1961

The Club was again under the Presidency and Chairmanship of G.A. Fuller and T.L. Carroll, although the latter was to retire from office at the end of the year. The post of Secretary was taken over by K.L. Lewis, in succession to W.A. Bothwell, but unfortunately her had to resign in July as business commitments took him away from the area and A.R.F. Pelling took over the helm.

The Treasurer, K.C. Haley, reported at the end of the financial year that whilst the financial situation was healthy, there was only a recorded surplus of £14. To assist in obtaining much needed revenue, G.L. Booth suggested the installation of a fruit machine, however, the idea was shelved as several members had moral objections to them. In fact it is interesting to note that there was an entry in the Minutes which recorded what was probably the general attitude of most people of the period, that the Chairman was shocked to see gambling taking place on the Club premises. This of course was quickly nipped in the bud.

The Bar, under the Chairmanship of G.W. Harrison, and his small band of helpers, again did a worthwhile job, showing a surplus on the bar of £211, as compared with the previous year's figure of £199.

The Grounds Committee, with J. Martin again the Chairman, did a magnificent job, again relying on voluntary help. Apart from the normal arduous tasks, they undertook a successful drainage operation on the back ground prior to the start of the season and, in an effort to improve the general condition of the grounds, the Club became members of the Sports Turf Research Institute.

At the AGM, J.J. Jones was elected a Life Member of the Club in recognition of his many years of service and hard work.

In July, efforts were put in motion to hire ground on the south-west side of the ground for use as a car park, but the negotiations became protracted as the land was earmarked for the long proposed Upton By-Pass.

On the cricket scene, W.E.L. Twidale became only the fourth player in the Club to achieve the distinction of taking all ten opposition wickets when, on 20th May at Upton, he captured all ten Port Sunlight wickets in 15.2 overs, of which 7 were maidens, and he conceded 22 runs at an average of 2.2. To mark this achievement, he was presented with the mounted ball later in the season, and at the end of the year he was presented with the score book.

G.W. harrison, an outstanding batsman and wicket keeper, was selected to represent the Merseyside Cricket Competition against the lancashire Club & Ground XI.

To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of the Club, a Dinner Dance was held on 30th October which was a great success and enjoyed by all.

1962

The Club President was agin G.A. fuller, but it is sad to record that this highly respected and much loved figure, who was a strong supporter of the Club and a friend to all, passed away in September. With the resignation of T.L. Carroll, L.K. Robinson took over the reigns as Club Chairman.

The Club had a troubled year, suffering twice at the hands of burglars who broke into the bar and safe. The bar accounts started off with a deficit, therefore, as the insurance would not cover premises of the nature of the existing structure. Improvements were made to security arrangements and a new safe obtained, however, it was felt that these would not completely deter persistent marauders.

With a view to taking the long ambition of building a new pavilion nearer fruition, negotiations were put in hand by L.K. Robinson with Lord Leverhulme's representatives for a long lease. Resulting from the initial negotiations, a lease of twenty five years was offered at a rental of £80 per annum. The Chirman considered the rental too high and the Governing Committee felt that the length of the lease was insufficient to interest a brewery, who would have to be approached regarding finance for the project. A meeting was later held with Lord Leverhulme's Estate Manager to try and obtain a longer period and a reduced rental of £70 per annum.

The financial situation reached such a drastic stage in June that subscription rates had to be increased, to which most members supported well. However, due to the fine efforts of the Ways and Means, under the very able Chairmanship of E.J.S. Clifford, the situation was eased towards the end of the year, mainly due to the profits of £104 from the Gala fete and Draw, although income on the usual functions was slightly down. With a view to improving the financial situation, the matter of the installation of a fruit machine aws again raised, only to be rejected instantly, although towards the end of the year, a change of heart ensued, and negotiations to get one were finally opened.

1963

The year was marked by the death of the Club President since 1957, Mr. G.A. Fuller. W.A. Bothwell took over as President, a post he would hold for eighteen years until his death in 1981. The only other change of Club officials saw G.L. Booth succeed A.R.F. Pelling as secretary.

