had bad times. Disagreements through the late 60s and early 70s climaxed in 1973, during a concert in Los Angeles. The manager came on the stage, stopped the show and told the audience that he was upset with Don's sloppy performance. Phil smashed his guitar and stormed off, and Don announced that The Everly Brothers had split. Ten years later the brothers made peace with each other and reunited as a singing duo at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Get the version of this classic from that show and you will not be disappointed.

"Who Threw That Leg of Liver?"

We were talking the other day about our Bermondsey parents using words in an amusing way. My father-in-law, Eddie Barrow, ran the bar at Guy’s Hospital, and had many comical phrases. My wife Lesley reminded me of some that are safe enough to tell.

Eddie’s view of a rude person was to “never expect more than a grunt from a pig.” When money was short he was “on the parish.” When he was flush he was happy to buy a few “sherbets.” Watching cricket on TV, a vicious bouncer smashed fearfully into the body of Surrey’s John Edrich. “That’ll stop him farting in church” said Eddie. His knowing explanation for a gross criminal act was that the perpetrator “probably had his shoe laces tied together too tight when he was young.” Towards the end of his life, when his illness advanced, Eddie spoke of going to “the underground sports in a wooden overcoat. Two clean shirts will see me out.”

The women had their own way with words. Lesley and sister Kaye’s mum, Winnie, on hearing about the future marriage of a girl asked, “What does she want to get herself iked up with him for?” To anybody hoping to get one over her, “Don’t come the old acid with me!” Muck about and you could “get the back of my hand.” On her daughters’ chatting: “If your shoes were made out of your tongue they would never wear out.”

Any slight to the family from an outsider and Kit Kingwell would “spit in his eye, the liberty taker.” Tantrums were met with, “Don’t get yourself all aereated!” If I was miserable and letting it show, I had “a face like a smacked bum.” Studying for A levels was fine, but dangerous because it involved “too much headwork.” Kit, like Winnie, had a philosophical take on marriage – “She might as well get a gun and shoot herself.”

My own dad, known as Danny, sometimes as Jimmy, but real name Arthur, is another phrase-maker. He worked for over fifty years in Smithfield Meat Market. Drop something on the floor today and he will ask the unanswerable question, “Who threw that leg of liver?” This possibly originated after a market porter dropped a heavy load and received a little verbal irony from his mates.

Money? As a kid in the sixties I was bemused by my dad. Home from Smithfield he described how a customer had “bunged him a tosheroon,” Sometimes it was “a dollar”, “half-a-nicker”, or a “nicker.” His tips rose with inflation, and by retirement he could be given a “flim,” or a “tenner,” and even a “score” for his troubles.

Markets bring people in unwanted touch with “The Law.”. I frequently heard from dad how so-and-so had been “at it,” and caught “bang to rights.” They might get a reprieve by offering the officer a “drop” or “a bit of dinner”, but mostly they ended up “nicked” and soon got their “cards” from the employer. Communicating with the police was tricky – best “keep your trap shut.” Too much talk and you were known as “old mouth and trousers.”