A Scrapbook of Croquet Memories

Today, we'll take a look at a scrapbook full of photographs and writing that have been shared with me. They match faces with many of the names we've mentioned here at Who Is George Mills? and should be of interest, particularly to croquet enthusiasts or denizens of Budleigh Salterton—or both! (You can click any image to enlarge it in a new window.)

Our first one, seen above, is scan I received from Michael Downes of Budleigh, and he provides the source volume below, as well as a list of local players at the Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club in 1958, along with a visiting team from London. Michael wrote:

Details are:

Back row (l-r); C.V. West (Groundsman), J.W. Solomon (London), Major G.F. Stone (Budleigh Salterton), R.F. Rothwell (L), A.J. Cooper (BS), J.G. Warwick (BS), W.P. Omerod [misspelt: should be Ormerod] (BS).

Middle row: J.A. Holliweg (L), Ian Baillieu (L), Miss E.J. Warwick (BS), Lt-Col G.E. Cave (BS), M.B. Reckitt (L).

Front row: Mrs W. Longman (L), W. Longman (L), Mrs E. Rotherham, capt. (BS), E.P.C. Cotter, capt. (L), Col D.W. Beamish (BS)

Source: Les Berry & Gerald Gosling, Budleigh Salterton and Raleigh Country, 1998. p.78



Next up is a scanned newspaper article along with a photograph sent by the omnipresent Barry McAleenan. It describes a tournament at the Saffrons in which Barry's grandfather, Dr. H. R. McAleenan, competed as an octogenarian and won the X Handicap. Pictured is Mrs. Barbara Chittenden, then captain of the Compton Club.


Taking a look at the article, it mentions some familiar names: Mrs. E. (Hope) Rotherham and Mr. E. A. (Tony) Roper, Dr. McAleenan's victim in the X Handicap finals.

Barry adds: "Dr HR 'Herbie' McAleenan was my grandfather. In 1957 he would have been 76 years old, but played on for another decade. Eventually, he gave up on the grounds that the youngsters 'ought to be allowed to win more often.' I attach a cutting from the local paper for 1964. He was born in 1881 and married in 1914. I presume he was a member of the Compton Club."


Next up, we'll see a series of images sent by the extremely generous Judy Perry, daughter of Bill Perry of the Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club.

In the first, below, we see what Judy describes as "Geraldine Cave (2nd left) and Bill Perry(Best Man) (right) at Gerald Cave's wedding to Marjorie in London."


Judy: "Sorry I can't remember date, nor do I know who the other two people are." If you happen to recognize either, please let me know!


Judy continues: "The 2nd photo is a line-up for, I think, the President's Cup, not sure which year (if you can't work it out I probably will be able to). Location looks to me to be the Hurlingham Club, London. They are Back row. Bill Perry, Douglas Strachan, Gerald Cave, Nigel Aspinall, and Roger Bray. Front Row is Bernard Neal, John Solomon, William Ormerod and John Simon"


Anyone having an idea about the year, again, please let me know! [Update: From Chris Williams of the Croquet Association: "The President's Cup photo would be 1968 at Hurlingham."]


As well as the above photographs, Judy shared something very special:

I have discovered a poem by Gerald Cave as follows:-



THE BIG FOUR – AN AFTERTHOUGHT
By G.E.Cave.

Nigel & Keith, Roger and John –
Their names are fresh to ponder upon.

Champion of Champions: the title is new;
John keeps his grip on it, what can we do?
Nigel, the toast of Australia, snoops
Round the court, leaving balls tucked in hoops.
Keith is the artist, displaying his zeal
With quadruple, Quintuple, Sextuple peel.
While Roger strides smilingly round on his way,
With a Triple – taken – ‘Three times a Day’.

Solomon, Aspinall, Wylie & Bray:
Which is the one for your money today?

While you’re deciding, remember the skill
Of William & Patrick & Bernard & Bill:
Also David O’Connor, John Simon and Strachan
Who well may come back in unbeatable form.
The future is bright with a host of young stars,
But we do need a Venus to stand up to Mars.

