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1927-51 The Golden Years

THE GOLDEN YEARS of the club were between 1927 and 1951 even though they were set against the backdrop of the “Great Depression”, mounting nationalism in Europe (including the Spanish Civil War), the start of the mainland bombing campaign of the IRA, and the declaration of war on Germany . The ending of the World War II signalled the beginning of the Cold War either side of the so-called Iron Curtain .

Nevertheless , the momentum of Three Spires’ success gathered pace . W. Hamiton was County President three years running and he had also achieved a hat-trick of successes as County Singles Champion , He was one of the outstanding skips in the  Club, in the wider County, and also at Middleton Cup level .

The current club room was erected in 1931 and the second green was laid in 1933 . The highlight of 1935 was the visit of the South African national team which played a Warwickshire side at Morningside and one of the County rinks was selected from Three Spires’ players skipped by W. Hamilton .  

Given that the ratification of Women’s Suffrage was in 1920, it was clear that emancipation had not yet reached the doors of Three Spires until 1935 when a Ladies Section was finally formed, though still subject to various restrictive conditions. Their hours of play were limited and prospective lady members had to be related to an existing male member . Ladies paid a guinea subscription but were only able to use what is now the club room. It took until 1950 for ladies to be  admitted to the club committee – previously a male domain – and even then they were limited to a maximum of 2 .

Before leaving 1935,  however , reference to the fixture card of that year provides a snapshot of the wide area in which Three Spires had played . In addition to playing other clubs from the Coventry area, there were fixtures further afield in the other Midland Counties of Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and Northamptonshire. There were also games against works clubs such as Coventry Coop,  Lotus , BTH , Bourneville and Armstrong Siddeley.

Moreover, the fixture card also made reference to rink competitions taking place every Tuesday at 7.15pm - perhaps the forerunner of the Tuesday Triples started several decades later in 1956 and still played today .

Also, 1935 saw the formation of the Warwickshire Women’s Bowling Association, and it found the facilities at Morningside so much to its liking that after the County had commenced using the Ladies Pavilion for their committee , selection, council and annual meetings, they were soon referring to Three Spires as their “Headquarters” .

Silver Jubilee Celebrations were held at the club on Saturday the 26th June 1937 when 14 clubs , drawn from all parts of Warwickshire , submitted a rink to play Three Spires members. It was reported in the Midland Daily Telegraph of the day that  ” The teams were provided with tea on the green followed by a supper and a social evening in the Clubhouse “ .

In the late 1930s , the Ladies Section went from strength to strength operating almost as “a club within a club” and the members had achieved not inconsiderable success in County competitions. In addition, there was a thriving social aspect to their membership with annual outings to Chester in the North West and to Weston-Super- Mare in the South West with even a theatre visit to London .

Beyond the world of Three Spires , however , the country was preparing for war in 1939 as Western Europe was heading towards armed conflict again for the second time in as many decades . After the first of the IRA bombing campaign on the mainland which took place in Broadgate , Coventry on the 25th  August 1939 , it was only in a matter of weeks that the United Kingdom had declared war on Germany .

With all its engineering skills and manufacturing capacity, Coventry had become the obvious location for the mass production of war-related hardware. It was not surprising, therefore, that Coventry became the focus and a prime target of the German Luftwaffe.  The inevitable, therefore, took place on the nights of 14th and 15th November 1940  (the beginning of the “Coventry Blitz” ) when Coventry City Centre was devastated by 449 German bombs killing 568 of its citizens .

Between 1940 and 1942, there were 41 air raids on Coventry and on either the 8th  or the 10th April 1941, a stray bomb landed on what was known as the No. 1 Green at Morningside.  A young John Grunau ( the son of one of the Club’s leading lights) remembered a stick of three bombs falling , the third of which made a crater about 15 to 20 yards from the North West corner of No 1 Green. The resultant explosions “blew down their fence, blew out their windows and caused shrapnel to strike the white stucco walls of their house” (This was originally called “The White House” but it is now numbered 27 in Morningside ). John also recalled immediate repairs being undertaken to the green to enable bowling to continue. Further reference to these repairs is made later.

In spite of this, the enthusiasm and determination of Three Spires’ bowlers could not be deterred, and they  continued to have success playing on the remaining green . The country celebrated VE Day on the 8th May 1945 and almost immediately there was a period of austerity including food rationing and a furniture utility scheme .

It was not long before the country returned to something akin to normality exemplified by the players from Coventry City F.C.  trying their hand at bowls in Morningside  on Monday the 18th August , 1947.

In 1948, as the National Health Service was “opening its doors” for the first time, W G Francis was the County President when the South African Tourists visited the British Isles again and, perhaps, it was appropriate that Warwickshire should play host to the tourists once more at Three Spires on 7 July 1948. Warwickshire included a “strong” Three Spires rink.  Francis, himself , was selected to represent Great Britain in the return tour to South Africa the next year .

H E Beard was fast becoming a leading bowler not only in the County but was also an International Trialist, later playing for his country against Australia.

During the autumn of the 1949 season, the No 1 Green was relaid at a cost of £1,291 12s 6d with its formal re-opening on the 3rd May 1950 by the then Mayor of Coventry , a club member , Alderman A V Hammond .

There was a change of greenkeeper in 1951 and the Directors must have advertised countywide because a James A Garman from Sompting , near Worthing, Sussex was appointed to the position of both greenkeeper and steward at a weekly wage of £7 “rent and rates free”.  Accompanying him was his wife who became the club cleaner at a wage of £1 10s 0d a week. The most remarkable aspect of these appointments was the decision by the Directors to purchase a house at 63 Berkeley Road, Earlsdon. This was for the considerable sum ( in those days ) of £1,800 funded, in part, by a mortgage dated 28th May 1951 arranged with the Leeds Permanent Building Society for £1,280 and this house was for the exclusive use of the Garmans with even a gas cooker being installed for them.