[New post] Cyril Davison and 100 years of Badminton at the Kelly Hall
David Martin posted: " It was a huge delight to meet Cyril & Margaret Davison a few days ago. They were really marvellous, set up badminton at Portrush when I was a kid, working to get the Kelly Hall refurbished and courts marked up to play there, and got the badminton clu" Portrush Tales
It was a huge delight to meet Cyril & Margaret Davison a few days ago. They were really marvellous, set up badminton at Portrush when I was a kid, working to get the Kelly Hall refurbished and courts marked up to play there, and got the badminton club up and running and doing rather well in the area leagues. Jonny Dobbin says about the 1991 photo below, "That was the year that I won the most improved player in the Ballymoney and District league. Cyril coached me - and he was the reason that me and others from the club achieved local, district and country honours."
From left: me, Sheila Brown, and Cyril & Margaret Davison (30June2022), and Jonny Dobbin, 1991
And the Kelly Hall was used too for bowling and the Church Lads Brigade, and earlier folks like May Graham telling me of going to school there, and of their family being the builders of the hall back in the 1890s, and was venue for making pantomime stage sets!
Of the Holy Trinity Badminton Club, Cyril Davison started it up in about 1970, and I started playing there when I was still primary school age. It met first in Dunluce St hall - I guess that site became the Gold Rush arcade. The club was amazingly popular, so much so that Cyril had to arrange us in pairs, lined up either side of the hall, hitting the shuttlecock across to each other - as he said, the only way to ensure that everyone got a chance to play and practice.
"Members of the Holy Trinity Badminton Club, Portrush, pctured with trophies won in a very successful season."
The club then moved to the Kelly Hall when it was refurbished. The club developed really well and there were a few of the teams at various levels in local leagues, like in the award photograph above.
League match nights, and regular club nights, and some mucking about nights. One evening we were warming up before a game, knocking the shuttle around. One comes over and I swish at it. Unfortunately my partner Kathleen Diamond reaches to catch it, to start serving to start the match. But both her hand and my badminton racquet suffered in the collision. But delivering the 'Tele meant that I had pocket money to buy the replacement.
I look for photographs of the badminton club but do you remember the 1970s, the days before mobile phones and not a million photographs of everything? I had only found the one photograph of the club, above, and Clive Shorter produced a few more, of 1977. But David Downs says, "If only we had camera phones back then, knock knees Martin wouldn't want any images wee small arse around a badminton court even if he was OK at it."
l am shocked.
I played regularly with that under-16 team, my regular badminton colleagues, though tragically later that Sandra C and Janette K, school classmates, taken away too early from us. Top right: action shot, me practicing in our house, about 1974 Lower right: little medals and prizes that were awarded, encouragement for improvement over the year (PS I have no idea why Andy H has a shuttlecock on his nose, in the photograph.)
But matches meant traipsing around to badminton clubs at back-of-the-end-of-the-earth places - Hoescht social club, the Strand club in Portstewart, Aghadowey, …. One hall out in the country somewhere, so narrow there was just room for the badminton court, with about 1mm separation to the wall. And close matches often lasted until after midnight - not good when school the next morning, and Mum and Dad didn't like it. One match I was particularly late home, after 1am - mum and dad were still up waiting, and I was in trouble. But I was saved from a worse telling-off because my brother's Hi-fi Shop in Belfast had been bombed earlier that evening and they were up, anxious for news that everyone was OK, not primarily because of my lateness. That was the first of two Hi-fi shop bombings.
About 1977, and into the dizzy heights of the Minor C league, and photos include Tom Hentry, George Harkness, Tommy Peters, Eva O'Neill, Sandra and Heather Crawford, Thelma, and Cyril & Margaret, Sammy & Sadie and 'the splendid array of trophies' (all badminton newspaper cuttings courtesy Clive Shorter)
An annual feature of the club was the 24 hour badminton marathon, for fund-raising. They were great fun, and especially the lovely cooked breakfast on the Saturday morning. We really appreciated the effort everyone put in to support the activities. Badminton marathon, early hours of the Saturday morning, I always remember, Mr Sam McGuinness come along, just sitting quietly watching, but just such as encouragement that he took the time to come out and support the event. ----------- I had thought that the club starting in 1970s was a first for Portrush, and that the marathon was a new and creative things to do - but who said, There is nothing new under the sun? I am gobsmacked to find a newspaper article of 1937, about an all-night tournament with prizes (wow when we did the 24-hour, one aimed to pace oneself to manage the duration - not a competitive tournament!).
