Profile: Miss I. M. Roe

There's not much time to write today. I have a wedding to attend at the St. George Anglican Cathedral here in Ocala—Miss Pearce, a colleague from my school, will become our new Ms. Welfel—and I have a number of things to attend to before I leave.

Today, we'll look at a croquet player of the same era as the Mills siblings, George, Agnes, and Violet, whose name, as it appears within The Times croquet results, is written "Miss I. M. Roe." Searching for her on the internet was frustrating until I came upon the fact that "Isabel" Roe had won the 1960 CA women's championship. My search stalled there, at least until I received information from the ubiquitous Chris Williams of The Croquet Association containing the correct spelling of her given name: "Isobel."

Isobel Marion Roe turned out to be a world-class athlete with several references on Wikipedia, but with no page there for herself. That seemed like something that needed to be corrected, so my profile of Roe debuted there last week.

To help me get on my way, here's the Wikipedia entry I created for Miss Roe, an infrequent but interesting opponent of the Mills:

Isobel Marion Roe (24 June 1916 – January 1988) was a world class alpine skier, athletic administrator, and Advanced level croquet player.

Roe gained notoriety in Alpine Skiing in the years prior to the World War II. She participated in the 1937 Skiing World Championships at Chamonix, France, on 13 February. She finished 10th at 6.47.8. [1] In 1938, she was ranked Great Britain's Women's Ski Champion, a position she would hold throughout the lull during the Second World War, until 1949. In 1939, she again competed in the World Championships, this time in Zakopane, Poland. Roe skied in the Slalom on 15 February, finishing 19th with a time of 375.9, and placed 17th in the Alpine Combined on the same day with a total time of 531.4. [2]

At the height of her career, Roe lost years of competition and training to WWII. Following the conflict, Roe became the Ladies' Lowlander Champion and performed on Great Britain's Winter Olympic Team, both in 1948. She was 31 years of age when she competed in the Alpine Slalom (23rd overall, 2:49.6), Alpine Downhill (27th, 2:47.3), and Alpine Combined (23rd, 34.91) at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games, and the first held since the 1936 Winter Olympics in Bavaria, Germany. [3]

Following her career as a competitor, Roe served as the President of Great Britain's Ladies' Ski Club from 1957–1960. She founded the Ski Club Reps Course, Junior Championships, and the Schoolgirl Races. The Schoolgirl Races were founded in conjunction with Liz Fulton, and were originally organized for girls in finishing schools in Gstaad, Switzerland. [4] In 1974, Roe was awarded the prestigious Pery Medal by the Ski Club of Great Britain, a prize instututed in 1929 and named after Edmond Pery, 5th Earl of Limerick, President of the Ski Club, 1925-1927. [5]

Another noteworthy achievement, achieved far later in her career as an athlete, came when she won the Women's Championship of The Croquet Association in 1961, defeating Joan Warwick in the final, - 18, +2, +6. [6] Today, players at the Cheltenham Croquet Club still compete for tournament award called the Isobel Roe Trophy. [7]

Just before her death, Roe appeared in the 1986 edition of The Guinness Book of Records in the category of Most Tiles Held, Women's Skiing, Great Britain. Roe passed away in 1988 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Great Britain.

In addition, on 1 March I received an e-mail from the generous Ken Cooper of the Bowden Croquet Club who passed along this recollection of Roe from legendary croquet great Dr. W. P. Ormerod: "When I knew her first from about 1959 onwards she was a P/E teacher in Cheltenham and looked after her father Commander Roe. My father was a country member at Cheltenham then, and she was a very promising player later winning the Ladies Championship in the 1960's."

Commander R. C. T. Roe [pictured, right] was a longtime secretary of the PGA and manager of Great Britain's Ryder Cup squads from 1935 through 1955.

In the grand scheme of things, Roe losing the peak of her skiing career to the Second World War wasn't among the greatest tragedies of that conflict. Still, one wonders what she might have been able to accomplish had there been Winter Olympic Games in 1940 and 1944, and access to the Alps to continue to hone her skills.

You can now find Isobel Roe on Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isobel_Roe

Some Overdue Croquet Corrections

Today I'd like to make some adjustments to previous posts about the croquet playing careers of George, Agnes, and Violet Mills. This would not have been even remotely possible without the effort of Chris Williams, an archivist for The Croquet Association. I've needed much help because my real experience of the game of croquet is extremely similar to the comic at left, and I did in fact lose a tooth to my brother (circa 1963) in an imbroglio that was finally broken up by my irritated father, who'd been awakened from a well-deserved weekend nap by the din!

Almost a month ago, I finally posted information that I'd been pursuing, compiling, and disaggregating since last summer regarding the Mills and their participation in tournaments throughout England. Thanks to Mr. Williams, I am now able to rectify my mistakes, inadequacies, and misguided assumptions.

First, regarding the handicaps of the Mills siblings over time, I was in error. Here are the actual facts:

	First Year of Post-war Singles	Initial Handicap	Lowest Handicap	Final handicap (1971)
Miss A. E. Mills	1947	+4½	+1½	+3½
Miss V. E. Mills	1948	+10	+1	+2
George R. A. Mills	1957	+12	+4	+4

It may be relevant to recall that Mr. Williams noted that "most lower handicaps were increased by 2 at the start of the season" in 1958.

