Presidents and Chairmen

STUART MacRAE:

Stuart MacRae was the first Captain of Newark Golf Club and its President for many years up to 1927. He was a gentleman of many talents. He was a gifted amateur in an age when the lucky few had the time and money to pursue their leisure interests even to the extent of com­peting at the highest level.

It is difficult to believe so much could be crammed into one life: to play international foot­ball, cricket for the MCC, scratch golf, tennis, squash, billiards, shooting and even ice hock­ey. Stuart MacRae did all of these things and more. He was intensely musical and excelled at the violin. 'He was frequently seen with the orchestra on Newark concert platforms'. He was made a JP in 1915, at one time sitting regularly at the Newark County Police Court in Appleton Gate. He was a member of the Royal Company of Archers, Kings Bodyguard of Scotland.

He was born in 1855 and worked for the firm of Messrs Thorpe & Sons, malsters for over 40 years. He was its managing director when it was taken over by Gilstrap, Earp & Co in 1919. He then joined the board of Gilstrap, Earp and remained a director until his death. (His brother John married a Miss Gilstrap and under the terms of the marriage settlement changed his name to John MacRae-Gilstrap.)

Stuart MacRae was interested in all forms of sport. In the amateur days of Notts County Football Club he played regularly for them at centre half. Although a Scot he was capped to play for England against Scotland and against Ireland in 1883 and again in 1884, and against Wales in 1883. His football career was effectively brought to an end when he broke his leg playing for Newark Town in a match against Grantham Rovers.

He was a good cricketer, both as a batsman and a fielder, and played regularly for Newark Town as well as playing on various occasions for the MCC, of which he was a member.

He was very fond of tennis and had a squash rackets court of his own at his Newark home, Handley House in Northgate. He was a fine shot, a good billiard player, an adept skater and enjoyed hockey on ice!

He was a member of both Belton Park and Newark Golf Clubs and on at least one occasion won the Lincolnshire County Championship. Although he remained President of Newark until his death in 1927, he actually left Newark in 1918 to live at Rhu Lodge, Tarber, Loch Fyne, but visited here from time to time. He suffered great sadness when one of his two sons 

Capt John MacRae, of the Black Watch Regiment, was killed during the First World War.

Stuart MacRae died on 28 January 1927 at his London residence, 42 Seymour Street, Wl. His body was taken by train from London to Inverness and then by hearse to Clachan Duich in the wilds of Kintail, Rosshire. He had been head of the Conchra Branch of the MacRaes of Kintail and about 200 of the clansmen of the district met the hearse at the outskirts of the vil­lage. The coffin was then carried shoulder high to the family burying ground, the cortege led by a piper playing Loch Duich and The MacRaes March. Mr Cherry-Downes was one of the pall bearers.

The newspaper report of the funeral records that 'the day was beautiful and the grandeur of the surrounding hills was in keeping with the solemnity of the occasion'.

ENOS SMITH:

Enos Smith succeeded Stuart MacRae as President in 1927. In proposing him, Harold Mumby reminded members how much they were indebted to Mr Smith for the ownership of the Course. It was largely through him that they had been able to buy it. He added that Mr Smith was a very keen member, one of the most useful members of the Committee and a scratch golfer.

Enos Smith lived in the White House in Millgate, Newark. This house had until 1911 been the home of Thomas Earp, a partner in Trent Brewery just 100 yards down the street. According to a 1995 article by Tim Warner in the Newark Advertiser, Mr Smith was a wire rope manufacturer from Sheffield who wished to live away from the seat of his industrial empire. He ran the White House along the lines of a country residence. In addition to an impressive array of servants and staff, he also maintained a steamboat on the Trent and a vine­yard in France. Once a year he opened the gardens at the White House to admit Scouts for their jamboree.

By 1937, he was living away from Newark and he said that it was not right that he should continue to hold the office of President. His resignation was accepted with regret.

