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Page 1: 5. Jan 1954
Page 2: 5. Jan 1954

Table Tennis Om.cial Magazine of the English Table Tennis Association

Edited by LESLIE S. WOOLLARD Published by Hendon Printing Works Ltd., Victoria Road, London, N.W.4.

'iol. 12 JANUARY., 1954 No.5

reflecting the personal views OPINION and policy of The Editor.

Two Heads for 1954 BELIEVE THAT, beyond all else, it is TheW E

Game (and the Spirit in \vhich it is played) that is All 1mportant : that

.. In all times of our distress and in our triumphs too, The game is more than the player of the game, And the ship is more than the crew."

Some people may have particular reasons for parti ­cipating in sporting activities, and we must not be sur­prised to find occasional elements, or antagonisms, that are foreign to the ideals of "playing the game." Two thousand odd years ago Horace declared that sport created personal strife and quarrels, but despite the incidence, we believe that there is more goodwill and practical idealism in Sport than in any other inter­national sphere to-day.

When representatives of 29 countries founded the International Sports Press Association on July 3rd, 1924, they formulated a constitution that would be acceptable to "men of every race, of every philosophical ideology . . . open to national associations that guarantee free­dom of expression" and a recognition that the cause could not be carried on without "pursuing an ideal . . . .capable of sowing through all humanity the ideas of concord, justice and mutual respect."

We believe, with pride, that Table Tennis-this most universal of sports" with more than 60 nations rep­resented in its International Federation-has provided a unique and practical model for the pursuance of these noble ideals throughout the' world of sport. The high principIes of its 1926 Constitution were again reaffirmed at the 19th Congress when the I.T.T.F. called 011 all Table Tennis players everYwhere to

.. so conduct their sport that, by modesty, tolerance, keenness and understanding, they help to increase and strengthen friendship and peaceful sentiments among all peoples ... without distinction of race, religion,politics and philosophy ... "

The opening of the year in which England is to be host to The World is a good time to think on these ·~hings. England has fostered and sustained these lofty Ideals. We think of them as a typical British way of life as, doubt not, we shall demonstrate to all those who come to Wembley in April.

Meanwhile, we have been stimulated and made happy by the recent visit of our very old friends and oppo­nents, Hungary, prefacing we hope, a more regular int~rchange in sporting fraternity. May the happy success of that brief tour also encourage our other old friends in Czechoslovakia-and elsewhere-to renew our jriendly, sporting rivalries. Let us face the future ilnaginatively, for if interplanetary travel has now be­come subject for serious thought, perhaps we can con­ceive some' more mundane plan (ambitious only on the

'. present) whereby table tennis players of all nations can meet and compete more readily than now, when Distance and Finance are two of the most formidable of our barriers. Perhaps, not too far ahead., some. sporting unity in Table Tennis (or a group of sports) will have its own aircraft. (How often have we dreamed for a heli­copter for a home engagement 01' even some county nlatch ;J

This' is a good time to look backward tp our personal relationships of the past and then look forward with a neVl resolve to the future. Thus did Janus (the two­headed Roman god after whom this month is so suitably named). The ideals of univ'ersal friendship, sportsman­ship, and "playing the g~m~," begin in the" minds of individuals. That is, within us, and.·in 'our personal associations. With thought on this theme it will be a happier New Year for u,s, ~1l-an4a successful one. May it be so.

LESLIE S. WOOLf:JARD, The Editor.

EDITORIAL~ 9FEICE f 12, Campbell -Road" Bedford. ,

ADVERTISEMENT MANAGER

Mr. G. R. Harrower, 68, Gloucester Road, New Barnet, Herts.

SUBSCRIPTION RATES: 5/6d. per annum, post free (9 issues). Single, copies 7~d., post free. Discount rates for bulk orders on appli ­cation.

Subscriptions and Renewals can be sen t direct to Table Tennis, Hendon Printing Works Ltd., 42-44, Victoria Rmid, Hendon, N.W.4. Other correspondence to' The Editor.

~PECIAL EDl:TIONS, A SpeciaJ Edition 'comprises a COMPLETE

fuil-size Table, Tennis, PLUS the official journal of the' particular area (which is edited and ,Organised in that area afl-d is, complete with local details, news and notices) . It is TWO magazines in one for little more than the price of one, and everyplayer in such' an area should certainly be a subscriber. Enquiries should be made DIRECT to the appropriate local officials.

TH E WELSH EDITION. Official Journal of the Table Tennis Association of Wales. Mrs. N. ROY EVANS, 1, Llwyn-y-Grant Road. Penylan,' Cardiff.

SUSSEX EDITION. Mr. KEITH 'VA'TTS, 6, Windsor Road, St. Leonards-on-Sea.

BIRMINGHAM EDITION. Mr. M. Gold­stein, 415, Moseley Road. Birmingham.

Table", Tennis warmly invites news iten1s, opinions, suggestions, ideas, pic­

; tures, "criticisms, etc., from everyone,h W" hi'

everyw ere. e InVite your e p In making Table Tennis the most lively,instructive and entertaining sportsjourna,! in the world. Keep it SHORT.

Post it EARLY.

Send DIRE,CT to The Editor : ­

LESLIE S. WOOLLARD,

12, CAMPBELL ROAD, BEDFORD

Page 3: 5. Jan 1954

WELSH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS, 1953-4 Newport Athletic Club, Mons., December 19th

MORNING, and early tea, came in with a smiling sun and cooing doves. It was

to be a great day for Wales . . . the National 'Open T.T. Champion­ships here in busy, picturesque New­port; Rugger against the All~Blacks at 'Cardiff. . . and, :ah yes, the Harle­quins at Newport. All to end in glorious successes for Wales.

Playing conditions at the Standard Telephone Company were superb. Composition floor, 10 tables, running buffet, excellent lunch. Even the hall temperature was scrupulously con­trolled to within one degree through­out the day. An ingenious indicator on the referee's table showed immedi­ately a table was vacant and its number.

The day offered nearly everything (except time limits). Excitements, sensations and colour. Oh yes, most certainly colour!! A tallish, burly young man, responding to the name of David Lovell, Bristol, emerged in shirt and shorts of vivid, hideous saffron, a lemon cardigan and a sponge bat~ He became variously the "Mustard";coloured Mystery Man," the "Lemon Drop Kid"-and some less reportable designations. He coolly beat A. Saunders (Cardiff) 9, 11; S. Zahidi (a Pakistani from Llanelly) 6, 14; R. Tarling (Chelten­ham) 15, 11; and then sensation when he completely baffled lively, left-han­ded Peter Pudney 7, 9-a Pudney who had earlier played so well to beat Walter Sweetland 10, 14 !! Then " Lovell" spreadeagled Ken Craigie in the quarters at 20, 17. It was fantastic. At one point Craigie trailed at 1-10, and showed he could master the sponge when he levelled scores. The impression was that Craigie beat himself.

Then came the next surprise when "Mustard Mystery Man" disclosed that his real name was Barry White, 23 year old B.Sc., ex-graduate Bristol University now on de-mob leave after R.A.F. service! Although he won the Bristol Closed in 1950, he had never previously beaten anyone of note until to-day. No one was more surprised at his success than himself. He had been playing with sponge only the last 2 months.

Michel Haguenauer (France), whom Barry White was to meet in the semi, was very, very glum.

"The sponge ... pah ... it is for nle impossible ! " he gloomed. " It should not be allowed. I shall get perhaps 5 ... perhaps 6. It is a bad thing. You must defend and defend

SAFFRON MYSTE,RY MAN

TAKES SPONGE TO SEMI

. . . you dare not attack." He shrug­ged in expressive despondence.

He opened his semi against White really half-heartedly. White plays the sponge bat with a fairly orthodox style, a spoon-like defence over the table, an effective long distance de­fence and good mobility. And, thank goodness, he enlivens his game game with a vigorous all-forehand attack when he sees an opening. He was confidently and coolly leading leading Haguenauer 9-4. 'rhe Frenchman surprised himself by get~ ting in some good winners to pull up up to 8-12. Then in sonle ,vell­mixed rallies, Haguenauer trailed White by 2 .points until he levelled at 19-19. Then an exciting see-saw which the Frenchman closely won at 25-23, and then asserted a slight dominance in \vinning the second 21-15 after alternating periods of defensive patience broken by attacking flurries from both players.

The evening finals, by the way, were played in the gymnasium of the Newport Athletic Club, using the dressing rooms as those used by Nev/­port and the Quins a little earlier. The crowd was tiered roof high and doors had to be barred early. Spec­tators certainly had full value in what was probably one of the best final programmes this season.

In the other semi, Harry Venner got the better of Aubrey Simons ill­prepared 23, 16. Neither at their best, but Venner the steadier. Drama came when Simons at 8-18 down fought back with dazzling ferocity to first 14-20 and then to 20-all. Here was excitement indeed, but Simons' drives were. tending to hit the net and just miss the table.

The M.S. final was a magnificent battle between an aggressive Venner rising to great heights and being matched almost point by point by a superlative Haguenauer. Five titanic games of this to bring Venner a glorious victory at 22-20 in the 5th and the applause impartially given to two great players, echoed through the roof. "Pity there must be a loser all," was a popular verdict.

The W.S. Final benveen Ros Rowe and Ann Haydon was a super, stream­liend exhibition affair of classic ex·" cellence. Jet propelled driving to

all parts, nliraculous retrieving and counter-attacking had the audience in agonised gasps and tremendous waves of applause. Ann Haydon took an early lead in both games; in the second to 8-1. But Rosalind was inspiringly brilliant-as she had to be -against the dynamic challenge to her crown.

13ut all the finals were first-rate, full of v1aried and interesting displays of styles and techniques and excitements.

The earlier rounds were also packed with good things, particularly in the \V.S. where nearly a dozen matches \vould have made a worthy final to any event. Something of the excite­ments may be guessed from the brief selection of results below. Note particularly those of Dot Ellis, Jill Rook and Ann H:aydon. Alas that space limits and justice cannot be done.

Our praise for all the organisers and responsible officials is high and ful­some. From Nancy and IRoy Evans, G. Modow, Fred 'Rieple and the many Anonymous of a really grand team. It was a heartening, happy day; all was good with the Game.

By-the-Y/ay: w.s. R. ROWE bt. S. Jones 14, 17; bt. Y. Seaman 15, -19, 11. S. JONES bt. M. Jones -2'4, 18, 21; bt. G. Holden 10, 12. Y. Baker bt. A. 'Bates-15, 19, 17 (bt. E. Carrington 18, -14, 15). B. MILBANK bt. J. Winn 14, -18, 9; bt. Y. Baker -17, 18, 16. J. ROOK bt. M. Cotton 13, 13; bt. K. Best 13, 12 (bt. M. Cumber· batch 8, 17). D. ELLIS bt. J. Beer 15, 14; bt. P. Piper 19, -19, 12; bt. J. Rook 22, 17. P. Piper bt. B. Gray 15, 14. A. HAYDON bt. V. Rowe 9, 5; bt. D. HOWl-) -11, 17, 15. M.S. G. HARROWlilH bt. W. K. Milsom 10, 17; bt. J. Davies 17, 10; bt. G. Jenkins 11, 14; lost to H. Venner -14, -15. D. Milton bt. P. Cruwy~ 16, -18, 13. D. PHILLIPS bt. J. Bickerstaff 16, 15; b. A. Morris 19, 17; lost to A. Simons -13. 12. K. CRAIGIE bt. B. Good­win 10, 8; bt. M. Maclaren 13, 13; bt. G. Morgan 15, 17. B. MERRETT bt. D. House 23, 12; bt. A. Thomas 18, 13; lost to M. Haguenauer -14, -12. L. OWEN bt. A. A. Rhodes 17, -18, 20; lost to Haguenauer -10, -13. S. JONES bt. 'V. Kelly 10, 11; bt. T. Maher 14, 18; lost Haguenauer -18, -5.

FINALS

M.S. H. VENNER bt. (sf) A. Simons 23, 16; bt. M. HAGVENAVER 13, 19, -17, --17, 20 (bt. B. White 21, 15).

W.S. R. ROWE bt. (sf\ B. Milbank 18, 19; bt. A. HAYDON 21, 16 (bt. D. Elliti 15, 10).

M.D. K. CRAIGIE/A. RHODES bt. (sf) B. Merrett/ R. Morley 22, 14; bt. V. BARNA/ A. SIMONS -Hi, 12, 18 (bt. P. Pudncy / 11. Venner 10, 18).

W.O. D. & R. ROWE bt. (sf) Y. Seaman/ J. Winn 19, J7; bt. K. BESrr/A. HAYDON 14, -15, 19 (bt. A. Bates/B. Gray 18, -21, 12.

X.D. V. BARNA/R. ROWE bt. (sf) 1. Jones/M. Piper 7, 17; bt. M. HAGVEN­AVER/D. RO\VE 20, ·-17, 15 (bt. K. Craigie / ,I. Rook 17, 22).

B,S. R. DORKING bt. (sf) P. Chamberlain 1K, -19, 17; bt. M. MACLAREN 16, 18 (bt. 1. Harrison 13. 15).

