Sport 1952-53
Colts Rugby
Photo from Les Thomas. Thank you, Les.
Back Row L-R: Mr.Taylor, Dyson, Dave King, Colin Appleby, Alec Wall, Barber, Thacker, Mr Swinbank
Middle Row L-R: Caleb Taylor, Nunn, Les Thomas, Joseph Pearson, Brian Moore, Yates, Longden
Front Row L-R: Arthur Tickle, Thomas C
Some names have come from Caleb Taylor. Thank you, Caleb.
First XV Rugby
Photo contributed by Terry O'Marr. Thanks, Terry.
Back Row L-R: Mr Leonard, Wall, Jones, Trueman, Secker, Ward, Smethurst, Dillon, Mr Hamilton
Middle Row L-R: Storr, Poole, O'Marr, Sale (Capt.), Stead, Frost, Warden
Front Row L-R: Hebden, Birkinshaw, Butcher
This year the 1st XV has not been doing as well as in recent years. We have only won about half our matches but have consolation in the fact that several were lost by a very narrow margin of points. The chief difficulty has been to find and re-build the pack, but after much experiment a work-manlike 8 has eventually been settled upon and as a result towards the end of the season we were winnng almost every game.
The 2nd XV has had a poor season chiefly owing to the limited talent available, but their redeeming quality is that from their ranks have come one or two "new discoveries" who were promoted and have served the 1st XV well.
JONES, J. At the beginning of the season he had the misfortune to sustain an injury that kept him out of Rugby till after Xmas. He started well, and showed promise, but towards the end of the season his play has deteriorated a little.
POOLE, M., (Treasurer) A fast and elusive winger whose natural football ability stands him in good stead on the field. He can tackle hard and low but at times should go harder for the line.
FROST, R. A reliable partner in the "middle" who relies on weight rather than speed to beat his opponents. His passing, tackling and kicking are beyond criticism, so that he can play proficiently when called upon, at full back.
HEBDEN, W. A newcomer to 1st XV football. Playing out of position on the wing he has shown the makings of a fine footballer and with a little more weight and experience will undoubtedly do well.
STEAD, J. R. W. (Vice-Captain) Playing behind a new and inexperienced pack he has taken, a hammering this year. But has occasionally shown his brilliant football ability in spite of these odds. His injury at the end of the season will keep him out of the 7-a-side, which is a great loss indeed.
BIRKINSHAW, C.R. (Secretary) Like his fly-half he has had quite a rough time behind the scrums. This may have made him a little tired in the play. His tackling is sometimes at fault but with a little more weight and experience he will put this right. Occasionally he pulls off a good relieving kick but should not let it become an obsession.
SECKER, B. A 2nd row forward who has adapted himself to play prop. His height makes him useful in the line-outs but his play in the loose could be improved.
WARDEN, A. A prop forward who works hard in the tight and loose but he must realise that absolute fitness is essential for a forward.
WALL, P. A newcomer to school rugby who has won rapid promotion to the 1st XV. He has great enthusiasm and unboundable energy that is sometimes staggering in its extent. He does an enormous amount of work in the tight and loose. Keep it up, Wall.
BUTCHER, C. Quite a good hooker who, though lacking in weight and height, does useful work in the loose and tight.
TRUEMAN, T. A 2nd row forward who does nothing brilliant but is always where he is wanted. In the line-outs, loose and tight he does good work.
STORR, A. The utility man in the side who has played prop, hooker, loose forward and wing. He is fast and can easily beat his man but often, after making a brilliant break, he will hang on to the ball too long and so waste the opportunity. Watch your tackling, Storr.
WARD, B. A lock forward who possesses an enormous stride that gives him a deceptive turn of speed. His height makes him extremely useful in the line-outs. But often he does not perform to the best of his ability in the loose and tight.
O'MARR, S. T. Playing at loose forward and acting as scrum leader he has had the difficult task of leading a light and inexperienced pack. It is due to his enthusiasm that the pack has often held its own against much heavier opponents.
DILLON, T. There is no doubt that he is one of the most improved players in the school. His tackling and spoiling make him a great menace and handicap to his opponents' half backs. His work in the loose, line-outs and tight is very good.
SALE, E. (Captain) Sale's skill and experience have been of the utmost value to, the side. Powerful in attack and strong in defence he has gradually built up a winning team out of a XV which started the season lacking cohesion and dogged by ill-luck. Selected as Captain for Sheffield and District he reached the final selection trial for the Yorkshire team. (W.J.L.)
RESULTS Played, Won, Drawn, Lost
lstXV. 15, 6, 2, 7
2ndXV. 9, 4, 0, 5
Hockey
Individual Criticisms.
Goalkeeper A. GREETHAM. A steady player. More accuracy needed in footwork. (Efficient Secretary and Vice-Captain).
