Hesketh Arms Bowling Club

Awards Evening 2026

Roll of Honour for the 2026 season

Below is a list of the winners in our internal club competitions and winners of the team merit awards for the 2026 season. Presentations to those on this list will be made at the Awards Evening. In addition, there will special awards made to the Club’s Team of the Year and Club Member of the Year. 

CLUB COMPETITIONS

Spring Pairs                 Runners-Up               Sue Davies & Kevin Leddy

         Winners                      Peter Croston & Darren Edgerley

Rose Bowl                   Runner-Up                  Darren Edgerley

         Winner                       Derek Wignall

Random Pairs            Runners-Up                 George Hitchmough & Kevin Morrissey

Winners                      Andy Draper & Paul Vincent

Coronation Cup        Runner-Up                  Alan Lloyd

Winner                       Andy Draper

Championship Cup     Runner-Up                  Chris Porter

Winner                       Mike Milne

Chairman’s Shield       Runners-Up                 Mal Green & Mike Stevens

Winners                      John Hughes & John McCabe

President’s Cup        Runner-Up                  Chris Porter

Winner                       Andy Draper

Vice-Presidents Pairs  Runners-Up                 John Hughes & Len Southworth

Winners                      Alec Rimmer & Derek Wignall

Last Chance Cup     Runners-Up                 Des Marum & Mike Stevens

Winners                      Steve McManus & Gareth Taylor

TEAM MERIT AWARDS

Evening Teams

Eagles (LV League Premier Division)            Mike Milne

Vultures (Burscough League 1st Div)            Andy Draper

Ospreys (Burscough League 2nd Div)           Jim Halsall

Kites (Parks League Premier Division)          Christine McManus

Owls (Maghull League 1st Division)               Andy Draper

Afternoon Teams

Kestrels (Aughton League 1st Div)                 Brian Sutton

Hawks (Aughton League 2nd Div)                   Kevin Leddy

Hobbies (Southport Vets Lge 3rd Div)           Alan Lloyd

The Team of the Year award went to Hesketh Hobbies, League, and Cup Winners. Southport Vets League Division 3

The Club Member of the year award presented to a club member who has been deemed to have gone the extra mile in their contribution to the club was awarded to STEVE MCMANUS

Our chairman, Chris Harding, devised and hosted the evening’s quiz. The winners — Derek and Kath Liddle, Kevin Leddy, Len Southworth and Gareth Taylor — were awarded four bottles of wine.

A raffle rounded off the evening, with wine, spirits and chocolates kindly donated as prizes by members attending.

The event generated £214.00 in net income to help cover the club’s running costs.

Many thanks to Mike Milne for arranging the trophies, Sue Andersen for helping with the buffet, Kevin Leddy for selling raffle tickets, and Darren Vincent and Andrea Medow for running the bar and keeping the drinks flowing. We also thank everyone who attended and donated prizes. Your support enables us to hold these evenings and celebrate our members’ achievements.

NEWSLETTER – NOVEMBER 2026I NTRODUCTION & LEAGUE TEAMS FOR 2027 For the 2026 season, our club entered 8 teams into 6 local leagues. Overall, our teams performed well, with the majority of them holding their own in the top division of their league. Below is summary of each team’s season, along with the individual merit winner for each team. The Committee would like to take this opportunity of thanking the captains who take on the task of running our teams. Without members willing to take on this role, it would not be possible to run the number of teams we do. So many thanks go to Chris Harding, Jim Halsall, Mike Milne, John Unsworth, Brian Sutton, Dave White and John Hughes. Having reduced the number of teams we have fielded in recent years, we are keen to look at opportunities to form additional teams where possible, particularly with newer bowlers in mind.Some interest has been expressed in forming a second team to play in the Southport LV League. This league is ideal for a less experienced player to get their first taste of competitive league bowling. The league consists of two divisions and is made up mainly of clubs based in Southport, so there is not a lot of travelling involved. If we entered a new team into this league, it would start off in the lower division. We have had an expression of interest from someone willing to captain this team. We now need a list of members who would like to play in this league, which takes place on a Tuesday evening, with the odd away fixture being played on Wednesday night. A minimum of fourteen players would be needed in order to get this off the ground, so if anyone is interested, please notify our LV League delegates as soon as possible. The delegates are Chris Harding (07761733024) and Mike Milne (07752352065). Alternatively, please email the Club Secretary, George Hitchmough. If any member has any suggestions for other new teams and believes that they can raise enough players to make it a viable proposition, please contact an officer of the club and we will look to provide any necessary support.  2026 SEASON REVIEW

