“What we learn in time of pestilence is that there are more things to admire in men than to despise”. Albert Camus (the Plague).
In these strange times, when sport has quite understandably taken a back seat to the vastly more important problem of how to tackle Covid-19 and notwithstanding all the sadness and misery the virus has caused, I suspect we have all encountered examples of uplifting and noble behaviour which have affirmed Camus’ view. None of us quite know when our sports can return to normal but hopefully we would like to think that sport now has a significant role to play in our global recovery. The importance of both
physical and mental wellbeing has been highlighted by the necessary lockdown restrictions and, if the attached reports from both home and abroad are anything to go by, it is clear that the Jesters worldwide, like other sportsmen, are straining at the leash to get back to playing on courts various (as soon as it is safe to do so) and in particular to promote the cause of our amateur sports far and wide. Amongst all the more important challenges facing the world at present, here is one that we can do our bit to advance.
Turning to this last year, here in the UK we began the season by welcoming the Australian Jesters real tennis team on their first ever tour here. Jonathan Buckley’s report covers this in detail but suffice to say that they were delightful tourists, we thoroughly enjoyed having them and a fun time was had by all. In return, a UK Jesters real tennis team has been invited to Australia in February/March 2022 so do please let us know if you are interested.
As usual, we held one of our traditional weekends in Cambridge to coincide with the Australians’ visit; this was based at Selwyn, was attended by 70 or so of us, sports various were played non-stop with the highlights being two lovely dinners and a very competitive real tennis tournament, which was deservedly won by Quarry Pere et Fils defeating Harvey Rawlings and Simon Johnston in an excellent final.
Our traditional Strawson-Vaughan evening took place in early October with all our sports playing matches against their national associations. Some sport of the highest quality was on display, notwithstanding that several players, when asked which side had triumphed, remained uncertain, as they only found out after playing which side they were representing! The dinner afterwards remains a great Jesters jamboree of all the sports and all the ages assembled in happy communion. The excitement of the evening
was heightened by part of the ceiling in the dining room at Queens collapsing as we were about to dine but the staff there coped manfully and the diners took little or no notice!
The various reports set out below illustrate that the Club remains in good health, albeit that everyone’s season was cut short by the virus. Highlights among them were the squash match at Buckingham Palace (our patron was invited to play but thought it best if younger members of the household stood in for him), the amazing Edinburgh Rugby 5s tour (somehow it involved 30 matches against schools, universities and clubs over the weekend with 90 attending the annual celebration at Fettes; congratulations
Ben Hale and Dave Butler! ), the Amateur Doubles Rackets Tournament at Queens in February which we sponsored with 27 pairs participating at Queens in mid-February and the Jesters squash tournament at the RAC for the first time featuring a ladies event as well as the men’s events. A special mention in respect of the squash tournament should go to Peter Chalk who has run it and part funded it himself for 40 years; Peter decided, when squash became open and the amateur championship accordingly ended, that the Jesters would run an amateur tournament in its place (with Peter deciding on true Jesters’ principles who should qualify to play!).) Under his stewardship, it has expanded and flourished (with 5 men’s age groups and now the ladies event), the RAC kindly host it and Tim Garner (having won it several times ) now kindly taking over the reins from Peter. It is a legacy of which Peter can be very proud and a goodly crowd attended on finals’ night both to thank and congratulate him. It was also great to hear from Simon
Phillips that, following the North of England Jesters tour there two years ago, Jesters squash is thriving in Hong Kong through the good efforts of David Cross and the redoubtable James Barrington; we only hope they can persuade the leaders on the mainland to embrace better the Jesters’ ethos of fair play in their dealings with the island!