And I see the description of the annual meeting of the Holy Trinity Church Badminton Club, in 1922, including familiar names like Alex Lee (photographer family), Lundy, and me. And badminton matches were being played by the 'Portrush Club' at the Kelly Hall, in 1917 - wow with the same newspaper page being of wartime, of the Somme and plots to murder the PM. Even in 1914 the 'Portrush Club' was making donations to Belgian refugee fund.
Discovering that badminton was so ancient in the town, I look back at the story of the 'Kelly Memorial Hall', built in 1896. Who was Kelly anyway? Well, a Church of Ireland minister who supported schooling and education as key for the community and who pushed for the development of a school, but who tragically passed away before being able to complete it. The quotation for teacher's residence and school, of 1894, below right, was to R J Martin Esq., from builders in Freddie Fleming's family, and the school opened in 1896. It was the 'outpost' of Portrush, beyond was the sandhills of the Triangle golf course.
When I played in the 1970s, badminton club nights were twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The Church Lads Brigade, CLB, with folks like buddy Kyle Miller met in the hall as well, on Fridays. And George Shorter in Hamilton Place says he was in those and also in the Bowling club - he was in the Kelly Hall every evening of the week.
The CLB started originally soon after the Hall was built, but it is pretty shocking to see the description of their activities in 1899, Empire days, of practices of shooting and bayonet drills, and stretcher drill!!! Maureen Kane shows me the CLB membership card in 1923 of her dad, our neighbour Mr Tommy Kane who worked at the primary school. With a knight in armour, it looks a bit militaristic for my liking, but I've lived in an era of largely no-war in Europe for 75 years - that is, until Ukraine.
Kelly Hall, CLB, 1966, and people have identified: Revs. Roycroft & Wilson; Rodney Magee, Jimmy Arnott, Norman Mckay, Eddie Clements, Michael McConnell, William Bacon, John Charlie, Geoffrey, Morris, Sammy Johnston & daughter Daphne (photo courtesy Rodney Magee)
Mr Kane's CLB membership card is dated 30th November 1923. If there was some form of membership ceremony or parade, it is my guess that it didn't happen at the Kelly Hall - as it had burned down in that summer.
1923, and a fire at the garage destroys about 30 vehicles and the Kelly Hall
That extensive fire at the local Stewarts garage destroyed two dozen charabangs and sedan cars, and the "most extensive fireworks ever seen in the district." The Kelly Hall was destroyed.
The Kelly Memorial School was re-built and re-opened a year later. Sheila Stirrup's research has found the class registration books in the PRONI archives, with the column on the left with the emotive, "On Roll when school was burned 19.7.23". Ray McConaghy's dad - the chemist with Sadie Jefferson in 1951 - shows me the his dad's school photo, 1928. "My dad's class, Kelly school. He is 5th from the right on the back row."
And it being 'Portrush Tales,' a story from me? It is Easter holidays from school. One afternoon, me and Kyle and George and Mark McC get the Kelly Hall door key to go in to play for a few hours. Oh, nuisance! the bowling mats are spread out. We push them over to one side and set up the badminton net so that we can play.
Later, the caretaker tells us: she had spent hours doing the laying out the mats and vacuuming them, to perfecto bowling green flatness for the match that evening. And we had just pushed them over to one side against the wall, and then pulled them back after our games. She had to do the preparation all over again. And we got the rollicking.
About 1977: Sammy & Sadie Kane, Clive Shorter, Cyril & Margaret, Tommy Peters, Thelma, Elaine Adjey, and oh dear but I can't remember all the names - well it is 45 years ago !!