SOUTHPORT LV LEAGUE

The Eagles continued to compete in the Premier Division of the LV League. Despite losing several players from the previous season, the team recruited well and won ten aggregates in the eighteen league games played during the season to finish in a creditable 5th place out of ten teams.

Eagles Merit Winner – Mike Milne (13 wins)

BURSCOUGH & LATHOM LEAGUE

Our two teams continued to play in the Burscough & Lathom League in 2026. In the 1st Division, the Vultures again competed strongly and for a while they were in contention at the top of the table, before eventually finishing in 3rd place for the third successive season.

The Ospreys, under captain Jim Halsall, were again playing in the 2nd Division. Despite a strong finish, which saw them win three out of the last four matches, they finished in 8th position.

Vultures Merit Winner – Andy Draper (13 wins)

Ospreys Merit Winner – Jim Halsall (11 wins)

MAGHULL LEAGUE

The 2026 season saw us enter one team in the Monday evening Maghull & District League. The Owls were again competing in the strong 1st Division and finished in a top half 5th place. They will be looking to finish even higher in 2027.

Owls Merit Winner – Andy Draper (13 wins)

SOUTHPORT PARKS LEAGUE

John Unsworth continued to lead our Thursday night Parks League team. The Kites finished mid-table in the Premier Division in 2025 but this division seems to get stronger each season and the team were close to the relegation places for a while. Fortunately, two 7-3 wins in the last three games lifted the team to 8th place, thus securing their place in the top division for 2027.

Kites Merit Winner – Christine McManus (12 wins)

AUGHTON SENIOR CITIZENS’ LEAGUE

The Committee was pleased that we were able to run two teams in the Aughton League again in 2026. Following George Hitchmough’s retirement as captain of the Hawks and having lost several key players, it was looking as though we might have to withdraw this team from the league. Fortunately, Dave White stepped into the breach and did an excellent job in keeping this team up and running. Having been relegated from the 1st division, they were competing in Division 2 and ended up finishing 8th in a very tight division. Having lived to fight another day, we are confident that the Hawks will get stronger in the years to come.

In the 1st Division, Brian Sutton’s Kestrels struggled to find wins early on when the greens were heavy but the team improved as the season went on. The last couple of months of the campaign saw Brian’s side win five out of the final seven matches of the season, to finish in a comfortable 6th place.

Kestrels Merit Winner – Brian Sutton (14 wins)

Hawks Merit Winner – Kevin Leddy (11 wins)

SOUTHPORT VETERANS’ LEAGUE

In the Monday afternoon Southport Veterans’ League, we had just the one team in 2026.

The Hobbies were again playing in Division 3 and having finished 4th in 2025, they were hopeful of making a promotion challenge in 2026. As it turned out, they dominated the division, losing just the two league games to finish the season as champions, 19 points clear of runners-up Botanic ‘A’.

There were many impressive playing records in this team but the standout player for the year was Alan Lloyd, with an outstanding record of 21 wins out of the 22 games played. Congratulations to Alan on winning the 3rd Division merit award.

Not content with finishing the season as champions, the Hobbies made it a double by retaining the Joe Bond Knockout Trophy they won in 2025. In a dramatic final, played at Scarisbrick Bowling Club, they narrowly defeated Victoria Park ‘B’ by just eight chalks.

Congratulations to captain John Hughes and all the Hobbies on a memorable season.