We were lucky enough to have held our annual dinner at the RAC in early March, little realising that this would be one of the last large gatherings to take place before the lockdown. We were splendidly entertained by that great rugby player David Duckham who regaled us with some wonderful and hilarious memories of rugby in the amateur era. It was also a poignant evening as it marked the retirement of our chairman Gareth Quarry who handed on the baton that night to Stephen Finch. Gareth, together with his
wife Jill, was up at Selwyn when our founder Jock was still dispensing sherry/whisky and sound advice to the undergraduates (particularly Rugby 5s players) of the day; unsurprisingly Gareth fell in love with the Club through Jock’s influence and has been closely involved ever since. He served as Honorary Secretary for 11 years in the 80s and 90s and took over as Chairman in 2010. Having fulfilled this role brilliantly for 10 years, he decided to step down in March and we are all greatly indebted to him for his outstanding contribution to the health and prosperity of our Club. Originally a Rugby 5s player, he has played all our games to a good standard and of late has been a leading
light in the development of our Padel tennis section, having honed his skills on his courts both in Richmond and Southern Spain. He and Jill have been the most generous hosts at their lovely home over many years; notwithstanding his retirement, it is hoped that this splendid tradition will continue! Fortunately for us, he has kindly agreed to remain on the Committee so we will not be losing him completely.
Sadly both the South African Jesters tour to Canada and the UK Jesters tour to the US scheduled for this September have had to be postponed because of the virus but hopefully both will take place in September next year. This will be a busy time for Jestering, as the US will also be sending a team to the UK earlier that September.
As you will see, the fixture lists for next season are all in place and we are hoping that it will be feasible for as many as possible of the matches and events to take place.
Please note that the Strawson-Vaughan evening is at Queens on Tuesday 6 October, virus willing, and next year’s annual dinner at the RAC is on Tuesday 2 March (speaker to be announced shortly). Another splendid Jesters event is our annual golf day at Huntercombe and next year the date will be Wednesday 26 May. It has been expertly run for many years by Michael Rowan who has now handed it over to Andy Rogers; it is increasingly well attended and, if you would like to play, be sure to apply to Andy in good time.
Finally, sadly, a moment of reflection for all those members whose deaths are listed below; they will be greatly missed but not forgotten, none more so than Veronica Campbell who, with her late husband Christopher and her son Alasdair, entertained so many Jesters over so many years.
Paul Robbins reports for UK S quash. 2020 will definitely go down as one of the stranger years I sit down to write the annual squash report. Usually I muse about summer sport and social activities but 2020 is certainly a year like no other. With the squash courts closed I hope Jesters have been able to find form and fitness through other activities and that all are managing to stay safe and well.
In July 2019 the Jesters were fortunate enough to play at Buckingham Palace against a team from the Royal Household, managed by Peter Frost, Master of the Household’s Department. This special afternoon of squash was by invitation from Buckingham Palace after a very successful inaugural match in 2017. The court at Buckingham Palace is situated next to the swimming pool used by the Royal Family and had been refurbished since our last visit. All in attendance were incredibly fortunate to be inside the Palace in what is a unique experience. In a highly sociable match the Jesters ran out eventual winners 3-2 with Nicky Simonds-Gooding winning the final match for the Jesters 19/17 after multiple tie breaks.
In September the annual Strawson-Vaughan Memorial Match took place with this year being the first time we have incorporated a Ladies’ string into the 5-string match. A special mention should go to both Torrie Malik from England Squash and Kip Quiney from the Jesters who played in the inaugural Ladies’ fixture. Torrie proved to be too strong on the night and won her match helping England squash to a 4-1 victory.
The annual Jesters tournament took place in February with the Men’s event continuing to be held at The Royal Automobile Club and the inaugural Ladies’ event being held at The Queen’s Club. It is fantastic to see that we now have a Ladies’ tournament and we hope to see this go from strength to strength in the coming years. Congratulations must go to Lauren Kinsey-Briggs who won the Ladies’ tournament from a field of 16. In the Men’s tournament Jamie Wilde won the main draw in an epic final against Steve
Richardson, fighting back from 2 games down to eventually win 3-2. A special mention must also go to Peter Chalk who has run and funded the Jesters tournament for 40 years. We celebrate Peter’s achievements and thank him for everything he has done for Jesters squash over the last four decades.