As well as at the Kelly Hall, Cyril also did badminton coaching at the primary school, including to Jonny Dobbin in the mid-80s. The badminton strip and the football strip are surprisingly similar! ("Those horrible sports strips for all sports. Absolute nipple wreckers!" , says Jonny.)
Photos, 1986. Sports strip, similar between badminton and football teams? Cyril also taught badminton at the primary school, teaching Jonny in the mid-80s. Jonny: Badminton. Starting back row left. Jonny Dobbin, Miss Steele, Richard Hassan. Front row from left. Shane McDonald, Richard Kettyle, Peter Smyth, Stephen Mckenzie Football. Starting back row left. Richard Hassan, Jonny Dobbin, Edwin Burgess, Rowland Robinson, Nigel Smyth, Miss Boyd. Front row from left. Peter Elliott, Shane McDonald, Peter Smyth, Jason Quigley, Richard (Archie) Kettyle, Stephen Mckenzie, James Allen
Cyril was heading towards retirement in the late 1990s, with some months back and forth to Spain, coaching badminton to kids in Spain. Jonny Dobbin, back in Portrush after uni, stepped up to take the club forward in the late 1990s.
On the left: winners of the Ballymena & District League & Cup, 1999: Clive Shorter, Jonny Dobbin, Cyril Davison, Steven Hastings; front: Sharon Kennedy, Margaret Davison, Margaret Weir Right, back row: ladies Sharon Kennedy, Margaret Davison, Margaret, Pamela Smyth Front row: William Snelling, Stephen Hastings, Clive Shorter, Jonny Dobbin, Tommy McCarroll
Left: the junior members who represented Ballymoney and District at the Jack Wilson Trophy (all Ulster under-17 years old badminton districts) Right: the Junior badminton club in 1991. Back row left to right: Alan Stewart, Steven McMinn, Jonny Dobbin, Cyril Davison, William Snelling, Chris Graham, Richard Weir. Front row: Rosemary Payne, Katherine Snelling, Claire Mclain, Anne Hopkins, Andrea Weir
The Kelly Hall was refurbished in 2005, and with increasing demands for the hall its uses were revised.
Jonny records, "Cyril & Margaret were so awesome, they coached at the badminton club from about 1970, and they taught me at primary school sports as well, in the mid 80s. So appreciative of Cyril's coaching, and that Cyril was the reason that me and others from the club achieved local, district and country honours."
And at least as important as badminton skills, I'm sure that tact and diplomacy are important parts of any town or church activity, and with the Kelly Hall where there are a number of different groups and users vying for the hall. But I think Cyril and Margaret, and Sammy and Sadie Kane, were really great at just ensuring everything went smoothly. I think it was Sammy that pulled together a few bowling evenings, where the badminton folks would play the bowling club. As you would expect the bowling club won, but at least my rink managed one draw, our best result. I remember at that evening that Sammy spoke about the value of church togetherness and of the younger and older folks being together. Sammy was also a leader in the CLBs as well and the lads appreciated his leadership, with courtesy and respect.
And the example of contribution to the community too: sometimes with Cyril's coaching interrupted as he heard the fire station siren and dashed off to serve the community. And the club played in Coleraine and Ballymoney and Ballymena district leagues. Jonny says of lots of late nights through the week and lots of inter-district events at the weekends, and really appreciated that senior members gave up a lot of their time to ship the younger players around the church halls of Ulster and then up to Belfast for the 'majors' games.
So, 100 years of badminton at the Kelly Hall in Portrush, from early 1900s to early 2000s. So much respect for Cyril and Margaret Davison, and Sammy and Sadie Kane, and Jonny Dobbin, for the parts they played in training up youngsters in badminton skills, and in life lessons too.
--------- Photos, courtesy Jonny Dobbin, Maureen Kane, Ray McConaghy, David Martin Newspaper cuttings of badminton teams, courtesy Clive Shorter & Jonny Newspaper archive: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/
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