Halifax Bridge Club 1932-1961. Looking back over 90 years.
Part 1: The early days
The club recorded its 71 years at its AGM in 2021 and referenced a first set of minutes from 1950. These show that 24 members attended a meeting of the Yorkshire Contract Bridge Association on 26 April 1950 at the Halifax and District Ladies’ Club. Mr D.S. Rayner was in the chair. They agreed to set up a committee to represent Halifax and that a bridge club, to be called the Halifax and District Bridge Association be formed. They also agreed to hold a duplicate once a month at The Plummet Line.
The Plummet Line Hotel
The author believes that quite a few bridge clubs which can trace formal records back to the 1950s actually had an earlier active history, which probably lapsed during the Second World War. The records set out below indicate this, and these are similar to those at Ipswich BC which traces its minuted history to 1957 but was formed in 1934.
George Nelson, Champion Billiard player of Yorkshire from 1906 to 1911, and a formidable bridge player was to found the Yorkshire Contract Bridge Association in 1932. It looks like Halifax was an early member.
Leeds Mercury 18 March 1932
Yorkshire Evening Post 10 December 1932
By 1934 bridge was clearly established in Halifax.
Yorkshire Evening Post 24 February 1934
By 1936 the club was playing regularly at Palace Chambers, Southgate.
Halifax Evening Courier 20 October 1936
By 1937 Halifax appeared to be leading the way in membership numbers with an astonishing 54 pairs from the club entering the Yorkshire Pairs Championship. It is important also to note the roles of Mrs Turner and Mrs Appleyard.
Yorkshire Evening Post 20 March 1937
The hand below was played 27 times, with 9 different contracts. That seemed to tickle George Nelson, but today we could imagine an even greater diversity!
As above
In Autumn 1936 the club had won the Buxton Congress Queen Newspaper Cup for women’s teams of four, captained by Mrs Turner who was to be elected Club President in 1950.
Yorkshire Evening Post 11 September 1937
As above
The club was clearly well established by this time, in its fifth year. As for Mrs Turner, her team were third in the Open Teams of Four at the 3rd Blackpool Congress and third in the Open Pairs with Mrs Appleyard.
We can see her at the first Yorkshire County pairs trial in October 1938:
Yorkshire Post 15 October 1938
She continued her run of form that year in the Yorkshire Open Teams.
Yorkshire Evening Post 10 December 1938
Earlier in 1938 Halifax played an event at the White Swan Hotel, which was the same venue in February for an event with a staggering 36 tables, organised by the redoubtable Mrs Turner.
Yorkshire Evening Post 15 January 1938
Yorkshire Post 19 February 1938
Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 24 March 1938
As 1939 opened, Mrs Turner had a tough match on her hands for the Waddington Shield, Yorkshire’s premier Teams of Four competition.
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