I had also tallied up tournament wins for the Mills siblings, and I couldn't have been farther off base. The Croquet Association's database shows the following 1st place finishes for them:

Agnes: (16 official 1st Place Prizes, including the Luard & Gilbey Cups)

1948 Parkstone (Sept) HS, 1
1949 Eastbourne, HSB, 1
1950 Parkstone (Sept) OSB 1, MSD 1
1952 Woking, HSZ, 1 divided; Challenge Cups, HSXEx, 1
1953 Parkstone (June), HD, 1; Challenge Cups, Luard Cup, 1
1954 Hurlingham, LHD, 1;Eastbourne, HS, 1
1955 Leamington, HS, 1; Parkstone (Aug), OSB, 1
1956 Budleigh Salterton, HD, 1
1959 Brighton (non-official), HD, 1
1961 Mixed Doubles Championship, 1; Gilbey Cup, 1
1962 Budleigh Salterton (July), HD, 1


Violet: (12 official 1st Place Prizes, including the Evans Trophy)

1948 Budleigh Salterton, HSC, 1
1950 Budleigh Salterton, HD, 1
1952 Sidmouth, HSC, 1; Budleigh Salterton, HD, 1; Exmouth, OSB, 1, HSY, 1
1953 Budleigh Salterton, HD, 1
1955 Budleigh Salterton (July), HS, 1, HD, 1
1956 Brighton (May), HD, 1; Budleigh Salterton, OSB,1
1957 Parkstone (June), OS, Evans Trophy, 1
1962 Brighton (September) (non-official), HS, 1
1963 Budleigh Salterton (May) (non-official) HD, 1


George: (4 official 1st Place Prizes in 10 years)

1957 Budleigh Salterton (July), HD, 1
1961 Budleigh Salterton (July), HD, 1
1963 Budleigh Salterton (May) (non-official) HD, 1
1965 Eastbourne RHS 1
1966 Eastbourne HSY 1

George was the last sibling to win a tournament, and it is fitting that the final prize came in his beloved Eastbourne. Meads, of course, is a large part of the fictionalized setting for two of George's most popular children's books, Meredith and Co. and King Willow.

It turns out that I was far from correct in yet another way. The archive search engine at The Times had turned up only 4 Final Rounds in which one of the Mills had finished as champion, one by George and three by Agnes. It turns out that the siblings actually racked up no less than 32 official 1st Place Prizes in 19 seasons, ranging from 1948 to 1966. And that doesn't even begin to account for 2nd and 3rd place prizes—certainly an amazing amount of success by the youngest three of the four children of Rev. Barton R. V. Mills!

It also makes me wonder about that search engine at The Times. While I was entering into Excel the literally hundreds of data that I spent hour upon hour, week after week, painstakingly wringing from their archives, I often wondered what percent of the whole was going to end up with? Half? A third? A quarter? I thought I'd never know.

Based on the number of final round wins that unreliable engine produced for me, it turns out the number I'd gleaned was exactly one-eighth, just 12.5%.

Now you easily can see why I am so exceptionally thankful for the assistance of Chris Williams and Ken Cooper of Bowdon Croquet Club for helping me—in the course of just two weeks or so, rather than many months—sift through what turns out to have been such a massive amount of data and players. They've done most of the metaphorical heavy-lifting in dealing with a task far more daunting than I'd ever imagined. Missing out on seven-eighths, or 77.5%, of the possible croquet data simply would have been a shame. Missing almost 78% of anyone's finest moments would be a genuine pity. The accomplishments of the Mills family on the croquet lawns of the era may not have been elite at the time, but it certainly was a level of success that deserved to be lauded and appreciated exactly for what it was: Remarkable.

Thank you again, gentlemen, for helping me sort through the Mills croquet years. And thank you once again to everyone who has taken time to offer assistance. In the last few days I've received even more messages from people with offers of help, new information, and even more vintage photographs.

I'll be sharing it all very soon. Stay tuned…

The Final Prize Lists: 1956 - 1971

Returning once more to what seem to have been quite remarkable years of Advanced croquet, the Croquet Association's amazing Chris Williams weighs in again with what will be the final installment of the Prize Lists of George, Agnes, and Violet Mills.

It's obvious that Agnes (born 11 June 1895), George (born 1 October 1896), and Violet (born 17 November 1902) were in what could be described delicately as their Golden Years. The lists below begin when Agnes [pictured, left, to the right of Barbara Chittenden], George, and Violet were 59-60, 59, and 53 years of age respectively.

The tournament appearances conclude in 1970 for George at 73 (he'd soon turn 74), and in 1971 with Agnes at 76 and Violet at 68 (soon to be 69).

I'm not exactly certain what those meant in England in the mid-20th century, but here in the vast retirement mecca that is Florida today, not many folks of that age is still doing much of anything at an Advanced level—although here it seems to be primarily bocce ball, golf, and a little tennis that keep retirees active.

