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The History of Weybridge Angling Club

This brief historical overview of Weybridge Angling Club was compiled by Barry Ward who has kindly let us reproduce it here

If you can add to any of this with either words or pictures then please get in touch as we would love to expand this section further

Introduction

It was only in the latter half of the last century that Angling started to become the popular leisure activity that we know today. Prior to this people went angling mainly to help put food on the table, with fish that we wouldn't eat today such as Bream, Pike, Barbel, Roach and Perch regularly cooked for meals. This reliance on fishing as a source of food meant that good fishing spots were kept secret and were usually only passed on verbally from generation to generation. However as time moved on family and friends started going fishing together and eventually angling clubs were formed. In the south of England many clubs were formed along the rivers and streams that fed the Thames with Weybridge being no exception. When I took on the role of club secretary in 1990 I was surprised to discover that despite the club being formed in 1900 records only dated back to 1968 therefore there were no records detailing exactly who founded the club, in addition we were holding annual fishing competitions for club trophy’s with no idea who they were originally named after. When the club reached its 100th birthday I decided to try and find some of the answers with the help of previous members and their families.

The Early Years

Mr William James Fry

The earliest evidence of club activity is a trophy named The Captain Vickery Cup. Whilst the trophy is still in use there is sadly no record of who Captain Vickery was or indeed what his association with the club or town was. The engraving on the trophy shows the first winner as William Fry in the 1927-1928 season. William Fry’s son, also called William, has fond memories of his father’s love of angling. William was born in 1893 and preferred to be called Bill, he lived at 32 Old Palace Road, Weybridge and became the local cobbler and his shoe repair shop was situated on Monument Hill. He married in 1917 and had one son and seven daughters. He spent 9 years in the army starting in the East Surrey Regiment and later transferring to the Border Regiment. Like many men at that time fought in the 1914-1918 war. He was shot in the neck and lost part of his leg below the knee in the battle of Hill Sixty and was honourably discharged. In a letter to the club Bill’s son William tells of the day when he and his father were walking along the bank of the Wey Navigation canal down stream of the bridges towards the Thames lock (Now known as section one). They met up with another member, Jack Cotton who was fishing and they started talking.

Mr Fry snr with Mr Fry Jnr

Mr William Fry (Jnr) with a 6lb barbel from the R Wey

“The King’s Shilling”

William Fry Jnr was staring at a silver shilling on a chain attached to Mr Cotton’s pocket Albert Watch. “Like my silver shilling do you lad?” “Yes Sir” he replied. “Well there is quite a story to it” Jack said. “I was fishing for pike at this very spot and I cast my spinner just across by that tree on the far bank, when I hooked into the biggest pike I have ever seen. I played that fish a good while when the line broke and I lost him. I was desperate to catch this pike and retrieve my tackle so I tied on a big hook and attached my silver shilling to it. I cast again and hooked into him, what a struggle and once again he broke off. I was not going to be beaten so I walked up to the local tackle shop at 42 Church Street, which was run by Mr. & Mrs. Harry Gemms a shop that sold everything, and purchased a new spinner with a wire trace. Back on the bank, I tried time and time again all the way to the Thames lock with no luck. I walked over the footbridge and saw something gleaming in the sunlight in the water over on the far bank below the lock. I cast my line and hooked into a huge pike. This time he was not getting away and after a good fight the fish was landed and I was able to retrieve my tackle – it was the same pike.” With mouth agog, I asked, “Did you get your shilling back sir?” “No son” he said, “only three pence, the fish had to pay nine pence to get through the lock”.

Mr Jack Cotton.

Not a lot is known about Jack Cotton however Bill’s son William clearly remembers that Mr. Cotton lived in the first house on the left past the famous Ship Inn on Weybridge high street.