So again I’ll endeavour to sum the thing up –
WHO will part John from his Championship Cup?"


I think it is dated 1970.


Many of these are the players Judy identified in the image above. The great John Solomon owned the CA Championship from 1963 to 1968, and won it a total of 10 times between 1953 and 1968.


In addition, Judy sent the following colour images. I've included her descriptions with each.


Bill Perry + Guy and Joan (Warwick)


This is a photo taken on the bottom lawn at Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club. Date unknown, (late 60s early 70s?) but several people who weren't locals are in it so it must have been a tournament of some sort.


Line up is:

Front Row: Unknown could be Robin Godby who lived in London, Joan Warwick, John Solomon (who was the subject of the poem I sent you by Gerald Cave), Bill Perry + Sally his dog, unknown, Sir Leonard Daldry.

Back Row: John Cooper (I think), unknown, unknown, unknown, Guy Warwick, unknown, Gerald Cave.


What wonderful image of several of the characters we've been following here. Should you be able to identify any of the "unknowns," please let me know and I'll update this at once!


In closing, Judy also included this:

There is another croquet poem which you may have come across already, written in much the same era by Giles Borrett who you may have come across in your research.


A CROQUET PLAYER'S PRAYER

I thank thee Lord that in my life
Croquet has played a lovely part;
Has found me friends and kept me fit
And warmed the cockles of my heart.

So when I play my final match
May I not have the smallest doubt
That when I've run the Rover hoop
Thou wilt be there to peg me out.

Giles Borrett


I know that all the croquet players of that generation loved it.


What a wonderful way to close things here this afternoon.

It is difficult for me to express adequately my gratitude for the generosity and kindness of Michael, Barry, and Judy. In fact, my thanks go out to everyone who has helped me along the way!

Next time, we'll return to Warren Hill in Meads and get help from a different source in finding something that's been elusive. Stay tuned…

Croquet Gazette: Who is George Mills?

From April/May 2011 (Issue 331) of the Croquet Gazette...



Click the images to enlarge each page in a new window!

Many thanks to the Croquet Association for allowing me space to be a guest author in that issue. For an interactive copy of the entire issue which can be increased to an even greater size, go to: http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1s2ne/CroquetGazette/resources/17.htm

Charles Watson Warrell, Westfield Road, and I-Spy

The lazy, hazy (if not yet terribly crazy) days of north central Florida's summer are tightening their collective sultry grip around the population here, and the constant hum of air conditioners has been added to the songs of the local birds, the buzz of the cicadas, and the croaking of randy frogs in Ocala's numerous retention ponds after a shower.

In no time at all, it seems, I've caught up on more pressing matters related to our research, so it's probably a good time to take a look at some things that have been simmering on the metaphorical back burner.

Back in January we had word from an unnamed friend of Budleigh Salterton's Michael Downes about the discovery of Grey Friars, the home of George Mills and his sisters. Information regarding the abode, 15 Westfield Road, included this:

Interestingly there was another children’s author who lived in Westfield Road – he was the author of a series of the “I Spy” books, but at present the name escapes me!

Now, colour me interested! Two mid-20th century children's book authors just happened to end up as neighbours in Budleigh Salterton in Westfield Road. First of all, let's determine when each of the gentlemen arrived there.

We know the Misses Mills, Agnes and Violet, left their home at Cadogan Gardens in London where they had lived with their mother until her passing in 1945, in 1947. The telephone there was in the name of the "Misses Mills," although we know at some point—either then or in the future—brother George would also reside there.

This information is from a website called Great War Forum:

Charles Watson Warrell was born at Farnborough, Somerset on 23 April 1889. At the time of the First World War he was married (probably to Elizabeth Gill?) and the Head Teacher at Higher Wych School, Whitewell, Flintshire.

At some later date he was Head at Pleasey Hill School, Notts. He came up with the very popular "I-Spy" series of children's books, publishing them from 1948 onwards and assuming the guise of "Big Chief I-Spy". He retired in 1956 and handed over the mantle of Big Chief and the books (which after going through various hands and metamorphoses are apparently still in print).

