Campbeltown Bowling Club Centenary

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Campbeltown Bowling Club Centenary

Postby Stronvaar » Wed Jun 07, 2006 10:26 pm

Thep asked me some time ago to submit this article that appears in the Club's Centenary programme, so here it is on the eve of our opening 100 years ago. If you don't enjoy it, at least I hope it cures your insomnia :D
There are more photographs in the original but these have been omitted due to their size in transferring them.

Stronvaar

Campbeltown Bowling Club

The First Hundred Years

I am indebted to all the previous secretaries for their meticulous records of the club meetings over the past one hundred years that have allowed me to compile this account of the history of Stronvaar. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a reason for the founding of the Club and can only assume that the founders had been involved in a major disagreement as members of the Argyll. I had been told that the Club originated out of a bowling green that was on the site of what is now the Victoria Hall but 1860’s maps of the town show this but not the Argyll club, so I again assume that is where they, the Argyll club, originated.

The original members all appear to be business or professional people and a “Campbeltown Courier” article reporting a visit to the Argyll by their Honorary President, George Younger MP quotes him referring to the Argyll as “a working man’s club” and one wonders if this is why our founders broke away to form a more “exclusive” club. Judging by the number of meetings held in the Main Street Club it is reasonable to assume that the idea to form the new club originated there.

I have tried to keep this article to the salient points of the Club’s history and due to cost, I have had to omit photographs of the players who have played in the national finals. Also, for obvious reasons, there are many stories that have had to be omitted to stay on the safe side of litigation and I have even ignored the events of the night that the Gestapo sorry, VAT men arrived mob handed and hauled half the Directors out of their beds. Thankfully, I was safely ensconced in mine in Oban and only felt a ripple of the fallout!

I hope that you enjoy your read and that you don’t find too many glaring errors or omissions.

The first committee comprised Honorary President Alfred E Lewis, President H Mitchell, Vice President Matthew Dick, Treasurer Ross Wallace, Secretary Robert Smith, and Directors Sam Armour, James Lothian, Neil Watson, D M Maxtone, Robert Wallace, Archibald Fullerton, Alex Ollar, James Carson, Alfred John, Alex Ritchie, T L Brown and Dan MacTaggart; to these men we owe our existence.

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The original office bearers, unfortunately un-named

Campbeltown Bowling Club 1906 – 2006

The origins of Campbeltown Bowling Club are shrouded in the mists of history but it is safe to assume that the club was born out of the town’s senior bowling club, the Argyll.

The first recorded meeting was held in the town hall committee room on 10th August 1905 when it was reported that some members of the Argyll club had canvassed the opinions of 100 local gentlemen for their opinions on forming a new club in the town. 72 had replied with 62 in favour, 5 against and 5 undecided. The chairman, Provost Mitchell, heard Ross Wallace explain that he, along with Sam Armour, Neil Watson, James Carson and Robert Smith had met with Alfred Lewis, chamberlain to the Duke of Argyll to try to identify suitable sites for the new green. His Grace, the Duke, was prepared to lease the ground and the lodge house at Stronvaar to the new club for nineteen years at an annual rental of £10. Wallace had concluded that an initial membership of 100 would be easily attainable and sustainable and recommended the formation of the club. He had gone so far as to contact the Scottish Bowling Association for their recommendation of a person to lay a new green and had been advised that Daniel Leslie of Bishopbriggs was the best available. Leslie visited the site and found it to be favourable and he quoted a price of around £380 with another £120 required to convert the outhouses into a bowls house, making a grand total of £500, eat your heart out Holyrood!

Alfred John moved, seconded by Ross Wallace that a new club should be formed with funding to be secured to have the green laid as soon as possible. The motion was carried unanimously.

On the night, the first committee was formed and this comprised of Honorary President Alfred Lewis, President Provost Mitchell, Vice President Matthew Dick, Treasurer Ross Wallace and secretary Robert Smith with the directorate made up of Sam Armour, James Lothian, Neil Watson, D M Maxtone, Robert Wallace, Archibald Fullerton, Alec Ollar, James Carson, Alfred John, Alex Ritchie, T L Brown and Dan MacTaggart who, as a body, were our founding fathers.

The office bearers were authorised to contact the Duke of Argyll to have the lease drawn up and submitted for the approval of the members. The annual subscription was set at one guinea and the new club was officially named Campbeltown Bowling Club.

To raise the required sum of £500 it was decided at a later meeting that 100 shares costing £5.00 each giving an annual dividend of 3% should be issued and that these should be offered, in the first instance, to the 62 local gentlemen who had agreed to the formation of the club. 75 shares were bought almost immediately and several of these were immediately transferred to the Trustees of Campbeltown Cottage Hospital. Some individuals had purchased shares in blocks of 5 and the hospital probably was the club’s largest share holder at the time. Although some of the original shares will still exist, I have only ever seen one and that is in the possession of Cecil Finn

A meeting was held in October to discuss the details of the lease and this shows that the ground that is now the green was in the possession of J McGrory, nurseryman who was to be compensated for the loss of any crops or manure.