Mr Joshua Millson

Mr Joshua Millson was a member in 1905. Again not a lot is known about him. However his son, Mr. D. Millson joined the club in 1948 and served on the committee until the early 1960’s when work commitments forced him and his family to move away. After his retirement, he returned to the Weybridge area and rejoined the club. He was made an Honorary Member in 1993

Mr Reginald Plant

Mr Reginald Plant, lived at 34 Old Palace Road, Weybridge. He was born in 1903 and passed away in 1981. He was an undertaker and gravedigger by profession and apart from angling he kept and bred parrots. Mr Plant was the second ever winner of the Captain Vickery cup in 1928 / 29. His wife also fished and her name appears on the old Coronation cup

Mr Reginald Plan

Mr Edward Squires

Edward and his brother Charlie were a couple of colourful characters in the Weybridge area around the late 1920’s. Ted it is said used to ride his bike around with a 12-bore shotgun strapped to the crossbar. Charlie lived at 34 Monument Road and was president from 1974-1981. The family connections are there again as Edwards’s grandson; Steve, who won the junior shield in 1968 and was our secretary for a while later on.

Editors note: Steve Squires also helped introduce me to team fishing, at which we had some success at Angling Times Winter league level, unfortunately he stopped fishing and eventually succumbed to cancer at to young an age

The First World War

There are, I am sure, many more members whose names have been lost in time, many of our founder members fought in the First world war (1914-1918.) Some of the club members returned with appalling injuries including Bill Fry, but this did not stop him and others taking the club forward

Twenties and Thirties

During the twenties and thirties the club flourished with fishing matches between the many clubs that had now started up along the River Wey and Thames. Most matches took place on Sundays as for many members this was their only day off as it was customary to work a 60 + hour week. Some club matches took place outside of Weybridge such as Windsor, Henley, Pangborne and Lechlade, which most members cycled to. Matches also took place on smaller rivers such as the Cuckmere around Alfriston in Sussex where a coach would be hired from from the local coach company. However little did they know that within a few years they would see the start of another World War.

The Second World War.

The day war broke out was a Sunday and there was a match that day on the Thames opposite Doyle Carte Island. It was known that an important announcement would be made by Mr Attley, the then Prime Minister, at 11pm. Young master Fry was told to go home and find out about the news. This news is now part of the history of the Second World War. Subsequently the match was abandoned and all the members adjourned to the Lincoln arms public house. Club matches were cancelled between 1941 & 1943

The End of The war - A New Era

The end of the war saw the dawn of a new era and the revival of the club. Working hours were down to around forty eight hours a week and although rationing was still in place generally people were better off, with paid holidays, and a new national health service to benefit the nation. Having Saturday afternoons off was now common which in turn meant more time to go angling and it was fast becoming a hobby that the whole family could participate in.

Mr Fred White

Fred White joined the club in 1934, he told me that as a young lad of 12 he used to dig up worms, take them down the river at Dockett Eddy Lane and sell them to the fisherman to help supplement the family income. He and his wife lived in Sheepwalk, Shepperton, where he also worked and rose to become head gardener. Fred was exempt from military service, something he told me he had regretted all his life. "I wanted to be with my brothers at the front fighting for King and Country". Fred served on the committee from 1982 and was club president right up until his death in 1999, earlier he had wanted to stand down, however he was held in such high regard by members that they persuaded him to stay on.

Editors note: When I knew Fred I was still relatively young and it wasn't until speaking to Fred myself that I learnt that he grew up in Sheepwalk, which is a stones throw away from where I was growing up on the Laleham Rd and I spent a lot of my youth fishing down Dockett Eddy Lane, treading the same steps that he trod some 50-60 years earlier, I'll always remember Fred, he was a real gentleman, the like of which you just don't seem to get these days