C.S. A. HAYDON bt. J. Rook 15, 21.

83

{

Page 4: 5. Jan 1954

1

Ringside ~ High Speed

Reports Table ~ Tennis Action Photos

By ~ By

PETER MADGEA. R. MILLER PICTORIAL ~====~- PRESENTS* *

ENGLAND versus from the Empire Pool, Wembley,·.- T'IS many years since so inter­

esting and an exciting evening of play has been seen at the

Empire Pool as this \vhen England on the brink of defeat at 1-4 down fought back to -win 5-4.

MATCH 1 Aubrey Si~10ns gave England a

g·JOd start by ,vinning the first tie, his fast Inixed chop and faster c()unter-hitting overwhelming Elemer G]!etvai -10, 15, 15.

ENGLAND I-HUNGARY 0

MATCH 2

~o.954

Sido and Gizi Farkas then gained a tense and narrow mixed doubles \vin over Johnny Leach and Diane Ro~..ve-a typically desperate encoun­t~r - 'The English pair ,J;Tre leading 7-0-16 in th~ third only to f8.1t~r

b~forc tbe steadier attac~, of tht: Tlun81rians. A lightning dri;-c fro::."'2 ~ido clinched the decisive point.

nNGLA!'ID 1-liUNG.,1:"{Y 1 ~----..-_--_.....----"""'.. ' ,..",.""""'.""""....,.. .."..

MATCH 3 I(a'hleen Best gave all she 1~1cw

:: 3-1inst Zsusza Fantusz, but her fI()lish~d strokes and fine rhythmical r~-j ,ring ,vere countered by persistent b~.·~khand half volley and speedy G~':"ln!er.~hitting from Fantusz which C0:r:CfLcd a 13-17 third game deficit to a 21-19 win.

E1VGLAND 1-1IUNGARY 2

MATCH 4

HUN"JGARY(J

&25th November, J1953 brought Hungary a well-earned vic­tory at 17 in the third.

EN,GLAND I-HUNGARY 4

No. 953

Could Rosalind Rowe beat the the World's No.2, Gizi Farkas, a third time? Starting" cold" she found the I-Iungarian's fluent attack with its curled backhand and clipped forehand. too good.

ENGLAND I-HUNGARY 3

MATCH 5

No. 951

Dergluann and Leach with the strong defences which have taken th~m to world championship finals ,verc fancied against World Champion Sido and his new 17 year-old partner l\-iiklos Peterfi, but the youngster fully justified his selection, and the splendid hitting of both players No. 952

84

Page 5: 5. Jan 1954

No. 955 And what now? .

MATC:H 6 The situation was desperate indeed.

The audience was quiet and intense as Diane 'Rowe came out to play Eva Koczian in this vital game. Diane rose heroically to the occasion. She moved quickly and she hit hard. She won the first after a hard struggle. At 13-17 down in the second she fought, back tigerishly to 17-all only to lose at 18. Diane got off to a quick 10-5 lead in' the third, and though Koczian battled to 11-11, Diane played her very best to win 21-14. Amid loud cheers she left the arena with England still in the fight.

ENGLAND 2-HUNGARY 4

MATCH 7 The atmosphere was electric as

Bergmann came out to face Sido. We had expected the match of the evening-it was all that and more­the best game seen here since the World Championships of 1948.

Sido at once penett;'ated the Berg­mann defence with crashing drives. Bergmann replied with slow forehand and backhand drives. Point by hard fought point they fought, Sido mas­sively hunched and slow moving yet making his strokes with lightning speed. and tremendous power.

As Bergmann slowly got the mea­sure of Sido's drives the contest gained in stature with each succeeding point. At 17-19 -Sido top-spun a ball in a head high return; Bergmann leaped in and sent it crashing-into the net! 17-20 ! Sido mishits ... 18-20. Good forehand drives from Bergmann ... 19-20. Then another high, top-spun return from Sido and again Bergmann crashes it into the net!! Seldom, if ever, can he have played two such novice­like shots at ,a vital,. stage.

Everyone sensed Bergmann would win the second game. He did so after some. phenomenal retrieving which could never be bettered to the score of 14.

Both men now at full stretch for the last game. Both cautious, tense,

(to column 3)

No. 950 Sido's power drives . . . forehand . . . backhand . . . send Bergmann back to the surround-once through it----once over it -he gets everything back. Sido" drops" but Bergmann covers 20 feet like tiptoed lightning and an instant later is right back to retrieve a jet-sped centre-liner . . . Swift giant strides and he is back again and going into counter-attack... A supercharged classic of a match-always in doubt.

('from column i)

with nerves balanced on a pinhead. Midway Sido was clouting backhands and forehands to all parts of the arena ... and still Bergmann re­turned them... still Sido could could not bang them away, brilliantly though he played. Perhaps for 4 minutes did that magnificent rally last, and although Sido won the point with an "edge" it seemed to upset his confidence, and it was only an aln10st imperceptible weakening ot Bergmann that gave Sido match point lead at 20-18. Bergmann hit 7 hard forehand drives before beating Sido to make it 19-20. Sido faltered ... 20-20 ! The audience tingled with excitement. A powerful backhand made Sido 21-20 . . . then a nervous push into the net . . . 21-all. Then Bergmann attacked vigorously, con­fidently and amid the mighty cheers of the audience roused to its feet, England were in with a real chance.

ENGLAND 3-HUNGARY 4

MATCH 8 Johnny Leach made light work of

a now rather nervous and unsettled Peterti, and the score became

ENGLAND 4-HUNGARY 4

MATCH 9 With the tiger's teeth eased from

England's throat, the Rowe Twins demonstrated their complete under­standing and co-ordination py clinch­ing the deciding match decisively against Farkas and Koczian.

ENGLAND 5-HUNGARY 4

No. 956

And thus was imminent defeat converted into a wonderful victory, and the English lion was once again l:laster of his territory.•

A. R. Miller ENGLAND 5-HUNGARV 4. (England

names first). M.S. R. BERGMANN bt. 1". Sido -19, 15, 21. A. SIMONS bt. E. Gyetvai -10, 15, 15. J. LEACH bt. M. Peterfi 7. 15. W.S. R. RO\VE lost G. Farkas -13, 18. C. K. BEST lost Z. Fantusz -16. 14, -19. D. ROWE bt. K Koczian 19. -18. 14. 'M.D. R. BERGMANN/J. LEACH ]C)st M. Peterfi/F'. Sido ~-20. 19. L7. W.O. D. and R. ROWE bt. G. Farkas/ E. Koczian 1U, 7. X.D. J. LEACH/D. ROWE lost F. Rido/U. Farkas 17, -19, -21.

85

Page 6: 5. Jan 1954

HOW TO PRONOUNCE NAMES IN Hungarian the emphasis is

always given on the first syllable. The names of our Hungarian visitors are pronounced as indicated in italics below. '(In aphabetical order).

AGNES ALMASI-Ugnesh Ull­mushy. SZUZSA FANTUSZ-Zhoozha Funtoos. GIZI FARKAS -Ge.e.zy Farkush. E L E MER G YET V A I-Ellemair Gyett-va-ee. EVA KOCZIAN - Ayva Kotsiun. MIKLOS PETERFI-M e e k los h Payterfy. FER E N C SID 0 ­Fer r e n t s She e d o. KALMAN SZEPESI-Kullmun ·Saypeshy.

FLYING TOUR

THE

HUNGARIANS

meet' :English

Possibles

SUMMARY OF PERFORMANCES This is a summary of performances

in all representative singles matches. Detailed scores can be found in this issue.

MEN SIDO lost to BERGMANN; bt. Simons,

Leach, Venner. PETERFI lost to, LEACH and MERRE':er;

bt. Craigie. Lowe. GYETVAI lost to KENNEDY. SIMONS; bt.

Bergmann. SZEPESI bt. Adams. A. R. Miller.

WOMEN FARKAS bt. R. Rowe. D. Rowe. C. K. Best

(2-1), Piper. KOCZIAN lost to D. ROWE. R. ROWE; bt.

Winn. FANTUSZ lost to A. HAYDON; bt. Best.

Seaman, Baker. ALMASI lost to E. ISAACS. A. HAYDON;

bt. Milbank.

e V HOME COUNTIES WHITE ROCK PAVILION,

HASTINGS 22nd Noy., 1953

THIS was a bright, brisk match with a really friendly social atmosphere. Preliminfi.\ry intro's

under the fluent guidance of Mr. A. K. Vint; finally over, Betty Isaacs, 19 year-old Ravensbourne typist gave, the Home Counties an inspiring first game lead over Almasi. A rousing start. Almasi makes openings for her forehand attack by clever placing with backhand and half-volley. We recall that she nearly beat Ros Rowe at Bucharest. Her defence is good. But Betty matched everything with interest. Despite losing the first game at 15 she surged forward with irresistable confidence, moving well and hitting hard and surely, to a decisive 21-12 win. Tense excite­men! mounted as the third game rose to its dramatic climax. Isaacs, lead­ing~"~t, 20-18, had 5 match points before her brilliant win at 27-25. Indeed, a superlative performance.

Len Adams opened cautiously against Szepesi the left-handed hitter, but his opponent was bafflingly cautious also. Narrowly losing the first game, Adams' confidence in­creased with every point. He won the second game at 13 after a series of sparkling defensive rallies and sudden fierce bursts of attack. From 10-all in the third, Adams stuck at 15 as Szep~si clicked to the 20. He fought tenaciously, he attacked vigorously . . . 16 . . . 17 . . . 18 . . . and then . . . suddenly . . . it was all over. The Hungarian had won.

Yvonne Baker, Peggy Piper and Jimmy Lowe all fought back but could not find their best against the invaders. Harry Venner staged a determined-almost desperate-blitz attack against the triple world cham­pion Sido and lost the first game only at 20-22. Then the Hungarian Inaster was roused and he released

86

some of his skills to overcome his turbulent opponent who went down at 21-12 still blazing defiance.

All the doubles matches were tight and very exciting, 3 going the full distance. Pam Gall and Jill Rook put up a sparkling opposition to Farkas and Koczian. Adams and Craigie just beat the new Hungarian pair Sido and Peterfi by the closest margin possible. A very good win.

Home Counties 3-Hungary 7 HOME COUNTIES 3 - HUNGARY 7.

(Home Counties names first). M.S. H. VENNER lost F. Sido -20. -12. L. ADAMS lost K. Szepesi -19, 13, -18. J. LOWE lost M. Peterfi -19. -12. W.S. M. PIPER lost G. Farkas -8, -15. Y. BAKER lost Z. Fantusz -12. -18. E. ISAACS bt. A. Almasi -15. 12. 25. M.D. L. ADAMS/ K. CRAIGIE bt. M. Peterfi/F. Sido 22-20. 23-21. J. LOWE/H. VENNER bt. E. Gyetvai/K. Szepesi -IS, 24, 22. X.D. K. CRAIGIE/J. ROOK lost F. Sido/G. 'Farkas 12. -13, -18. ----~--~-_.- - ,------._~ ~_. __.,-- ~-------_._---

O,Fe V SOUTO ENGLAND

COLSTON HALL, BRISTOL 23rd Nov., 1953

the magnificent Colston HallI N more than 1,000 people saw the Hungarians in a fighting mood as

they trounced a "South of England " team 8-0. Only 3 matches went to 3 games; these were real highlights. Ken Craigie attacked brilliantly against young left-hander Peterfi, hitting furiously to all angles, but he was frustrated by the deceptive and agile defence and too often surprised by Peterfi's sporadic counter-attack. In the second game, Peterfi pulled up from 3-13 down to 12-13! And yet again, with Craigie at gamepoint 20-14, Peterfi made another brilliant and dramatic recovery before losing at 19-21, and then going on to more smoothly win the decider.

5-foot teenager Eva Koczian, 17 year-old whirlwind, has a surprisingly efficient defence and machine-gun attack, mostly forehand, but ready to make opportunist points with any

stroke at any time. She is the first and only girl to have beaten the great Gizi in 13 years ! But Jean Winn went in winningly, matching and bettering the little Hungarian in a flurry of sparkling rallies which had the audience cheering wildly-and rocking the hall when Jean won the first game at 19.

JEAN WINN

brought

the

cheers.

(934)

Elemer Gyetvai, " the Hitting Machine," put on his head strap and proceeded to clout every ball with a fantastic force and to every angle in his match against Bergmann, a Richard truly magnificent in defence but oh, so, sorely handicappel by the boundaries of the stage! This vivid match threw the crowd into a frenzy of excitement. Gyetvai was ,rewarded for his victory with a spontaneous kiss frorn Gizi Farkas.

NOTE: This match was played on a con­cert stage and. therefore. only singles ties were included. An Extra Match. doubles. was played for exhibition purposes. but the score is not for inclusion in the official result. Richard Bergmann deserves a very special mention for his sporting readiness to play such a man as Gyetvai under conditions so adverse to himself.

The scores do not, perhaps, fairly reflect the fight and effort of the British players against the rampant Hungary.