At the final meeting of 1905, Daniel Leslie was contracted to lay the new green with a start being made early in 1906.

The first meeting held in February 1906 received word from Leslie that the cost of the green would now be £393. 9s.8d and this was agreeable to the members. Also the new pavilion designed by H E Clifford, Architect of St. Vincent Street, Glasgow was costed at £250 without a verandah and £195 to include one. The first option was approved. The first Trustees of the club elected by the directors were Provost Mitchell, Sam Greenlees and Alex Ritchie.

At this time the tenant of the lodge house was Allan McLean and it was agreed that he could retain his tenancy at an annual rental of £6.

The first greenkeeper, John McCallum was appointed at the princely sum of £1 per week for a season running from May until the end of September.

The date of opening the new green was set for Wednesday 13th June 1906 and it was agreed to invite George Younger M.P. member for the Ayr Burghs to perform the opening ceremony. The club also affiliated itself to the Scottish Bowling Association.
Mr Younger requested that the opening day be changed from that suggested to Friday 8th June at 4.30pm so that he could attend. In addition to the M.P., only members and shareholders and a partner were invited to attend. During discussions for the arrangements great day was the first mention of a ladies committee to arrange and serve the teas; the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The 8th June duly arrived and the “Campbeltown Courier” was fulsome in its praise of the new venue and reported that the laburnums and rhododendrons in Stronvaar Avenue were in full bloom and labelled the setting, not for the last time, as one of Nature’s beauty spots. In what were described as “balmy conditions”, Provost Mitchell introduced George Younger who expressed his delight at being away from Westminster to be present at such an auspicious event. He explained to the audience that he was already an honorary official of the Argyll Bowling Club, having been involved in the opening of their green and he offered to donate a trophy to the clubs for “friendly” competition.

To great applause he declared the green pen and called on Mrs Mitchell to throw the first jack, again, no doubt, to much hilarity and applause. Never mind ladies, at least the first head on Stronvaar was created by a woman! Numerous votes of thanks were said not least to contractors Robert Weir & Sons, Robert Armour& Sons, Galbraith and Cochrane and Daniel Leslie who, in return, presented Mr Younger a souvenir statuette of a woman holding a silver jack. With the jack (maybe) now on the green Mr Younger played the first two bowls, no mention of touchers, on the newly commissioned sward.

The ensuing match between the President’s and Vice-Presidents rinks saw both men in opposition to each other although, unlike today, in different positions in their teams and the contest resulted in a win for the Presidents rinks by twenty shots. There was little more to report on the day’s play.

When I first read this, it brought back the memory of Past President George Reid’s magic trick during his first stint as green convener when he made two copper beeches disappear from the south end of the green where they were shading the heads. It was weeks before some of us noticed. Paul Daniels would have been proud!

The George Younger Cup duly arrived and it was to be played for over a period of five years and if either club won it for three successive years they were to retain it outright. The cup was first played for late in the season on Saturday 15th September and it gave the Argyll club it first of many such wins over the next 100 years.

The first recorded friendly match on Stronvaar was recorded in a cutting from the “Glasgow Evening News” of 18th July that carried a report from D Brown from Whitevale of a match between the club and Greenock Ardgowan, still welcome visitors today, that Campbeltown won by a close 7 shots. Presumably Mr Brown was one of the Ardgowan players.
The remainder of the season passed uneventfully and the green was closed on Saturday 6th October after which the gates were barred and bolted until preparation work for the 1907 season was required. If you recall the old gates to the club, it would seem to be overly security conscious as they were around 12 feet high, spike topped and weighed around half a ton each!


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The above photograph comes from the famous McGrory collection and is believed to have been taken prior to 1910. This is the first known photo of the green and it is noticeable that the grass appears to be very roughly cut and the players are delivering from grass and not mats. The properties to the rear of the green have changed little in appearance although the Ardshiel Hotel now has dormer windows instead of skylights.

Before the season began in 1907 a monthly meeting reported the illness of Secretary Robert Smith and this was attributed in no small part to the hard and tireless work he had invested in the institution of the Club. Due to his illness Mr. Smith resigned his position and A Fullarton was elected to the post. Mr Smith died early in 1908 and the Directors were fulsome in their praise for his dedication and commitment in helping to found the Club.

A confusing item arose for me in the minutes when I read that William McKersie of Craigard had been thanked for donating two handsome flower vases to the Club. I assumed that these had been broken over time and it was only some time later that I realised that this referred to the two large, white urns that contain flowers situated at the front of the green.

During 1907 the membership continues to rise and the Club’s debts incurred in developing the green continue to diminish although it was necessary to borrow a sum from the Bank of Scotland for the day to day expenses. Potential new members’ names were posted on the notice board for the period of two weeks for approval and their suitability for membership was decided by their peers and the committee.

