LEY HILL CRICKET CLUB The Cricketing Memoirs of Stan Channer (played early 30s-1989) For as long as I can remember there has been a Cricket Club at Ley Hill, and the ground has always been at its present location, but the present playing surface and outfield bear no comparison to the ground in those far off days. Just after the First World War (1919) the ground was used in winter by the village football club, although this club did not survive for many years. But the playing of football had its effects on the playing surface, but perhaps compensated for this damage by keeping the outfield grass a little shorter. The outfield in those days consisted of grass intermingled with ant hills which could be as much as 6-8 inches high and on the north east side of the ground, a goodly crop of heather and harebells were everywhere. Beyond the boundaries there were few trees, but a profusion of gorse – a lovely sight when in flower. Almost every season we lost a few cricket balls in this dense undergrowth. With a little good fortune, the outfield would be cut once a year, around June time, when Mr J Brown (a local farmer) would be using a mower drawn by a horse to cut his meadow grass, and he would then get his employees to cut the outfield as well. Skylarks were another problem. They would nest in the tufts of grass and in the heather in the outfield and when a nest was found it would be marked so that its location was avoided as far as possible during a game. From these facts it is easy to realise that scoring runs was a difficult task. The road was not the boundary line and any hits crossing the road had to be run. On this side of the field the only boundary was the village smithy and the far side of the road from the pubs to Latimer. This entitled 6 runs to be added to the batsman’s score. At the end of the innings a score of 35-40 was usually a winner. A scorer very rarely had the trouble of adding a 6. The other boundaries were the same as at present, although extras counted only as 2. But there were batsmen who could hit. The late Horace Brown once hit a leg side delivery across the golf fairway and ran 7, whilst the late Jesse Rogers could easily clear the road to Bovingdon. It was not until the mid-1930’s that the club had a pavilion and that was just a large wooden shed which would just about take 22 players and 2 umpires if it rained. Prior to this outstanding event a table and two chairs were carried from the village hall for the scorers. At this time LHCC were members of the Chesham & District Cricket League, which consisted of two divisions of 8 clubs per division. The championship was arrived at by the winners of both leagues playing each other. I know that Ley Hill won this in 1923 and I believe they also won it on another occasion, somewhere around World War 1 time (give or take a few years). They were also league champions in 1950 and 1952 but by those dates the league had shrunk to one division. From the oldest date mentioned, the club is at least 65 years old, but I think that it is much older than this, probably 100 years old. I base this fact on information passed on to me as a child. One gentleman – Dennie Glenister – told me that he used to play cricket for Ley Hill, but he didn’t bother with a cricket bat, he used a rick peg (a piece of wood used for securing the thatching on a corn rick). At this time he was an old age pensioner, but other people told me that he did play for Ley Hill. Information was also given to me about other senior citizens who had also played for Ley Hill. In 1932 or 1933 there was quite a number of youngsters interested in the Club and a second team was formed. I still recall the first game we played against Bovingdon 2 nd XI. We all met outside the Crown with our bicycles on a wet and dreary day. We all had lengths of string or leather straps with which we tied bats and batting pads to our crossbars and away we went to Bovingdon. I think we lost our first game, but even though we were all wet through from head to heel, we rode home very happy. This team lasted a few seasons, but as its members were called for first team duty and replacements could not be found, it had to be disbanded.
Transcript
LEY HILL CRICKET CLUB�
The Cricketing Memoirs of Stan Channer�(played early 30s-1989)�
For as long as I can remember there has been a Cricket Club at Ley Hill, and the ground has always been at its�present location, but the present playing surface and outfield bear no comparison to the ground in those far off�days.� Just after the First World War (1919) the ground was used in winter by the village football club,�
although this club did not survive for many years.� But the playing of football had its effects on the playing surface, but perhaps�compensated for this damage by keeping the outfield grass a little shorter.� The outfield in those days consisted of grass intermingled with ant hills which�could be as much as 6-8 inches high and on the north east side of the ground, a goodly�crop of heather and harebells were everywhere.�
Beyond the boundaries there were few trees, but a profusion of gorse – a lovely�sight when in flower. Almost every season we lost a few cricket balls in this dense undergrowth.�
With a little good fortune, the outfield would be cut once a year, around June time, when Mr J Brown�(a local farmer) would be using a mower drawn by a horse to cut his meadow grass, and he would then get his�employees to cut the outfield as well.�
Skylarks were another problem. They would nest in the tufts of grass and in the heather�in the outfield and when a nest was found it would be marked so that its location was avoided as�far as possible during a game.�
From these facts it is easy to realise that scoring runs was a difficult task. The road was�not the boundary line and any hits crossing the road had to be run. On this side of the field the�only boundary was the village smithy� and the far side of the road from�the pubs to Latimer. This entitled 6 runs to be added to the batsman’s score.� At the end of the innings a score of 35-40 was usually a winner. A scorer very rarely had the trouble�of adding a 6. The other boundaries were the same as at present, although extras counted only as 2. But there�were batsmen who could hit. The late Horace Brown once hit a leg side delivery across the golf fairway and ran�7, whilst the late Jesse Rogers could easily clear the road to Bovingdon.�
It was not until the mid-1930’s that the club had a pavilion and that was just a�large wooden shed which would just about take 22 players and 2 umpires if it rained.�Prior to this outstanding event a table and two chairs were carried from the village�hall for the scorers.� At this time LHCC were members of the Chesham & District Cricket League,�which consisted of two divisions of 8 clubs per division. The championship was arrived�at by the winners of both leagues playing each other. I know that Ley Hill won this�in 1923 and I believe they also won it on another occasion, somewhere�
around World War 1 time (give or take a few years). They were also league champions in 1950 and�1952 but by those dates the league had shrunk to one division.� From the oldest date mentioned, the club is at least 65 years old, but I think that it is much�older than this, probably 100 years old. I base this fact on information passed on to me as a child.�One gentleman – Dennie Glenister – told me that he used to play cricket for Ley Hill, but he didn’t�bother with a cricket bat, he used a rick peg (a piece of wood used for securing the thatching on a�corn rick). At this time he was an old age pensioner, but other people told me that he did play for Ley Hill.�Information was also given to me about other senior citizens who had also played for Ley Hill.� In 1932 or 1933 there was quite a number of youngsters interested in the Club and a second team was�formed. I still recall the first game we played against Bovingdon 2�nd� XI. We all met outside the Crown with our�bicycles on a wet and dreary day. We all had lengths of string or leather straps with which we tied bats and�batting pads to our crossbars and away we went to Bovingdon. I think we lost our first game, but even though�we were all wet through from head to heel, we rode home very happy. This team lasted a few seasons, but as�its members were called for first team duty and replacements could not be found, it had to be disbanded.�
The club carried on with more people living in Chesham joining the club until the outbreak of war in 1939�when a temporary halt to cricket had to be called.� I think the club was not reformed until 1948. By this time the ant hills were�larger than ever, as were tufts of grass, but probably the worst aspect was the fact�that gorse had spread almost to the edge of the table on the eastern side of the�ground.� I well remember arriving at the ground on a Saturday morning armed with a 5�gallon can and a supply of sodium chlorate. I filled the can from a tap outside the two�cottages that are now part of the Swan, added sodium chlorate and poured it on the�offending gorse. After a large number of visits the gorse was killed off but so too�was the grass around the gorse.� On another Saturday in autumn, I thought I would reduce the grass so I lit�the grass in the south-west corner of the outfield and before I could turn round the�
fire was racing along between the road and the table, but�I was able to stop it before it reached the gorse at the southern end of the ground.� On another occasion I lit the area between the table and the eastern boundary�but with more success, although a stroll round the ground on the following Sunday�evening revealed the fire was still burning below the surface, but this was soon�extinguished.� One important event occurred on a Good Friday morning in the early 50’s when a�number of us had turned up to do pitch repairs etc. Cyril Glenister of Glensands soon�
appeared pushing a machine called a Hayter, which was a rotary grass cutting machine.�After a demonstration, it was agreed at the next committee meeting to purchase one (I�think it cost £54). From now on the outfield grass was cut to a reasonable length, but�perhaps the most effective cutting was on the ant hills and ultimately these disappeared.� Prior to this, we found a gentleman to cut the outfield with an Allen scythe at�£4 a time and after this gentleman dropped out, a firm at Buckland Common cut the�outfield a few times but soon came to the conclusion that the outfield was too bumpy�for them to risk their machinery!� After winning the League championship in 1950, the captain Bill Dwight sug-�gested we held a Social as a reward for the tea ladies who had served us so well. It fell to me to organise the�event and with much trepidation we went ahead. But it turned out to be more work for our tea ladies in preparing�
food for a large gathering, so in some ways it backfired.�On the credit side, although admission was free and open to all villagers, everyone�
seemed to enjoy the evening and to defray expenses a draw was made which resulted in�around £8 going into the club coffers. This amount would roughly have purchased a couple�of bats. Times and costs have changed!�
The Socials continued each year and after a time we persuaded a Mr�Gordon Ayres to put on a show with his Youth Keep Fit youngsters. Their�display ended with a pyramid of youngsters and at the very top of the�pyramid was Keith Richardson!�
A collection box was taken round the ground and we usually ended up with around £2 per�game, an amount comprised mainly of a few coppers per person. But many villagers turned up to�support us and the cheering made the occasion more like football than cricket! The following�evening many people were around to discuss the game and of course give advice as to who should�have bowled etc. etc.�
Ultimately the Cricket League collapsed as more teams either played “friendly” cricket or�themselves disappeared due to lack of membership, and Ley Hill had to turn to playing “friendly”�cricket. Certainly this meant a full programme and more players joined the Club which led to the�formation of a 2�nd� XI.�
I think the next significant event in the club was the purchase of the�present� pavilion. It was a WAAF’s barrack room and we�went to Ampthill in Bedfordshire to dismantle it and returned home late�afternoon with the new pavilion piled high on a lorry. It rained all day�and after the roof had been removed we were at the mercy of the�elements. We were all soaked to the skin.� The pavilion was eventually erected on the present site but being�of wood it was repeatedly broken into, and so an outer skin of bricks and�metal doors were added with the desired effect.� But I think the next milestone was the best that ever occurred�in the club – THE FETE. At quite a late date it was decided to have an�
August Monday Fete and August Monday in those days was of course at� the beginning of the month.�
Keith Richardson, Ron Bourike (Captain) and myself met frequently to discuss and plan the fete, although�none of us had any previous experience of what was required. However August Monday arrived bright and sunny�and work started. Two people scurried off to Hemel Hempstead to collect a lorry that we had hired to collect�stalls etc from Hyde Heath Village Hall.� At Hemel Hempstead the wrong fuel was put in�the vehicle’s tank (ie petrol in a diesel engine) and that�meant the tank had to be removed and drained – a waste�of precious time. Eventually at a late hour, the vehicle�arrived at the ground laden with stalls etc and a mar-�quee tent.� No-one knew how to erect it, but eventually we�succeeded, but the time was past 1 pm and the fete�started at 2 pm. It meant no lunch for some of us, but�it was all worth while. We made a profit on the venture�and the fete has taken place every year since and of�course profits have increased.�
