The Forty Club
The Forty Club is a cricket club, established in England by Henry Grierson in 1936 and playing its first matches in 1937.
Grierson's original intention was to enable good players to enjoy cricket into middle age. In a letter to a prospective opponent in 1937 he explained who would play for the club: "Qualifications – over 40, good fellows, and useful cricketers. Professionals as well as amateurs. No sub., each paying his own exes." The first match was against Wellingborough School on 19 June 1937.
The club plays matches against schools with the aim of developing and encouraging cricket in schools. The players were originally required to be over 40 years old, though that was subsequently reduced to 35. Further, for the years 2013/14 the age bar has been removed completely as a move to encourage all age groups with membership now open to anybody over the age of 18. It is reputed to be the largest wandering cricket club in the world. The Duke of Edinburgh is the club's patron. Currently it enjoys some 140 fixtures against schools and youth XIs each season, plus a further 75 or 80 fixtures against clubs during the school holidays, and regular winter to various parts of the world.
History of The Forty Club
Henry Grierson wrote this in his opening article in The Cricketer magazine on May 14th 1960.
“The Forty Club, whose present membership exceeds 1350, is composed of cricketers past and present over 40 years of age irrespective of class creed or colour. In addition to its membership in the UK it is represented strongly in Australia and New Zealand: across the African continent; and throughout India and the Far East. There are also members in the USA and the West Indies. Thus it covers the whole world where cricket is played.”
He happened to be passing his old school Bedford in 1934 and went to the ground in the hope that there was a match on. There was. The School was playing The Incogniti. His old friend Shirley Snell, skippering the Incogs, met him and asked if he was still playing. ‘No’ was the answer: Grierson was now devoted to golf. “Did Snell enjoy playing cricket with folk much younger?” “No – but he would prefer to play with folk his own age but at the time that was not possible.”
Could it be? The seed of an idea had been planted. Grierson felt that if it were possible to raise a sufficient number of fellows of 40 years and over who were reasonably good players, they might be sharp enough to handle some of the schools. Batting should be adequate, there were some qualms about fielding, and if the professionals joined in, the bowling would be good enough for what he had in mind.
By 1936 Grierson had made up his mind to form something called The Forty Club, and started looking for an Honorary Secretary. Then he wrote to a number of his old cricketing friends, invited them, got their acceptance, and the Club was founded in the winter of 1936. The inaugural matches in 1937 would be against Wellingborough School and the Old Bedfordians.
He went on to design a club tie – it would be dark blue silk with little XLs in silver dotted about. Beagley & Co was engaged to produce it at 7/6p apiece or a guinea for 3.
Upon invitation, Sir Pelham Warner and Mr Jack Hobbs both agreed to become President and Vice President respectively in 1937.
In 1938 the membership had risen to 116 including many famous names – Lord Aberdare, AER Gilligan, Patsy Hendren, WW Wakefield. The first dinner was held this year in the Junior Carlton Club and the 6 courses cost 10/6p. CB Fry was the speaker and went on for so long that Pelham Warner had to pull him to his seat by his coat tails. Jack Hobbs played in the 1938 side against Bloxham School and made 85 not out, and then took 3 for 34 in 11 overs. By the end of 1938 committee meetings were held in the Finsbury Distillery in London. It was reported that the Minutes had to be written later when the Secretary was sober.
Thereafter and over the years an increasing list of cricketing greats joined the Club – Gubby Allen in 1939, Herbert Sutcliffe, Ernest Tyldesley, Percy Fender and Frank Woolley.
In 1939, in a match against Rugby School, the Forty Club opened with Jack Hobbs , and Dick Twining , and they were followed by WG Quaife , GTS Stevens , WC Farnsworth and N Haig . WE Astill , M Howell , RT Stanyforth joined. By 1949 the membership had risen to about 500. By 1956 the number had reached 1000. In 1958 Mr Menzies, the Prime Minister of Australia was made an Honorary Member and in 1960 Mr Nash, the Prime Minister of New Zealand was elected.