Friendly matches were played against such diverse clubs as Belfast, Kilmarnock Portland, Stranraer, Ardgowan and the Argyll. I’m sorry to say that the new club had few successes in the early years and that in the first two seasons not one victory was recorded. Other matches included the Volunteers against the non-Volunteers and the Masons against the non-Masons, the Civil Service versus the Civilians and the Married Men against the Bachelors. These were obviously played amongst the members and it would be interesting to know who admitted their allegiance to which institution!

The 1908 season opened on 9th May and by this time the membership had grown to a healthy 114 with more applications in process. Skips were appointed at the start of the season and they retained their position during the year irrespective of their results and this brings to mind the expression “the lead was poor.” The main game seems to have been rinks of four and the only singles games were for the Championship and the President’s Prize with the respective winners being awarded a gold medal for the Championship and Lignum Vitae bowls for the President’s Prize. Pairs and triples matches do not seem to have been considered. An invitation to travel to Belfast for a friendly match was declined but a home game was played against the Ulstermen and the season closed with a match between the Town (President) and Dalintober (Vice-President).

Little changes between 1908 and the start of the Great War in 1914 and the membership remains steady at around 120 with departing members being quickly replaced. A pairs competition was started in 1909 and several more clubs expressed interest in playing friendly matches on the Stronvaar green. Ardrishaig, Ardbeg (Bute), Ayr Citadel, the Clerks and Agents of the Caledonian Railway and even the Freemasons of the Argyll club played friendlies and our players were now travelling to Kilmarnock, Belfast, Ardrishaig and Bute, generally sending four rinks to each venue. It must have been a boon to the Club having access to the many Clyde steamers that called into town. Other frequent visitors included the Greenock Shopkeepers Association who became a regular fixture in early July.
Following a successful open competition on the Argyll green in 1910, a plebiscite was held among the Stronvaar members to judge if they were in favour of a similar event on the green. This resulted in a majority of 27 for and 14 against and the competition was duly held on 24th July 1911 with an entry of 48 from the two local clubs (the minutes do not state whether this was singles, pairs or rinks). The entry fee was a grand total of 3 shillings with the prize fund gleaned from this and the winner (again not stated) was a Stronvaar member. It seems to have been a great attraction for locals and visitors alike with large crowds turning out to vociferously support the players. The first of many disagreements over the date of the ”friendly” match with the Argyll leads to the game being cancelled for the season.

A special meeting was held in 1911 to discuss John McCallum the green-keeper’s resignation but the resignation was quickly withdrawn when his wage was increased from £1-2/6 to £1-5/-. In 1913 he succeeded to the tenancy of the lodge house previously occupied by Angus Muir.

The AGM of 1914 saw a sharp drop in the membership to 88 and this was attributed to the new golf course being a great attraction. I assume that this refers to the course at Hillside Farm that ran out towards the Gortan and not to the Machrihanish or Dunaverty clubs. The minutes of 1914 do not carry any mention of the war and it is not until 1915 that it surfaces. The minutes of the AGM of that year refer to the fact that the activities of the previous season were greatly curtailed with only two friendly matches being played, some of the competitions being cancelled and those that were completed tended to be late in the season. This was attributed to the members having more weighing on their minds and hearts than a mundane game of bowls. Also at the AGM a member, a Mr Cleave, requested that he be exempted from paying his subscription as he had been appointed to Reading Collection and would be removed from Campbeltown before opening day. Needless to say this was approved. There is also a reference to a request from the YMCA for a donation toward their work in military camps and it was agreed to levy every member 1/- towards this good cause.

The AGM of 1917 records the fact that nine members were on active service although only one, a Director, Mr Mutch, is named. The subscriptions of these members were waived to avoid the members’ resigning from the Club. Although the membership had increased again to 98, the Club’s finances were held in tight rein and a request from the SBA for a donation of one guinea for the Red Cross and War Relief Funds was refused and was substituted by a levy from the members. The advent of the Summer Time Act was warmly welcomed as this extended the playing time for the Wednesday and Saturday rink matches. Another wartime law referred to as the Food Controller’s Proclamation meant that afternoon teas could not be served at matches was less well received. A rinks competition was held in July of 19i7 at the request of the SBA again for Red Cross funds and this was well supported and raised the large sum of £15.00.

A Directors’ meeting in February 1918 heard that the green keeper, John McCallum, was employed at the pithead at Drumlemble Colliery and probably could not be released from his duties due to military needs to resume his employment at Stronvaar. After further investigations and meetings it was decided to advertise the position to applicants “who must be ineligible for military service”. The advert received two applications and the committee decided that neither applicant was suitable and appointed a sub-committee to seek out a new green keeper. Malcolm Mitchell was duly found to be qualified to take up the duties at the princely wage of 30/- per week although he was permitted to take on outside duties.