He went to live at Budleigh Salterton, Devon, and died aged 106 at Matlock, Derbyshire on 28 November 1995.


That gives us the name of George's author/neighbour, and a possible year that Warrell, a veteran of the Great War, probably took up residence at Budleigh, although he it may have taken some time to locate and purchase a dwelling. Perhaps, then, he arrived to stay as late as 1957.

In 1956, as we know, George Mills spent the summer term teaching at Ladycross Preparatory School in Seaford. We also know that he began playing competitive croquet for the first time in 1957, actually taking a prize at the tournament in Budleigh Salterton that July.

George would play croquet alongside his spinster sisters through 1971 when he became too ill to take to the lawns. Before that, George Mills is not listed on any prize lists.

In addition, in his 1973 Croquet Gazette obituary, authored by Budleigh's Gerald Cave, it is noted that George "was a late starter to croquet." Mills would have been 60 years of age when he took that 1957 prize. Can we assume that George may not have been retired before then, had not yet made Grey Friars his permanent home, and was not able to pass his days on the lawns at the club until then?

Warrell and Mills probably arrived at Budleigh intending to make it their permanent residence sometime in 1956 – 1957.

It may be because of my generally skeptical nature, but I'm prone to think that most 'coincidences' generally aren't.

We also know that Mills was enjoying a bit of a renaissance as an author at that time. Andrew Dakers, Ltd. and Spring Books in London reissued his three schoolboy titles (Meredith and Co., King Willow, and Minor and Major) for a new generation's reading pleasure. The post-war baby boom, with most of the boys of an age to enjoy George's titles above by 1957, would seem to have coincided nicely with Mills reaching retirement age.

George necessarily would have spent time in London in 1956-57, signing papers for the reprinting of his texts, and possibly even doing book signings at local booksellers.

Did Mills and Warrell meet as children's book authors, perhaps in London? Let us not forget that they were both schoolmasters, and, as we see above, they were both veterans of the First World War.

If George's plans were to retire with his sisters at seaside Budleigh Salterton, might he have shared that idea with Warrell at a time when Warrell was thinking about how to spend his own golden years?

Perhaps. It would be interesting to know if the two men were friends because we have no evidence at all to suppose that anyone in Budleigh Salterton—not a single person that I know of—knew that George Mills was or once had been a published author of books for children.

Let's finish with an excerpt from Warrell's obituary by Nicholas Tucker of The Independent from 30 November 1995:

After failing with eight publishers, Warrell produced his little books by himself. He then chose his local branch of Woolworth's as a main outlet, drawing on a friendship with that firm's principal book-buyer based originally around a common interest in breeding pigs. Swift sales led to many more books, plus serialisation for two years in the Daily Mail and then, for a longer spell, in the News Chronicle. The whole series was to last till 1986, since when it has re-appeared under a succession of different publishing houses.

Warrell's I-Spy books combined simplicity of design with a great deal of accurate, often ingenious, research. Costing only sixpence, or a shilling in colour, each miniature paperback concentrated on a particular topic ranging from The Seaside to People in Uniform.

Parents… increasingly bought those books best designed to keep children occupied first on train journeys and later in the family car. At its height, the whole I-Spy operation involved over 1 1/2 million young Red-skins, with two women assistants employed solely to answer members' numerous telephone and written questions.

Always happy to appear in his giant head-dress on special I-Spy pow-wows held at different parts of Britain, during which various tasks would be set followed by a grand session of prizegiving, Warrell eventually opted for a quieter life at his home in Budleigh Salterton, where he walked and gardened almost to the end. His birthdays in later years became something of a rallying point for Red-skins both young and old, happy to honour their still surviving Big Chief in his serene and well-earned retirement.

The article concludes:

Charles Warrell, teacher, writer, publisher: born Farmborough, Somerset 23 April 1889; married Elizabeth Gill (deceased; two daughters), secondly Marian Tucker; died Matlock, Derbyshire 26 November 1995.


There is nothing here to suggest clearly that Warrell and Mills had anything but a passing acquaintance, if that, perhaps simply a polite nod of acknowledgement in passing during strolls along Westfield Road [below, left]. Budleigh clearly knew who Warrell was, while George Mills, though an affable croquet player, was apparently locally unknown as a British author.