The fruit machine which had finally materialised in May after years of opposition, helped boost the income tremendously. Unfortunately the Gala had to be cancelled due to the bad weather, although a small profit of £74 was recorded. Although not completely finalised until 1964, the Chairman finally negotiated a twenty five year lease at a trental of £80 per annum.

On the cricket scene, both the 1st and 2nd XIs finished runners up in their respective competitions.

1964

The Club Officials remained the same as the previous year, however, in September, G.L. Booth had to resign office due to business commitments, Assistant Secretary R.G. Williams took over the post.

A number of improvements were carried out to the Club grounds and premises, including re-surfacing of the path and installation of Calor Gas lighting and heating in the tennis pavilion.

In spite of Tennis Pavilion improvements, concern was expressed in May at a loss of young tennis members and, as a step to counteract this trend, arrangements were made for Mr. Geoff Moores to hold coaching sessions for youngsters.

The Grounds Committee, again under the Chairmanship of E. Wyse, again did a great job, however, with the problems of getting voluntary assistance, it was decided that consideration must be given to obtain a full time groundsman for the next season.

The Bar, under the Chairmanship of P.J. Tansley, showed the only real satisfactory figure, recording a profit of 3216.

G.W. Harrison was selected to represent the Merseyside Cricket Competition in a Centenary game at Sutton.

1965

The Club, under new Chairman R.G. Rowlands, suffered a blow with the death of S.P. Holmes, a Life Member of the Club, who over a great many years had done a lot of work for the Club.

With the annual winter nets folding, summer coaching sessions were held every Friday evening, under the guidance of R.R. Dodd, V. Newton and J.M. Reynolds. One of the major problems for the juniors was playing equipment and although at first opposed, it was finally decided that the Club purchase various items of equipment for their use.

No serious moves had been made over the past couple of years regarding the provision of a new pavilion. In january, the Building Fund stood at over £1,000 and at the end of the financial year, the Club were able to increase this by a further sum of £300 in the form of Premium Bonds.

Due to lack of support, various social events had to be cancelled along with the annual carnival, all good fundraising events over recent years.

The bar, now under the Chairmanship of G.L. Booth, suffered mixed fortunes. Over the year, takings increased by over £200, however, the profit was down by £20. This situation caused some disgust, however, the problem was due to under-pricing, a situation which was quickly remedied. There was consideration given to changing breweries to Higson, however, due to an outstanding debt of £367, the plan was shelved for the time being.

The Grounds Committee, under the Chairmanship of R. Hothersall, struggled to carry out the various duties due to lack of interest. By July, he only enjoyed the services of two active members. In mid July, R. Hothersall resigned as Chairman on the grounds of domestic and business commitments, however, he agreed to carry on as a working member of the committee. Whilst we will never really be able to prove the point, it would appear that lack of support forced him to take this drastic action. Quite naturally, problems arose over a successor, however, eventually T. Woods took over for the remainder of the season albeit in an advisory capacity. The wickets on the front ground were prepared by V. Newton with assistance from 1st and 2nd team players.

Problems also arose with the part time groundsman when, in August, T. Woods caught him cutting the front outfield without the base to collect the cuttings. When taken to task about this matter, he indicated that he would require extra pay if he was required to shift the cuttings. In his own inimitable way, T. Woods informed him that he could expect no further pay for carrying out what were his normal terms of reference. The groundsman immediately put the mower away and left. For the remainder of the season, T. Woods cut the outfield himself.

The overall problem again raised the question of a full time groundsman for the next season and the Treasurer decided to prepare figures in time for the AGM to see if the Club could afford to hire one. These figures, however, were a detriment as, on the current working financial level, the Club would be faced with a loss of approximately £554 on the year.

The year was marked with the 1st XI, under the captaincy of J.M. reynolds, winning the Merseyside Cricket Championship. One notable performer for the season was R.R. Dodd who scored a total of 636 runs. Throughout the season, the 1st XI never dropped out of the top two positions. After losing to Widnes in the fourth game of the season, they were unbeaten for the rest of the season, winning fourteen and drawing five. They finally clinched the title with a victory at Odyssey on August Bank Holiday.