The AGM of March 1918 reports the membership at a six year high of 104 although this good news was countered by the death of an un-named member killed on active service in France. Research at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission reveal that this may have been the previously mentioned Mr Mutch but I have been unable to confirm this information. Thankfully, he appears to be the only fatality and the 1919 AGM welcomes back “some of our honourable members who have, for some years, been assisting to bowl over Kaiser Bill in that grim game.” The membership has again fallen back to 94 and for the first time during a season there have been no new recruits to the Club. Charity matches continued through the 1918 season between the masons and non-masons and there is a renewal of home and away games with the Argyll BC with the three games raising almost £19.00 for Red Cross funds.

In 1919 Honorary President A E Lewis presented four rink prizes for Peace Day Celebrations and this competition was won on 19th July by Hector Bannatyne (skip), Alex McMurchy, R J Daniels and John Gemmell. The prizes were engraved silver match holders and Alex McMurchy’s along with his 1910 gold medal for winning the Championship are on display in the clubhouse this year. 1919 saw him also do the “double” of Championship and President’s Prize, not a bad third to have in a rink!

The first honours board was erected in the Club this year but the green-keeper was forced to borrow a barrow due to the perilous nature of the funds because of another drop in membership to 84. He eventually had a second hand one bought for him in 1923! Honorary member Jimmy Hall recalls that his uncle Hugh was the green keeper in 20’s and his first cut of the year was done with a scythe. His cousin, also Hugh, recalls that it was not unknown for his father to harness him and his sister to the front of a heavy cylinder mower with Hugh Snr pushing from behind to cut the green at first light in the summer before going on to his “day” job at McGrory’s Nursery.

The Roaring Twenties at Stronvaar were more like the Dreary Doldrums as the Club drifted along on a sea of financial troubles and was kept afloat by voluntary donations from the members. A storm was brewing but this did not break until 1929 when the spectre of the “Ladies” loomed.

Apart from the finances, the other major worry was the condition of the green that saw the committee obtain advice from the head green-keepers of numerous clubs including Queen’s Park, the home of Scottish. Advice ranged from treating the green with seawater, raw salt, cutting with a scythe and repeatedly pulling a weighted harrow across it. Something must have worked as the condition gradually improved toward the end of the decade. In my own time in the Club we have been indebted to two excellent green conveners, Willie McMillan and George Reid who have produced a playing surface and surrounds that are the envy of all our visitors and the pride of the members.

Amongst the well-known names on the roll were doctors, ministers an odd captain and a major but in the mid-20’s Rear Admiral John A Keys and Brigadier General T K E Johnston joined them. Stand to attention on that green you men! This period also saw the first disciplinary action taken against a member who was warned as to his future conduct for being inebriated on the green. I have never heard of such a revelation since!!

The AGM of 1929 sees a proposal to allow ladies affiliate playing rights on the green and this leads to a large attendance at the meeting and an acrimonious debate that sees motion and counter motion defeated. It is eventually referred back the committee to come up with a suitable proposal to be placed before a General Meeting in 1930. This proposal that allowed a minimum of 20 affiliate members to be elected at an annual subscription equal to 50% of the full subscription and restricting their play to Monday to Friday afternoon, was passed by the members and the initial intake of 26 ladies joined that year. Oddly, the number of new male members joining was considerably increased.

Something that almost slipped by in the minutes was an invitation to send four rinks to Skipness, a small village south of Tarbert and north of Carradale, for a friendly match. I don’t know when the Skipness club dissolved but in twelve years of working in and around that area, I was never aware of a redundant green, unlike the one in Carradale.

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A group of members (names unknown) taken around 1930
By 1933 the Club’s finances have improved considerably due in no small measure to the increased revenue from the ladies’ subscriptions and they are now accorded playing rights in the evenings as long as rinks are available. A limit of 60 is placed on their number.

1934 sees the first two Honorary Memberships bestowed on Alexander McLean of Queen’s Park BC and William Kerr of the Greenock bowling party. McLean was a Campbeltown living in Glasgow who did great work promoting Stronvaar in Glasgow and was a regular visitor to the green with Queen’s Park and he was instrumental in arranging a friendly match at the Mecca of bowls in 1933. Kerr was one of two survivors of the original Greenock party that visited in 1906 and had not missed one trip to the town. He was also recognised as very good friend of the Club who regularly presented prizes for the highest up rinks in the matches, as did McLean. They were closely followed the following year by Glen Cooper who, before leaving these shores for Hong Kong, had presented a silver rose bowl for singles play that could be won outright by three victories in the competition and not necessarily in succeeding years. This trophy was insured for the sum of £12.00

Although World War 2 started on 1st September 1939 with Germany’s invasion of Poland, there is no mention of this in the minutes and the most significant entry is the donation of £100.00 to the Club by Dr Brown who had succeeded ex-Provost Lothian as Honorary President. A Directors’ meeting in March 1941 instructs the secretary to send the Club’s condolences to the family of Archibald Stewart, Procurator Fiscal, who was killed on 9th February 1941 as a result of enemy action when his house at Askomel End was destroyed. This was a Luftwaffe raid to sow mines in Campbeltown Loch that also resulted in a near miss on Ladies’ Past President Elizabeth Nicolson who lived in a neighbouring house that is now the site of the bungalow known as Dalserf. As a concession to rationing, teas are no longer served on opening and closing days between 1940 and 1945 and rink competitions are held for the benefit of the Red Cross Prisoner of War Fund that raised around £30.00 each year. The Officers’ Mess of HMS Nimrod, the naval base stationed at the old Grammar School, are invited to use the Club’s facilities in 1944 and 1945.

