History


The club celebrates 50 years of hockey....

The club was founded back in 1958, but only started playing matches in the following year. Much to everyone's surprise this fledgling Club proved to be a force to be reckoned with, and the Men's 1st team were soon showing even far more experienced sides how this game was played.

The 50th celebrations were held in great style at the dinner / dance up at the Heath Sports Centre. It was a fantastic event and was thoroughly enjoyed by past and present members alike. We are planning to bring some of the photos and memorabilia to the website, so keep an eye on this page....

The Royston 2nd Team from 1968 (pictured above) after their 1- 0 win over Gonville and Caius. Sadly we lost "The Baron" M.Randall in October 2013. I am pleased to say that both Peter Gibson & Mike Swann are both VPs of the club.

The Club has a long and proud heritage, and has produced many top class national and international players. The Men's section started back in 1958, with the Ladies section only being formed many years later in 1975. The Club's original home was on Therfield Heath, although fixtures were played at R.A.F. Bassingbourn and Royston Secondary School whilst the pitches were being prepared at the Heath. The first AGM was held in June 1959 at the Manor House Social Club, where it was reported that the club already had forty members on its books. In those days member subscriptions were just 1 Guinea (anyone remember how much that was?).

The fixtures moved to the Heath in the following season, with the opening game being played between Royston 1st XI and a very strong East of England XI, which included 9 county and 2 international players. Although the home side played a strong and spirited game they eventually went down 5 - 0. Not bad considering the opposition!

One of the most successful early years was the 1963/4 season, where the Royston 1st XI topped the tables with 22 wins out of 23 games, scoring 95 goals!

In the 1972/3 season, Royston hosted a very strong Great Britain side in a match to commemorate the opening of a new pitch at the Heath Club. The GB side captained then by Tony Ekins went on to soundly beat the home side 10 - 0. Several hundred spectators turned out to watch the game and support their team, and were treated to a fine display of hockey.