Club History

Maidenhead Hockey Club was founded in 1904 and through the years has seen considerable success nationally. The Club celebrated its Centenary in 2004.
The first indication of hockey in Maidenhead in is a copy of The Maidenhead Advertiser from 1904. It refers to the men of Maidenhead accompanied by a barrel of beer travelling by horse and cart to Blackheath to play hockey. Sadly there is no further reference to game, result or the barrel of beer.

From just before the Second World War, Dick Wood was very much at the helm of the club and was ably supported throughout by Irving Robinson, Club Captain, Secretary, Fixture Secretary, Team Secretary and Treasurer were all posts held at one and or the same time by him or the pair of them. The club was famous for its tremendous Bray Fetes during the 1950’s with the likes of Tom Stuchbery, Michael Shepherd and Charles Courtney leading the way in raising the necessary finance to secure the ground and pavilion.

Scottish International Rupert McGuigan enjoyed a couple of seasons at Maidenhead during the late fifties as the club climbed the hockey ladder. A side that included the likes of Geoff Chichester (GK), the Charlton brothers Jeff and Ken, Bill Perkins, David Pattison and Peter Bradfield to name but a few, was capable of beating all but the top 3 or 4 in the country at the time. To this day, Ken Charlton and Bill Perkins were probably two of the best players never to see an England cap.

After playing at various venues in the town, the club moved to its delightful ground alongside the Bray church on the banks of the Thames in 1955. The current clubhouse was completed for the start of the 1970/71 season, two pitches on the nearby Jubilee Ground were commissioned in 1978.

Alan Badcock took over the Chairmanship for 10 years in 1980 and immediately identified the need for an Astroturf pitch and a structured Colts Section. Although he did not see the former to fruition he was responsible for much of the groundwork that enabled Michael Clyde, Michael Carr, John Townend and Adrian Robertson to gain momentum and see that the Altwood Astro was completed in time for the start of the 1994/95 season.

To the man that taught Jon Potter all he needed to know about hockey, Alan’s real joy was to see the Colts Section take so many big strides towards establishing itself as one of the best, if not the most active and successful of the Junior Hockey Clubs in England. Whilst Maidenhead meant a great deal to him, he would never let it stand between a young player and his/her international future and his only sadness at the time was that the Club could not guarantee the hockey future that would benefit these young players. His challenge to his successors before his untimely death, was to do so in the not too distant future.

Original members of the London League, Maidenhead narrowly missed out when the Premier Division was formed and has struggled to regain that ground ever since. The merger of the London and South Leagues at 1xt XI level provided the impetus for the club to rise from the doldrums. In 1994 the club lost out on penalty strokes to NHL Sheffield in the last 16 of the HA Cup and missed their league title by failing to get a point out of the last game of the season at Hampstead.

In season 2000/2001 the Mens First XI won the South Premier title and a place in the Inter League Play-offs. Sadly, late injuries to key personnel prevented further progress into the outdoor National League, but this was balanced on the indoor front with the National Indoor League Division 2 title and promotion to Division 1 for 2001/02.

Failure to qualify for the outdoor National League and the lack of progress towards a water-based facility at Altwood, led to considerable (9 out of squad of 16) player loss by the start of the 2001/02 season. This resulted in the club as a whole struggling for results and the Mens First XI being relegated.
The Mens First XI currently play in the MBBO 1st XI Regional League.

Ladies
There was a mixed hockey team in Maidenhead in the 1930’s and in 1947 a notice of intention to start a ladies’ team was placed in the Maidenhead Advertiser. One of the instigators was Tom Stuchbery, and the Stuchbery Cup is still awarded each season to a club member for their services to the club. Following a meeting at the Bear Hotel in July, the first practice was on 27 September and games were played at Kidwells Park. In fact, in October two teams were entered in an inter-club tournament at Reading and Miss Rosemary Greetham of Holyport was selected to play for Berkshire Juniors. The first Chairman was Mrs E A Sanders, and along with the first team captain Peggy Wiseman and Secretary, Betty Wells, the two teams continued to make progress.

In 1969 the ladies were invited to join the club at Bray and were later represented on the Management Committee by the Secretary, Sue Warren (now Cheale) and the first ladies’ Club Captain, Margaret Taylor. Several young players were selected to play at county and higher levels, including Elaine Bushell, who went on to play for Slough and Reading and gained selection to the South squad. A number of other young players, including Nicky Charman, Fran de Grave, Alison East, Lucy Latham, Jean Walker and Carol Robbins were selected for outdoor and indoor county hockey.

The 1970’s also saw ladies teams playing in Indoor Tournaments and a League, set up by Rick Toovey, and continued by Mike Cantrill and then Sue Cheale, attracted teams from near and far, including Slough, Eastcote and Ealing. Indoor activities declined following the introduction of astro turf pitches but a ladies team is still entered in the local Reading League.

Two mixed teams were formed in the 1970’s, the Lions and the Unicorns, and there was a Ladies’ Colts side in the early 80’s. The mixed sides went on three tours to Guernsey (in the late 70’s/early 80’s) and more recently Maidenhead won the Timpson Plate in 2000 and reached the national finals of the Cup Competition in 2001.

In the past two decades several players have gained County and International recognition, including Helen Middleton, Roberta Harrison, Sarah Tracy, Jane Parkinson, Karen Treloar and Nicole Romilly. In recent years the first team has risen through the ranks of the South League, reaching Division One and narrowly missing out on promotion to the National League. Young players such as Jo Cox, Jacqueline Broers, Victoria Goodacre, Fiona Hinds, Hannah Smith, Niamh Staunton, Toni Lambden and Chantal Frost have gained from this experience and received County, International and Oxbridge recognition.
All five ladies’ teams currently play league hockey - South Division Two for the first team and the remaining teams play in the Trysports Three Counties League. The first team’s goal remains to gain promotion to Division One of the South League again, and then to the National League.