The AGM of 1943 is the first that starts without an incoming President and Vice-president in place and W Wallace eventually agreed to take the post from the body of the hall. He is joined by Wm. Mustarde as his Vice-president, retiring from the joint post of secretary and treasurer that he had held for twenty years.

The arrival of 1945 and peace settling again over Europe, the Club settles back into its normal routine of competitions and matches against other clubs with little distraction or change of direction.

Amongst the applicants for membership in May 1946 is the name of John McLachlan who was to prove to be one of the great players of his era and indeed in the Club’s history. Within three years of his admission to the Club, John, who I believe was a novice player when he joined, had won the first of his five championships and four President’s Prizes as well as many other honours. John told me that he always wanted to be the first to win a hat trick of championships and having won in 1966 and 1967 he was on course in 1968 final only to be beaten by Sandy Taylor. John describes this as “the master being beaten by his apprentice”. However, a third championship was his in 1969. The same year, the green keeper vacates the lodge house and a caretaker takes up his tenancy on a rent and rates free basis.

The Younger Cup makes a re-appearance in 1947 to again be played for between the Stronvaar and Argyll clubs and a decision is made that the winners will insure it annually at a premium to replace it to the value of £60.00

In 1949 the Club is invited to take part in an inaugural West Argyll league that would have included Argyll, Tarbert, Ardrishaig, Lochgilphead and Oban but declined the invitation. John Hoynes who was President in 1941 donates the Hoynes cup for singles play and this is set to become the third “major”. I was always under the impression that this beautiful trophy was much older probably due to its ornately crafted cup.

Unfortunately the minutes of business between 1950 and 1964 appear to be lost so there is little that I can add for this period apart from one of the most important events in the Club’s history. In 1955 the late 10th Duke of Argyll’s Kintyre Estates were placed on the market and these included a piece of ground extending to 2 roods and 38 poles in Imperial Standard measure used as a bowling club and including a lodge house and outbuildings for sale by public roup at a cost of £300.00. Again, due to the loss of the minutes, it is difficult to discover what funds were available to buy the premises but Trustee Donald Graham believed that a doctor might have given an interest free loan. My own contention is that Dr. Brown’s £100.00 donation that was kept as a separate, interest-earning account for a rainy day may have been used to fund the major part of the purchase with the Club making up the rest. In any case, for the equivalent of 30 years rent, the Trustees Charles MacTaggart, solicitor, George Melville Duncan, Briarlea and John Kerr, Kiloran on behalf of Campbeltown Bowling Club and their successors are recorded as the parties to the sale in the Register of Sasines and the title deeds. Money well spent indeed.

Campbeltown Town Council held a civic reception in 1964 to recognise 50 years of unbroken visits to the “Wee Toon” by the Greenock touring party. Stronvaar presented the party with a rose bowl to mark the occasion that Greenock hand back in 1965 for annual competition in the friendly match. The membership of the Club has by now greatly diminished and has been reduced to only 59. The finances are kept afloat by the summer fete and dances in the Victoria Hall. The following year Wm. Mustarde takes up the pen again as secretary and is still in office in 1967 when he is recognised for 50 years of active membership in the Club.

Although it is our Diamond Jubilee, 1966 is a very bad year for sport and bowling is no exception as the playing membership drops to only 50 and a drive is launched to bring fresh blood into the Club. This does not have the desired effect and the numbers continue to hover around the mid-50’s and ominously the directors’ meeting become fewer and fewer. One strange decision that was taken was to resign from the Scottish Bowling Association in 1968 after 62 years of unbroken membership. The same year the Blue trophy is presented and this was initially implemented as a four bowl, 11-end competition that included the ladies.

1970 brings a major change when an EGM is called to vote on a proposal to extend the clubhouse and install a bar with the proviso that any new members joining as a result of having a bar be bowlers rather than drinking members. The meeting in September hears only one dissenting voice and the motion is unanimously carried.


The new look clubhouse is ready for opening by May 1971 and after an initial hiccup, such is the success of the bar under Jimmy Hall’s convenorship that the membership shows a significant rise and bingo nights become a feature of Saturday nights. This combined with the bar profits are the impetus needed to push for a second extension to increase the bar area, improve the toilets; form a locker room and a committee room. Robert Wilson, at the time the Burgh Surveyor, prepared the plans for both extensions and his designs for phase two were approved at the AGM in 1975. The same year saw the first visit from our good friends at Kingston BC. The first extension had been partially funded by a grant from the Scottish Sports Council and the second by grants again from the SSC and also Campbeltown Town Council and Argyll County Council as well as a substantial bank loan. A “ladies association” was formed of 40 members with their own committee working alongside the main committee. With the ladies inclusion, the membership rose to 160 and there is a waiting list to join the ranks.

