Members of Broadstone TTC in Dorset met for a memorial dinner to celebrate the club’s centenary.
About 50 past and current members were present and every participant received a copy of the Centenary History booklet of the club compiled by Jim Hoare. Below, Bournemouth & District TTA Phil Hadley Outlines the history of the club.
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The Broadstone Table Tennis Club (BC) was founded in 1925 by Ab Haynes. In those days it was called the Broadstone Athletic Club (BAC). Ab Haynes was a local businessman and a talented table tennis player. He decided that he wanted to learn how to play the local youth, mainly boys, how to play table tennis.
Initially he used his own house as the ‘clubhouse’, but it soon became too popular and decided to build a good clubhouse on the site of the Oude Lavendelfabriek, which he owned, and borders his house at station approach in Broadstone. Lavender Hall became the home location for BAC and it also offered a series of other facilities for the local residents.
BAC began to play competitive table tennis with various other clubs and organizations and in 1931 the Wimborne and District Table Tennis League (WDTTL) was founded, with Ab Haynes the driving force and first president. BAC entered various teams in the WDTTL and by the early 1930s there were more than 200 players who participated in WDTTL.
Unfortunately, a disaster struck in 1935 when Lavender Hall was burned on the ground and all facilities were lost. BAC, however, continued to play their league games and tournaments at various other locations. Fortunately Ab Haynes was insured and after the Second World War in 1947 he had set up a temporary building and in 1955 a larger wooden building was put into use that offered two excellent table tennis halls and a new home for BAC.
Ab Haynes donated the Freehold of the building to the club, which was a very generous gift from the founder of the club. The ‘Houten Hutten’, as the building was loving, was the house of BAC until 1989.
BAC went teams in WDTTL, Poole & District Table Tennis Association (PDTTA) and Bournemouth & District Table Tennis Association (BDTTA). BDTTA was started in 1924, but BAC only entered teams in 1976. In addition to league games, BAC had played annual club tournaments and various members at the city and provincial level. In that halcyon days, BAC owned its own building and a strong lawn tennis section and social section, which were important activities in addition to table tennis.
In 1989, BAC decided to leave the old wooden huts and sell the Freehold and to contribute the yield of £ 40k to the local authority to enable a Broadstone Community Center (BCC) to be established. Two new halls were provided in the new community center and BAC brought all its table tennis activities to the new location.
BCC offered excellent table tennis facilities, but the atmosphere of the old club faded. The social members left the club and in 1999 the tennis area folded. It was therefore decided to rename the club and it became the Broadstone Club (BC), only a table tennis club.
Nowadays there are around 50 active players who compete in the WDTLL and BDTTA. The annual tournaments are still being held and although the very early tournament winners have been lost, the Honors Boards are completed from 1950 to the present.
On June 27, the club held a dinner in the Broadstone Golf Club to celebrate his centenary. About 50 past and current members were present and every participant received a copy of the Centenary History booklet of the club compiled by Jim Hoare. A very memorable and pleasant evening was had by everyone present.
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