Hobbies Merit Winner – Alan Lloyd (21 Wins)

Awards Evening 2026

Members are reminded that the Club’s Awards Evening will take place on Saturday 7^th November. It will be held at the Churchtown Conservative Club, starting at 7.30 pm. As well as the presentation of awards to the winners of our club competitions and team merits from the 2026 season, there will be a buffet, quiz and raffle. Donations of raffle prizes on the night will be greatly appreciated.

Awards Evening 2026

Members are reminded that the Club’s Awards Evening will take place on Saturday 7^th November. It will be held at the Churchtown Conservative Club, starting at 7.30 pm. As well as the presentation of awards to the winners of our club competitions and team merits from the 2026 season, there will be a buffet, quiz and raffle. Donations of raffle prizes on the night will be greatly appreciated. Tickets are available at just £5.00 and should be ordered through any committee member or your team captain as soon as possible, to help with the catering arrangements. 

Roll of Honour for the 2026 season

Below is a list of the winners in our internal club competitions and winners of the team merit awards for the 2026 season.

Presentations to those on this list will be made at the Awards Evening. In addition, there will special awards made to the Club’s Team of the Year and Club Member of the Year. 

CLUB COMPETITIONS

Spring Pairs                 Runners-Up               Sue Davies & Kevin Leddy

                                       Winners                      Peter Croston & Darren Edgerley

Rose Bowl                   Runner-Up                  Darren Edgerley

                                       Winner                       Derek Wignall

Random Pairs            Runners-Up                 George Hitchmough & Kevin Morrissey

                                           Winners                      Andy Draper & Paul Vincent

Coronation Cup        Runner-Up                  Alan Lloyd

                                           Winner                       Andy Draper

Championship Cup     Runner-Up                  Chris Porter

                                           Winner                       Mike Milne

Chairman’s Shield       Runners-Up                 Mal Green & Mike Stevens

                                           Winners                      John Hughes & John McCabe

President’s Cup        Runner-Up                  Chris Porter

                                           Winner                       Andy Draper

Vice-Presidents Pairs  Runners-Up                 John Hughes & Len Southworth

                                           Winners                      Alec Rimmer & Derek Wignall

Last Chance Cup     Runners-Up                 Des Marum & Mike Stevens

                                           Winners                      Steve McManus & Gareth Taylor

TEAM MERIT AWARDS

Evening Teams

Eagles (LV League Premier Division)            Mike Milne

Vultures (Burscough League 1st Div)            Andy Draper

Ospreys (Burscough League 2nd Div)           Jim Halsall

Kites (Parks League Premier Division)          Christine McManus

Owls (Maghull League 1st Division)               Andy Draper

Afternoon Teams

Kestrels (Aughton League 1st Div)                 Brian Sutton

Hawks (Aughton League 2nd Div)                   Kevin Leddy

Hobbies (Southport Vets Lge 3rd Div)           Alan Lloyd

NEWSLETTER OMISSION – OCTOBER 2026

Apologies the following item was missed out on the newsletter.

ROUND ROBINS

George thank you so much for the card, gift card, and beautiful flowers off all the Round Robiners.

It was very much appreciated please will you thank them all in your next club email, also thanks to Brian Sutton and his wife for the weekly cleaning of tea towels and anyone who has helped in anyway at all.

Many thanks

Love from Lynne and Pete

HESKETH HOBBIES – SOUTHPORT & DISTRICT VETERANS’ LEAGUE

Congratulations to the Hesketh Hobbies on winning the league and cup double in the 3rd Division of the Southport and District Veterans’ League.

Captained by John Hughes, the team only lost two aggregates out of the 22 games played in the season, to finish top of the division by a clear nineteen points.

They completed the double on Monday by overcoming a handicap of fifty chalks to defeat Victoria Park ‘B’ in the final of the Joe Bond Knockout Trophy. They retained this trophy by just 8 chalks in an exciting finale to the season.

Well done to all the players who have contributed to the Hobbies’ success this season but special mention must go to Alan Lloyd for winning the divisional merit. Alan won 21 games and lost just one of the 22 games played to win the award for the best player in the division.