South of England O-Hungary 8

SOUTH OF ENGLAND O-HUNQARY 8. (South of }Jngland names first). M.S. H. EERMANN lost E. Gyetvai -14, 11, -12. A. SIMONS lost F. Sido -16, -17. K. CRAIGIE lost M. Peterfi -18, 19, -16. A. R. MILLER lost K. Szepesi -19. -18. W.S. D. ROWE lost G. Farkas -8. -11. .J. WINN lost E. Koczian 19. -7. -13. Y. SEAMAN lost Z. Fantusz -17. -10. B. MILBANK 'lost A. Almasi -16. -20. Extra match (doubles): K. CRAIGIE/A. SIMONS lost M. Peterft/F. Sido -II, -19.

Page 7: 5. Jan 1954

e v REST ENG~iND INDOOR SPORTS STADIUM,

BIRMINGHAM

27th Nov., 19S3

OUT SID E the Stadium the great conurbation of sleek and elegant cars gave the external

impression of plutocracy ~t a prize fight. It was a quieter, less respon­sive audience than hitherto, and the Hungarians appeared subdued still by their last minute defeat at Wembley the night before last. The British players were, on the contrary, more confident than at any previous match. Somehow, somewher,e, something of the suspense, excitement and drama had gone and re-appeared only in sporadic flashes.

Brian Kennedy was at his dominant, forceful best both in his singles and 2 doubles ties. Kathleen Best with a confident surge became the first player to take a gan1e from Farkas and looked a sure ;·7inner, and then made an unaccountable lapse to lose control. Merrett doodled uncertainly, lost the first game to Szepesi and was trailing uncertainly in the second. Then suddenly, in mid-game, he pulled himself together and showed his potential quality. He overhauled his opponent at 20-all and deservedly

took the winning points. The de­cider was an even se.e-saw up to the very last point, a battle of nerve and will as well as of techniques. Merrett losing several points by a reluctancr$

to move quickly to wide angles. Then a wonderful rally-a battle for domination-which brought Merrett ahead at 20-18 and ultimately a de­served win at 21-19.

Sido was too accurate for Johnny Leach both in defence and attack. Johnny held on grimly and with occasional flashes of brilliance in de­fence but without a kill in his attack. His self-abjurations of "It's no good ! " and "Don't do that ! " etc., found their satta voce response in the audience.

Rosalind Rowe was neat and crisp with her despatch of a slightly under­confident Eva Koczian. It was Ann Haydon, however, who brought the audience to excitement pitch (an honour shared with Kennedy!) In some indefinable way, both Ann and each of her opponents seemed to gene­rate some dramatic quality to the audience. First Ann Haydon b..e.,at the slight, dark Fantusz 18, -16, 17 in a taut, brittle battle sternly fought that brought the home· score to 4-2 (instead of the possible 3-all). In the last tie of the evening (with the match already decided) Agnes Almasi

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faced Ann Haydon. Ann eventtl1fllY· won a bitterly 'close first game at 27-25. Ends were changed. A protest was made that the last p<9int should have been an "edge" and although Ann wanted to replay the point, the protest was not upheld. Perhaps the episode unnerved the Birmingham girl and roused the Hun­garian who took and maintained a long lead. But the decider was Ann's all the way, and wOt) with a cool" confident manner that was mightily impressive.•

REST OF ENGLAND 6-HUUCARY 4. (Rest names first) . M.S. J. LEACH lost F. Sido -14. -17. B. KENNEDY bt. E. Gyetvai 16. 12. B. MERRETT bt. K. Szepesi -16. 20. 19. W.S. R. ROWE bt. E. Koczian 12. 16. C. K. BE,sT lost G. Farkas 15. -14. -18. A. HAYDON bt. Z. Fantusz 18. -16. 17; bt. A. Almasi 25. -9. 12. M.D. B. KENNEDY/J. LEACH bt. M. Peterfi/F. Sido 19. 18. W.O. C.K. BEST/A. HAYDON lost G. Farkas/E. Koczian -16. -16. X.D. B. K~JNNEDY/R. ROWE lost F. SidolG. Farkas 14. -19, -14.

BATH OPEN C,HAMPIONSHIPS Bath, Nov., 1953

M.S. R. MORLEY (Glos.) bt. B..J. Buck­nell (Bristol) 15. -12. 15. 13.

W.S. P. MORTIMER (Wks.) bt. S. Jones (Wales) 14. 14.

M.D. D. HOUSE/R: MORLEY bt. B. J. Bucknell/R. Hayden 19. 18. -14, 12.

X.D. A. MORRIS/S. JONES bt. J. Spokes!E. Pomroy 15. 11.

B.S. K. TARLING (Chelt'm) bt. S. Field 19,_ -13. 15.

67

Page 8: 5. Jan 1954

ENGLAND JUNIORS EXTENDED Worthing, 16th Nov., 1953

By LESLIE M. BROMFIELD ENG LAN D J u n i 0 r s (led by

Tommy Sears) just scraped home 5-4 in the match against Sweden Juniors. Hasse Pettersson took an early lead with some hard backhand drives. Michael Maclaren steadied well to win the first game at 15, but though he fought hard, the Swedish boy won 19, 13. Ray Dorking had no answer to Lars-Ake Jonsson's steady defence and lost easily 13, 14. Attacker Brian Barr tried to stop the rot and quickly lost the first game at 15. to Toni Borg. With a stream of brilli­ant drives and smashes he crashed home to win the second game 21-9, but surrendered in the third. At 0-3 down Dorking played brilliantly to win over Pettersson; Maclaren beat Borg; and then the tense battle be­tween Barr and Jonsson. In the third game, despite all Barr's valiant efforts, Jonsson crept ahead to 20-18. With a magnificent fighting spirit Barr saved the match points and won at 23-21. It was 3-3 instead 2-4 down.

Dorking accounted for Borg, but when Barr succumbed to Pettersson, the score became 4-4. Maclaren then went for Jonsson like a tiger, hitting hard and winning many points with outright kills. In a few minutes Maclaren hit the final point which gave England victory.

About 400 people thoroughly app­reciated a magnificent match, brilli­antly staged by the Worthing T .'T.A. led by the able Mr. W. G. Goldfinch. The Mayor of Worthing, Mr. A. K. Vint and other celebrities were among those present.•

L. M. Bromfield

HERTS. CLOSED CHAMPIONSHIPS

Letchworth, 29th Nov., 1953 M.S. J. EDWARDS (W) bt. (sf) B. Boyce

(W) 7, 13; bt. G. BEBB (SA) 18, -13, -19, 19, 12 (bt. R. Morgan (W) 13, 16).

W.S. J. WHITE (W) bt. B. David (W)

13M~~: It. BEBB/J. EDWARDS bt. J. Bryant/N. Sayers (WG) 18, -16, 19, 17.

W.O. Mrs. J. MAGOR/J. WHITE (W) bt. P. Jackson (SA) /Mrs. J. Matthews (H) 10, 16.

X'.O. T.MORIARTY IS. BOARDER (W) bt. R. Morgan (W) /Mrs. R. Bowyer (HI) 30-28, 17. H-Hertford. HI-Hitchin. SA-St. Albans.

W-Watford. WG-Welwyn Garden City.

DORSET OPE,N CHAMPIONSHIPS Weymouth, Nov., 1953

M.S.•T. P. SHEAD bt. (sf) P. Brook 5, 8; bt. L. KERSLAKE -18, 9, 11, 9 (bt. R. Abl'ahams 11, .18).

W.S. Mrs. J. WILLCOCKS (Devon) bt. y. H,owe (Wales) -18, 12, 15. M.D. P. BROOK/R. TURNER, bi. R. Bassett/ .r. Rose 12, -15, 16.

W.O. Mrs. •T. WILLCOCKS/J. WINTER bt. G. Holden/V. Rowe 18, 17.

X.D. R. ANDERSON/Mrs. J. WILLCOCKS bt. L. K~rslake/Mrs. J. Crosby 13. -16, 19.

Mammoth Attraction Gilmngham, Nov. 29th, 1953

MORE than 170 juniors from all parts combined to make 350 entries in the 14 events played on 10 tables in excellent conditions. Enthusiasms were tireless. Finals were a little de­layed because top players were in­volved in several events. The magnifi­cent collection of 14 trophies were presented by Mr. W. G. Goldfinch, captain of Sussex Juniors and ex-cap­tain of Kent, warmly welcomed by old friends. Many sharp-sighted young­sters noted that the Under 13 Shield had been mis-engraved "under 3 years" !

Joyce Fielder gave the English Junior Champion, J ill Rook, a close call, and Maclaren revers~d by beating­Dorking. The Under 15's was an all­Lowestoft final; the Under 13's an all-local (Sittingbourne) affair. The 4 girl semi-finalists were of a party of

Hull Open Championships HuU, 7th Nov., 1953

By A. ABRAHAMSON

146 pIa y e r s from D u r ham, Northumberland, Lincs., Derbyshire and Yorks. (without any "stars") thoroughly enjoyed the keen compe­tition, good spirits and topping con.. ditions. 10 first class tables helped to speed this very enjoyable evening to a 10.15 finale and Yorks. Chair­man, Mr. Stanley Hanson, presented the trophies and prizes.

15 year-old Arthur Teal (Hull) won the J.S. title which only once before has been won by a local player. Arthur holds both senior and junior Hull titles. In the l\1.S. R. Dove (Sheffield) gave Ray Hinch­liff a close call bv extending him to 22-24 in the deciding game. Ron Jackson beat Bradford's No. 1 Maurice Pitts before losing to Hinch~

liff in the semi. 16 year-old Jean Preston (Knaresborough) beat Mar·, jorie Lightfoot but ,vas herself beaten by Joan Bycroft. 15 year-old Flo Wright gartnered by Mrs. C. Cook reached the final of the W.D.

M.S. R. HINCHLIFF bt. (sf) R. Jackson 9, 16; bt. G. WADSWORTH 20, ] 2 (bt. B. Pfmnington) Hi, ] 7.

W.S.•J. BYGROFT bt. (sf) J. Preston 19, -]4, 19; bt. M. RTT'rLER 17, ]7 (bt. F. Wright 15, 17).

M.D, R. HINCHLIFF/CL WADSWORTH bt.. S. Dyson/M. Pitts 15, 20.

W.O. M. BUTLER/M. LIGHTFOOT bt. Mrs. C. Cook/F. Wright 14, 18.

X.O. G. WADSWORTH/J. PRESTON bt. K. Dyson/Mrs. E. Whitlock 9, 16.

d.S. A. TEAL bt. (sf) L. Rosenthall -15, 15, 13; bt. R. TRUMAN 11, 12 (bt. R. .Tackson 19. -1 7, 16).

of Kent Junior Open 14 from the West Secondary School, who won admiratIon Lor then prOlnHh.. and appearance. '1 he Llo&ed junIvI' event produced results lha{ pr",t>enl new problems for the Ken( S~l~cLor",.

B.S. M. MACLAHl£N bt. (sO B. HalT --'"~U, 18. 15; bt. n. DuRKING 21, 14 (bt. J. Collins 13. 17). .

G.S. J. ROOK bt. (sf) B. Spooner 15. l~,; bi. J. FIELDEn -20,21, 15 (bt. W. C. Rat,es 13, .18).

B.D. M. MACLAREN/R. DORKING bt. B. Rarr/ B. Cartwright 10, -19, 20.

C.D. J. ROOK/B. SPOONER bt. W. Bates/R. Davis 8, -20, 13.

X.D. R. DORKING/J. ROOK bt. B. Barr/ .J. Fielder 19, 13.

Under 15'5: B.S. G. GLADWISH bt. L. Landry 17, 12. C.S. S. PICKARD bt. J. Johnson 19, 13. B.D. P. Cole/J. Collins bt. A. Levine/T. Reddish 12, 11. C.D. B. Nugent/S. Pickard bt. J. .Johnson/M. .Mc­Meekin 15, 13. X.D. E. Rolfe/J. Johnson bt. It. Henderson/ R,. Sugarhood 20, 15.

Under 13'5: B.S. T. REDDISH bt. M. ]fUi,s' !), 7. O.S. .J. LERLIE bt. M. Hammond. HL ---9. 12.

KENT JUNIOR CLOSED B.S. R. N. COVERLEY bt. M. Smith 12, ~T. G.S..J. FIELDER bt. L. Selway 15, 8.

Chile Dominale South American Championships

Montevideo, Uruguay, 18...25th Nov., 1953

From FERNANDO OLAZARRI IN the absence of Brazil and their

two great continental stars, Ivan and I-Iugo S,evero, Chile dominated the Championships. They were repre­sented by a new teanl of talented youngsters all making their first inter­national appearance. Manuel Gon­zalez, 18-year-old, was the best player in the tournament, and the biggest surprise was his final defeat by his team colleague, O. Flores. Both ate " penholders."

Peruvian players are ImprOV'1fig rapidly and their Emilio Solorzano extended Gonzalez to 5 games. Best from Uruguay was Bemaor; of several good performances his best was in taking the stylish E. Loch to 5 " deuce" games. iCujarville (Uru­guay) played very well to win the junior title, the only one not won by Chile.