HAROLD MUMBY:

Harold Mumby, President from 1937 to 1949, had the main responsibility for running the club during the very difficult war years. He was born in 1887 and was first and foremost a tennis player. For many years, he was a regular member of the Newark Lawn Tennis Club 1st Team, meeting top players from the strongest clubs in Nottinghamshire.

He joined the golf club before 1921 and was a very keen golfer although his golf never reached the standard of his tennis. A superb businessman, he was soon elected to the board, where his administrative talents were a great asset. He urged the upgrading of the club to 18 holes. As there was no available land at Hawton, he strongly supported the move to Kelwick in 1935.

He was Club Captain in 1928 and was Vice-President from 1929 to 1936. To support the club he always tried to recruit as many members as he could from among his family and friends. Many of them were persuaded to take out debentures in addition to their subscrip­tions. After his retirement from the board, he was elected the club's first Honorary Life Member.

JOHN KNIGHT:

John (Jack) Knight was President from 1949 to 1958. He owned the Appleton Gate grocery business of Knight Dickins & Co. The business closed in 1966 and was later sold to a devel­opment company. He was twice Mayor of Newark in 1931 and 1947. In 1959 he was made an honorary freeman of the Borough and the following year an honorary alderman. The group of bungalows built off Balderton Gate in 1961 were named Knights Court after him. It was largely due to him that the Corporation bought the land beyond Sconce Hills, which was developed into Devon Park. He performed the opening ceremony. In May 1958, Mr Knight told the board that he wished to retire from the position of President owing to his business ties, his many public duties and advancing years. His decision was received with regret. He died in 1975 at the age of 90.

HOWARD SELBY:

Howard Selby became President in 1958. He was a Chartered Auctioneer and worked as a partner of the firm B G Selby & Sons. He specialised in agricultural valuations and was also for many years an auctioneer at the Livestock Market, selling store pigs.

He lived at Meads, London Road, New Balderton but as he neared retirement he bought land at Balderton Lane, Coddington and built a house there. He wanted to live nearer the golf club and play more golf. Pat and Patricia Mumby now live in this house.

He has been described as a genial relaxed man who was easy to get on with 'a very nice man'. Gordon Hunter recalls that Howard came in for a lot of unfair criticism at a time when there was no money for fertilisers, for equipment or for labour. He says that in the early 1960s, for example, the club only had a greens mower that had to by pushed by hand, 'a clapped out set of gangs', and an old tractor.

Howard did a great deal of work for the club and was 'never frightened of getting his hands dirty'. He retired as President in 1973.

FREDDIE BOND:

Freddie Bond came to Newark from London in 1929 as a 20-year-old junior employee of Worthington Simpson. It speaks for his ability that he rose to become its company secretary and subsequently vice chairman.

He joined Newark Golf Club in 1951 and was elected to the board 10 years later. He served as a director for 24 years. His 12 years as Club Chairman up to 1985 covered important stages in the development of the course and clubhouse. They were difficult years financially but he encouraged the improvements and always prepared long term budgets to show how the costs might be met. By giving them his personal stamp of approval he ensured that they went ahead.

When Frank Grierson-Peel retired as President in 1979, it was decided that thereafter the President should only serve for 2 years. Freddie Bond was elected and thus held the position of both President and Chairman. The office of President was discontinued as from 1 April 1983.

He is said to have been rather autocratic but very sincere and hardworking and he loved Newark Golf Club. Surprisingly, he was not really a golfer only playing a few times every year but he enjoyed the social life of the club. He died on Christmas Day 1999 at the age of 90.

FRANK GRIERSON-PEEL:

Frank was Club Captain in 1961. He was Vice President at the time of Howard Selby's retire­ment in 1973. He was the obvious successor. However, the President always chaired board meetings and apparently Frank did not wish to be Chairman. A special board meeting was therefore called in December 1973 and, for the first time in the club's history, the directors actually elected their own Chairman.