This fits into our findings that, while people remember the presence of George in Budleigh Salterton, or are sure that they must have met him, I have found no one with any clear recollection of the man.

This rests at odds with this line from Cave's croquet obituary of Mills, mentioned above: "[H]is exuberant and loveable personality made him a welcome member of the game."

George Mills is certainly a mystery: A sociable, witty, exuberant, and lovable man who almost no one seems to be able to remember.

Perhaps this connection with Warrell will prompt someone to write who may have known both men at Westfield Road, and then we may be able to bring George Mills into far greater focus!

Please contact me with any memories of, or information about, Charles Warrell or George Mills of Westfield Road, Budleigh Salterton, and thanks!

Lt.-Col. G.E. Cave, Sir Leonard Daldry, and Bill Perry

One of the most rewarding aspects of doing this research is meeting (at least 'virtually') people from around the world and hearing about where they live (or lived) and what it was like in another time. I have to admit, we Americans are generally so provincial that I know people who traveled through Europe, for example, rarely eating anywhere but a McDonald's or drinking anything except Diet Coke! We like to see exotic places on HDTV, but in person, as a rule, most often think it far more convenient for other lands to be exactly like the United States!

My only time in England involved a three-hour layover at Heathrow, which I will assume may not be completely identical to the rest of the U.K., although it was a great deal like a small shopping mall in the U.S. That's why I love studying Great Britain here and learning so much about it that doesn't involve simply our American fascination with "Big Ben" jokes, stoic palace guards, A Christmas Carol parodies, Lady Diana, and the recent Royal Wedding.


For example, soon after hearing from Joanna Healing, I received the following e-mail:

Fascinated to read your Blog. I think I can help a bit, as when I was a child I spent a lot of time in Budleigh Salterton, from about 1948 onwards, and then in the 1960s my parents moved there permanently, so I have visited regularly all my life.

I remember Aggie and Violet, although I was not so aware of George, but I knew of his existence, and doubtless met him at "the club". Aggie I remember was rather a strange shape which as a child I found fascinating!


That's from Judy Perry. Regarding a couple of croquet players at the club in the era of the siblings, she relates:

Gerald Cave [seen in hat, right, with two unidentified croquet players--any ideas who they are?] was my Godfather and I have photgraphs of him and also of his mother with whom he lived, (the Mrs G Cave you mention). Late in life he did marry for a second time. He was divorced early in his life, and remained single for many many years.

His mother was definitely Geraldine, (and his father a High Court Judge), but whether or not she played croquet I am not sure. I don't remember her doing so, but then when I knew her she was quite old.

His first marriage was to an American, was very brief and the wife and daughter lived (returned?) to the USA. Much later on Gerald married Marjorie [and] my father Bill was best man at the wedding in London. Marjorie (don't know her surname) went to live in Budleigh and moved in with Gerald and his mother (which did not turn out to be a very happy arrangement as the two women did not get on!).

Just for your records Sir Leonard Daldry was definitely a member of Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club, and at one time also Chairman. His childless invalid wife died when he was in his late seventies, and he remarried a younger woman and promptly produced a son and a daughter, his first children. He didn't take much interest in croquet after that!


[Update: From Chris Williams of the Croquet Association on 29 June 2011: "I think that the player on the right in the photo with Gerald Cave (Friday June 10 article) is Humphrey Hicks." Thank you very much, Chris, and to the Fairlynch Museum in Budleigh for use of the undated image!]


Judy also attaches this far more personal note:

My father featured quite a lot in the Budleigh croquet club. He was Bill Perry (actually he was Bennett Gregory Perry, but he was always known as "Bill"). His wife, also "Vi", my mother, was Geraldine Cave's god daughter.

An Australian by birth he spent most of his life in England, and landed up playing croquet for England against Australia! Bill played croquet with all the characters you mention [Bill played on the 1974 MacRobertson Shield-winning team, although he is not seen in the team photograph, left], and was twice Chairman of the Budleigh Club. After my mother died he remarried and his second wife Diana (nee Barker). [She] is the Diana Perry mentioned on the Budleigh Salterton website as the author of the club history. Sadly she too is now dead.