Right Back E. TATE. (photo above)Is a reliable Captain who has a strong drive and good stickwork. She holds the defence together in a sensible manner. (J. E. Parkin).
Left Back E. LILL. Rather slow but is developing a drive.
Right Half J. FOREMAN. Must learn to come back and help the defence after losing a tackle.
Centre Half S. LILLFORD. Distributes the ball well and has a strong hit. Always manages to get back and help the defence. Must not use reverse sticks as often as she does.
Left Half V. MANNING. A strong scheming half who is dependable but tends to be rough.
Right Wing J. TAYLOR. Has developed an excellent centre pass. Is very speedy when in charge of the ball.
Right Inner M. KNAPTON. Combines well with the wing but must take every opportunity of shooting.
Centre Forward B. ACKROYD. Holds the forward line together. Tries very hard but is rather erratic when shooting.
Left Inner J. NUTTALL. A younger member of the team who will prove useful in future teams.
Left Wing M. MATHERS. Stickwork but she is rather selfish with the ball and needs more attack.
Out of the 12 matches played so far this season, I match has been won, 3 drawn and the rest have been lost. We look forward to a better season next year. The team has tried hard in all matches but the forward line must gain more confidence in the circle and the defence must be persistent in backing up. On behalf of the team I should like to thank Miss Parkin for her help and encouragement. I should also like to thank Miss Metcalfe for letting us use the Domestic Science Room, and Mr. Rhodes for his excellent care of the pitches.
E. Tate (Captain) L6A.
Hockey Rally 1953.
On March 20th, 1953, we held our first Annual Hockey Rally. Teams from eight schools competed in this event. They were from Barnsley H.S., Castleford G.S., Doncaster C.C., Goole G.S., Ossett G.S., Pontefract H.S., Thorne's House G.S., and Hemsworth G.S.
These eight teams were divided into two sections and each team played the other three in its respective section.
The winners of each section, Thorne's House G.S. and Hemsworth G.S. played in the Final in which Thorne's House beat Hemsworth by one goal to nil.
The plaques for the winners and runners-up were provided by Castleford G.S. and Hemsworth G.S., respectively. The shields were presented by the Headmaster.
We are grateful to all people who helped to make this a successful morning.
Colours for last season were awarded to J. Taylor. Repeat colours went to A. Greetham, S. Lillford and E. Tate.
Athletics
The school has maintained its high athletic standard. The girls now seem to have passed through their lean period, as shown by their winning the junior plaque at the Huddersfield Sports.
The 1953 School Sports were held on the 15th July. Altogether nine new records were set up, viz
Pat Brook and M. Hepworth tied for 1st place in the Junior Girls' 80 yds.; Time 10.2 secs.
A. Lockwood - Girls' Open Discus. Distance 72' 24".
Thompson, L. - Boys' (Under 15) Pole Vault. Height 6' 10".
M. Hepworth - Junior Girls' 100 yards. Time 12.5 secs.
Trueman, T. - Senior Boys' High Jump. Height 5' 4"
M. Hepworth - Junior Girls' Long Jump. Distance 14' 2".
Jordan, G. - Junior Boys' High Jump. Height 4' 2".
Price House Junior Relay. Time 1 min 31.6 secs.
AWARDS.
The Championship Cup was won by Talbot with 329 points; Price came second with 317 points; Guest third with 260 points; and Holgate fourth with 195 points. The Standards Cup and the Relay Cup were both won by Price.
The Senior Victor Ludorum was won by Sale E., with 33 points. The Junior Victor Ludorum was won by Moore B., with 35 points.
The Senior Victrix Ludorum was won by M. Butterfield, with 37 points. The Junior Victrix Ludorum was won by M. Hepworth with 344 points.
The Mile Cup was won by Baker, D., and the Half-mile Cup by Wheatcroft, T.
The 1953 Yorkshire Schools' A.A. Championships were held at Sheffield and, as members of the Ackworth and District School Sports' Association, some of our best athletes were chosen to enter The County Championships in competition with several hundred competitors from the whole of Yorkshire. We had our successes, for Joan Taylor tied for first place in the Senior Girls' High Jump, and Margaret Butterfield was second in the Senior Girls' Long Jump. Moore, B. won the Junior Boys' 440 yards in 56.3 secs., and James, H. took second place in the Senior Boys' 440 yards.
As a result of these Championships, Moore, B and James, H. were chosen to represent the County at the All-England Schools' Championships at Uxbridge.
We must also congratulate Trueman, T. who won the High Jump in the Yorkshire Open Youths' Championships, and received a gold medal for this performance.
The annual Cross Country Run was won by Talbot. The first place in the Seniors was taken by Limb, K.; and the first place in the Juniors by Moore, B.
