Sheffield Cricket Lovers' Society Year Book 2020

27 www.sheffieldcricketlovers.org.uk I was first introduced to David in 1972 at a meeting of the Chesterfield Cricket Lovers’ Society and was invited to attend a future meeting of the Sheffield Cricket Lovers’ (SCLS). Our 45 year friendship began. I soon realised that David was besotted with both Yorkshire cricket and his beloved Blades, but he could never understand my outrage when Yorkshire were kicked out of playing at Bramall Lane in 1973. David co-opted me onto the Committee of SCLS in 1973 which must have brought the average age down by at least 25 years! It became apparent that David was an amazing organiser of Society meetings as he attracted high quality speakers from the world of cricket, whether it be players, scorers, umpires, Chief Executives or even bat manufacturers. During the 1970’s the Society had a very good cricket team which toured Devon each year – this was always the highlight of the year and was thoroughly enjoyed by the players and their families. However, David was always ambitious and was soon arranging overseas tours to Malta, Gibraltar, Geneva and the USA. By this time he had been elected onto the Yorkshire CCC General Committee and was anxious to promote cricket in South Yorkshire. To this end, he invited several young Yorkshire players to join the Society on these tours to increase their experience, but also with an eye on ensuring the Society performed well on the field! Young Yorkshire players such as David Bairstow, Neil Hartley, Jim Love, Martyn Moxon, Paul Jarvis and Simon Dennis all represented the SCLS. Each year, David arranged at least one Dinner which from the 1970’s were held at the City Hall in Sheffield with superb catering provided by Spittlehouse Caterers. It was no coincidence that David’s favourite dessert was raspberry pavlova and this appeared with amazing frequency on the Dinner menus... In the 1980’s, David obtained a sponsor for the event in Coggan Computers from Chesterfield who often brought 150 guests which increased the attendance up to 350. Those organising skills were utilised in 1980 when David arranged a reunion Dinner for the successful Ashes winning team of 1953 at the Cutlers Hall. All the players attended with the exception of Willie Watson and Freddie Brown - a truly memorable occasion. It was wonderful to see players such as Len Hutton, Bill Edrich, Denis Compton, Peter May, Tom Graveney, Godfrey Evans, Alec Bedser, Trevor Bailey, Johnny Wardle, Jim Laker, Brian Statham and Fred Trueman at the event. With Sebastian Coe also invited after winning his Gold Medal at the Olympics it was a pleasure to see all the old England players queuing for his autograph at the interval! In the 1990’s the Society Dinners moved to Baldwin’s Omega where they remained until its closure in 2018. Baldwins provided outstanding service over this period with superb catering which undoubtedly contributed to the success of these functions. I will really miss David’s friendship during which we travelled all over the country watching Yorkshire through good times and bad. It was always a pleasure to be in his company and we often did the Daily Telegraph “Quick” crossword en route to Headingley. There were several interesting journeys, including one return trip when we approached the Meadowhead roundabout only to find a piano had been dumped in the road - it amused David tremendously! Naturally, he phoned the Police who were somewhat sceptical about believing his story! A cricket friendship Former SCLS Committee member and a Vice President, DAVID TUNBRIDGE, recalls some happy times spent enjoying games far and wide with our founder member.