TEAMS: (Men): CHILE bt. Peru 5-1 (at. Urug'uay 5-0); bt. Uruguay 5-0. (W~n1ea) : CHILE bt. Uruguay 5-0.

M.S. O. FLORES bt. (sf) E. Loch -S~ 18 17, -14, 16; bt. M. GONZALEZ 9, 17. hi (bt. H. Letelier 13, -13, 14, 12).

W.S. I. VERDUGO bt. E. Scherz 11, ---=-H5, 8, 14.

M.D. O. FLORES/E. LOCH bt. M. G~)h­

zalez/R. Riveros -15, 19, 16, 17. W.D. B: NAVARRETE/I. VERDUGO bi.

R. Lauria/E. Scherz 12. 15, -13, 20. X.D. R. RIVEROS/1. VERDUGO bt. I.

Bemaor/E. Scherz 19, 15. 2. J.S. S. CAJARVILLE bt. Ivan Diaz 19, la,

12.

All finalists are from Chile except 1. Bemaor, Miss E. Scherz and S. CajarviUe, who are from Uruguay.

89

Page 9: 5. Jan 1954

No. 931 Brian Barr

BARR'S WAY TO WIN

BY PETER MADGE

No. 957 (Right) In the stream-lined magni. ficence of the Worthing venue Tommy Sears (left), nnn-playing captain of England Juniors, is "knocking up" with one of the team. Michael Maclaren took the photo. while Peter Madge held on to prevent his 1"all ing.

ENGLAN\D v. SWEDEN THIS match (reported elsewhere)

from the spectators angle, would have put most senior games county matches to shame. No words can recapture the high-spot of the evening.1 the high-tension, shock-charged atmos­phere at the end of the Barr v. Jonsson game. England was trailing 2-3 and badly needed this vital 6th match. Ganles 1-1, and Jonsson had started the third strongly and shot ahead to 17-10.

By determination and hairs-breadth winners Brian pulled up to 15-17. Each snatch~d a quick point, 16-18. An edge ball gave Jonsson 19-16 and service. He served, and a quick hit flashed past him, 19-17. A mara­thon rally followed. In the taut silence of the hall Jonsson hit the ball into the net, 19-18. Brian's next return of service missed the edge, and he was 18-20 down. Another long rally. A boy was chewing a comic to shreds ... school girls gnawed handkerchiefs . . . a house­wife sat tensely unaware that her ball of wool was three seats away and the half-finished scarf slipping g1~!ldually off the needles. Still the rally went on. The Mayor of Worthing was craning forward. Brian pushed one a little wider than before, Jonsson just got to it, and for one agonising moment the ball teetered on the top of the net, and fell back. Jonsson looked dumbfounded, and almost be­fore the score, 20-19, had been called, he served ... OFF! Straight off the table, by a clear six inches. 20 aU. As sure as sunset, that cost Sweden the match. Jonsson sur­rendured the next point easily, over excitement cost Brian the next, but he made no mistake about the last two, and victory \-vas ours. For­tunately, the interval followed and English party was given time to re­cover its shattered nerves. Although Bria.n lost his other two matches, count him the hero of the evening, for he saved the match.

THE NEXT evening the Swedes played their last match in England,

90

M. Maclaren

aga~nst Essex Juniors. Owing to the choIce of a rather outlandish venue the crowd was small. Sweden wo~ 8-2, Dorking losing to Pettersson whom he had beaten the night before at Worthing. Brian Kelsey, Essex No.2, produced flashes of inspired play that would have demolished all the opposition ha.d he been able to keep it up. But as soon as he had won a string of points he threw away twice as many with careless errors. Purcell, Essex No. 3 seemed a little over-awed by the occasion and didn't playas well as I have seen at 'other times. The next day, before our Swedish friends left we managed to visit the Indoor Pro­fessional Tennis Championships at Wembley.

At 7.30 that evening the boat­train bore the visitors away to Har­wich and the Hook of Holland, from where they were faced with a 36 hour overland train journey to Stockholm a.rriving late on Friday night just i~ tIme to snatch a few hours sleep be­fore competing in the Scandinavian Championships on Saturday.

KENT JUNIOR OPEN THE crowd-puller of the day was

the Boys' Open singles quarter-final between George Gladwish (Sussex) and John Collins (Suffolk), which Collins -14, 24, 18. I have rarely seen a faster game in either junior or senior play or such speed of counter­hitting. George stood on his back­hand corner, hitting furious cross'­table forehands to John, who refused to budge more than a foot behind th~ baseline, and counter-hit every­thIng that George put across with an equal or greater speed. Nor were the rallies short, for one point the ball rocketed back and forth sorne twenty times. This was one of the most exhilarating games I have ever seen. Another similar game was be­tween Middlesex's Laurie Landry and " Slogger" Gladwish, from which Georg~ emerged victorious. About 30 minutes after their first battle Gladwish and Collins met again i~ the under-15 event. George won

this time by 15, -16, 13 but the fire had gone out of both players after their earlier efforts. John Collins was a member of the party of 5 from Bryercliffe School, Lowestoft. Four of the party comprised the under 15 doubles final and another Won the under 13 singles, so their journey was not in vain. The Girls' Open final produced a tight struggle between Joyce Fielder and Jill Rook. The Kent girl has an amazing tenacity that should pay well in the future. It almost goes \\7ithout saying that the Boys' Singles final featured Dorking and Maclaren, in the semis these two had respectively beaten Collins and Barr. The final proved to be a win for Maclaren by 23-21, 21-14.•

TABLE TENNIS COACHINC by

ERIC FILBY (English Swaythling Cup Player)

Exhibitions 'arranged by leading players

Apply for details to :

32, BARNFIELD AVENUE. SHIRLEY, CROYDON, SURREY

'TelephDne: ADDISCOMBE 7051

uYDUR SUCCESS IS MY AIM"

MIDDLESEX CLOSED Paddington, 14th Dec" 1953

M.S. (Qtrs.) L. Adams bt. E. Marsh 15, 13. B. Crouch bt. D. Burridge 16, 13. D. Littlewort bt. F. Redfern 15, 13. K. Craigie bt. L. Thompson 13, 17. K. CRAIGIE bt. L. Adams 11, 13.

W.S. Y. SEAMAN bt. (sf) M. Cherry 15, 14; bt. M. FRY 14, 10 (bt. B. Isaacs -17, 20, 17).

M.D. K. CRAIGIE/D. BURRIDGE bt. (sf) B. Crouch/R. Sharman 14, -18, 13; bt. L. ADAMS/V. BARNA ] 6, -22, 20 (bt. I. Jones/ A. Sherwood 18, 18).

W.O. M. CHERRY/Mrs. B. IRISH bt. Y. Seaman/D. Spooner 12, 20.

X.D. L. ADAMS/M. FRY bt. (sf) IJ. Thompson/J. Williams 9, 15; bt. M. THOH,NTTTLL/Y REAMAN 17, 1!) (bt. V. nama/D. Spooner 18, -10, 12). 1{j~.S' .J. J rOnRON bt..T. TIot.t.rill -11, 15,

Page 10: 5. Jan 1954

A Gem of a Match WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL

Cardiff, 18th Dec., 1953

THIS waf> a ge'm of a match. Full of vibrant life and dash and spectacle from beginning to end and in which defence was only used as a step-ladder to even fiercer aggression. This was the ,stuff for T.V. an9 an inspiring example for the men. 'Only the score is unfair because it ignores the wonder­ful fighting performance of the Welsh girls; in defeat ,they won a victory by their superb sportsmanship. Only a hairline separated the factual win to England of 8-1 to what might reasonably have been 5-4 either way.

Peggy Piper won a rousing clash with Shirley Jones at the marginal score of 19, 19 and ,Barbara Milbank had to play at the top of the form to hold out against the Welsh fire of Audrey Bates. IBetty Gray was fierce Determination itself, land her quickly turned, hard-hit backhand drives took her off to a 16-4 lead against Jean Winne Jean fought back desperately hard against this Welsh girl who was so cleverly putting her off her best game. A very fine win for Wales., Joy Seaman was hitting crisply, cleanly and hard-delightful to see in such perfection of faultness form-against some extremely fine defensive play by Vera Rowe. Rallies were vigorously prolonged; to the casual eye the play was even-matching, but by some miraculous fluke of Chance Joy beat Vera by the unbelievable score of 21-1 ! !! It w'as absolutely fantastic for Vera was at no time noticeably outclassed. It was a sporting freak the like of which had never been wit­nessed by even the most experienced observers of !British T.T.

Finally, the teams were whisked swiftly away to thoroughly enjoy the' warm Welsh hospitality of a delightful supper party and to forge many new and unbre:akable ties of friendship. Almost too 'soon, it seemed, the cars arrived to see everyone safely to their own, or to friends', homes, and the English party all the way to their hotel at Newport (ready for the Welsh Open on the following day). An even­ing to be remembered.

The scores are interesting : ­(England names first). J. Winn lost to

B. Gray -13, 18, -10. B. M~lbank* bt. A. Bates 10, -19, 17. M. Piper* bt. S. .Jones 19, 19. Y. Seaman* bt. Mrs. V. Rowe 15, 1. Y. Baker* bt. G. Holden* 12,

. 16. M. Cumberbatch * bt. J. Beer 14, 17. (Doubles) Y. Seaman/J. Winn bt. A. Bates/ B. Gray -17, 9, 20. Y. Baker/M. Piper bt. S. Jones/Mrs. V. Rowe 22, -17, 23. Mrs. M. Cumberbatcb/B. Milbank bt. J. Beer/G. Hold~n 20, 17.

* Debut as an International.

ENGLAND 8-WALES

Juniors KO No. I Seeds CE:NTRAL LONDON OPEN

Walworth, 5th Dec., 1953

FIRST-RATE finals. Highlight was W.S. final. Jean Winn won the first game on attack, but in

the next two, her defence - though sometimes brilliant - could not hold the hard, accurate, well-placed hitting of IBarbara Milbank. Harry Venner, blasting at his aggressive best, man­aged to hold two strong challenges from Brumwell ( semi) and Thornhill in the final. Major sensation was the quarter-final defeat of the No.1 W.D. seeds Joy Seaman and Jean Winn by those two popul1ar juniors JOYCE FIELDER and 'BERYL SPOONER. Joyce Roberts was in rumbustious mood, and Peggy Franks -looking very attractive in a well-fitting sky­blue outfit-showed much of her well remembered fluent and stylish grace. Interesting joint is that Peggy Franks and Joyce Roberts lost the semis to Winn and Milbank respectively by an almost identical score: 14, -16, 7 and 14, -16, 8 !

By-the-Way Results: M,S. A. Rhodes bt. D. Burridge 16, 10. Burridge "bt. C. Crowe 2-0; bt. A. R. Miller 8, -14, 19. B. Crouch bt. R. Turner 17, 19. J. Head bt. R. Stevens 14, 7; bt. L. Adams 19, 16. M. Thornhill bt. Head 22, -17, 21. Adams bt. R. Dorking -13, 8, 11. B. Brumwell bt. P. Pudney 15, 19; bt. K. :Craigie 22, 18; bt. J. Lowe 13, 16. D. Littlewort bt. E. Filby 18, 20. A. Sherwood bt. D. Offer -22, 9, 15; bt. K. Hurlock 11, 11. L. Sawyer bt. Sherwood 13, 13. H. Venner bt. T. Kirby 14, 13; bt. Sawyer 21, 13. W.S. B. Milbank bt. M. Fry 17, 10; bt. Y. Seaman. J. Roberts bt. M. Piper 15, -19, 15. M. Franks bt. Y. Baker 15, 19.

FINALS

M.S. H. VENNER bt. (sf) B. Brumwell 14, -18, 12; bt. M. THORNHILL 22, -20, 21, -17 (bt. A. Rhodes 13, -12, 17).

W.S. B. MILBANK bt. (sf) J. Roberts 14, -16, 8; bt. J. WINN -17, 18, 15 (bt. M. Franks 14, -16, 7) . ., M.D. K. CRAIGIE/A. RHODES bt. L. Adams/R. Crayden -23, 7, 18.

W.O. P. GALL/J. ROOK bt. M. Franks/J. Roberts 9, 19.

X.D. J. HEAD/Y. SEAMAN bt. D. Burridge/M. Piper 14, -15, 16.

B.S. M. MACLAREN bt. (sf) K. Shoaib 16, 13; bt, R. DORKING -15, 19, 15 (bt. T. Densham 14, 15).

G.S. J. ROOK bt. (sf) J. Hodson 21, 9; bt. J. FIELDER 10, 13 (bt. R. Connell 16, 14) .

NEW CAPS" BEAT SCOTSH

Glasgow, 2nd Dec., 1953

ENGLAND 9-SCOTLAND 0 (Mixed). (England names first). M.S. A. SIMONS bt. V. Garland 8, 10. B. MERRETT bt. E. Still ] 7, 16. L. ADAMS bt. M. McMillan 10, 10. R. HINCHLIFF bt. R. Kerr 11, 14. W.S. Miss C. K. BEST bt. Miss H. Elliot 12, 16. Miss J. ROOK bt. Mrs. I. Cababi 12, 13. M.D. B. MERRETT/A. SIMONS bt. V. Gar­land/E. Still -19, ]0, 11. L. ADAMS/R. JIINCHLIFF bt. R. Kerr/M. McMillan 19, 15. W.O. C. K. BEST/J. ROOK bt. I. Cababi/H.Jijlliot ] 5, 13.

40,000 GAMES IN 8 WEEKS

llhe Daily Mirror National Table Tennis Tournament has been under way for less than two months, but 40,000 keenly con­tested games have already reduced the original entry of nearly 11,000 to 1,700. /

It is too early to speculate which players will be at the Royal Albert Hall on "Finals" Night, but it looks a safe bet that when the last 64 meet to decide the Area Finals in Birmingham on March 20th, several of last year's Zone Winners will be amongst" those present." No fewer than 23 of the" top 64" of 1952/53 are still in the hunt for this year's honours. Of these, two players who will take a lot of stopping in the senior events are 16-year-old Joyce Fielder of New Eltham, London, winner of the Girls Singles, and Roy Morley of Gloucester, who was runner up in the Boys'.

Swedes in Glos. County THE Swedish boys came, served us

a delightful brand of aggressive T.T., and endeared themselves to us. Brian Willis met them at Gloucester on Nov. 5th. Then lunch, and tour of the cathedral, and a visit to Glouces­ter Aircraft Works at Hucclecote. Gloucester fielded the very strong trio of ,iBrian Merrett, Roy Morley and M. Morgan, who triumphed 7-3. The Mayor presented souvenir plaques to the players.

Frank Newell welcomed them at Cheltenham the next day, for shop­ping before lunch. Bill Wilson took them round rSmith's Instrument factory in the afternoon where they thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The Swedes never lost a game to rChelten­ham's ,all-junior team.

Bristol the next day with Mr. and Mrs. David Johns as hosts. After lunch, :Bristol ICity's F.A. Ground for the important 3rd match 'against Northampton, and tea with the direc­tors after the game. For the T.T. nlatch, Bristol played "Rusty" Wood and Doug. Shipton (2 senior players) and younger Keith Howse. The Swedes, magnificently aggressive, 'were easy winners at 7-2. Next morning, Sunday, a tour of Old \Bristol, old smugglers' haunts, the Cathedral and then, after lunch, Clifton Zoo. Mon­day morning, Nov. 9th, au revoir to our new friends as we put them en route for Barnsley and the English Open.

Ivor Eyles.

91

Page 11: 5. Jan 1954

17th MERSEYSIDE OPEN Liverpool; 28th Nov.; 1953

THE finals were decided on the small stage of the Picton Hall in 160 minutes of crisp, entertaining

play. A total of 20 games played makes the remarkable average of only 8 minutes a game (including all breaks) and the admirable introduc­tions of Don Foulis.

Simons pulled out with a decisive third game win over Craigie after a quickfire, see-saw semi, while Johnny Leach, in excellent form was too con­sistent for a rather erratic Kennedy. Leach took the title against Simons after some spectacular rallies in a match which at times looked liked going either way.

Helen Elliot, jn crackling form, took the W. S. final from Kathleen Best 15, 13, while the Boys Singles had the rare distinction of being won by a GIRL when Ann Haydon beat lJ. Finan in a rather scrappy final.

The doubles event introduced comedy, since because of the limited stage area players oftimes had the dubious choice of losing a point or breaking a limb! The finalists de­·serve special credit for their goodwill and co-operative efforts.

One of the best matches of the day was Shirley Jones hairline win over Ann Haydon 20, -14, 14 in the W.S. Shirley blended a stylish, accurate defence ,vith some beautifully timed counterhits against the half volley and forehand attack of Ann I-Iaydon. It was particularly interest­ing to note the comparative improve­ment of both players.

By-the-Way Results: M.S. G. Wadsworth bt. B. Casofsky 11, 16; bt. R. Baker 16, 15; lost to A. Simons -9, -13. K. Stanley bt. R. Allcock 10, 20; lost J. Leach 7, 13. K. Craigie bt. D. Ellison' -16, 7, 14. D. Finan bt. S. Dyson -17, 17, 19. V. Hankey bt. R. Kerr -18, 20, 15; lost Stanley -15, 17. -16. B. Kennedy bt. B. Merrett 16, 15; bt. R. Hetherington -19, 18, 17. W.S. M. Lightfoot bt. M. Butler -11, 19, 16; bt. S. Evans -19, 14, 14. P. Heppell bt. E. Grimstone 9. 15; bt. E. Mansell 11, 15. C. K. Best bt. A. Bates 17, 15; bt. Heppell 17, 17. S. Jones bt. J. Bycroft 16, 15; bt. A. Haydon 20, -14, 14. A. Wood bt B. Gray 17, -13. 19. P. Mortimer bt. M. Fry 18, -14, 15. H. Elliot bt. Mortimer 21, 15.

FINALS

M.S. J. LEACH bt. (sf) B. Kennedy 10, -14, 13; bt. A. SIMONS 15, -12, 12 (bt. K. Craigie 23, -20, 11).

W.S. H. ELLIOT bt. (sf) A. Wood 12, 1$; bt. C. K. BEST 15, 13 (bt. S. Jones 20, 15).

M.D. B. KENNEDY/A. SIMONS bt. K. Craigie/.J. Leach 13. 19.

W.O. C. K. BEST/A. HAYDON bt. B. Oray IR . •Jones 15, 18.

X.D. A. SIMONS/H. ELLIOT bt. D. r,lliRon I A. vVood 17, -17, 16.

B.S. :vi iRS A. HA YDON bt. D. Finan 11, In.

BIRMINGHAM (Mrs. M. Cumberbatch, P. MortilllPr, .f. Mackay) bt. LRICRSTER (J. Pprry, M. Whait, P. Tebb) 8-1 at Leicester in thp 7Jonp Final of the J. M. Rose Bowl. Miss rrrry beat Miss Mackay 14, -21, ] 3 for tlw home win.

Ann Haydon Wins Senior Title froDI Milbank and Wino

10th BIRMINGHAM OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Moseley; Birmingham; 12th Dec.; 1953

WITH 6 tables in the Gym and 5 in the galleried hall of the Friends' Institute, the Birmingham Open clicked its lively way over the prob­lems of an unfamiliar venue, and scampered almost gaily to the record­early finish of 9.45 p.m. of one of the most entertaining programmes for some years.

In a high standard of play, out­standing was the parity excellence of of Ann Haydon and Jean Winne Each beat 3 internationals and a county player in straight games before they met in the final. Haydon beat Vera Rowe, Joyce Hayward, Adele Wood and Barbara Milbank while Winn -put out Molly J ones, Betty Gray, Shirley Jones and Elsie Car­rington. Both played extremely well throughout, and Ann Haydon ':had the better of the evenly-matched final to win her first senior Open title by 25-23, 21-17.

In the M.S. Bobby Stevens won 3 good matches over Sherwood, Morley and Hinchliff (who had travelled down from the T.V. match at Glas­gow overnight) before being k.o'd by aggressive Bob Griffin. 23 year-old ex-Warwicks II player J ohnny Har~

rison reached the semi-final with sur­prising wins over Raybould, Paul Brook and Pudney (who had beaten Brian Merrett).

Flo Wright and Ann Haydon dared the B.S., the latter losing to Dorking 14, 13 in the semi. In the final of the B.D. Terry Densham and Ann were not so far behind England's No. 1 pair! Densham ex­

tended Dorking to 3 games and Back­house did likewise for Maclaren.

The Carringtons were in excellent form, but Jack had such a hectic time in the' closing rounds of 3 events that he had few reserves left against Jackie Head in a crisp and lively final.

The entertaining and unrelated pair Ivor Jones (London) and Shirley Jones (Wales) fought gamely to win the last point against the hard-hitting Carrington and Milbank. (The umpire's reference to the "Welsh pair" was, perhaps, excusable). The B.B.C. made a series of recorded interviews with several players during the afternoon, a,nd several England selectors made an appearance during the evening.

By-the-Way: M.S. P. Pudney bt. T. Dens­ham -18, 7, 17; bt. B. Merrett' -17, 16, 16. F. Kershaw bt. D. Morgan 18, 19. R. Turner bt. R. Mackay -18, 19, 13; bt. E. Filby 19, 13. J. Harrison bt. Raybould; bt. P. Brook -16, 19, 19; bt. Pudney -16, 18, 16. R. Stevens bt. Sherwood -17, 17, 18; bt. R. Rinchliff 24-22, 21-23, 22-20; bt. R. Morley 11, -25, 21. R. Griffin bt. Turner 14, 18; bt. Stevens -11, 17, 19. J. Carrington bt. Wadsworth 13, -20, 18; bt. R. Dorking 13, 19 (bt. Maclaren). W.S. Mrs. E. Garrington bt. P. Gall 12, -16, 19 (bt. Y. Baker 18, -19, 15). B. Milbank bt. A. Bates-12, 12. 15; bt. P. Mortimer 18, 15 (bt. M. Cumber­batch 13, -11, 18). J. Winn bt. B. Gray 11, 20; bt. S. Jones 17, 19; bt. E. Carrington ]0, 17. A. Haydon bt. V. Rowe 18, 11; bt. A. Wood 8, 12; bt. B. Milbank 20, 12.

FINALS M.S. J. HEAD bt. (sf) J. Harrison 20, 9;

bt. J. CARRINGTON 18, 15 (bt. R. Griffin -19, 12, 14).

W.S. A. HAYDON bt. (sf) B. Milbank; bt. J. WINN 23, 17 (bt. E. Carrington).

M.D. P. PUDNEY/R. TURNER bt. J. Davies/G. Morgan -18, 16, 19.

W.O. P. GALL/J. WINN bt. A. Bates/B. Gray 19, J.7.

X.D. I. W. JONES/8. JONES bt. J. Car­rington/B. Milbank -12, 20, 19.

d.S. R. DORKING bt. M. Maclaren 17. 14. J.D. R. DORKING/M. MACLAREN bt. T.

Densham/ A. Haydon 13, 16. V.S. L. KINSEY bt. S. Patterson -17, 14,

16.

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fitted *Rigid when erected *Can be stored in a space 5'

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H.P. and Rental Terms

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JOHN G. TOMS 18. NORBETT ROAD, Arnold Notts.

93

Page 12: 5. Jan 1954

FIRST COME FIRST SERVED

THE E.T.T.A. has given fair opportunity for get your ticket NOWt you will probably be one of everyone to ~eserve tickets, for the great World the unlucky ones. Tickets, get sborter and shorter Championships ill Ap,ril. Now they are offered eve~ry do~. The tickets available (detailed below)

to theP'ublic. There will be no favourites't no are bound to vary dailYt and particular prices o~

specialst and absolutely NO tickets kept back. places may be SOL:D OUT by the time you, read There will be positive'ly NO ADMISSION without this:. Delay can mean disa,ppo~ntment. NOW is a ticke:t whoever' 'the person is, and if you do not the time.

Tuesday Wed. Friday World Cups Events Full Price ~ April 6th, 7th & 9th l MO,n. & Tues. April 12-13th Individual Events J Party Rate ~

FINALS SAT. APRIL 10th World Cups } Full Price ~

WED. " 14th Individuals Party .Rate ~

The Special Reduced E.T.T.A. Party Rate is available to affiliated groups in minimum parties of 12 persons.

SEASON TICKETS are available to E.T.T.A. members at 42/- and include admission to all sessions, a 10/6d. ticket for both Final

APPLY TO E.T.T.A. ONLY

212, Grand Buildings,

Trafalgar Square, London, W.C.2

Club Competitions ,ALL or~anisers of Club Competi­

tions for the World Championships Fund are reminded that they should send their returns 'in to Mr. G. Harrower, 68, Gloucester Road, New Barnet, at the very earliest possible.

The special plaques for the winners will be available toward the end of January and where application and full details have been given they will be sent as directed.

CZE,CH. WORLDtS TEAM SELECTION NO. 2

Pilsen, 14th...15th Nov., 1953

IN a second exacting "Selection" Tournament 15 each of the top­ranking Czech players were placed in 3 groups of 5, each playing each. The two top placings of each of the 3 groups then comprised the final group. The final placings, with wins and losses, were:

M.S. 1. ANDREADIS 5-0. 2.TEREBA 3-0. (Andreadis and Slar). 3. to 5. (equal) SLAR (bt. Tereba and Vhynanovsky) ; VANA (bt. Slar and Vhynanovsky); STIPEK (bt. Slar and Vana); all three with 2 wins. O. Vhynanovsky (bt. Stpek) 1 win only.

W.S. 1. KREJCOVA 5-0. 2. Kotatkova 3-2 (lost Cedlova and Krejcova). 3. to 5. (equal) Hruskova; Vhynanovska; Papezova. 6. Cedlova.

M.D. ANDREADIS/STIPEK bt. Slar/ Tereba 2-1.