The Hobbies will now look forward to playing Division 2 bowls in 2027.

THE JACK HUGHES MEMORIAL TROPHY

On Sunday 20th September, the club hosted the Jack Hughes Memorial Trophy, organised by John Hughes in memory of his late father. Following a round robin stage, the players with the best aggregate scores went through to a singles knockout competition, which was won by Steve McManus (pictured below with John).

John organised a grand raffle on the day, which raised the magnificent sum of £200. John has very kindly donated this towards club funds.

Awards and Social Evening — Saturday, 7 November 2026

Join fellow bowling club members for a social evening and celebrate this year’s award winners.

The ticket price includes a quiz, bingo, a raffle, and a buffet.

Please let me (07977500131) (george@hitchmough.co.uk) or any captain or committee member know if you will attend so we can plan the buffet. Payment is due on the night.

We look forward to seeing you there.

DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCE OUTSIDE OF OUR CONTROL THE GREEN WILL HAVE TO CLOSE AT 6.00pm on WEDNESDAY 30^th of SEPTEMBER.

WINTER MAINTENECE WILL COMMENCE ON THURSDAY 1^st of OCTOBER

THERE WILL BE NO FRIDAY ROUND ROBIN !!ER

THE LAST CHANCE CUP

The final club competition of the season took place at the weekend, when we played for The Last Chance Cup. This is a random doubles competition, with pairings drawn on the day. We invited Churchtown Conservative Club members to join us for this event, and it was good to see some new people taking part. We are hoping to organise more joint ventures in 2027. 

In the top half of the draw, Steve McManus and Gareth Taylor reached the final with comfortable wins against Alan and Jill Lloyd (21-11), Gary Trewhitt and Janet Warham (21-14) and Mike Milne and Keren Nelson 21-13). Their opponents in the final turned out to be Des Marum and Mike Stevens, who had survived a scare in their first game to win 21-20 against Dave Nelson and John Unsworth. They then defeated Gary Johnson and Paul Richardson 21-15 in their semi-final.

The final saw Steve and Gareth get off to a flying start, winning the first six ends to establish a 10-chalk advantage. Although Des and Mike scored a couple of singles to narrow the gap, Steve and Gareth continued the form they had shown all day to run out 21-7 winners.

A plate competition was held, and this was won by Mike Burrill and Derek Liddle with an 11-6 victory against Paul Harrison and Alex Rimmer. 

The final club competition of the season will take place this coming Sunday, 27^th September, when we will be staging The Last Chance Cup. This will be a random doubles, with pairings drawn on the day. For this competition, we have invited members of the Churchtown Conservative Club to take part, as we did for the Random Doubles earlier in the season. Every effort will be made to pair newer bowlers with a more experienced player. 

To enter, please register at the green by 11.45 am, to enable the draw to be made in time for a prompt start at 12 noon. 

As this is our last competition before the green closes for the end of season maintenance work to be carried out, it would be good to see a sizable turnout to end the season off in style. 

Race Night

The Race Night was a huge success. Thanks to everyone who, attended the event, purchased the racehorses, donated the raffle prizes, bought raffle tickets.

Around 50 people attended the event, including some conservative club members who were most welcome.

The evening commenced at 7.45, unusually on time for us. Hosted by the 3 stooges, Your Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary.

Head stooge “Chris Harding” was the compare for the evening and hosted in his own exceptional and unique style with numerous jokes and observations during the evening.

Our treasurer stooge “Mike Milne” managed the tote desk, selling betting tickets with volunteers Dave Weston and Des Marum.

Our secretary stooge “George Hitchmough” oversaw the race DVDs and working out the winning racehorses’ payouts.

After the format was explained, the racing began. Racehorse owners and bettors enthusiastically cheered on their chosen horses.

The first four races finished quickly, after which attendees enjoyed the buffet prepared by Gill Barton.

During the interval, the head stooge and his assistant, Kevin Leddy, sold raffle tickets.