I am pleased to report that even in these times of lockdown, squash is still being played in some territories. A special mention must go to David Cross who has organised fixtures in Hong Kong, it is great to see the Jesters reaching new territories and that some squash is still being played while the courts in the UK are closed.
We continue to have a full list of fixtures across the United Kingdom and beyond and thanks to Henry Prideaux’s excellent work we have over 70 matches scheduled for the coming season. As always, please contact match managers to make yourself available for any fixtures that you wish to play in.
I hope we are all back on the squash court soon and look forward to seeing many of you during the season ahead.
Ronald Pattison reports for Eton Fives. Thirty or so matches were played last year and many thanks to the various Match Managers for organising those games. The Strawson-Vaughan Memorial game, always an enjoyable event with the dinner at The Queen’s Club, helped kick off the season. The EF players, having played their match at Westway Sports Centre are put under such pressure to be at dinner on time that we are now usually the first to be seated! Many thanks to Joseph Seelig for providing his usual
brilliant match report on the night, and also to Robert Lawrence and Cat Varley for bringing the whole evening together, as indeed with the Annual Dinner. A goodly number of Jesters turned out for the various games including some fresh faces, always good to see. Many of our games are played at Westminster School and although we just squeaked
in with our matches at the end of the season before Lockdown we may be badly affected at the start of next season regarding the use of the Westminster courts. We will have to see and play it by ear. My thanks to my fellow Games Rep, William Skjøtt who disappeared off to New Zealand for most of the season on some legal shindig or other (so he says)
James Tilston reports for Rugby Fives. With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Rugby Fives 2019/20 season was understandably cut short, with many of the regular Jesters fixtures being cancelled. Fortunately, however, both of the two main Jesters Rugby Fives events of the season – the Strawson-Vaughan fixture vs. the RFA and the annual Edinburgh Tour (more on both below) – took place without hindrance.
Looking back through the scorecards for those fixtures that took place, on balance the Jesters appear to have had a winning season. The accompanying match reports generally reflect triumphs of experience over youth. Whilst the result is immaterial, the combination of experience and youth has been a great success over the past few years (the majority of our fixtures continue to be against schools and universities), with the older players passing on their wealth of knowledge and embodiment of the Jesterly spirit.
The Edinburgh Tour continues to go from strength to strength under organisers Ben Hale (who has also replaced Charlie Brooks as Rugby Fives representative on the Jesters Committee – many thanks to Charlie for his dedication to the Jesters over the years!) and Dave Butler. There were more tourists than ever (54), and the annual celebration with
Fettes saw 90 attendees (a combination of Jesters, opposition players and guests). This year saw the customary packed itinerary, with 30 matches played against schools, universities, clubs and the usual mini-tournaments and grudge matches! Highlights included playing on the newly refurbished courts at Edinburgh Academy and the return of Frank Akerman alongside David Barnes to see what the organisers had been up to in the few years since he handed over the event. It was an absolute pleasure to welcome the Cambridge University team, and a particular highlight was the increase in the number of female tourists on tour to ten (a new record), allowing the tourists to take on (and lose to) the Academy girls team – a couple of recruits for next year! Thanks to hosts, players, drivers and, most importantly, Ben and Dave – organisers extraordinaire!
This year’s Strawson-Vaughan match was, as ever, a fiercely contested encounter against the RFA. As always, the fixture was expertly organised by the indefatigable Dick Warner. The result – a superb match which ended, to some surprise, in an honourable draw. Many thanks once again to St Paul’s School for allowing the use of their courts.
As ever, a huge thanks to all those playing in and managing our fixtures. Please do get in touch if you would like to play or would like to organise a new fixture – volunteers are always welcome!
Alastair Gourlay reports for Rackets. The 2019/20 Jesters rackets season was filled with some huge highs and some deep lows within the rackets community. We do not need to remind ourselves to the pausing of our way of life that Covid-19 inflicted upon us in March. But, before the pandemic, Jesters rackets thrived as matches were played up and down the country against schoolboys, clubs, and racketeers. The major highlight of our short season was the Jesters sponsorship of the British Amateur Doubles
Rackets Championship in February, skilfully organised by Jester James Coyne who also found himself as the number four seed with his Jester partner, Mark Farmiloe. A large draw of 27 pairs descended on The Queen’s Club in mid-February. A qualifying group stage kick-started numerous bun fights for the right to play in the main draw and before anybody knew it, the first semi-final was being fought out between James Coye and Mark Farmiloe against the 2018 winners, Mike Bailey (Jester) and Nick James (Candidate).
In a surprising twist it was Coyne and Farmiloe who had the last laugh and defeated the holders 3-0. It was so swift and unexpected that many missed the match due to the sponsored drinks that were being put on. On the other side of the draw were number one seeds, Tom Billings & Richard Owen (Candidates) who matched up against the Stevens brothers, Tom and Ben. With the newly world champion (Billings) in fine form from his recent challenge, he and his partner were just too strong for their opponents. Sunday’s final saw a packed gallery as these four giants of the game smashed the ball around in true gladiatorial fashion. Coyne and Farmiloe came out of the blocks fast taking the first game 15/8 with the number one seeds on the back foot. With the momentum still with Coyne and Farmiloe they fought hard to steal the second game but were pipped in the set and lost it 14/17. This proved to be their undoing as Billings and Owen slipped into fifth gear and took the final two games with ease winning 3-1. It was a terrific match outlining the hard hitting, athleticism and skill needed to play at this level.
On a low note for the season, it with great sadness to report the passing of Jester, Simon Kverndal. Simon was a very keen and supportive Jester who regularly organised the rackets parings for the Strawson-Vaughan fixture. He played countless times for the Jesters and over the years his infectious enthusiasm rubbed off on everyone who had the pleasure to grace the court with him. He will always be remembered for his wily left-handed shots and his serve that numerous opponents would not be able to return. As result,
consistent cursing was often heard which was always met and calmed by Simon’s endearing joviality. A true Jester. Onwards to the 2020/21 season. Play!
Adam Dolman reports for Tennis. This season was sadly brought to early end due to the Covid-19 situation and resulted in the cancellations of a few fixtures in March, April and May. However, we still managed to pack in over 20 fixtures across the season and we all hope we can get back to playing in September.
The season kicked off at Hardwick House with the inaugural Brigands Peripatetic Weekend, wonderfully organised by Malcolm Thorp and was followed shortly after by another chaotic evening at Queen’s with the annual Strawson-Vaughan Memorial Match (Jesters v T&RA).
A flurry of fixtures took place in the run up to Christmas. A particular thank you to Tony and Fiona Harrison, who somehow manage the fixture at Leamington and make the trip down every year from Newcastle! A herculean effort and hugely appreciated. And a big thank you also to Chris Kroeger, who has managed to resurrect the Moreton Morrell fixture in October that had sadly fallen by the wayside over the last few years.
Hardwick House continues to play host to an array of Jesters fixtures against the LRTA, the Army and the Brigands and we are extremely grateful for their hospitality.
Robert Warner has successfully managed to coordinate both a squash and real tennis fixture against Radley school on the same day. It helps the boys don’t have far to go to get to both fixtures but this is still no mean feat!
Another big thank you to Tony Friend and Corin Jenkins, who between them manage an awful lot of matches and play in even more themselves. And last but not least Astrid Drayson and everyone at Queen’s, who somehow succeed in getting us court time there without falling foul of the members.
I’m also delighted to announce two new fixtures for next season, courtesy of Bruce Burnett; the first against the RAF in October and the second against Bristol and Bath, both to be played in Bristol. Thank you to Bruce, Andy Keeley and Sam Beale for their proactive approach in getting these fixtures off the ground.
We normally end with a 10,000 word report on the Jesmond fixture from Simon Sanders but very sadly Simon has stepped down as match manager after 12 years of tireless work. We will miss Simon’s endlessly entertaining reports and want to thank him for all his help organising the Jesmond fixture over the years. We’re delighted that Alex Todrick has kindly agreed to take over.
Look forward to seeing you all back on court as soon as possible.
Tim Edwards reports for Padel. The sport of padel has continued to increase in popularity with more Jesters enjoying the long rallies involved and strong social aspect.
In particular squash and real tennis Jesters are quickly picking up the skills needed to enjoy the game and starting to appreciate its subtleties.
There are now 21 tennis federations throughout Europe that have incorporated the governance of padel into their bye-laws and in May 2019 the LTA merged British Padel into its operations. Padel is easier to pick up at the entry level and is engaging for the entire family and the LTA is viewing padel as a way to reduce attrition from tennis and to provide a fun, social and dynamic alternative.
Now with the involvement of the LTA there are more padel courts being built all over the country mostly in existing tennis and health clubs. Edinburgh Sports Club, Middlesborough Tennis World and Prested Hall are all good examples of clubs that are seeing the benefits of introducing this new sport to their members.
Jesters padel matches were played against LTA Padel for the Strawson-Vaughan Memorial Match, The Hurlingham Club, Bishops Park, Harbour Club, and for the first time a combined real tennis and padel match at Prested Hall. The Covid-19 outbreak obviously reduced the spring and summer fixtures but this coming year there are combined matches with squash at Edinburgh SC and again with real tennis at Prested Hall and a number of new fixtures and venues including Northern Jesters vs. Scottish Jesters.
Once again thanks should be expressed to our recent Chairman Gareth Quarry for his huge efforts and enthusiasm for padel and for originally introducing the sport to the Jesters Club.
Robert Mosier (President of the United States Jesters) reports for the United States. The U.S. branch of the Jesters has sustained a setback due to the Covid19 virus. The Annual Weekend has been cancelled, and many of our 500 members have been prevented from getting on a squash, court tennis or racquets court for more than 90 days. There are exceptions: Atlanta, Georgia play reportedly continues unabated as in a few other locations. Conditions are improving nationwide to the point where some
sense of normalcy is returning, and more is expected by mid-June to mid-July. Fortunately, there was no virus in Boston last September which was the site of a memorable Annual Weekend – in one word: superb. It was perceived as the largest and most successful in our history.
Notwithstanding Covid19, 12 new Jesters have been added to our membership ledger including three new female members; this brings the total of US women members to 25. The new members represent a cross section of the US – 7 are from states along the Eastern US border, 2 are from Western states, and five are from interior states.
The U.S. Jesters’ website (www.usjesters.org) continues to be refined and improved with roughly 90% of Jesters now opening emails – an inexpensive way to communicate with our nationwide membership. We continue to promote merchandise and haberdashery on the site including Jester facemasks, of course. The site is also an excellent repository of photographs for our recent events. Any international Jester who would like to visit the site should contact our IT guru, Preston Quick, who will provide a password
and login instructions. Preston.Quick@USSquash.com
The U.S. Jesters continue to publish a magazine that will be once per year from 2020 forward making it an annual report of sorts. The magazine provides a good update on activities, new members with profiles of some of our more outstanding members who tend to dominate their sport.
The U.S. branch of the Jesters Club also continues its active support and underwriting of the games we love. This includes financial support for intercollegiate non-varsity squash round robin tournaments throughout the United States for approximately thirty colleges and universities. Jesters fill the leadership roles in squash, racquets and court tennis.
As you may read in Volume 6 of the U.S. Jesters magazine, we had the first mini Canada Tour take place in midsummer 2019. It was a great success for the nine U.S. Jesters who took advantage of the mini tour.
All in all, the U.S. Jesters are alive and recovering with a slight setback due to the worldwide pandemic. This too shall pass, and we look forward to a return to normalcy.