In 1972 the first of our neighbouring bungalows, Thornlea was built to be gradually joined by Ardtalla, Auchalochy and Gleaner Lea built by Past President Cecil Finn and now sold on to Club Treasurer Bob Middleton who has renamed the house Glencloy.

The Club’s first venture abroad took place in 1974 when 31 of the members travelled to Majorca on a trip that was organised by Alec McMillan and Sandy Taylor. The stories from this adventure are legion and are best told by those who were there. To commemorate the occasion a sketch and collage showing the participants was designed by Harry Swift showing John Bannatyne piloting Concorde and the passengers showing in the portholes. As the aircraft was Concorde, Campbell “Boom” Ramsay was given pride of place on the tail plane.

Having been on weekend trips “up the road” and “overseas” with some of these characters, many of us “younger” members would have loved to have been there with them. I’m amazed that they were all allowed back into the country. A proposed trip in 1975, recorded in the minutes as being to Tunisia, but probably should be Tenerife, never got off the ground.

1975 sees the Ladies’ Section inaugurated at a meeting presided over by President Duncan Johnston and attended by Bert Morris Vice-President, Sandy Taylor, Secretary and Michael Brodie Treasurer. The first elected President is Jenny Brodie with Jenny Mackay Vice-President, Netta MacDonald Secretary and Agnes Johnston Treasurer with Catherine Bannatyne, Kathleen Lafferty and Joyce Ramsay forming the committee. In total 30 ladies attended and were elected to membership of the Ladies’ Section

A group of men who were on the waiting list set up the “Scrubbers League” in the mid 70’s with the purpose of playing on a Saturday morning when the green was at its quietest. Most of its members went on to join the Club and of the originals, Bill Glendinning, Derek Goode and Ian Wardrop eventually took office as President. A parallel match started at the same time involving Archie Johnston (Marchfield), Alistair Nicolson, bud MacKay and Archie Murphy and like the “Scrubbers”, now more formally known as the Saturday Morning League, has continued and grown in various shapes and forms until today.

The “final phase” of improvements was completed and the new look clubhouse duly opened in 1976 by Provost Archie McCallum with a vast expanse of flat roof that 10 years later would come back to haunt us. Flat roofs are fine in dry countries where they tend to be concrete rather than felt and composition board but the west of Scotland is definitely no place for them.

Although this was meant to be the last extension, such was the success of the social nights and winter carpet competitions in whose hay day saw in excess of 120 entering the men’s open singles, that another, poorly designed extension was added to the front of the clubhouse in 1981 allowing another two carpets to be played. While it is fine for carpet bowling, it makes viewing the green quite awkward and fragments companies on social nights. Oh that we had squared off the frontage!

At this point I am again restricted by a lack of minutes and have had to rely on Members’ recollections and my own early involvement in the Club. In 1985 a new, young talent and youngest champion, Malcolm Bannatyne survived the tortuous (for West Argyll players) qualification process to win the Argyll and Dumbarton district junior singles title to qualify for the national final at Queen’s Park where he narrowly lost to the eventual winner in a hard fought semi-final. Malcolm of course, has the honour of leading the Club through the Centenary year.

Although several district finals were contested, it was to be another seven years before there was another player involved.
1985 was also the year that the raindrops started falling on our heads as the felt on the extension began leaking turning the composition board below into little more than dehydrated porridge. Urgent action, presided over by Bobby McLean, was required and the begging bowl was passed round to find grant assistance towards the projected cost of £27,000 plus fees to erect the pitched roof that now covers the building. When you consider that the 1976 extension cost almost £13,000, you can see that inflation really had taken a hold on the economy. The initial plan had been to cover the roof in profiled steel sheeting but a structural engineer calculated that the walls and supports were strong enough to bear the weight of concrete tiles at little extra cost so the Directors, thankfully, proceeded with this. The only grant that was forthcoming was £2,200 from the Highlands and Islands Development Board’s tourism fund that was arranged by Lachie MacKinnon, the area tourism officer and a good friend of the Club. By the time that fees were added, the total cost of the project exceeded £30,000 and we still had substantial cash in hand although we had to “ca’ canny” for a year or two.

The roof was eventually finished for the start of the 1986 season and the rain no longer caused any bother except for minor leaks that still occur from the valley gutter above the bar. The Club had its third and most serious break in via a small extractor fan mounted 8 feet up the wall facing the green and lost a considerable amount of cash from the gaming machines and the bar till. Although the culprit was eventually caught, he was not convicted of our “job”. Security was immediately beefed up and a new alarm system was installed as well as windows being barred and vents being blocked up.

