A brief history of the Bognor Chess Club
Before the 1890s Bognor chess players would probably have travelled to Littlehampton or Chichester to join a chess club. In 1891, however, the Sussex Chess Journal stated that an effort would shortly be made to form a club in Bognor. A strong Sussex player, William Bridger, gave a simul in the town, but there is no evidence that a club was formed at this time.
The Sussex Chess Archives refer to a club existing in Bognor in 1893, but this is not corroborated by any other known evidence. However, in September 1898 a chess club was definitely formed in the town. The venue was the Reading Rooms in Lennox Street and in December of that year a friendly match was played against some Chichester players. Early in 1899 another friendly was played against the Lodsworth CC and at that time there was reported to be a membership of 30. Another fixture aginst Lodsworth was arranged for January 1900, but after that there seems to be no evidence of the club being active.
The next Bognor CC was formed on 21st February 1913, when five keen members held a meeting in the Webster and Webbs Reading Room in Lennox Street. The club moved to 47 High Street later that year and the first general meeting was held on 30th April 1914, when a constitution was drawn up. There was a good attendance which held out promise for the future.
These hopes were dashed by the advent of World War I. In November 1914 the club lost a match against Worthing by 5 games to 1 and it became a struggle to survive at a time when many clubs went under. By 1916 the club had nine members of whom only about four regularly attended the weekly meetings, but somehow the club managed to keep going.
In 1920 the Bognor CC started to revive and on 7th October of that year a meeting was held at Bank House (Westminster Bank) at which a Mr Goldsworthy, a tea room proprietor, offered accommodation at his premises. Following this the club enjoyed a new lease of life. By 1921 the membership had increased to 19 and in 1923 friendly matches were played against the Chichester Red Triangle CC. In 1923 or 1924 the Bognor CC moved to the Bijou Café in York Road, but it appears that interest in the game began to wane in the area. The reasons for this are uncertain, but the club held its last recorded meeting on 3rd October 1925.
In 1932 the existing Chichester CC decided that it would be a good idea to form a combined Chichester and Bognor CC. and the Chichester Club offered to share its assets with the Bognor chess players. An arrangement was made by which weekly meetings were held in both Bognor and Chichester. The amalgamation proved popular and successful and a team was regularly entered in the McArthur Cup. It is also recorded that in 1934 a 12 board friendly was played against the Portsmouth CC. In 1937 the Chichester branch of the club had a distinguished visitor. The well-known Belgian player George Koltanowski provided a boost to chess in the area when he gave a 10 board simultaneous.
When World War II started, chess continued to flourish in Bognor, but declined sharply in Chichester. The Bognor players were fortunate in that the rent that they paid to the Conservative Club in London Road was reduced. At the end of 1940 and early in 1941, a former British champion, William Winter, who happened to be stationed in the area, gave two simultaneous displays and refused to claim a fee for himself. Instead the donations were sent to the Red Cross organisation and the ‘Post’ Spitfire fund. In 1942 the Bognor section had probably its youngest champion when 16 year-old Brian Honnor won the title.
For a while after the War contacts between Bognor and Chichester players were maintained, but before the end of the decade Bognor had established a separate identity. A new Chichester CC was formed in 1952.
The 1950s proved very successful for the Bognor CC. On four occasions the club reached the final of the McArthur Cup, but just could not lift the title.There were also a number of visits by Harry Golombek to give simultaneous displays and one by B H Wood. In 1954 the club started to enjoy spacious accommodation at the Terminus Hotel, Station Approach. In 1958 the club came close to having its first county champion when A Ayriss lost in the final.
Meanwhile in the middle of the decade a second club was formed in the town in connection with the LEC Refrigeration Company. It entered the McArthur Cup in the 1956-57 season.
In 1961 the Bognor CC had another player, who reached the county final in W C Kendal. In the McArthur Cup, however, the club was less successful as the rival Worthing CC received a surge in popularity. One very promising young player, Maurice Staples, would have been a real force in Sussex chess, but in 1968 he moved out of the area. The last mention of the LEC club that I can find dates from 1961.
In the 1970s the Bognor CC benefited from the experience of Bert Philpott, a strong player. When the South West Sussex League started, the club entered three teams in the first competition. In 1975 a team from Bognor College also entered the competition.
In the early 1980s chess in the town changed dramatically. Many years had passed since the dynamic Norman Fishlock-Lomax had organised annual congresses in the town and, though the Bognor CC remained a stable club, it seems to have been largely unaffected by change. It may therefore have come as a surprise when a different type of chess club started up in the town. A newly-formed Arun CC was formed around a group of promising young players. The inspiration behind the sudden upsurge of interest among the younger generation was Peter Barton, a teacher at the Westergate School. He himself lived in Bognor and at the first meeting of the Arun CC in August 1980 thirty people turned up. It was not long before this new club had entered two teams in the South West Sussex League and in the 1981-82 season it competed in the McArthur Cup. One effect was that it drained some members away from the main Bognor CC. One particular junior, Mandy Hepworth, came to notice. In the British championships at Brighton in 1980 she came first equal in the girls under 14 competition. Peter Barton also organised some external competitions and from 1981 for a few years he organised young masters’ tournaments at the Westergate School after receiving sponsorship from the Amey Roadstone Corporation. The Arun CC held its second AGM in May 1982. By that time amalgamation with the Bognor CC was already being talked about and after a few meetings the first amalgamation of the new combined club, the Bognor and Arun CC, was held on 3rd September 1982.
