On the 9th October 1928 the Derbyshire County (Flat Green) Bowling Association was Formed.The President for the first two years was The Hon.Marquis of Hartington. For its motto the Association had "Bene Societas" - Good Fellowship.
The English Bowling Federation was formed in 1945, although the grass roots of
the Federation may well be traced back some 53 years earlier to the North-East
of England, at which time the Northumberland and Durham Bowling Association was
formed when four Newcastle Public Park Clubs formed an alliance adapting rules
which differed from the stronger and more popular EBA.
News of the
"breakaway" spread to the East Midlands, and the less stringent 'Laws of the
Game' with regard to the condition of bowling greens - the use of ditches and
banks was not compulsory - in effect any reasonable grassed and level area was
considered suitable - and this, as well as a flexibility in hours of play was a
boon to a work force then working much longer hours than is the case
today.
In 1925 Lincolnshire formed an Association, and in Norfolk the
game caught on with many public houses providing greens, rather as the Crown
Green code had done some thirty or more years earlier, and in 1926 Lincolnshire,
Nottinghamshire and Norfolk formed the Midland and East Anglian Bowling
Association, and it can reasonably be assumed that from this union the EBF of
today was fathered.
Interest spread and in 1929 Northamptonshire,
Derbyshire and Suffolk came into the fold to be followed by first Durham and
then, in 1936, by their northern neighbours Northumberland. In 1945 this
amalgamation of Counties took the title by which today’s English Bowling
Federation is instantly recognisable.
Copyright (c) Brian Bevans (Derbyshire EBF). All rights reserved.
brianbevans@ebfderbyshire.co.uk