X.D •.ANDREADIS/KREJCOVA bt. Stipek/ Cedlova 2-0.

94

nights, and a 7/6d. ticket for other evenings.

PARK AVENUE T.T.C. (Billeri­cay) could claim unique distinction. Its 19 members (mostly C.Y.F.) run 2 teams in the Billericay League and the first team is a possible for the championship. It includes David Wright; Michael Cullen (local junior champion) and in February will be strengthened by John Robson (freed from National Service) who recently beat the West German champion.

It WOULD be possible for Park Avenue to field a one-family team: Mr. C. Wright and his three sons Michael, David and Peter. The latter is now at Oxford and has played in the varsity second team. Member­ship also includes 3 B.A.'s (ex Ox­ford, Cambridge and London), while Bryan Foxton (ex-Hon. Sec. Brent­wood League) holds the championship of the league for the longest hair!

J. Sargant

World Ranking List TIHE Seeding Committee of the

I.T.T.F. has issued the following pro­visional list as guidance for seeding in competitions for 1953-54. (10th Dec., 1953).

MEN WOMEN 1. F. Sido (Hung) A. Roseanu (Rum) 2. R. Bergmann (Eng) G. Farkas (Hung) 3.1. Andreadis (CSR) R. Rowe (Eng) 4. A. W. C. Simons L. Wertl (Aus)

(Eng) 5. L. Stipek (CSR) D. Rowe (Eng) 6. J. Leach (Eng) T. Pritzi (Aus) 7. R. R60thooft (Fra) T. Nishimura (Jap) 8. J. Koczian (Hung) V. Hruskova (CSR)

, 9. F. Tokar (CSR) C. K. Best (Eng) 10. B. Vana (CSR) H. Elliot (Scot) 11. V. Tereba (CSR) Unclassified 12. V. Harangozo L. (Thall) Neuberger

(Yug) (USA) 13. Z. Dolinar (Yug) 14. E. Gyetvai (Hung) Men-Unclassified 15. M. Haguenauer R. Miles (USA)

(Fra) Mal Van Hoa 10. 1"'. Reiter (Rum) , (Vtnm)

15/­ 12/6 10/6 7/6 4/­

12/6

21/­17/6

10/6

15/· 12/6

7/6 2l:­10/6 66

-

Every Day is Good THE experienced observer of these

great international events re~ognises that many of the great matches and personalities can be seen only in the earlire rounds.

In an event of this magnitude, EVE'RY day is a Special Day. Every day the pick of the day's matches will be selected for the evening programme. For instance, consider what a splendid parade is probable on the Tuesday for the Individuals: Semi-Finals of both Men's and Women's Singles and both Men.'s land Women's Doubles. For many, the, nights other than the tw~ final nights, offer better value even without Mr. ,A. K. Vint's encourage­ment that supporters in the Home Counties can make a notable contribu­tion to the Championships by their support on other nights (when more distant supporters cannot make the journey.

The "Open" Review (First Note)

IN the 16 Open Tournaments of 1953-54 (excluding the EngHsh) the main honours of the senior singles events have been distributed ,as indi­cated hereunder (E. & O.E.). Reiaders should be cautioned against attaching undue importance or even comparative distinctions between ANY players. Figures before a name indicate num­ber of respective placings: Winner­Runner-up-Losing semi-finalists. In 6 Tournaments, 3rd and 4th places have not been included.

Men's Singles Women's Singles 3-1-1 n. Venner 2-1.-0 J. Willcocks 3-0-1 B. Kennedy 2-0-2 B. Milbank 1-2-1 H. Hinchliff 2-0-0 M. Piper 1.-1-1 A. Simons 1-2-0 K. Best 1.-1-1 P. Shead 1-1-1 A. Haydon1-0-2 .J. Leach 1-1-0 P. Reppell 1-0-2 K. Craigie 1-0-2 J. Roberts 1-0-1 .J. Head 1-0-1 A. Wood 1-0-1 L. Sawyer 1-0-0 H. Elliot 1-0-0 B. Merrett 1-0-0 P. Mortimer 1-0-0 IL Morlf'Y ] -0-0 M. Bycroft l-()-O A. Slwplwrd ] -0-0 J. Winter

1-0-0 R. Rowe

Page 13: 5. Jan 1954

HUNGARY'S MOST SENSATIONAL T. T. YEAR THE most sensational event in

Hungary for 13 years dramatically occurred when tiny, 17-year-old Eva Koczian belat the great Gizi Farkas 2-0! The first Hungarian girl to have won from Farkas in all this time (since 1940).

As I have previously reported, Eva Koczian (helped by the more famous brother Josef) has become-next Ito Farkas-Hungary's big future hope. In :Bucharest 'E,via fought a great game against the reigning world champion Angelica Roseanu, losing 19, 19, 19.

Eva won the first game from Gizi 22-20 in a tremendous struggle, but in the second game, Gizi couldn't get another point after 16-16. Little Eva was like a thunder and lightning storm. She hit and hit . . . 5 blind.. ing forehands and fa 6th scorching past through Gizi's amazing defence ... then 6 terrific backhands as hard as any man's . .. Even Gizi couldn't stem such a torrent. The unbelievable had happened. Eva Koczian had beaten the invincible Farkas 20, 16.

The stunned audience recovered and never, in Hungarian T.T., has such applause been heard ..' . it must have lasted as long as the game! Gizi said" Bravo" and gave a congratula­tory kiss to Eva, who subsequently confided in me :

"Of course, I know that Gizi is ever so much better than I . . . but I really tried hard for the 1mpossible . . . and I won."

Ferenc Gyorgy

The,~Hungarian Nationals F,OLLOWIN'G close on Eva

Koczian's epic win over Gizi Farkas, further powerful attacks from youth rocked the thrones of both Sido and F'arkas when the Hungarian National Champion­ships were played in November.

The 3 days meeting v~as a severe test of physical fitness, particularly for players entered in all events. After placing the first 4 in each of the singles events, those placed 5 to 8 had to play also for the next places. Doubles were similarly played for the 3-4 placings.

Gizi Farkas, as alv;-ays, played in the men's event and was beaten by middle-class player Kerekes 1-3 after a typically good fight. Before, she had not had Hungarian women adversaries to make a match against

IN,eLUDING HlINGARIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

By FERENC GYORGY

who has so accurately forecast in our pages in the last 3 years the astonish.... ing success of Hungarian youngsters.

her genius. But now it is different. There is not only violent little Eva Koczian. Whirlwind Zsuzsa Fantusz extended her in 3 desperate games in which Gizi had to release all her resources to win at 19, 20, 19.

But yet more! And one of the greatest matches of the glorious Far­kas saga. Agnes Almasi stormed in with speed, decision and fury in a dazzle of brilliance that matched everything of the champion. Indeed, she was inspired. Leading Farkas 2-1 and 18-12 Almasi was going all out for victorv. Then Farkas was superb. With her powerful drives she mixed cunningly her drop shots and gradually, wonderfully, pulled ahead to win.

[But there was the dynamic icono­clast little Eva Koczian yet to be faced ! Eva's whippet forehand " bornbed" through the Farkas de­fence and her short, side-placed re­turns softened up for backhand winners. Very quickly Koczian took the lead 2-1. Dramatically Farkas eq}lalised - a tense, superhuman, nerve-taut struggle-and in the de­cider Gizi used every wile and trick and tactic reserved in her rich career to bring her final victory over Eva at 21-1 7 ! But ,it was a Pyrrhic victory, She was utterly exhausted. Only her strict self-control prevented her fainting at the table!

Mrs. Kerekes, Miss Simon and Edit Sagi disappointed by their complete lack of improvement. Roszi Karpati,'1 who has slinlmed off 40 Ibs., was but a shade of her old self and Loretta Gyorgy was not fit enough to enter.

In the men's singles, shaken too was world champion Ferenc Sido. In the matches· for the first 4 he was knocked out by the furious non-stop hitting of Gyetvai, who was in turn " blitzed" by 17 year-old Peterfi, Peterfi, however, used most of his ammunition in this game and was beaten by Sido (whom he has beaten 2-0 in a team match).

This slim young student is con­sidered by many as one of the greatest Hungarian discoveries since Victor Barna and moulded in the same tradi­

tion of the Master. His play develops speedily in intelligence, finesses, new and highly individual ideas.•

Ferenc Gyorgy

RESULTS OF FINAL PLACINGS (in order) M.S. F. Sido. K. Szepesi. M. Peterfi. E.

Gyetvai. Sebok. Foris. J. Farkas. Hamori. W.S. G. Farkas. E. Koczian. A. Almasi.

Z. Fantusz. Mrs. Kerekes. G. Simon. E. Sagi. Marosvolgyi. Karpati.

M.D. GYETVAI/SZEPESI. Balazs/Sebok. Peterfi/Sido. Csender /Farkas.

W.O. FARKAS/KOCZIAN. Fantusz/Sagi. Almasi /Kerekes. Koltai / Marosvolgyi.

X.D. SIDO/FARKAS. Szepesi/Almasi. Arvai / Fantusz. Gyetvai /Sagi.

H SPORTSMAN OF' THE YEAR tt

ON December 1st, The Sporting Record opened their 8th Annual National Ballot to elect the "Sports­man of the Year "-the sporting personality considered to have done most to raise the prestige of British sport during 1953. A silver trophy is also presented to the sportswoman receiving most votes. Last year Len Hutton and Jeanette Altwegg topped the polls.

Everyone is entitled to vote but they must give their names and add­ress. This can either be written on plain paper or on, the special forms obtainable from The S porting Record. 184/5, Fleet Street, London, E.C.4. (Votes and nominations should also be sent to this address.)

There have been many fine per­formances in many fields of sporting endeavour in this period. It is' worth remembering, however, that England won the Swaythling Cup at the time when British sporting pres­tige was at its lowest, and gave the lead to new success. British table tennis players, in their sphere, go out and are sou~ht by every country. Their prestige is extraordinarly high. It would be an excellent boost for Table Tennis (and its recognition as a Sport) to see some of our repre­sentatives in the ranked lists-or at the very least-in the nomination lists. We commend the thought for your action now and on all similar occasions.

COR N WALL, disappointed in hopes of a South Western Division, County Championships, have arranged several friendly county matches. They meet Hants. at Redruth on December 12th, when Arnold Pown­ing (winner of the recent Devon Open J.S. title) will play for the County. Devon fixtures includes senior and junior matches, and Cornwall will meet Somerset later in the season.

R. D. I. Charlesworth

9S

Page 14: 5. Jan 1954

COUNTY 'CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES-JANUARY COUNTY DIARY

PREMIER DIVISION: Sat. 2nd Jan. Gloucestershire v. Sussex, School Hall, Grammar School, Lydney, Glos.

7 p.m. Sat. 2nd Jan. Glamorgan v. Middlesex, Lysacht Works Canteen, Newport, Mons.

7 p.m. Sat. 2nd Jan. Essex v. Yorkshire, Ecko Canteen, near Southend. 7 p,m. Wed. 27th Jan. Surrey v. Middlesex, Coronation Hall, Kingston. 7.15 p.m. rJ'lllU~. 28th Jan. Glamorgan v. Gloucestershire. Sat. 30th Jan. Sussex v. Middlesex, Worthing. Sat. 3Uth Jan. Lancashire v. Yorkshire.

SECOND DIVISION SOUTH: Sat. 2nd Jan. Bedfordshire v. Kent, Pink Uoom, Queens Engineering Works, Bedford.

7 p.m. ~

r:ehurs. 28th Jan. Essex v. Surrey, The Grove Sports Club, Chadwell Heath, Essex. 7 p.m.

SECOND DIVISION NORTH: Sat. 2nd Jan. Yorkshire v. Warwickshire, Queen Anne Grammar School, Bootham,

York. 7 p.m. Sat. 2nd Jan. Lincolnshire v. Cheshire, Centenary Methodist Church Hall, Red Lion

Street, Boston. 7 p.m. Sat. 30th Jan. Northumberland v. Yorkshire. Sat. 30th Jan. Warwickshire v. Durham.

SOUTH ERN DIVISION: Sat. 2nd Jan. Berkshire v. Oxfordshire, Didcot. Sat. 2nd Jan. Hampshire v. Buckinghamshire, Grosvenor Sports Club, Southsea.

EASTERN DIVISION: Sat. 2nd Jan. Norfolk v. Hertfordshire, Y.M.C.A., St. Giles Street, Norwich. 7 p.m. r:Phul's. 14th Jan. Suffolk v. Cambridgeshire, Men's Institute, Beccles. 7.15 p.m.

MIDLAND DIVISION: Sat. 2nd Jan. Northamptonshire v. Staffordshire, Westwood Works Sports Club,

Peterborough. 7 p.m. Sat. 2nd Jan. De~byshire v. Worcestershire, Derby. Sat. 16th Jan. Staffordshire v. Leicestershire. Sat. 30th Jan. .Worcestershire v. Northamptonshire. Sat. 30th Jan. Leicestershire v. Staffordshire.