We then had the somewhat unusual situation where for some years the club had both a Chairman and a President. Frank Grierson-Peel was elected President each year until he retired in 1979 after 19 years on the board. Ted Hastell, who was captain that year, described him as 'a man for all seasons always a smile and a pleasant word never backward in putting his hand in his pocket!'

Frank was a member of the County Mixed Foursomes team which in 1960 won the County Championship for the first time in the club's history.

GORDON HUNTER:

In 1985 Gordon Hunter succeeded Freddie Bond as Chairman. Gordon had been Captain in 1968 and in total served as a director for 21 years. For 18 of those years he was Chairman of the Green Committee and for the final four years he was also Club Chairman.

He was the last of a line which began during World War II when, to keep costs down, mem­bers would help with the work on the course and from time to time donate, beg or borrow necessary supplies and equipment. No one did more than Gordon in this respect. It was a labour of love almost from the time he joined in 1952 as a junior. Understandably, he was deeply hurt when he was not re-elected to the board in 1989. At the AGM in November 2000, members warmly welcomed the announcement that honorary life membership had been awarded to Gordon in recognition of all his work for the club.

Gordon had been an extremely good golfer in his day - category 1. As a junior he won the Captain's Prize in 1954 and the Victory Cup and Coronation Cup the following year. He won quite a number of club trophies subsequently but his finest year was probably in 1965 when he won both the Scratch Cup and the Titchfield Cup.

GERALD MARSH:

Gerald Marsh was born in 1916 and spent his working life in the Electricity Supply industry apart from the years 1942 to 1946 when he served in HM Forces, partly in India.

He first played at Newark in 1942 while home on leave. He has told us that he and his wife Margaret cycled here from Sibthorpe (his home), a round trip of 22 miles. Only the second nine holes were then in play and he remembers narrow fairways and rough two feet high.

Gerald's main sport was cricket at which he excelled and for a number of years he con­ducted all coaches examinations for the MCC in Yorkshire.

He was elected Club Captain in 1972 and became a director the same year. He served as Chairman from 1989 until he retired from the board in 1993 after 21 years as a director. He was granted honorary life membership. 

He was a founder member of the Seniors in 1977 and it seems very appropriate that now in his 85th year he still regularly plays golf every Thursday.

GRAHAM ENGLAND:

Graham has fairly recently retired as a director of a Newark Civil Engineering and Building company. He joined the golf club in September 1964 and became Club Captain in 1980. He served as a director from 1984 to 1987 and again from 1988 to 1997. He was Chairman from 1993 until 1997.

NOEL H MAGUIRE:

Noel worked for the Inland Revenue and came to Newark at the end of 1975 as the local District Inspector of Taxes. He joined the golf club in 1976 and was Club Captain in 1989. The following year he was elected to the Board.  He was Vice Chairman at the time of Graham England's unexpected departure in 1997 but because of personal and other commitments he only accepted the position of Chairman on the understanding that it would be for just one year. He did however continue as Vice Hhairman. He was Chairman of the Centenary Committee and co-author of this book.

WALTER F HUGHES:

Walter Hughes joined the Club in the 1970s while serving locally in the Royal Air Force.  When his service took him away from Newark he kept up his member­ship and settled permanently in the area in 1988 on his return from Germany.  He retired in 1990 after 36 years service, the last 8 years as a Group Captain, during which time he was for 2 years an honorary Aide-de-Camp to the Sovereign.

Appointed Club Captain for 1994, Walter was elected to the Board of Directors in 1997 and was made Chairman in November 1998; he also spent some of his time chairing magistrates courts in Grantham having been made a Justice of the Peace in 1990.

Walter's remaining links with the RAF are all golfing ones. Since 1988 he has been President of the RAF East Midlands Golf League serving on the national com­mittee of the RAF Golfing Society.

CLIVE ROSSIN:

REGINALD DOVE:

Our present chairman