Agnes and Violet always seem to have been athletic (we'll take a look at some of their earlier athletic accomplishments soon), as well as having a fondness for the outdoors (we know they "were keen on the Girl Guides.") They apparently kept their proclivity for physical activity going throughout their lives.

In George's case, however, we know that Mills was extremely interested in sport as evidenced by his children's books, which always feature some combination of cricket, football (soccer, to Americans), and track. If we are reading between the proverbial lines accurately, Mills even played a role in coaching preparatory school boys in these sports during his time as a schoolmaster between 1925 and 1937.

What we cannot be sure of at this point is how much George [seen, right, in a higher resolution 1957 image courtesy of Ken Cooper and the Bowden Croquet Club] played sports when he was a boy and as a young man. We may, however, gain more insight as we take a look into files remaining from his active duty in the First World War.

Meanwhile, here's the rest of the Prize Lists of the Mills siblings, 1956-1971, courtesy of Mr. Williams, Croquet Gazette, and The Croquet Association:


"I have now transcribed the remaining post war prize lists.

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.

1956
Agnes [1.5] Sidmouth, HD, 2; Brighton (May), HS, 3; Budleigh Salterton, HD, 1; Hurlingham, OSB, 3,Parkstone, OSB, 2, HS, 3; Eastbourne, HSEx, 3, RHS, 3
Violet [2], Brighton (May), HD, 1; Parkstone (June), HD, 2; Exmouth, OS, 2; Budleigh Salterton, OSB,1

1957
Agnes [1.5] Brighton (May), HS, 3, HD, 2; Gilbey Cup, Block "B", 2; Parkstone (Sept), OS, Deshon Cup, 2;Eastbourne, RHD, 3
Violet [1.5] Parkstone (June), OS, Evans Trophy, 1, HSX,3
George [12] Budleigh Salterton (*July), HD, 1

1958
(Most lower handicaps were increased by 2 at the start of the season)
Agnes [3.5] Brighton, HS,3; All England Handicap, 2; Budleigh Salterton, HD, Le Mesurier Challenge Cups, 3; Challenge Cups, Council Cup, Div 2, 2; Eastbourne, Devonshire Park, OS, 3
George [10] Cheltenham, HSB, 2; Budleigh Salterton, HSC, 3

1959
Agnes [2.5] Ladies Field Cup, 4; Brighton (non-official), HD, 1; Eastbourne, OSB, 2
George [10] Budleigh Salterton(July), HS, 2

1960
Agnes [2.5] Budleigh Salterton(July), LSB, 2; Gilbey Cup, 2, "B"; Brighton (non-official), HS, 2, HSY, 3 [2]
Violet [3.5] Budleigh Salterton(July), LSB, 3; Parkstone (Sept), LSB, 2
George [8] Parkstone (Sept), HSC, 2, HS, 3; Eastbourne, LSC, 3, HD, 2

1961
Agnes [2] Mixed Doubles Championship, 1; Ladies Field Cup, 5; Budleigh Salterton (July), HD, 3;Gilbey Cup, 1 [1.5]
George [7] Budleigh Salterton(May), HS, 2, HD, 3; Budleigh Salterton(July), LSB, 2, HD, 1; Cheltenham, HD, 3 [5]

1962
Agnes [1.5] Ladies Field Cup, equal 4; Budleigh Salterton(July), HD, 1
Violet [2] Budleigh Salterton(May) (non-official), HS, 2; Brighton (September) (non-official), HS, 1 [1.5]
George [5] Compton, HSX, 3

1963
Agnes [1.5] Ladies Field Cup, equal 3; Eastbourne HD, 2
Violet [1.5] Budleigh Salterton(May) (non-official) HS, 3, HD, 1 [1]
George [5] Budleigh Salterton(May) (non-official) HD, 1

1964
Agnes [1.5] Budleigh Salterton(July), HS, 3; Ladies Field Cup, equal 6
Violet [1] Budleigh Salterton(July), HD, 3

1965
Agnes [1.5] Eastbourne HSY, 3
George [4.5] Eastbourne RHS 1 [4]

1966
Agnes [2] Budleigh Salterton HS 2 [1.5]
Violet [2] Budleigh Salterton LSB 3 [1.5]
George [4] Eastbourne HSY 1

1967
None

1968
Agnes [3.5] Eastbourne HD 2

1969
None

1970
Agnes [3.5] Parkstone HSY 2
Violet [2] Parkstone HD 3
George [4] Parkstone HD 3

...Agnes [withdrew] from the first round of the level singles at Budleigh in 1971 whilst Violet lost in the second round to Prof ASC Ross. Neither seems to have played in the handicap singles or doubles [after that]."


Note: As previously posted, here's how to read the above:

Key:
OS = Open Singles
HS = Handicap Singles
HSC = Handicap Singles C Class
OSB = Open Singles B Class
HD = Handicap Doubles
L = Ladies

The number after the event means position, so 1 = winner, 2 = runner up,3 = semi finalist. Number in [ ] is handicap.


Thank you again, Chris, very much! Your yeoman efforts are greatly appreciated...