Thank you so much, Judy, for getting in touch!

With Judy's insight and memories, we get a much a clearer image of what the close-knit world of Budleigh Salterton must have been like in the middle of the last century. Although Bill played most of the contemporaries of the Mills siblings, he never played George, Agnes, or Violet. Someday I hope to visit Budleigh Salterton and see where it all took place, but at the rate they've been cutting teachers' pay all around the U.S., the street views I access on Google Maps may have to suffice!

Finally, a word about George Mills.

George is quite a mysterious character. Known as a witty, abundantly clever, and very sociable man, it continues to surprise me that those who met him—or, as in Judy's case above, believe they must have met him—have little or no recollection of the man [seen below, right, possibly with one of the unidentified players pictured above].

Admittedly, most who would have known him then were children, and it is now 39 years since he passed away. Still, as an author of popular children's books and having spent years as a schoolmaster, one might have thought he would be among the more memorable characters around the club in Budleigh to local youths.

Did his speech impediment (perhaps the lisp with which he endowed the new boy, "Pongo," in his children's novels) preclude him socializing with people he didn't know very well? Pongo's impediment was brought on and made worse by anxiety, especially social anxiety, and perhaps that was something Mills also battled throughout his life.

Did years spent away from schools—after 1938-39, we are only sure he taught in the summer term of 1956—diminish his ability to relate to the young? He did serve in WWII as a paymaster, and perhaps he left the service and spent years as a civilian in a clerking/accounting capacity, in a small office or dreary cubicle, having his joie de vivre drained from him daily.

And, as a childless widower who had no known nieces or nephews, it's uncertain how much contact he might have even had with children after leaving Seaford in 1956 through his last days by the sea in Devon. Perhaps precious little.

For whatever reason, it still remains difficult for us to get to know George Mills, this agreeable and very social man no one can quite remember!

Anyway, Judy will be sorting through some items and may have photographs to share—something to which I will be looking forward. Until then, many thanks to everyone who has made it so pleasant to have asked the question: Who Is George Mills?

Croquet, Reading, and the Times Crossword Puzzle

Chris Williams is an archivist of The Croquet Association and has access to all Croquet Gazettes of the period in which the Mills siblings played. While he has offered some very comprehensive data that I hope to share soon, the final part of a recent message I received from him was simple and quite moving. I’d like to share it here.

“The April 1973 Croquet Gazette (Number 125) contained an obituary for George:

G.R. Mills

George Mills was a late starter to croquet, but his exuberant and loveable personality made him a welcome member of the game. He became a keen and enthusiastic player until ill-health caused his interests to turn to reading and the Times crossword puzzle. He will be much missed by his many friends at the South Western tournaments and the Budleigh Salterton Club, who wish to extend their sympathy to Agnes and Violet Mills.

G.E.C

Gerald Cave I assume.”

It can be difficult to find out much about Mills, the man, and not simply dates and events that fit neatly on a timeline. As near as I can tell, George Mills played his last Advanced game of croquet in 1970, and Mr. Williams may be able to determine if that’s correct. He was 73 years old at the time, and he was victorious playing alongside his sister, Violet Mills at Budleigh on 26 June. So much for the data.

In this obituary, however, we find a sympathetic figure in Mills, a man we can begin to understand, not simply an acknowledgment of the death of a person who found himself too old to take to the lawns any longer.

Mills, keen of mind and a former author even in his last years, occupied himself with reading and his beloved Times. With his home, Grey Friars, literally just a few hundred feet from the Croquet Club, it’s easy to imagine Mills alternately watching play and scratching at the crossword on a fine summer day, sitting amid friends in a light sea breeze before heading inside for some bridge.

Presumably, even during that final period of ill-health, Mills made it to the club now and then for as long as he was able. He was a keen and witty observer of people, as we know from his writing, and others seemed to gravitate to him. It's hard to imagine him staying away if he felt up to it. Recently his physician, Dr. David Evans, said of the Mills siblings (perhaps pointedly in the case of George here), "They would go to Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club under all circumstances."