JUNIOR DIVISION: Sat. 2nd Jan. Bedfordshire v. Suffolk, Vauxhall Motors Canteen, Kimpton Road.

Luton. 7.30 p.m. Sat. 2nd Jan. Surrey v. Kent, Jones Memorial lnst., Fairfield Street, Wandsworth,

S.W.18. 6 p.m. Sat. 2nd Jan. Sussex v. Hertfordshire, Hove T.T.C., The Royal George, George Street.

Hove. 5.30 p.m. Wed. 20th Jan. Middlesex v. Essex, Cowley Ex-Service Club. High Road, Cowley,

Middx. 7.15 p.m.

Points for Your Game DO NOT forget that T.T. league

matches are TEAM games, where the idea is for the team to win and indi­vidual .efforts are of secondary im­portance. By accounting individual ties for the award of points too much importance can be given to "star" players. These individuals have their chance to shine when the indi­vidual championships come round so I say, forget about giving points based on individual performances. I be­lieve that a team with players of a parity is infinitely better than one where a "star" is supported. The idea is for a team to win : Let us keep it that way.

(Derby's match system is 9 singles ties to a match, teams of 3, each playing each, best of 3. T he win­ning team gains ONE point only in the tables).

J. R. Hughes

BILLERICAY match system is teams of 4 (Nos. 1 and 2 play oppo­sing 1 and 2, similarly for Nos. 3

.~ and 4) plus 2 doubles matches to make total of 10 games. Points are awarqed as follows: WIN of 10·-0, or 9-1, or 8-2 ... 4 pts. WIN of 7-3, or 6-4 ... 3 pts. winners

and 1 point to losers. DRAW (5-?) ... 2 points to each

team. J. Sargant t Billericay

SOME OFFICIAL NATIONAL RANKINGS 1953-54 FRANCEl~HE first 8 men (top line) and OTHER ENGLAND RANKINGS

first 8 women players (second line) FRANCE has grouped her leadingMEN. 9. R. Crayden. 10. R.of 7 official national ranking list~ are players without ranking: the firstHinchliff. 11. L. Adams. 12. J.tabulated below. Note that such class are (alphabetically):Head.lists are normally based on the pre­ MEN: G. Amouretti. A. Agopoff.

vious seasons performances and may Group: R. Allcock. R. Baker. C. Booth. R. Bedoc. M. Bordrez. S. Cafiero. not necessarily be a true current form D. Burridge. R. Griffin. J. Lowe. A. G. Collier. C. Dubouille. M. ranking. Rhodes. A. Sherwood. M. Thornhill. Haguenauer. M. Genton. M.

Lanskoy. R. Roothooft. J-C. Sala.WOMEN. 9. M. Franks. 10. B. COUNTRIES: AUS-Austria. BEL-Bel­ (Attached) A. Ehrlich.Milbank. 11. M. Cumberbatch

gium. CSR-Czechoslovakia. ENG-England. If/OMEN: C. Watel. H. Beolet.12. J. Roberts. 13. P. Mortimer.

GER-Germany. HUN-Hungary. USA­ R. Bremond. J. Delay. C. Rou-Group: M. Fry. B. Isaacs. J. Mackay. United States of America. J. Rook. A. Wood. gagnou.

AUS BEL CSR ENG GER HUN USA

1

Bednar Pritzi

Roland Wouters

Andreadis Hruskova

Bergmann R. Rowe

Freundorfer Capellmann

Sido Farkas

R. Miles L. Neuberger

----- ­

2

Just Wert!

Dekemper Detournay

[

Stipek Krejcova

I Simons D. Rowe

I Seifert Donath

Koczian Almasi

I Pagliaro I lchkoff

5

Seboks Marosvolgi

Piffl Rodel

Schiff Shaihan

Tereba Kotatkova

Awart Hotter

3

Schuech Lauber

Buyens ! Roland I

, Wegra:h Wutzl

----- ­~:~~llin I ~~~~~arre

l-T-o-k-a-r---I-v-a-n-a---- i

I Vhynanovska Cedlova

Lea~-h---I' Kennedy I -V-en-n-e-r--­

Best Winn Seaman

I; Schneider I Hanschmann i lmlaus I Herber

Varkonyi Szepesi Fantusz Sagi

\

-s-o-m-a-e-l-- ­ \1 Bukiet Prouty Robinson

6

Farkas, G. Karpati

Mallon Behrens

A. Levy Flam

A. Miller Piper

Turnovsky Zelenkova

Karl James

Monseur Schaan

T. Hazi S. Koehnke

7

Craigie Haydon

Vossebein Gloedel

Peterfi E. Koczian

Laufer Staffelleitner

Van Gansen Van Overloop

Vhynanovsky Kratochilova

Gharamanien Wilkinson

8

Merrett Y. Baker

Than Hanft

1------Gyetvai G. Simons

Russak Knopf

1------Boudart Delhez

Slar Bujnochova

96

Page 15: 5. Jan 1954

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS

SECOND DIVISION SOUTH

The complexion of this division was changed by the unexpected victory of Devon over Middlesex, leaving Surrey

"the only undefeated county. Star for Devon was Mrs. Joan Willcocks,

whose rapid improvement was noted

on this page last year-soon she will

be forcing her way to the notice of the International Selection Committee.

Middlesex beat Essex comfortablY, but not before Les Sawyer and Dennis

by GEOFF. HARROWER

just lost the other, and he also con­

tributed to the other success, with Mrs. Grubb in the mixed doubles. H'alls­worth, 'Bird and Miss Walker were

undefeated for the winners.

COMITY CUP

There was an exciting first round tie between Dorset and Wiltshire, won by Dorset 5-4 after Wiltshire had led 3-2. R. Bassett made the biggest con­tribution for the winners by winning

both his singles, whilst Mrs. Horn won both her matches for Wiltshire.

In the other first round rnatch Gloucestershire scored a comfortable win over Somerset, but David House played splendidly for the losers, beat­ing (Bucknell and only losing to Mor­ley at 20-22 in the third.

The Draw for th next round is : ­

Cornwall v. Gloucestershire 2nds Devon 2nds v. Dorset

To be played by the 15th February.

Miller had indulged in a dreary push­ing match which caused a finish after

11.30 p.m.

SECOND DIVISION NORTH

'Cheshire are going great guns in this division, and secured a staggering victory over Northumberland, the

heaviest ever in the latter county's participation in the Chanlpionships. For the losers, Mrs. Ormond struggled hard and in both her doubles was un­lucky to lose in three games.

Yorkshire had an equally easy vic­

tory over the young Durham team, for

whom Gordon Lumsden did well to take a game from G. Wadsworth.

MIDLAND DIVISION

A couple of months ago I was guilty of " promoting " Worcestershire to the championship-of course, Staffs won last season. Perhaps it was just anticipation, for Worcestershire scored the narrowest of na,rrow wins over Staffs to go well into the lead. Burchell was the usual tower of strength for the losers, winning both his singles. W orcestershire owed their success to good all-round team work,

every member of the side contributing. to at least one win.

Derbyshire continued their improve­ment and easily beat Northants, jump­ing into second place. For the losers,

J. W. Jones won a singles and only

SUMMARY OF RESULTS - DECEMBER SECOND DIVISION SOUTH

Essex 3, Middlesex 7 Devon 7, Middlesex 3

SECOND DIVISION NORTH Durham 0, Yorkshire 10

Cheshire ~.O, Northumberland 0

MIDLAND DIVISION Worcestershire 6, Staffordshire 4

Derbyshire 8, Northamptonshire 2

JUNIOR DIVISION Surrey 9, Middlesex 1

Essex 3, Kent 7

COMITY CUP-1st Round Somerse,t 1, Gloucestershire 8

Dorset 5, Wiltshire -4

SOME LEAGUE TABLES

SOUTHERN DIVISION P.

Hampshire 3 Berkshire 3 Buckingham. 3 Oxfordshire 3

EASTERN P.

Hertfordshire 3 Suffolk 3 Cambridgeshire 3 Norfolk 3

MIDLAND P.

Worcestershire 4 Derbyshire 4 Staffordshire 3 Leicestershire 3 Northampton. 4

w. D. L. F. A. Pts.

2 0 1 19 11 4 2 0 1 16 14 4 2 0 1 16 14 4 0 0 3 9 21 0

DIVISION W. D. L. F. A. Pts.

3 0 o 22 8 6 2 0 1 16 14 4 1 0 2 13 17 2 0 0 3 9 21 0

DIVISION w. D. L. F. A. Pts.

3 1 0 23 17 7 2 1 1 23 17 5 2 0 1 18 12 4 1 0 2 14 16 2 o 0 4 12 28 0

Cover Man - RICHARD BERGMAN.N

High Speed Action by Roger Wood

. Firs~ m.an to win the English Open Men's Singles tItle SIX tImes: 1938-9; 1939-40; 1947-8; 1949-50; 1951·-2; 1953-4.

Member of Swaythling Cup winners (Austria) in 1935-6 and (England) 1952-3 (a span of 17-18 years).

World Singles Champion 1936-7' 1938-9' 1947-8· 1949-50. '"

97

Page 16: 5. Jan 1954

FIERCE BUT FRIENDLY FESTIVAL OF NATIONS A Test for Watchers Too! ·F'FI'CIALS who have toOcope, through aU the com­

plications of heat arrange­ments and scoring, with names like Djordjevic of Yugoslavia, Amouretti of France, Mielenhausen of Germany, and Slizowski of Lancashire, might be thought to have a tough five days ahead of them. But all who have to do with the English open table tennis championships which began yesterday at (Belle Vue, Manchester, are un­daunted. "They are names that stick in the mind, and that helps," one of them maintains. "If they were all Smiths and Joneses we should be in the dickens of a mess."

It is 'a fierce though friendly inter­national festival. The game has travelled a long way since, about the turn of the century, young women in the better English homes musically patted a ball to each other with vellum-faced bats, a gentle recreation which was eventually codified and fur­thered by the formation of the Ping Pong Association. But it was all a mild joke, and had no chance of being taken seriously until it had found itself another name. As soon as that hap­pened, laughter died; and the game rapidly developed into the grim and panther-like activity we see to-day.

Yet, though world-wide, it remains (on both sides of the net curtain) essentially a private world, with heroes like Barna of Hungary who won the open championship five times in six years, Glancz who won a four-game final with a fever temperature of 106, and-as we learn from the programme -" the indefatigable B. L. Hookins, pIump and rosy, manager of the Penny ;Bank at Pontefract, who cap­tained England overseas."

Private WorIels. Private worlds are the speciality of

the great exhibition hall where the junior heats are being played off. One day it is prize cats, another day tropical fish; to-day it is table tennis players. The tables stretch the length of the hall, and the games reflect each other as in parallel mirrors. But they only look alike on the long view ; get up close, and marked variations of style, temperament, dress and even skill become apparent.

The spectators have a bewilderment of choice. Tennis-watchers swing their heads from side to side like bemused buffaloes; at this game there is no time for such rhythmical action, and either the neck jerks dangerously or the eyes swerve in the'ir sockets, so that after a hard-fought match they feel as

By NORMAN SHRAPNEL

Reproduced with grateful

Acknowledgments from

THE MANCHEISTER G,UARDIAN

11th November, 1953

if they are heavy weights on the end of limp stalks.

A slender English boy in a red shirt is beating a husky Swedish boy in blue. Two Yugoslavs in a practice game are driving the ball at incredible speed in what look like streaking straight lines ; the players at the next table, in contrast, :are ch0pping deli­cately and accurately as if pruning apple trees. Four extremely small champions-to-be are darting at the ball with the pretty, deadly accuracy of kittens.

But the young are not always the small. "She's a big fifteen," some­body is remarking of a promising competitor farther down the hall, "but she's got a lovely stroke." A1ess re­markable young woman smashes a ball lamp-high for match point with a grim smile.

By this time the English boy in the red shirt is no longer beating the husky Swede, who has pulled the third

OF ALL SPORTS OUTFITTERS

worn in tIle

Table Tennis World Championships at BOMBAY and BUCHARl:ST by the

SWAYTHLING & CORBILLON CUP TEAM

and decisive game out of the fire with a brilliant burst of aggression and carried the score to twenty-all. The hall's acreage near by is suddenly aflame with excitement: who will win these vital points? It is the Swede. He shakes hands with a formal, jerky bow; theri with the umpire, then with each of the scorers. Though so fierce this is the politest of games, and the permutations of handshaking at the end of a doubles match can, if carried relentlessly through, make an impres-' sive sight.

At one end of the hall an official is making announcements through a microphone ; they are hollow, sad, and only in part audible, like train announcements. Now all the tables are departure platforms, 'and it is time for lunch. At the lunch bar a com­petitor's mother is saying, cheerfully enough, "I don't think she dare eat pastry." There seems nothing but pastry in sight; the competitor dar­ingly drinks a cup of coffee, followed by an ice-cream.