In 1988 the sandstone pillars at the entrance became unstable due to erosion and the weight of the large gates that they carried so it was decided to replace them. The local planning office was consulted and they advised that the pillars, railing and wall could be replaced with something similar in facing brick with concrete. Plans were duly drawn and the project was costed at around £1,000 so the Club applied for full planning permission and we thought that it would be granted as a matter of course. Unfortunately no one had heard of the Campbeltown Conservation Area on whose boundary the western feu sits and the plans were referred back demanding that the pillars be repaired and restored as they were of “architectural merit”. To no one’s surprise the £1,000 contract ended up costing in excess of £3,000. Thank goodness the Conservation Area had not been thought of in 1971 or 1976 as the old lodge house would no doubt have had an “A” or “B” listing and would have been untouchable by an architect.

The large tree at the entrance to the Club is reputed to be a Corstorphine Sycamore, a species imported into Scotland in the 1600’s, due to its yellow or lime green leaves in spring and is greatly admired by everyone who sees it in full leaf at the height of the summer. Past President Malcolm McIntyre understands that the tree was one of many planted around 1745 to commemorate the government victory over Bonnie Prince Charlie. The trees stretched from Castlehill down to Kilkerran and if you look south-east from ours at least another two can be seen in a line towards the cemetery. According to local legend that has never been confirmed, the tree was in danger of dying because the body could not support the canopy and the answer to this was to inject it with concrete! True or false, it is still there and thrives year after year.

Over the years the Club has taken on many friendly matches at home and away and some clubs that spring to mind are Dunlop, Port Glasgow, Singer, Cowie, Stenhousemuir, Bridge of Allan, Balfron, Spittalmyre (my only purple tie), Belvedere, Crookston, Clarkston, Whitecrook, Glasgow Northern Indoor, Glasgow Deaf Bowling Association, Kingston taxi drivers lottery fund and Shanks who we still visit today. My own favourite trip was to Port Ellen on Islay around 1986 when many of us stayed in the decrepit and now soon to be demolished Islay Hotel. On arriving in our room we noticed that the sheets were covered in ceiling plaster that we cleaned off but the morning after even more had appeared in time for Archie Johnston to arrive to give us our alarm call, the doors had no locks, and you can imagine the stories he told and still does about this around the breakfast table. The trip home on the ferry was memorable too for the amount of maloogrum that appeared out of every bag and pocket and that you could have floated the Claymore on. Oh, and by the way, the bowling was good too. One visiting club that stands out in my mind is Fraser Park from Inverness who impressed everyone with the standard of their play and inflicted one of the biggest home defeats in history. It was no surprise to anyone that they won the national Top Ten competition in 2005. Unfortunately, where a full 50-seat bus used to travel to away games, today it is difficult to half fill such a bus as those who were used to travelling become older and the younger players are less inclined to play the game socially.

In the 1980’s our players regularly reached district finals in the Scottish championships but the first to qualify for the finals at Ayr Northfield was David McCormick in the Junior Singles in 1992 and this saw the start of an almost annual appearance there by our players. Despite the ludicrous qualification system that sees the players travel all over West Argyll then into Dumbartonshire to compete against opponents who have possibly travelled ten miles, the players continually succeed at this level. Unfortunately, once at Northfield, like the Scottish football teams at the World Cup finals, the players are usually home before the postcards and none have progressed beyond a second game. The Roll of Honour is as follows:-
1985 Malcolm Bannatyne (Junior Singles at Queen’s Park)
1992 David McCormick (Junior Singles)
1994 & 1996 Neil McCormick and Jimmy Anderson (Pairs)
1997 & 2004 Shirley Bannatyne
1999 Shona Anderson & Cathie Martin (Pairs)
2000 John McLean
2001 Shona Anderson & Catherine McEachran (Pairs)
2003 John McLean (Singles), Jimmy Anderson & Steven Dickson (Pairs) & Robert Hendrie, Hugh Newlands, Jim Stewart & Willie Munro (Fours)
2005 Shirley Bannatyne (Singles), Shona Anderson, Ria Johnston and Bobbie Robertson and Jimmy Anderson, Steven Dickson, John McCormick and John McLean (Fours)
Many of us thought that the latter four would be our best ever chance of at least reaching the final stages, if not winning the event, but this was not to be winning only their opening match.

In addition to this there have been many County Championship wins, indoor Ford Spence Trophy triumphs, individual wins in events all around the country and the highlight of the 2004 season, winning the County Top Ten trophy at the Argyll club. This was our first ever success after years of trying and the win was made all the better by having won every match away from home.

At the AGM in 1992 the members realise that the clubhouse had not changed since the extension was built in 1976 and the directors are empowered to seek ways to improve and upgrade the premises. Thanks to an AIE grant of £7000 negotiated by President Cecil Finn the cost of forming the bar area as it is now, upgrading the kitchen and re-decorating the hall at a cost £17,053 is completed in time for the Halloween dance in 1993 where those attending were treated to reduced prices at the bar to celebrate. A further £8000 was spent over the winter to raise the banks and cover them with plastic grass.

