Several members of the Club have enquired about the origins of the Krauth Cup and, with the help of Michelle Krauth's daughter, some interesting pieces of bridge history have been discovered.

Michelle Krauth presented the Cup to the Heath Club in 1965 and since the 1990s, when that Club merged with Cobham Bridge Club, it has been competed for annually by our Club.

Michelle Krauth was born in Grenoble, France, and started playing bridge at the age of 12. In 1940 she married an English dentist and settled in Walton-on-Thames.However, it was not until the 1950s and 1960s that she started playing bridge seriously and was obviously a very gifted player.  She won the Ladies Open Pairs in Blackpool in 1952 and began a partnership with Mary Edwards who played for England. In the 1960s she ws selected to play for Surrey 'A' team and won many tournamenets with Mary and also with Jack Boyd-Barrett.  Her partners over the years included G.C. Fox and Tony Priday.

Michelle was a member of the Heath Bridge Club, and for many years she captained the bridge section of Burhill Golf Club.  In later life she continued to play bridge at Cobham-Heath Bridge Club and Burhill Golf Club into her eighties, passing away in 2006 at the age of 94 after an illustrious bridge career.

The connection between Michelle Krauth and Mary Edwards remains to  this day as, each year, the winners of the Krauth Cup are eligible to play for the Mary Edwards Trophy which is presented by Surrey County Bridge Association.