We'll never actually know Mills. But we can, in fact, see him reflected in the eyes of others and in the places he chose to spend his life. Thanks for the obituary, Chris, and thank you once again to everyone who helps me inch ever forward in getting to know George Mills.

"Ya Can't Tell the Players Without a Scorecard!"

Despite the title above hearkening back to early 20th century American baseball (a sport that's on my mind now that Spring Training has started here in Florida for northern teams), here's a breakdown of the important characters in our ongoing story of the Mills siblings of Budleigh Salterton--George, Agnes, and Violet--on the equally verdant croquet lawns of England, 1950-1971. If possible, they all have been listed with their associated club, and I've done my best to record their accomplishments on the lawns and any positions held.

If you can add any information about a player or their affiliations, offer a photograph (or a better image), or could suggest adding another interesting or important player to this list, please don't hesitate to let me know--and thank you! I will update information and images as frequently as I can [Last update: 15 July 2011].

Now, please scroll down to see the players...

	Agnes Edith "Aggie" Mills Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club Won the 1953 Luard Cup at Roehampton; for Agnes's prize lists, please click HERE
Violet Eleanor "Vi" Mills Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club Accomplished amateur in golf, lawn tennis, and croquet; participant in tournaments in all three sports throughout England; for Violet's prize lists, please click HERE
	George Ramsay Acland Mills Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club Schoolmaster, author, and veteran of both World Wars; for George's prize lists, please click HERE
Barbara May Chittenden The Compton Club at Eastbourne The wife of Mr. Hugh F. Chittenden, former Head Master of Newlands School in Seaford, Sussex
	Veronica Claire "Vera" Gasson Hurlingham Club Secretary of the Croquet Association, 1960-1970
Lt.-Col. Gerald E. Cave Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club Croquet and Tournament Secretary, 1965-?; 1974 Manager of Great Britain's MacRobertson Shield Series Team
	Mrs. Geraldine Cave Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club Gerald Cave's mother, with whom he lived
J. G. "Guy" Warwick Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club South of England Championship, 1962; Referee, MacRobertson Shield Series, 1974; Brother of Joan Warwick
	Edith Joan "Joan" Warwick Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club Played on MacRobertson Shield winning team in 1963; CA Women's Champion, 1960, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1968; Captain, British Wanderers Women's Hockey Team; Author, Umpiring for Women's Hockey, 1971
E. A. "Tony" Roper The Compton Club at Eastbourne Former Head Master of Ladycross School, Seaford, East Sussex
	Maurice B. Reckitt President of the Croquet Association, 1967-1975; CA Men's Champion, 1935, 1946; Surrey Championship 1934; South of England Champion, 1950; Author, Croquet Today, 1954; Played on 1956 MacRobertson Shield winner
Evelyn Aimee "Aimee" Reckitt Ranked Women's Tennis Player: 1922 (58th); 1923 (28th); 1924 (60th); 1925 (72nd); 1926 (78th); 1927 (62nd); Epsom Tennis Finals, 1923, 1925, 1926 Wimbledon, 1923, 1925, 1927
	Lady Ursula Abbey The Compton Club at Eastbourne? Well-known Breeder of show dogs at Cruft's; a noted outdoorswoman and shooter
Maj. John Roland "Jack" Abbey The Compton Club at Eastbourne? Renowned antiquarian book and manuscript collector, entrepreneur, and veteran of both World Wars; Tournament croquet player as far back as Brighton, 1913
	Rev. Canon Ralph Creed Meredith East Dorset Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club New Zealand Badminton Champion, Singles, Doubles, Mixed, 1927; Doubles co-champion, 1928; Player on losing MacRobertson Shield team (New Zealand), 1930; Past President of both the New Zealand Badminton & Croquet Associations
Sir Leonard Daldry Cheltenham Croquet Club? Referee, MacRobertson Shield Series, 1974 Banker and Senator of Federal Legislature, Nigeria
	Mrs. Alex Fotiadi Bowdon Croquet Club Member of Bowdon C.C. from 1939 until her death in 1990; Club President, 1972-1981; Donor of Bowdon's Novices Silver Challenge Bowl, 1957
Dr. Harold John Penny Winner of the Faulkner Cup, North of England Championship in 1939, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1951
	Isobel Marion Roe Cheltenham Croquet Club CA Women's Championship, 1961; British Women's Ski Champion, 1938-1949; 1937 (Downhill) & 1939 (Slalom & Alpine) Skiing World Championships; 1948 GB Winter Olympic Team, St. Moritz, (Slalom, Downhill, Combined); 1948 Ladies Lowlander Champion; President, The Ladies' Ski Club (England), 1957-1960; Guiness Book of WorldRecords, 1986, Most British Women's Ski Titles Held
Bennett Gregory "Bill" Perry Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club Played on Great Britain's MacRobertson Shield winning team in 1974; winner of 12 tournaments from 1966-1981
	Dr. H. R. "Herbie" McAleenan The Compton Club at Eastbourne Beat E. A. "Tony" Roper in the X Handicap Finals at the age of 83 at the Saffrons in 1964
Dr. William P. Ormerod East Dorset Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club Played on MacRobertson Shield Series winning teams, 1956 (age 19), 1963, 1969, 1974; Won CA President's Cup, 1966; and Men's Championship, 1970; 7 time winner of Open Doubles Chamionship; 9 time winner of Parkstone Dorset Salver Open (54 years between his 1956 and 2010 victories); Current UK/Ireland Ranking: 97th (2011); Donated Wm. Ormerod Trophy to Austrian Croquet Federation, 2006; now coaching golf croquet at Swanage Croquet Club; won Delves-Broughton Open Golf Croquet Doubles Championship in 1954 at the age of 17 with A.E. Stokes-Roberts