The next major event does not occur until 1999 when the directors are made aware of the implications of not complying with the Equal Opportunities Act. The immediate threat of non-compliance was the pending withdrawal of sports clubs non-domestic rates relief that could have cost up to £5,000 annually as well as the loss of any future grants. This realisation led to the ladies being offered equal rights to the male members as long as the Constitution could be amended at an EGM. At a meeting with the ladies they were initially reluctant to change the status quo but when the financial implications were explained to them they changed to a positive point of view although they did request three places on the Directorate as a sweetener. This was a non-starter as all directors are nominated and elected by the membership and to date, not one lady has stood for election. President George Reid outlined the situation to an EGM in March 1999 and proposed that the ladies be granted equal membership and rights with effect from 1st April 2000. There was only one dissenting voice in the hall that proposed an amendment to this and it was withdrawn without a seconder. I wonder if he told his wife! The decision was ratified at the AGM in 2004 and the membership rose from 165 on 31st March to 205 on 1st April when the ladies were absorbed into the roll.

In 2004 an ambitious plan to again extend the clubhouse, renovate the interior and raise a new pitched roof over the front extension that was priced at £120,000 had to be cancelled due to there being no grants forthcoming. The AGM that year gave the Directors authority to refurbish the premises at a budget of up to £30,000. A new cooker and dish washer were bought for the kitchen as well as new units, a new gas fired central heating system was installed, the interior of the clubhouse was completely redecorated, new carpet was laid in the committee room, a new computer was bought and the roof over the front extension was replaced. When the works were complete it was found that only a little over £20,000 had been spent.

The next project that will be carried out over the winter of 2005 is to build a new green keeper’s shed at the south end of the green and to convert the current shed into additional locker room space. Further spending will see the carpet replaced in the bar area and new seating for the hall and a new honours board erected in the clubhouse to replace the plethora of photographs that once littered the walls. In addition, Peter Easton who sponsored our Centenary Triples competition installed a new computerised irrigation system for the 2006 season.

There have been many trials and tribulations over the 100 years of our Club’s history and I hope that the points that I have recorded have been of interest to you. As I write, the Club is in a very healthy financial situation thanks to the hard work of the Past Presidents and Treasurers who have guided us over the Century and I hope that those of you that have never taken office will now give it some consideration. The Membership List of 205 is full with some waiting to join and the 25 social membership places have all been taken. There are much worse ways to spend three years of your time and I can assure you that you will find it rewarding.

2006 will be a very busy year for us all with many events planned before the official date of 8th June and the celebration dinner and dance in the Victoria Hall on Saturday 10th June that will signal the start of our second century.
I’ve had a lot of fun poring over all the old minute books trying to place many of the persons who are mentioned and their families some of whom are still prominent in the community today. There have been many incidents over the course of the century that I wish I could have shared with you but the thought of potential law suits and further recriminations have made me keep my own counsel but I hope that future secretaries can peruse the minutes for their own amusement.

So here’s to the next hundred years and my best wishes to the person who will be writing part two of this history in 99 years time. I hope that you will have access to the same well-kept records as I.

Hugh MacDonald

Secretary.
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Postby dgraves » Sat Jun 10, 2006 3:59 pm

Hi Oorly,

That is a great article. I enjoyed the history you compiled. It will be a wonderful source for those in the future of the sport.
Dorian
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Stronvaar

Postby Frosty » Sat Jun 10, 2006 7:06 pm

Oorly ,
Great read , your time and effort is very much apprieciated..
I hope you enjoy the '' Dance '' tonight in The Vic. and all the Bowling that occurred earlier today.
A great year of celebration for you what with ''The Thistle '' and the 100 years too , its like buses...''They don't come along that often , then two arrive at once.''
Enjoy.
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Re: Campbeltown Bowling Club Centenary

Postby rarmour » Wed Jul 30, 2008 10:54 am

I was interested to see the history of Campbeltown bowling club. Sam Armour could well be my great grandfather Richard Armour's brother. Sam died in 1919 in Campbeltown.

Samuel had two daughters one of which, Dolly, died only recently in 1992 in Campbeltown and a son Edward.

I wondered if you could tell me where I might get a copy of that photo of the original club members. The one in the article is too small for me to hazard a guess which one might be my great great uncle sam.

Incidetally my great grandfather Richard was chief enginner of the SS Davaar and lived at Broom Cottage in Saddell st.

Best regards

Ron Armour
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Re: Campbeltown Bowling Club Centenary

Postby Stronvaar » Wed Jul 30, 2008 10:15 pm

Hi Ron,
I'm not too sure how PM's work on this new fangled forum, but if you can either PM me or e-mail me at stronvaar@btconnect.com with your address I'll be happy to send you a Centenary programme with a larger version of the photo. The original is fairly large and too big to scan so you'll get a photo of a photo.
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