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

3 towns. Cricket games could therefore be arranged - not among all the lads of Forfar or Brechin who just happened to turn up after work one summer’s night, but even a game between, say, Forfar and Arbroath. (The railway between these two towns was one of the earliest, opening for passengers in winter 1838/39). The rise of Trade Unions etc. did not have any great effect as yet in alleviating the dreadful conditions of the poor, but by about the 1880s, the workers were able with more and more strength to extort a Saturday half-day from rascally employers. This was clearly a boost to the ale houses and hostelries, but it also allowed an opportunity for more ambitious, sporty young men to play, of a sunny summer Saturday afternoon, this new sport that everyone was talking about called cricket. Football began to take off at about this time as well, often as a winter activity organised by cricket clubs to keep their members fit and active. Sunday of course was a no-go as far as the playing of any sport or doing anything that looked vaguely like enjoying oneself. The icy grip of Presbyterianismwould remain strong until after the SecondWorldWar, but this did little to stop the sudden increase in playing the game on a Saturday. Cricket, by its very nature, is a summer sport and cannot really be played in the winter or when it is wet. In these respects, it would tend to lose out to football, but for the moment, cricket was the most important sport in Victorian Britain and the Strathmore or Angus part of Scotland was no exception. Brechin Cricket Club, for example, were formed in 1849, Forfar Cricket Club in 1854 and Arbroath United were as their name suggests, an amalgamation of several teams who had been around for some time, possibly since the 1820s. There was certainly cricket played on the Hill in Kirriemuir from an early stage, for JM Barrie (born in 1860) is very happy to recall his days playing and “marking” (scoring)there,andindeedfrom this dates his love of cricket which almost transcended his love of the theatre! It is often puzzlingwhy the team that plays in Forfar is called Strathmore. This causes more An early membership card for Forfar Cricket Club which was found recently