Margaret Butterfield, L6A.
Cricket
The 1953 season was the most successful ever for the 1st XI, which won 13 out of the 14 matches played; Ackworth, Barnsley and Silcoates, our old rivals, all falling victims to the team.
There were two outstanding features of this team; the first was its excellence in the field (62 wickets fell to catches throughout the season). Only once did weak fielding let the side down; this was at Wath, when dropped catches enabled the opposition to beat us by 12 runs. The second was the "all round" ability of the team. A strong team was always able to take the field even when regular members were unable to turn out. We look forward to yet another successful season in 1954 with seven former members of the 1st XI still available for selection
The 2nd XI, under the captaincy of Richardson, G. won 4 of the 6 matches played. Of the remainder, one game was drawn and one was lost.
Back Row L-R: L. Whitehouse, C. Holder, T. Dillon, B. Ridgeway, J. Walker (Scorer)
Front Row L-R: S. Chambers, E. Chivers, J. Winter, G. Richardson, D. LAw, D. Secker, T. McCroakam
Mr. Rhodes is to be congratulated on the condition of the pitches which he prepared despite the fact that his task was made more difficult than usual owing to the returfing of the cricket square before the season began.
Fox, R. R. (Vice-Captain).
Rounders
The Summer Term of 1953 proved a fairly successful season. Out of the five games played, the 1st team won two, lost two and drew one. The 2nd team did not have any fixtures, but the Under 15 team did very well. The enthusiasm shown by the younger members of the teams was encouraging. We all hope that their keen interest and early experience will lead to an excellent team in the near future.
Margaret Connolly
Ilkley Sevens Rugby
A 'bus load of spectators accompanied the school "Seven" to Ilkley on March 28th, hoping to see Hemsworth repeat their success of last year. When the 1st of the 31 matches of the tournament began at 11 a.m. the weather was perfect for good rugby, but by mid-afternoon rain was falling almost continously to damp the enthusiasm of the Hemsworth contingent, particularly since their team had been defeated in the 2nd round.
It was unfortunate that injury had deprived the school of the services of Stead, but the team selected Sale, (Capt), Frost, O'Marr, Ward, Poole, Hebden and Birkinshaw encouraged the hopes of their supporters by a first round victory over Silcoates School (10-3). Tries, scored by Poole and Sale, were both converted by Frost.
The 2nd round match against Crossley and Potter School, Halifax, was a hard struggle in which, through errors of defence and lack of speed, Hemsworth were 6 points down at half-time. After the interval they rallied and Frost forced his way over for a try but there was no further score.
The competition was eventually won by Heath Grammar School, Halifax, for the third successive year.
J. A. Swinbank.
Netball
Although the Netball teams had little success at the beginning of the season, we feel that they have improved because the games of late have been much more evenly matched.
Quite a few of our matches this season have been cancelled owing to bad weather, but we are hoping to play the remainder of our matches this term with some success to show that we have definitely improved.
The second and junior teams are very enthusiastic learners, and I am sure that very soon a first class Netball team will exist.
We have lost two very useful members in Marina Moore and Monica Weston, but we hope that the players who have taken their places, will try to maintain the standard set by them.
I would like to thank Miss Wimpenny and Miss Saville for their excellent coaching and their perseverance with us. They have cheerfully given up their time to attend the practices, to umpire the matches and they have given us much encouragement.
I very much appreciate the help given by the members of the teams who have come to prepare the refreshments on Saturdays. All the teams have been very co-operative this year and I have enjoyed being their Captain. They have always been cheerful, despite defeat, and their team spirit and team-work have been praiseworthy. Keep up the good work and success is sure to come.
A. M. Lockwood, U6A.
Gym Competition
The Gym Competition this year was held on December 6th, which was earlier than usual. The juniors competed in the morning and the seniors in the afternoon, the adjudicator being Miss. D. Wilkinson of Castleford Grammar School.
Miss. Wilkinson remarked that the discipline, appearance and effort were excellent, though the footwork was rather poor. Posture was better in the senior section but the standard achieved was high throughout.
Forms 3B and 3M were the winners of the junior section with 83% and Forms 4A and 4S with 82% won the senior competition.
At the end of the competition the Head Girl presented Miss Wilkinson with a small gift, bought with money collected from the girls, to express their thanks.
Joan Dyson, L6S.
Rugby Under 14 XV
Back Row L-R: Mr. Swinbank, Colin Thomas, Donkin, Colin Richardson, Ray Noble, Bernard Smith, Geoff Marston, Vic Bentham, Mr. Taylor
Front Row L-R: Sykes, Tony Pickering, Brian Moore, Norman Yates, Jim Barber, Arthur Tickle, George Thompson
Some names have been provided by Colin Richardson and Terry McCroakam. Thank you.