Northallerton Hockey Club searches for former players as it marks 75th anniversary

Northallerton Hockey Club is planning a celebratory dinner and dance at the Golden Lion, on Friday, April 29, and would like as many people with a connection to the club to attend as possible.

The town has had a hockey club since September 17, 1947, when it was unanimously voted to form a club at a meeting in the Russell Café, Northallerton.

Since then, it has grown from having a committee of four and enough members to make up a single team, to having two senior women’s teams and a thriving junior section.

The club’s first pitch, which cost £4 to rent per season, was on Harewood Lane, Northallerton, while subscription fees were set at 15 shillings per year for seniors and five shillings a year for under 18s. Match fees were six pence for home games and one shilling for away games.

Northallerton Hockey Club at Thirsk 7s in 1985

The club later played its home games at Northallerton Cricket Club before the side moved to a pitch at Northallerton Rugby Club in the late 1980s.

The transition from grass to astroturf in the late 1990s meant the club had to leave Northallerton to play its home games in Thirsk.

A winning team from Northallerton Hockey Club at a North Riding rally in 1980

To mark the club’s milestone year, its annual junior and senior presentation evenings will be combined with the celebratory event. Tickets cost £20 for adults and £10 for under 14s, and anyone who would like to attend, or who has any memorabilia relating to the club’s history, is urged to email northallertonhockeyclub@hotmail.com by Friday, March 25.

A club spokesperson said: “We think it is quite an achievement that the club has been going for 75 years and want to celebrate the fact with our past members and all those who have contributed to the successful running of the club, especially given the recent hurdles faced due to the Covid pandemic.”