Perhaps, you think, some of these champions and would-be champions have special food transported with their other equipment, like the prize cats and the tropical fish. Whatever they get they surely deserve, for the energy they consume must be enorm­ous. You understand now why a table tennis player is supposed to be getting past his prime in the early twenties.•

Norman Shrapnel

98

Page 17: 5. Jan 1954

With the Visitors* POS~l~CRIPT TO MANCHESTER * THE W~OMEN'S SINGLES

A s we have rightly come to expect, the rounds of the women's singles event were

good things. Lively play, colour­ful fashions, and a savouring of suprises. Standard of play per­haps not quite that of last year.

Seventeen year-old Jill Rook it was who reached her finest hour. To the graceful eleg~nce of her all-round play she had added the bite of an aggressive determination that made all the difference. After beating May Thompson 13, 15, 8 and Mrs. ]. Braddock 11, 14, 21 she was rightly set to argue a close win from Audrey Bates 19, 19, 17. Then carne the great opportunity to hustle the redoubtable Kathleen Best. Coolly and confidently she took Opportunity, moving swiftly and gracefully tu weather· the Best blitzkrieg and to dart in to make her carefully selected winners. It was a fine game artd a great win for Jill. In the semi-final against Ros Rowe, Jill \-vas perhaps outclassed by the reserves of ex­perience, but she was never disgraced, losing 14, 14, 11.

The black shirts with the bloorl-red rampant dragon of the gallant Welsh ladies were, as always, welcome and prominent. How proud this little country should be of this much­travelled, hard-fighting band who always evoke respect and admiration from all even if, as on this occasion, they were shaded from higher glories they could, it seems, so nearly get.

Charming but determined left­handed Pamela Gall won a close first round matrh from the vigorous, improving Phil Heppell from N or­thumberJand, and then played won­derfully well against Christianne Watel, the French champion. The scores of 16, -15, -16, 16, 14 hardly do her match justice or indi­cate how very, very closely she carne to winning. This is the kind of match which impresses ~c:iectors, and it was made all the more worthy when spectators saw Watel's next match with Diane Rowe.

Diane Rowe's -19, 17, 18, -20.. 18 quarter final win over Watel was a wonderful exhibition of tactics and technical brilliance. Watel is probably and potentially the greatest woman player France has had. She is a stylist whose fine techniques in blended de­fence and attack is hidden by a most dpceptive appearance. This long 60 minute, but always exciting match produced a higrl and' rare artistry from both and kept the nerves of spectators as dan~er0'!..!sly suspended as the Sword of Damocles.

Austria's whirlwind redhead Linde Wert! met Ann Haydon in their first match in singles. It was a swift, sudden and turious hurricane without quarter. It was a game of attackers who had to attack-if either had wIlted before the storm their defeat would have been assured. Ann played with the vim and vigour which could have won against this dynamic power-driver with the twinkling toes. wfera)s speed, experience and despe­rate fury won the day 17, 19, 12­scores which, about as good as any against, must impress selectors more than a win against a horne player.

J ill Rook's finest hour . . . see second paragraph.

Kay Benson won her moments of glory when she beat Marjorie Cum­berbatch in the first round and Monique Alber (France) in the second over 5 garnes, before losing 8, 10, 17 to Wertl.

Jean Winn, a little off her best, beat Mrs. A. P. F. Cook (the charm­ing new Veteran 'Champion who noesn't look it !) and then fought off the strong challenge from Mrs. Ghis­laine Roland (Belgium) whom she beat 21, -6, 15, 16 to reach the quarters and-Linde Wertl. Here again were two attacking players, but if Jean had thought of attack she was immediately frustrated by a storming fusilade of whipping drives from the fiery Austrian. It must have been a baffiing, upsetting eXa perience for this fine player and gala lant fighter to find normal positions reversed. Wertl won 7, 11, 14.

Helen Elliot.. spec~qcles discarded, looked more like the world-ranking Helen of glorious memories. She outpointed the graceful nimbleness of Adele Wood and, in the quarters, won a storming first game against Ros Rowe that set Scottish bell ropes tingling, before losing the next three 8, 8.. 15, and always keeping Ros at her best.

It was a last thought of things pleasant to see Shirley Jones (Wales) and Pamela Gall earning their very just credits in the Consolation Singles.•

Dutch Engineer HENK MOSTERT has played both Soccer and Table Tennis for the Netherlands, and is also a Lawn T ennis Coach. He symbolises, in the nicest wa~-, the friendly spirit of international T. T., and in the absence of an official in­terpreter (he speaks 4 languages) he frequently acted with charm and courtesy in this capacity.

EVERY evening many players re­laxed in the lounges of the Essex clotel and either chatted or

played cards. It was both interesting and amusing to see (and hear !) them overcoming the handicap of language in such friendly ,'vays.

When Raoul Bedoc is not available" Guv Amouretti clucks around the French party like a maternal hen looking after her chicks, and Rene Roothooft probably sits alone in a quiet corner engrossed in a book. Little Erich Arndt (Germany) de­ligh '~edly displays the brief case he received as a memento of the Junior International lllatch against England at Middleton. I-lis colleague, Kon­rad Freundorfer is glum; he thinks he was unlucky to draw Bergmann in the second round. Nevertheless, "All the German party have enjoyed their visit so very much," declared Mrs. Griese. . .

28 year-old Vilim Harangozo is amiable with all. "Altogether it is good," he says, "but the floor-it is a little too hard for me." As he expected before he came, he found normal food helpings inadequate for his healthy appetite and couldn't settle down to hotel life (as neither could Linde Wertl).

"It is very good-itnportant-that the matches are spread over several days," said Vilim, "and the tables are better than those of anywhere. Each one is like the other and they are very good."

Georges and Ghislaine Roland (Belgium) broadly classed the whole event as "Magnifique," and paid a special compliment to the organisers.

It is then for me to say how we all appreciated the good umpires and their assistants, and our thanks to the officials and all who helped to make our stay such a happy one.•

Henk Mostert

T..ONDON UNIVERSITY gave the holders. South London. a close call in their \Vilmott Cup match. but at 4-4 Ron Crayden prove? too strong for Cecil Bunnan. For the Unl­versity~ Alan Sherwood bt, Crayden and Littlewart (lost to Harry Venner -14. 12. -11). Both Mike Darlington and Burman beat Littlewart.

99

Page 18: 5. Jan 1954

__

Talking One's Part SUMMER LEAGUES (page 59)

CAMBRIDGE has run a Summer League for the past 4 seasons, and although there are many competing interests, the Sunlmer League has stimulated the local game considerably and I think should be taken up by all leagues. Leslie Constable

DERBY have run a Summer League for the past 4 years. Divi­sions (3 last year) each represent a cross-section of clubs without distinc­tion of strength, sex or age groups. Youths and weaker players can thus meet the top-rankers. Many clubs use the summer league to give valu­able match training to new players.

Derby club secretaries have a warn­ing: while, in March or April, nlany players are keen on a Summer League, some of these enthusiasts are so fixed up with cricket or lawn tennis fix­tures, that team selections can become quite a problem. J. R. Hughes

JUNIOR WIMBLEDON (page 35) SUSSEX Nos. 2 and 3 Junior

Girls, R. Davis and P. Hammond, also played in Junior Wimbledon. They were both finalists in the County Lawn Tennis (Junior) Championships, Miss Davis winning, and thus (as for T.T.) being ranked one ahead of Miss Hammond. Keith Watts

THE DECIDING MATCH (page' 58)

PETER SHEAD at present holds the M.S. and M.D. County titles; he is not triple county champion ... I think the honour of being the lead­ing Sussex X.D. pair should go to Charlie Seaman and Ro'se Bromfield who are the reigning champions (and have been since 1948-9). They beat Peter and Pat in the semi-final last season, and also won the vital match against Bobby and Jean Mackay (Warwickshire) by which Sus sex County gained promotion.

H Recorder/' Sussex

OLDEST LEAGUE (page 39)

SCARBOROUGH are proud to better the Plymouth record: they celebrated their Golden Jubilee LAST year. The Association was founded in 1902 and after 51 years of con­tinuous activity is stron"ger than ever with four 8-team divisions.

But our Chairman, Mr. Austin Harrison, must surely beat ALL records. He has been playing for 50 years and there is no sign of him retiring. He plays in the first division and can still show some of the younger players a thing or two!

R. Dargue

IIFIXTUlRJE See previous issues for explanations.

Event and Venue Extra Events Organising SecretaryDate(s)

Jan. 4-9 METROPOLITAN OPEN B.S. Mr. E. S. Lee, The Poly-

Polytechnic Extension, (Nov. 25) G.S. technic, 309, Regent Street, Little Titchfield Street, 8 London, W.I. (Mr. J. Kurz*' London, W.1. man).

8-9 YORKS. JUNIOR OPEN B. & G.S. Mr. S. Hanson, 22, St. Town Hall, (Dec. 31) Y.S. & Y.D. Bernards Avenue, Pontefract Pontefract. ~_~~~enescal!_~G~gichar~~~.

9 FR~NCE v. ENGLAND. J. Mixed In France. 9 *S'~J.A.NSEA OPEN (Dec. 31) B.S. Mr. K. Prosser, 151, Newton.

Canteen, Louis Marx Ltd., G.S. Road, Mumbles, Swansea __ __ Ffore~tfach,_~~ans~~~_~______ ___! ~ (M!".­ __!~ William_s~)._. _

10-13 *FRENCH OPEN. 11-16 SOUTH LONDON OPEN B.S. Mr. G. Coulthread, 20a,.

CIapham Baths, (Dec. 23) Manor Street, Lon,don, S.W.4.

G.S. 8

High Street, London, S.W.17. (Mr. E. A. B. Swayne).

15 BELGIUMv. ENGLAND. Men Antwerp.

15 FRANCE v. ENGLANp. Men In France.

16-17 *BELGIAN OPEN. -- -- -----------~--------------

17-23 N.W. KENT OPEN (Dec. 14) B.S. Barnehurst Residents' Clllh, G.S. 152a, Parkside Ave.,Barn~hurt. 5

22-23 SOUTH YORKS. OPEN Firth Browns Ltd., (Jan. 9)

____ ~avill_e_._~t.~ Sheffield. 21 IRELAND v. ENGLAND. 24 SOUT-H-A-M-PTON-O-PEN

Royal Pier, (Jan. 9) ____~~~~_amp=_t_o_n_.

30-31 KENT OPEN (Jan. 11) Marine Gardens Pavilion, Folkestone.

B.S.

Mixed

8

J.X.S. 11

Feb. 3-14 MIDDLESEX -(Herga) OPEN B.S.

Herga Lawn Tennis 'Club, (Jan. 11) 3 Harrow, Middx.

6 MIDLAND COUNTIES B.S. Friends Institute, (Jan. 20) G.S. ~o~eley: Rd., 'Birmingham. _1_2

Mr. F. T. Burvill, 2, Lime Avenue, Northfleet, Kent. (Mr. G. A. Owen). Mr. E. Brownhill, 18, War­wick Street, Sheffield, 10.

In Ireland. B.S·-:-·.--M-r-.-K-.-H-.-M-il-e-s,-4--6,-B-e-v-ol-'s,

18-20 CHESHIRE OPEN (Feb. 6) B.S. Mr. F. W. Christopher, Chetwynd .Drill Hall, G.S. "Tarbert," Greasby, Wirral, Bidston Rd.,. Birkenhead. 8 Cheshire (Mr. T. Blunit).

23 ENGLAND v. WALE_S Mixed_J1!.~iors

__2_7_Wilmott .Cup~nd J. M._._R_os_e_B_o_w_l_._S_e_m_i_s_a_n_d_F_in_a_l_s. _

Road, Southampton (Mr. F. T_r_ew~)_. _

Mr. F.Betts, 8, Surrenden Road, Folkestone (Mr. F. Trew).

Mr. S. W. Martin, 55, Kings Way, Wealdstone, Middx. (Mr. H. Finch). _ Mr. M. Goldstein; 415, Moseley Road, Birmingham~ 1_2----.:....(M_r_._A_._A_._H_a~y_d_o_n--=:)_._

26-28 SURREY OPEN (Feb. 6) B.S. Municipal Baths Hall, G.S.

____East St~_, Epsom. 8 March

1-13 WEST MIDDLESEX OPEN West Ealing Club, (Feb. 8) Mervyn Road, Ealing.

5 ENGLAND v. WALES. 13 GRIMSBY OPEN.

Pier Pavilion and Town Hall,

'B.S. G.S.

4

Mixed B.S.

11 gl~thorp~~~_ ...._ _ ~__~ _

20 WEST OF ENGLAND OPEN B.S. Civic Hall, (Mar. 1) G.S. Queen Street, Exeter. 19

Mr. C. T. Dean, 67!j Osmond Gardens, Wallington, Surrey (Mr. C. A. Bourne).

Mr. W. J. S. Cox, 27, Sutherland Road, Ealing, W.13. (Mr. W. J. S. Cox). At Bradford. Mr. J. Browne, 48, Roberts Street, Grimsby. (Mr. W. E. Parker). Mr. R. R. North, "Lyn­wood," Premier Place, St. Le~nard's Road, Exeter. (Mr. A. W. Bridle).

Printed and published by the Hendon Printing Works Ltd., 44, Victoria Road, N.W.4