Jon Hungerford (Chairman of the Canadian Jesters) reports for Canada. The Canadian Jesters are pleased to report another successful year for the Club.
With 430 active members, including 38 new members in 2019, all regions are thriving and continuing to support and promote the game of squash across the country along with sponsoring and fundraising for successful junior tournaments.
In British Columbia these include the Jericho Open in Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest Junior Open in Victoria. The BC Jesters raised $12,000 for their 2020 grassroots development fund from the annual Jesters Doubles Tournament and golf weekend. Tony Goodson was presented the coveted John Nicolls trophy to recognize his incredible contributions to squash in BC.
The Prairies hosted the Canadian Mixed Doubles, initiated a Bronze Series of junior tournaments across Alberta and expanded University Squash. They celebrated their 37th Annual Jesters event in Edmonton, with players of all levels coming from across Canada. Additionally, a new Jesters region is emerging in Manitoba. Stay tuned!
In Ontario the junior and university league programs have never been stronger thanks to the great efforts of the past Chairman Bert Keene. The Barry Grant Jester of the Year award goes to Jeff Deverell for his outstanding support of the junior program.
The Quebec Jesters continue their primary mission of supporting junior and university squash. This year a new Quebec university squash league was expanded for competitive intercollegiate play. Their “Squash Urbain” program for junior development, based in Montreal, is also thriving.
In 2019 the Atlantic Jesters hosted 11 fellow American Jesters, which they hope to make a reciprocal event. Fun was had by all!
The 2019 Lapham Grant Matches were held in Montreal, which saw fun matches and competitive camaraderie between Canada and the United States. For full info https://www.laphamgrant.com
A huge thanks to Bert Keene for his tireless passion and support, which has ensured the Canadian Jesters are in great shape. The Club continues to play a vital role in the development of squash across Canada and we all appreciate being a member of such a positive like-minded group.
Garth Van Rensburg (Chairman of the South African Jesters) reports for South Africa. Whilst 2019 was probably the busiest year ever for the South African Jesters Club, from early March this year has been a disaster, which is a fate that I am sure most of our regions are finding themselves in. At the time of writing, squash is still out of bounds according to our lockdown rules, and we are not sure when the game will reopen. To make matters worse , the South African rules of alcohol consumption are stringent, so we are not sure when a normal Jester fixture will be allowed (I might point out that most of us have become accomplished Bootleggers), but no doubt it will be extremely festive. Our outgoing tour to Canada has, in consultation with the Canadian Jesters, been postponed to September 2021 as they do not believe that it will be possible to host a normal tour this year.
As mentioned on the positive side, we played record amount of matches last year. This included the normal club fixtures and against many of our local schools. Large Jester groups took part in tours to St. Francis Bay, The Dave Short in Pietermaritzburg and the Gerry Brink Doubles tournament in Knysna. It is refreshing to see how many of our members are contributing to the game in South Africa. From the Chairman of Squash SA to the President of SASCOC (our Olympic committee), all are active Jesters which
highlights that contribution is at the core of our movement. We continue to work closely with the inner-city squash body, Egoli Squash run by Jester Glenn Lazarus, who were honoured by the Laureus Sports awards in 2019 for their contribution to the development of squash amongst the under-privileged in our country.
In September we hosted the Canadian tour to our country in reverse order, starting in Johannesburg and finishing in Cape Town. By all accounts, it was very successful and bodies and livers took a severe beating – but all survived. The St. Francis Club welcomed them for three days for one of their annual tournaments pairing the Canadian players with local players for the doubles event.
All the best for the rest of 2020, and we do hope that we become post-Covid as soon as possible in order for our activities to continue.
Jonathan Buckley (Australian Representative) reports for Australia. The 2019/20 real tennis season saw an active Australian Jesters programme, with matches at Hobart, Melbourne and Ballarat clubs, the revival of our fixture with Sydney-based tennis players, plus games with the Wanderers and the MCC real tennis section.
In September 2019, six Australian Jesters and their partners enjoyed the first official Australian Jesters Tour of the UK, travelling in two people movers to 15 courts at 13 clubs for 11 matches over 15 days. The games played were lawn tennis, real tennis, squash, Eton & Rugby Fives, croquet, skittles and padel; billeted and entertained throughout by countless Jesters, including two magical nights at Northfields, with Alasdair Campbell, Veronica and Millie. The tour party of Jonathan & Katie Buckley, Tom Daly, Dick Friend & Julie Hayes, Howard & Suzanne Mason, Andrew Gould & Merrin MacKay and Nicholas Rooke, played at All-England, Hardwick, Wellington, Holyport, Seacourt, Petworth, Newmarket, Cambridge, Prested Hall, Jesmond Dene, Manchester, Leamington Spa, Moreton Morell and
The Queen’s Club.
The pace was frenetic for our band of finely tuned athletes, for only towards the end of the tour did they begin to stumble. From the WhatsApp chat group: “Where’s the van?” said Player 1 to the Team Captain. “Will you get your van to the club by 9.45 as my tennis gear is in it and I am playing at 10am”. Team Captain to Player 1: “You have the van”. Player 2: “Well spotted skipper”.
The rotation has set the UK tour of Australia for 2021/22, when we look forward to returning the generosity of our hosts. Thank you to Robert Dolman, Stephen Finch, Gareth Quarry and their team for setting the standard in Jesters tour organisation and hospitality.
With the pace of development accelerating for a Sydney court, a team from Sydney played the Jesters in Melbourne in September 2019. James Willis led a team that included
Jesters Chris Cooper, Tom Dery, Michael Fitzgerald and Brian Robertson. In December, Jesters gathered in Hobart for our annual match, coinciding with the Hobart Real Tennis Club’s annual dinner at the Athenaeum Club. In early 2020, triumvirate matches were held in Ballarat with the Wanderers, and at the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club with the MCC, with the latter being the last fixture at RMTC before the Covid-19 lockdown.
New Jesters welcomed during the year were Chris Cooper, Greg Cornish, John Emery and Michael Fitzgerald, Jonathan Hiller, Brian Robertson and Chris Nobes.
Two of our most senior Jesters, and delightful gentlemen, passed away during the year: Gordon Cope Williams, a great character of our game, who’s passion and drive led to building his real tennis court at Romsey in Victoria. And Paul Wheeler, an outstanding contributor to real tennis, as RMTC President and ARTA Chairman, and a fine player with friends across the real tennis world.
The President has been informed during the year of the sad loss of the following UK and Overseas Jesters:
Michael Allen (UK Jester, elected 1960), Tony Atilia (Canada ON, 2012), David Balls (UK, 2005), Dr. Monty Brink (SA, 1983), John Burton (UK, 1950), Mrs Veronica Campbell (UK, 2006), C R (Dick) Clarke (UK, 1950), Gordon Cope-Williams (Aus, 2001), Sir Michael Edwardes (UK, 1982), John Garfield (UK, 1953), Richard M K Gracey (UK, 1958), Jimmy Hense (USA, 1995), David Hebblethwaite (UK, 1968), Simon Kverndal (UK, 1979), Dr Robin Lush (UK, 1953), Jeremy Lyon (UK, 1958), Commander Philip M Marcell (UK, 1984), Group Capt Don McClen (UK, 1964), R H B ‘Bobby’ Neame (UK, 1958), Tony Palmer (UK, 1975), John Paul (UK, 1953), Peter Pyemont (UK, 1963), Dave Short (SA, 1985), Bryon Smith (UK, 1959), Dr.Colin Sparg (SA, 1990), Tim Tyler (USA, 1969), John F M Walker (UK, 1974), Peter C Watson (UK, 1962), Paul Wheeler (Aus, 1999), Peter White (UK, 1975), Anthony Wilson (UK, 1999).