Strathmore Cricket Union: the first 90 years a history 1928-2018

48 RW Sievwright, bother of R G Sievwright and no mean cricketer himself. But the nightmare was over, and in 1945, historical perspective tells us, perhaps in contrast to 1918 and 1919, (where it wasmore open to question) that the good guys had won. The really bad guy had committed suicide in Berlin, and his grizzly henchmen were awaiting the justice of Nuremberg. There was the definite feeling that better days were awaiting. Indeed there was a grim determination that better days would come. There would be no repetition of David Lloyd George being allowed to forget his promise of a “country fit for heroes to live in”. There would be a bright future, but as a first step the important thing was to get life back to normality as quickly as possible. The Strathmore Union as early as Friday 12th October 1945 reconvened at Jarman’s Hotel in Forfar to talk about resumption of a normal season in 1946. They had been able in August 1945 to arrange a game at Lochside between a Strathmore Union XI and a SCU President’s XI, and there was no major problem with any of the grounds, where indeed the occasional school’s cricket game or Army game had been played throughout the war. Unanimously, under new President, Mr Watson of Mannofield XI, the decision was taken to play a normal season in 1946. Basically, there was nothing to stop them. Euphorically, they even accepted the admission of Perthshire XI. We can recall that often in the past there was a reluctance to accept the membership of new teams, but this was now a new world. The representative game between the Strathmore Union and the SCU President’s XI, played on 11th August (a few days after the atomic bombs had dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki but before the Japanese surrender), had attracted a large crowd (the proceeds of £10.00 – no mean sum in 1945 - were handed over to Forfar Infirmary) and the Strathmore Union had come only 10 runs short of the SCU total of 105. Strathmore man J D Henderson distinguished himself with the ball, his figures being 5 for 36. It was a poignant moment for the great Arbroathian, 63 year old Bob Sievwright who was captaining the side. He was visibly moved by the prolonged standing ovation given to him by the Forfar crowd who knew well that his son Norman was still listed as missing at this point. Bob had never exactly been the darling of Forfar before the war, but he was now. Things had changed. There was no Three Counties Cup in 1946, but a full League programme