[Update (8 July 2011): Many thanks to Budleigh's Judy Perry for the colour photographs used here!]

Worthy Adversaries of the Mills

Last time we attempted to look at the achievements of George Mills and his spinster sisters Violet and Agnes Mills in croquet tournaments ranging from Cheltenham and Roehampton to Budleigh Salterton and Eastbourne.

The Mills siblings weren't on the field of play alone, however. Many names flicker past one's eyes as the small print of The Times sports page is winnowed, searching for "Mills." Some friends and foes are even gathered in the 1974 photograph [left] taken at Budleigh Salterton during the 1974 series played among Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand for the MacRobertson Shield.

Here's a look at the players who most commonly matched up either alongside or against George, Agnes, and Violet. I've transcribed their name as they appear in The Times, as well as adding Christian names as they are provided in the extremely useful Bowdon Croquet photo archives:

Player	Appear- ances	As Partner	As Opponent	Together vs. Mills	Record vs. Mills
Mrs. V. C. Gasson (Vera)	18	10	8	–	2 – 6
Lt. Col. G. E. Cave (Gerald)	14	7	7	–	7 – 2
Mrs. G. E. Cave    (Geraldine)	5	0	5	–	3 – 2
CAVE TOTALS	19	5	14	3 times	10 – 4
Mrs. H. F. Chittenden (Barbara)	12	3	10	–	3 – 7
Dr. H. J. Penny (Harold)	7	0	7	–	1 – 6
C. H. R. Penny	2	0	2	–	1 – 1
PENNY TOTALS	9	0	9	1 time	2 – 7
Miss J. Warwick (Joan)	7	0	7	–	5 – 0
J. G. Warwick (Guy)	6	2	4	–	4 – 0
Miss I. M. Roe (Isobel)	5	0	5	–	7 – 2
A. J. Cooper (John)	6	0	6	–	4 – 2

The column of the table headed "Paired vs. Mills" indicates how many times a pairing played as partners against one or more of the Mills. This is important because as the Caves (Lt.-Col., and his mother, Mrs.) beat the Mills twice [Lt.-Col. Cave is pictured, right], they each put a win on their record versus the siblings even though only one game was played. This happened in the loss the Caves suffered at the hands of the Mills. Dr. H. J. Penny and C. H. R. Penny also fell to the Mills as a pairing, losing one game.