In 1959 a link was created with the United Sports Club in Whitehall Court which XL members could join on advantageous terms, and committee meetings would be held there.
The 1959 annual dinner was held at the Park Lane Hotel at which 500 people attended. The following year the list was closed at 534. The popularity of the dinner was – and is – attributed to two factors – meeting so many old cricketing friends and to the quality of the speakers.
In 1954 a Golfing Society was formed and played its first match on October 4th at Wimbledon Park GC. There were 20 competitors. From this modest start there sprung a successful Society which stages a Spring and Autumn Meeting each year and nowadays enjoys some 35 fixtures a season.
In the 50s and 60s the list of famous names who joined and played for the Club continued to impress, such as Denis Compton, Reg Simpson, Len Hutton, Peter May, Alec Bedser and Fred Trueman.
By 1960 the Club membership had risen to 1450. Father Time continued to take his toll and new members joined. A positive link was created to the Dutch seniors cricket club, known as Still Going Strong , and tours were established with them. A link to a Danish seniors club, Dansk XL, was formed some years later.
In 1962 David Bacon, manager of Whitehall Court, put forward a scheme for the Club to take over premises at 2 Whitehall Court which had been previously tenanted by the Lady Golfers Club. These premises were opened at a reception in May of that year. Subsequently in March 1968 The Farmers Club offered The Forty Club the use of their bar and committee rom following a programme of reconstruction. Permission was confirmed in July 1969 and one room, later to be christened as The Forty Room, was allocated to The Forty Club for their committees use and as a place to store their cricketing memorabilia.
In the next 40+ years the nature of the game has changed little; the management of the Club has changed little, but the famous names are not there. The membership peaked at just less than 4000 and then fell back to 3000 or so with 150 overseas members. The Golfing Society had some 400+ members and the bank balance was healthy.
The cricket climate or cricket environment has changed markedly however. The Club still wishes to focus on those players at the time they are leaving league cricket, and some younger, but the growth of the county over 50s, 60s and 70s means that those who want to play only with their own age group can do so with ease. Therefore the Club faces a constant challenge in its recruiting efforts to attract the 30 to 40 year old.
The highlight of the dinner circuit was when the Duke of Edinburgh, Patron of the Club, attended and spoke in 1974. He had consented to become Patron on November 1961 and at the 1974 dinner 998 folk attended. The Forty Club dinner continues to be a significant event in the Club calendar – the list of speakers over the years reads like a veritable Who’s Who of the cricket and wider world - but more and more the majority of attendees are not Club members. The dinner currently is held in the Long Room at Lords where the maximum attendance is 200 and the ‘top table’ continues to seat a list of legendary cricketing greats.
Nowadays, the Forty Club divides its membership in UK into 12 districts each with their own managing team, and all operating under a central executive and corporate strategy. Membership now stand at around 2200; fixtures overall remain at the 200+ mark with the primary focus remaining on schools and youth cricket; there is an annual Inter District tournament; the annual fixtures against SGS and Dansk XL have grown with the inclusion of Cricket Espana and there is now an annual Quadrangular Tournament; overseas tours continue to travel to far off and exotic lands, and the annual Handbook is produced. In this digital age, great use is made of the Club’s website, email predominates, ‘virtual’ meetings can be held via video conferencing.
On the field of play, the attraction for those ‘slightly senior’ 30+ year olds, and many older, to play schools matches at some of the finest grounds in the country, and the desire to inspire young men and women to play and enjoy cricket, remains undimmed and undiminished.
“In every generation are born a few people who, at a comparatively early age, decide to devote their lives to developing ideas for the welfare of others, and leave a monument behind them. I feel that the Forty Club, through the energy and focus of Henry Grierson, was founded in that spirit and will live for a long time – surely as long as cricket is played – to help the young and the not so young.”
Geoffrey Howard,
Secretary Surrey County Cricket Club, August 1971.