Brian Denman, county archivist
The Sussex Chess Archives refer to a club existing in Bognor in 1893, but this is not corroborated by any other known evidence. However, in September 1898 a chess club was definitely formed in the town. The venue was the Reading Rooms in Lennox Street and in December of that year a friendly match was played against some Chichester players. Early in 1899 another friendly was played against the Lodsworth CC and at that time there was reported to be a membership of 30. Another fixture aginst Lodsworth was arranged for January 1900, but after that there seems to be no evidence of the club being active.
The next Bognor CC was formed on 21st February 1913, when five keen members held a meeting in the Webster and Webbs Reading Room in Lennox Street. The club moved to 47 High Street later that year and the first general meeting was held on 30th April 1914, when a constitution was drawn up. There was a good attendance which held out promise for the future.
These hopes were dashed by the advent of World War I. In November 1914 the club lost a match against Worthing by 5 games to 1 and it became a struggle to survive at a time when many clubs went under. By 1916 the club had nine members of whom only about four regularly attended the weekly meetings, but somehow the club managed to keep going.
In 1920 the Bognor CC started to revive and on 7th October of that year a meeting was held at Bank House (Westminster Bank) at which a Mr Goldsworthy, a tea room proprietor, offered accommodation at his premises. Following this the club enjoyed a new lease of life. By 1921 the membership had increased to 19 and in 1923 friendly matches were played against the Chichester Red Triangle CC. In 1923 or 1924 the Bognor CC moved to the Bijou Café in York Road, but it appears that interest in the game began to wane in the area. The reasons for this are uncertain, but the club held its last recorded meeting on 3rd October 1925.
In 1932 the existing Chichester CC decided that it would be a good idea to form a combined Chichester and Bognor CC. and the Chichester Club offered to share its assets with the Bognor chess players. An arrangement was made by which weekly meetings were held in both Bognor and Chichester. The amalgamation proved popular and successful and a team was regularly entered in the McArthur Cup. It is also recorded that in 1934 a 12 board friendly was played against the Portsmouth CC. In 1937 the Chichester branch of the club had a distinguished visitor. The well-known Belgian player George Koltanowski provided a boost to chess in the area when he gave a 10 board simultaneous.
When World War II started, chess continued to flourish in Bognor, but declined sharply in Chichester. The Bognor players were fortunate in that the rent that they paid to the Conservative Club in London Road was reduced. At the end of 1940 and early in 1941, a former British champion, William Winter, who happened to be stationed in the area, gave two simultaneous displays and refused to claim a fee for himself. Instead the donations were sent to the Red Cross organisation and the ‘Post’ Spitfire fund. In 1942 the Bognor section had probably its youngest champion when 16 year-old Brian Honnor won the title.
For a while after the War contacts between Bognor and Chichester players were maintained, but before the end of the decade Bognor had established a separate identity. A new Chichester CC was formed in 1952.
The 1950s proved very successful for the Bognor CC. On four occasions the club reached the final of the McArthur Cup, but just could not lift the title.There were also a number of visits by Harry Golombek to give simultaneous displays and one by B H Wood. In 1954 the club started to enjoy spacious accommodation at the Terminus Hotel, Station Approach. In 1958 the club came close to having its first county champion when A Ayriss lost in the final.
Meanwhile in the middle of the decade a second club was formed in the town in connection with the LEC Refrigeration Company. It entered the McArthur Cup in the 1956-57 season.
In 1961 the Bognor CC had another player, who reached the county final in W C Kendal. In the McArthur Cup, however, the club was less successful as the rival Worthing CC received a surge in popularity. One very promising young player, Maurice Staples, would have been a real force in Sussex chess, but in 1968 he moved out of the area. The last mention of the LEC club that I can find dates from 1961.
In the 1970s the Bognor CC benefited from the experience of Bert Philpott, a strong player. When the South West Sussex League started, the club entered three teams in the first competition. In 1975 a team from Bognor College also entered the competition.
In the early 1980s chess in the town changed dramatically. Many years had passed since the dynamic Norman Fishlock-Lomax had organised annual congresses in the town and, though the Bognor CC remained a stable club, it seems to have been largely unaffected by change. It may therefore have come as a surprise when a different type of chess club started up in the town. A newly-formed Arun CC was formed around a group of promising young players. The inspiration behind the sudden upsurge of interest among the younger generation was Peter Barton, a teacher at the Westergate School. He himself lived in Bognor and at the first meeting of the Arun CC in August 1980 thirty people turned up. It was not long before this new club had entered two teams in the South West Sussex League and in the 1981-82 season it competed in the McArthur Cup. One effect was that it drained some members away from the main Bognor CC. One particular junior, Mandy Hepworth, came to notice. In the British championships at Brighton in 1980 she came first equal in the girls under 14 competition. Peter Barton also organised some external competitions and from 1981 for a few years he organised young masters’ tournaments at the Westergate School after receiving sponsorship from the Amey Roadstone Corporation. The Arun CC held its second AGM in May 1982. By that time amalgamation with the Bognor CC was already being talked about and after a few meetings the first amalgamation of the new combined club, the Bognor and Arun CC, was held on 3rd September 1982.
Brian Denman, county archivist