Mr & Mrs Fuller

Percy and Martha Fuller joined in 1943 and were instrumental in rebuilding the club after the war and taking us into the sixties. Percy was a paint sprayer and during his career worked for Vickers (British Aircraft Corporation), A.C.Cars and Hill Signs in Chertsey. Percy and Martha had a son called Alan who also joined the club and serves as our Club President and can be found on most matches throughout the season. His parents were also members of the Blackboy Angling club, which was a gravel pit on the Blackboy Farm. Many members of Weybridge were also members of this club until the early 1980’s when the gravel pit was filled in. Most of the fish were transferred to the River Wey and the Wey Navigation canal. The carp that were transferred were of the same family gene as a famous fish called "Clarissa". You'll remember that "Clarissa" was caught by Dick Walker in 1952 at Redmire pool and weighed a massive 44lbs. "Clarissa" was eventually transferred to the aquarium at London Zoo

Editors note: Me again, Although Percy is no longer with us (we have a memorial trophy in his name) I would like to tell you of my overriding memory of Percy, As a junior fishing a club match one day Percy (now in his 70's at least) came up to me and said could I help get a hook out for him? As I turned around I imagined that he would be holding a fish, but no, he had a size 14 hook firmly imbedded in his lower lip. Now, I'm not good with blood, so had to ask him to go and find Alan, his son..!

Mr Percy Fuller

Percy with a fine brace of Thames size bream (remember size limits?) caught from the Black Boy Lake. The tall popular tree over his right shoulder is still there next to the river today.

And Percy again with a brace of Roach from the R Wey

The Fifties and Sixties

This period in the clubs history saw a revival in angling, this was mainly due to yet a further reduction in the working week meaning people had more leisure time. Fishing club membership was steadily growing across the board therefore enabling clubs to afford to rent more waters for their members to fish and obviously landowners making more revenue. However the River Thames from Staines through to London Bridge remained available for all to fish thanks to a clause in the Magna Carta. During these years Committee meetings were held at the Ex-servicemen’s Club and the British Legion Club as well as at members homes. The general revival also saw more shops selling equipment and accessories for the enthusiast. Maggots were known as Gentles and cost 6d (2½ pence) per pint and were cleaned in sawdust. Silver Cloud ground bait was very popular and was made by Sprats it cost 1/- (5 pence) for 1 pint or 1/6d for 2 pints and came in cloth bags. Some of the early Fishing tackle shops in and around the area were Mr Talents Newsagents and Tackle shop in the High St Shepperton, Walton Tackle in Bridge St Walton-on-Thames and Mr and Mrs Thurbrough, ran Sports of Weybridge, which carried a small amount of fishing tackle. Interclub matches also became more popular and new trophies such as the Field Cup & the Lord Rabjohn Shield (which later became known as the 5 aside Wey navigation Shield) were introduced

Club Members and guests proudly gathered for a presentation dinner at the Ship Inn Weybridge.

Photographs from another presentation dinner show Mr and Mrs Plant receiving prizes from Dr Sam Beare.

The autumn of 1968 saw some appalling weather which resulted in wide spread flooding in the area with many bridges closed over the Thames and its tributaries, and it was in this year that the Wey Navigation Amalgamation was formed. This meant that as many clubs in the area as possible could now fish the canal at a rate that was affordable for each club. The amalgamation was initially formed of Weybridge, Byfleet, Blackboy, Skeet & Jeffes Addlestone, Clark Equipment, Send, with the Metropolitan and Surrey Police forces joining later.

The Wey Navigation canal has played a key part in the clubs history. The canal was originally constructed because the River Wey was not suitable to carry cargo between Guildford and the Thames at Weybridge. So additional navigational channels were constructed and the canal opened in 1653. The origins of the canal however date much further back to 1521 during the reign of King Henry VIII. The King gave the manor estates of Sutton, which are near Guildford to Sir Richard Weston for his loyal services to the Crown. Sir Richards’s descendants bought the bricks, stone and timber that were used to build the locks from Oatlands Palace, which had been demolished. It was hoped when the canal opened that its links with the River Thames and London would revitalize Guildford town, the link with the River Arun would allow various cargo including components for making gunpowder from Tillingborne to be shipped to London and the South coast. The Wey navigation was still a working canal up to the late 1960s, and was passed in to the care of the National Trust in 1964.

