The Early Years of Deando
The following was compiled and written by Neville Rainford:
Deando Cricket Club was founded in 1950 by Post Office employees who took the Club’s name from the initial letters of their two Departments, DEvelopment ANd Drawing Office. The Club’s original ground was Green Lane (Recreation Ground), New Malden.
No playing records exist for their first two seasons but it is reported that they were all out for 11 in one game. The original Committee consisted of F H Edwards - Chairman, P E Turner - General Secretary and T Lovelace - Treasurer.
In 1952, E L (Ted) Marsh was appointed as Captain, the Club played 25 matches, the next season D Courtice took over as Captain, the Club played 22 matches, winning and losing 8, no draws with 6 matches abandoned or cancelled.
The 1952 Fixture List discloses a preponderance of games against public sector works’ opposition: Ministries of Agriculture and Supply, National Assistance Board, Metropolitan Water Board, Hampton Court Gas and Inland Revenue, representatives of local offices who played on local cricket grounds. The Team played once a week, mainly Saturdays with an occasional Sunday and Thursday.
In 1955 the Club moved its home ground to Manor Park, New Malden. F H Edwards was elevated from Chairman to the new office of President.
From its inception, Deando CC saw the advantage in engaging with local dignitaries including local Members of Parliament, Kingston Mayors (past and present), local business people who helped the Club with free or inexpensive Room Hire for General Committee Meetings, etc., and founder members and recently retired players all of whom were approached to become Vice Presidents.
In 1958, Jack Hesketh took over as General Secretary, a position he was to hold for 18 years. The Club also commenced with the post of Match Secretary to coordinate getting the teams out. The next year Deando made their, then, highest score of 274-4.
From 1960 it would appear that Deando started arranging both Saturday and Sunday fixtures. 1960 also saw Deando’s first Annual Dance with a live band and MC. These events developed into ‘Grand Dances’, held on a Saturday evening in January, for some time at Surbiton Assembly Rooms in their Small Hall. In 1973 163 tickets were sold.
While still on the subject of Grand Dances, they made £419 profits in the years from their inauguration in 1960 to 1973. The Club canvassed for and received donations and raffle prizes, volunteers from members’ wives prepared prizes and sold raffle tickets, Committee Members controlled admissions as ‘Doorkeepers’ and sold tickets and Club Photographer Doug McKenzie took an extensive array of event photos which he was happy to sell for a small contribution to Club funds.
In 1963 the Club moved grounds again, this time to King George’s Recreation Ground, Tolworth, where the Club remained for the next 18 years. The pitch hire then cost 18/6d (93p). Interestingly, the Council (the Borough of Surbiton at the time) employed (or hired) a caterer, invariably a ‘tea lady’, at King George’s Field pavilion. At that time a letter from the Town Clerk asked the Club to cooperate with the caterer, whose contact details were supplied, by letting her know the Club’s requirements as early as possible. By the next year, King George’s was the only ground in the Borough where the Council was responsible for a Caterer. The Club also booked winter nets at Surbiton Lagoon from January through to April 1964.
This move to the new ground must have suited Bill Qinn’s batting as he amassed 1056 runs in 1964 at an average of 55.5. That season the Club completed 35 games
By May 1965 the General Secretary was already requesting the 1966 pitch allocation. This was necessary to make the contacts and arrangements for fixtures for the 1966 cricket season. However, due to Local Government reorganisation, the response, now from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, advised of delay due to the extra work being generated by this restructure, priority bookings were winter 1965-6 before they could start work on Summer 1966. The Council documentation arrived on 13th October and was completed and resubmitted by Jack Hesketh on the 15th.
There had been requests from several Clubs who hired Council pitches to bring the start of the season forward to the last weekend in April. On 30th December 1968 the Council wrote to all hiring Clubs to say they couldn’t do that as it left inadequate preparation time after the end of the football season but, for 1969, the Council would extend the cricket season to the second weekend in September.