1966

The Chairman and Vice-Chairman were again R.G. Rowlands and T. Woods respectively, with K.C. Haley once again treasurer and initially R.E. Williams as Secretary. The Club had already lost the services of L.K. Robinson, who had left the district, and as early as February, the Secretary had to resign as he too was leaving the area. P.J. Tansley was co-opted in his place and, in view of this, he had to resign as the Chairman of ways & Means Committee, being replaced by J.W. Sumpton.

In March, fears were expressed over the future of the Tennis section as there was a general lack of interest and a number of resignations, with more anticipated. It was felt that the main reason for this was the increased subscriptions, the unsatisfactory state of the courts and the moderate changing facilities.

Difficulty was experienced in obtaining the usual voluntary pre-season assistance from the members and the groundsman was hired to work additional hours to get the courts up to standard in time for the start of the season.

By May, the situation had worsened and the second team fixtures had to be cancelled. In a move to improve the situation, the Club advertised in the local press but with little success. By August,the situation was grave and investigations were put in hand to try and find a means of improving the facilities.

With regards to the bar, problems began early in the year, as no members were initially prepared to take on the position of Bar Chairman. In April, T. Woods took over, however, indicated that a replacement would have to be found for him as Grounds Committee Chairman. In May, M. Kinsell took over this role.

The Ways & Means again organised a number of dances, socials, etc. However, due to an unsavoury incident at a dance held at the Club in May, the Committee were forced to reluctantly bar any further functions of this nature due to the adverse publicity it had received. During the course of the evening, a fight ensued which resulted in damage being done to the tearoom. The dance was immediately stopped and the bar shut. J. Martin's car, which was parked near the Club entrance, was overturned, fortunately without much damage.

The 1st XI couldn't quite match their exploits of the previous year, only managing to finish third in the Championship. In the Merseyside Cricket Competition's first ever fixture against the Flintshire & District League, played at Cammell laird on sunday 3rd July, R.R. dodd made an excellent 110 runs out of a total of 180 for 4, whilst Vernon Newton took 3 wickets for 32 runs.

Quite remarkably, D.I. Jones took two hat tricks for the 2nd XI, the first being against Widnes on 15th June and the second against Odyssey on 29th August, this in a season in which the 2nd Xi finished as runners-up in their competition.

1967

The only change to the Club Officials was D.I. Jones taking over the role of Club Chairman. The Grounds Committee was headed again by R. Hothersall, however, due to business commitments, he was unable to devote as much time as he would have liked and so the preparation of wickets was done on a rota basis by cricketers being allocated the task throughout the season.

The Tennis section, under the leadership of Dr. C. Hughes and T. Brodey, made valiant efforts to make the section successful, however, at the end of the year grave concern was expressed as to its future.

The saga of the new pavilion continued with the Club President, W.A. Bothwell, having plans prepared and circulated to various building suppliers. In April, a quotation of £3,600 was received to cover the supply and erection of a new building. This figure did not however, include the cost of foundations, drainage and fittings. A.R. Perrin produced costs of £9,000 to cover the cost of providing such a building and the matter was yet again left in abeyance. In June, however, the Chairman, D.I. Jones, paid a visit to the Playing Field's Association in Chester and ascertained that a grant of up to 50% was available for a building of this nature, however, only 10% would be available for the bar area.

1968

The Tennis Section, following the previous years lack of support, now looked in danger of folding and the section itself considered that the only way to save the section was to erect a new tennis pavilion with two areas for male and female changing accommodation. This was not, however, a practical proposition and had to be turned down.

B.J. Woodcock looked into the matter of the provision of new sight-screens and the anticipated cost was in the region of £130. This figure was out of the question so an alternative scheme was sought.

Further plans for a new pavilion were drawn up with a total cost being in the region of £12,000. This new building would consist of four male changing rooms, one ladies changing room, toilets, showers and a club room. Again the cost was prohibitive and the project was again shelved.

At the end of the financial year, the Club were left with a balance of £2, with revenue being down in all areas, except the fruit machine, as compared with the previous year's figures.