The earliest notes that exist for a committee meeting are from the 8th May 1968, minutes from all subsequent meetings from then on have been retained. These provide an interesting and detailed insight into the politics and running of the club at this time. It was decided during the 1970/71 season that the club would appoint an honorary life member based upon services to the club. The first such award was given to Mr Eades

The Seventies

During the 1971/72 season Mr D Young was elected as the clubs first ever match captain, this appointment came amongst concerns that match rules had become very lax of late, it was agreed that on match days the draw for pegs must be made at least half an hour before fishing commenced, and that any late comers must report to the match captain before they joined the match and sweepstakes. Interestingly the notes state that all keepnets must be taken to the weighing in point, from each peg, this presumably did the fish no good at all, and thankfully this practice ceased quite quickly.

By the 1972/73 Season club membership stood at around 200, however with the country in recession and with the introduction of a 3 day week the club faced hard times and by the following season 73/74 Membership had fallen by 35% and so the annual social evening was cancelled.

The downturn continued into the 1974/75 season and finances were in a poor state due to the drop in membership again no social event was held. Things were so bad that trophies and Plaques would only be engraved when funds would allow. New measures were introduced to help turn things around, membership fees were raised, new club badges went on sale for 30p each and committee members all agreed to carry day ticket books.

1975/76 seasons saw the first social evening for 2 whole seasons held at the ex-service men’s club in Weybridge. This was a great success with a profit of £44.16p. But still more was needed 10p was levied on matches to help pay for future trophies and engravings, 50p for seniors 15p juniors.

1977/78 seasons saw the Queens Silver Jubilee and the club purchased a new cup to celebrate this historic event and the Jubilee Cup has been fished annually ever since. The Committee Cup was changed to be for the most species caught on the day the weight to be the deciding factor. This season also saw the introduction of decimalization and fees were changed accordingly to OAP 5p(1/-) Juniors 30p(6/-) Adults £1 A.C.A. £2.50 (£2.10/-)

The Eighties

Entering the 80’s the club finances were in good order with 59 Adult members, 23 juniors and 5 O.A.Ps. Weybridge Guns and Tackle shop, which was situated at the top of Monument Hill, agreed to sponsor a junior match. This was the start of a long association between the shop and the club.

In 1981 a meeting was called to discuss the opportunity of the club taking over the fishing rights for the Broadwater Lake at Walton. The club subsequently leased the Broadwater Lake from Mr John S Ricks Snr a local farmer for a minimal rent. John Ricks was happy that Weybridge were going to look after the East end of the lake on his behalf as part of the lease. Club members formed working parties and set to work clearing paths and pegs and removing dead trees and rubbish. The Broadwater Lake itself is one and a quarter miles long and is originally thought to be an oxbow lake formed from the River Thames, which was built up at the eastern end by around four metres. It was originally stocked with Carp, Bream and Tench. The lake was originally in the grounds of Oatlands Palace and this was part of the King Henry VIIII’s hunting park, which extended from Weybridge through to Hampton Court and onto Richmond Park. 1981 also saw new club rules introduced; a registration fee for new members and the club joined the National Federation of Anglers, thus allowing the club to make its first impact on the National match circuit. Tragically in November of the same year two young members were killed in a car crash whilst on a club fishing trip to Tri Lakes in Yateley Surrey. The Parents of the two young members Mr A Slater and Mr A Backhurst donated a Trophy in memory of their sons and minute’s silence is observed before the match each year.

Despite previous problems in September 1984 the Club were crowned champions of Division Four of the N.F.A. National league. The club was automatically promoted to Division Three. Because of their success a team jacket was ordered at a cost of ten pounds per person and the club paid for this. Ian and Mary Colcough of Weybridge Guns and Tackle were given a vote of thanks from the club committee for their efforts in membership sales.