Also, I do not know if the Warwicks (Miss J. and J. G.) were related [Update: They were brother and sister]. They never played in a pair against the Mills, and I'm leery of assuming they are relatives, although they both seem to have beaten the Mills sibs like the proverbial drum! On one day, 6 May 1966, J. G. Warwick [pictured below, left] defeated the Mills twice as George and Violet each were scratched.

An oddity in the line of Mrs. H. F. Chittenden, of Seaford, East Sussex, is that she is recorded as both a partner and a foe for playing a single game: On 10 May 1968, she defeated Miss Violet Mills and Sir Leonard Daldry [pictured far below, right] by 12, playing alongside George Mills.

One last item: Although Miss I. M. Roe matched up against the Mills clan on only 5 occasions, she played 9 games during those tilts. Roe played Agnes for the Women's Championship at Roehampton in both 1961 and 1962, winning both times by tallies of (+4, –2, +17) and (–5, +19, +12).


Here's a table of notable nemeses/allies of the Mills siblings:

Most Individual Appearances	Mrs. V. C. Gasson—18
Most Frequent Partner (w/Mills)	Mrs. V. C. Gasson—10
Most Frequent Opponent (vs. Mills)	Mrs. H. F. Chittenden—10
Most Frequent Pairing (vs. Mills)	Lt.-Col. & Mrs. G. E. Cave—19
Most Victories (vs. Mills)	Lt.-Col. G. E. Cave & Miss I. M. Roe—7
Most Losses (vs. Mills)	Mrs. H. F. Chittenden—7

A last bit of information before closing today would be an examination of the singles handicaps of the Mills trio across time. One last table for quick viewing:

	First Year of Singles	Initial Handicap	Lowest Handicap	Final handicap (1971)
Miss A. E. Mills	1950	+3	+1½	+3½
Miss V. E. Mills	1956	+2	+2	+2
George R. A. Mills	1958	+10	+4	+4

[Update: You can find more accurate information on handicaps by clicking HERE.]


As we can clearly see, Violet indeed must have been the best athlete of the three, taking a handicap of 2 onto the lawn for her first tournament game. George, however, made the greatest improvement in his croquet, beginning as a 10 handicap and, in a decade and a half, shaving that down to 4.

It appears that these handicaps improved over time, but were never diminished until Agnes rose from a 1½ to a 3½. During the 1971 season, for example, when Agnes was 76 years of age, The Times archive tells me she lost her four tournament games played by double-digit scores of –20, –23, –10, and –16. In the very last game she was scheduled to play, she retired. Clearly, the aging warrior of the lawns from the Mills family, Agnes, was losing some of her game. The final loss by retirement, at home in Budleigh Salterton on 6 July 1971 to M. B. Reckitt, might have been particularly hard for such a competitor to swallow.

George had played two games the day before at the age of 74 and had lost both by scores of (-15) and (-13). In fact, the Mills family is recorded as having played just one game after Agnes could not take the field on the 6th of July in 1971. On that same day, Violet Mills defeated C. Edwards (+5) in the first round of Level Singles at Budleigh. I've scoured The Times, page by page, over the next several days and there is no record of Violet, aged 70, having played a subsequent tournament game at Budleigh that year despite her 1st round victory. In fact, I cannot discover any of the siblings having played another tournament game. Ever. Anywhere.


[Update: This correct information came from Chris Williams of the Croquet Association:

Looking in the 1970 Gazettes I can see that George played in the July
week tournament at Cheltenham (13-18 July)

He lost to Isobel Roe and Christine Bagnall in the first rounds of the B
Class event. It was played as a draw and process which everyone gets two
chances to progress in the event. He lost his first game in the handicap
knockout to FW Meredith (0), playing off a handicap of 4 and lost in the
first game in the handicap doubles playing with RN Bateson, who I think
it still playing croquet nowadays.

I cannot find any evidence of any of the three of the Millses playing
after 1970.

Thanks, as always, very much, Chris!]


Over the next few posts, we'll take a look at some notable opponents of the Mills clan at tournaments from 1951 through 1971, including a surprising connection to the teaching career of George Mills!