By May, the Tennis Section finally became defunct. The real reason for this demise has never really been ascertained, however, from some correspondence that became available, and from information provided by members, it would appear that one of the major causes was the inflexible attitude of some of the senior tennis members and the Section's management team. In addition, the facilities offered by the local Upton Victory Hall were vastly superior and no doubt attracted would-be new members.

The situation was indeed a strange state of affairs, for whilst the Club were enjoying success on the field, the 1st XI having won the Championship for the second successive year, there seemed such a lack of interest from the members and it was only the efforts of a few that prevented the Cricket Section followed in the footsteps of the Tennis section. As the general situation worsened, many of the senior members, who for so many years had expended so much effort on behalf of the Club, decided to call it a day. Included in those were D.I. Jones (Chairman), T. Woods (Vice-Chairman, Bar & Grounds Chairman), G. Edwards (Captain of the 1st XI who had just won two consecutive championships) and H.H. Butterworth (2nd XI Captain).

The season saw several players representing the Merseyside Cricket Competition. These were: A.R. Perrin; G.E. Edwards and L.I. Kirkbride whilst R.R. Dodd scored 536 runs for the season.

1969

The year saw the Club reach an important milestone in its history, for immediately following the demise of the Tennis Section, the Club itself could well have become defunct. This is surprising for on the field, the Club were extremely successful, the 1st XI winning the Championship for the third consecutive time and the fourth in five seasons.

In an attempt to inject much needed funds into the Club coffers, the new Chairman, G.L. Booth, was instrumental in increasing the non-l=playing membership within the Vice Presidents category, a move which helped increase bar sales. Whilst offsetting the urgent necessity at the time, it may have been more beneficial if a new category of membership had been introduced. Considering all of this, G.L. Booth decided not to stand for office the following year.

The use of the ground was granted to Mersey Park Cricket Club for the purpose of holding their annual trios Competition on the condition that they make their own catering arrangements. The Competition was staged in bad weather conditions and damage was done to the square, however, as no Club Official was present on the day in question, it was decided to take no action.

It is sad to record that on 29th April, former Club Chairman, R.G. Rowlands passed away.

With the abolishment of the percentage system, the 1st XI, under the captaincy of A.R. Perrin, completed a hat-trick of Championship wins, playing twenty three games, winning ten, and losing only once. Unfortunately, the 1st XI lost in the final of the Lever Cup, defeated by Sutton.

1970

The decade of the seventies commenced with J.J. Jones taking over as Club Chairman, this coincided with his retirement from the playing ranks after fifty consecutive seasons as a playing member. The year was also notable for two important milestones: E.Wyse returned as a playing member; and the death of A. Wildgoose, who apart from the work put in through official capacities, was probably the finest all-round cricketer the Club has ever been fortunate to possess.

On 24th January, a fire was spotted in the pavilion and the police and fire brigade were alerted by local resident, Mr. F. Warner. This caused damage totalling £385, with the insurance claim covering the majority. A.R. Perrin organised for sufficient repairs to be carried out in the pavilion to make it structurally sound and habitable and J.J. Jones organised repairs to the roof.

In view of the deterioration of the Club premises,a Building Sub-Committee consisting of J.J. Jones, D. Jardine, F.R. Pillifent, D. Smith and H. Curley was set-up to investigate the possibility of providing a new social centre and to convert the existing pavilion for use as dressing rooms only, until such time as sufficient funds could be raised for an extension of the social centre to a full pavilion. It was decided to make approaches to Greenall Whitley regarding possible financial aid towards the cost of the project, as it was reported that they were expanding throughout the area.

Under the Chairmanship of K.L. Barrett, the Ways & Means again did stirling work in raising funds through social events, including a barbecue, disco and draw based around the Football World Cup.

It was decided by the Governing Committee that playing members were banned from playing football on the Club grounds, however, due to the ill-feeling caused, the use of the back ground was offered and accepted.

The tearoom was hired out to a folk group, however, due to the unruly element being attracted to the Club, the Governing Committee decided to cancel future sessions. However, before being able to take any action, fate played a fortuitous hand, the folk group suddenly disbanded.

Success on the field was gained with the 1st XI winning the Lever Cup, defeating Wavertree in the final.

Upton Cricket Club

18. Sunday AN XI