The 83/84 season saw the clubs membership rise to 325. The club became affiliated to the Basingstoke Canal Amalgamation and the first coach trip for a number of years was organized to Wellington Country Park and was a great success, Mr. Fred White presented the club with a new trophy to be called the Presidents Cup and this will be presented to the winner of the coach trip or the last match of the season. However not everything was going well, there was unrest at team matches as some team members failed to show up after others had traveled hundreds of miles to practice and a report carried out on the Broadwater Lake by Dr Butterworth of Thames Water stated that the Roach had become stunted and infertile and recommended their removal. Some restocking with Carp and Perch costing £600 pounds to carry out this task, which was put aside. In other developments Chrisodine a dye commonly used to colour Maggots had been rumoured to be linked with a form of Cancer. Although some tackle shops were still using it Mr Colclough of Weybridge Guns and Tackle reassured the club committee meeting that it would no longer be used in local tackle shops.

The Broadwater Lake eventually changed hands and no fees were paid after 1989. The new owner was unfortunately not prepared to renew the previous lease but was pleased that the club had taken good care of the lake repairing collapsed banks, dredging the lake and regularly removing rubbish that had been dumped by others.

The Nineties

The Wey navigation 5 a-side championships raised over £106 for the local adult learning centre.

A teaching session was organized for Junior members but was poorly attended but committee meetings were the same with one particular meeting opening at 8pm and closing again at 8.15pm due to poor attendance.

In 1991 the National Angling Council folded leaving the National federation of anglers as the leading voice of angling and this prompted the club to join the anglers conservation association the club also began a new partnership with Horley Piscatorial Society this benefited both parties members as this increased the waters available for members to fish. Meanwhile the club was now fishing in the first division of the NFA competition despite narrowly avoiding being relegated. Relations with the Wey meadows residents association (WMRA) were strained after a number of complaints. So a meeting was held between the club and the WMRA to discuss the matter and it was agreed club would contribute a one off payment of £50 towards a new road surface. New fencing was erected and parking signs and permits were brought in to be displayed inside members cars.

After much discussion a new set of scales were acquired for use on club matches.

Early in 1993 we met with the owner of the Broadwater lake and agreed a five year lease. However there was a lot work and money to be spent to get the Lake back to a reasonable standard. The NRA were very helpful and surveyed the lake and supplied some fish to be stocked into the lake. Bank repairs, tree felling and dredging was carried out by contractors and members. Around a thousand new carp were also purchased by the club. A fish rescue took place from the water board at Sunbury-On-Thames, when a filtration unit was due to be drained and demolished and the lake benefited from a free stocking of fish. The hard work carried out by all was rewarded with a rise in club membership.

Sadly at the end of the five years the cost of renewing the lease was considered to be too much.

Mr Allen Thomas of the National Rivers Authority checking a Tench during their survey of the lake

A digger dredging the Broad Water Lake March 1993 .

In 1997 the club also drew up plans to turn the swamp area on Wey meadows into a fishery. The land owner was initially supportive of this proposal but was reluctant to grant us a 25 year lease which we required to apply for lottery funding.

Also this year the match squad changed its name, the committee felt that they had lost control and input into the squad. So the Weybridge team disbanded this left a vacant place in the NFA division one match series. So the regular Sunday match members agreed to form a makeshift team to fish on the Shropshire canal. This match fell on the day of the Princess Diana’s funeral. After careful consideration it was decided the competition should go ahead. Before the match started a 3 minutes silence was held as a mark of respect. Although we did not win we avoided relegation.

In 1999 I stood down as secretary and took early retirement from work. I was made an honorary life member for my work to the club. Mr Howard Whiting took over as secretary to take the club into the next millennium

Editor again: May I publicly Thank Barry for all his hard work as secretary and his hard work in putting together this "little" bit of club history. Currently Howard is still our secretary and doing a sterling job. Barry still makes it to some matches throughout the year dispite now living outside of the area and it's always good to see him.