The final four races then took place. Race 8 was an auction race, allowing attendees to bid for a horse. The auction, conducted by the head stooge, received fantastic support and sparked fierce competition, perhaps fuelled by the consumption of alcohol. It raised a prize pot of £110, and Dave Weston won the auction race.

The raffle was extremely well supported, with attendees winning more than 20 donated prizes, including chocolates, gin, wine and prosecco.

The evening concluded around 11.00pm

The total funds raised for the event was £835 and will be used for the over winter green renovation, new boards surrounding the green and new fencing.

The race winners were 

Race 1     “Sharky”                                                  Owner     Paul Richarson

Race 2     “Irish Wristwatch”                               Owner     Jim Hallsall

Race 3     “Mad Mike”                                           Owner     Dave Weston

Race 4     “All But”                                                  Owner     Mike Burrill

Race 5     “Norman Never Had Enough”       Owner     Sue Andersen

Race 6     “Vera-Rose”                                          Owner     Vera Johnson

Race 7     “Half Pint”                                             Owner     John Unsworth

Race 8     “Cerebus”                                              Owner     Keith Howard

Thank you to everyone who attended, donated raffle prizes, bought a racehorse, or purchased tote and raffle tickets. It was wonderful to receive such strong support, including from our friends at Churchtown Conservative Club.

GREEN CLOSURE

The green will be closed for Winter Maitanence and renovation from 8.00am on Saturday the 3^rd of October.

We would request no items are left in the clubhouse as we will be clearing and cleaning clubhouse.

OPEN SINGLES 2026 – SPONSORED BY BIRKDALE INSURNACE GROUP

The eighth staging of the Club’s Open Singles Championship took place on Sunday when players from throughout the area fought it out for a prize fund of £570. The winner of this competition now receives the Bernard O’Malley Memorial Trophy, re-named this year in honour of our late Honorary Vice-President, who did so much to support our club over a number of years. 

In the top half of the draw, the 2019 champion, Andy Draper reach the final with wins against Dave Clivery (21-12), 2024 winner Fergal Wright (21-17), Brian Sutton (21-5) and in the semi-final, Jake Danvers from Freshfield Bowling Club, 21-10. Jake had done well to reach the semi-finals with wins against Stuart Birch (21-6), Cayl Buckland (21-19) and Tom Wright (21-9).

The bottom half of the draw saw a late entry to the competition, Matty Greenwood, progress to the final with wins against the 2016 champion John Hughes (21-10), Andy Howie (21-12), Colin Moore (21-18) and Joe Illidge (21-17). Joe, from Northwich, had reached the last four with wins against Darren Vincent (21-6), Jim Walker (21-4) and Ian Grady (21-13).

The final was expected to be close but it was Matty who got off to a flying start, winning the first seven ends to establish a 10-0 lead. Andy fought back and matched Matty for the rest of the game, with the block regularly changing hands but Matty was able to maintain his early advantage to eventually run out a 21-13 winner. Congratulations to both players on reaching the final and especially to Matty on winning this competition for the first time. 

The Hesketh Arms Bowling Club would like to thank all those who supported this competition by taking part or coming along to watch. The weather was a little wet early on but brightened up as the day went on. We would also like to thank the following : –

• BIRKDALE INSURANCE GROUP for their continued sponsorship of this competition.
• Everyone who helped out with marking cards and measuring.
• Our referee for the day, Keith Andrews, who helped to keep the competition running smoothly.
• Gill, from the Conservative Club for preparing the sandwiches.
• Lynne and Peter Smith for their help serving refreshments.
• Andy Bate for preparing the green.

We look forward to seeing everyone again in 2027 for our open competitions. 

RACE NIGHT

We need to know numbers attending by this coming Friday 11^th of September to be able to inform our caterer.

If you haven’t already bought your ticket please contact team captains, at the Round Robin, or by contacting George Hitchmough 07977500131 or any committee member.

There will also be a raffle and donations of prizes will be gratefully received on the night.

We look forward to your support.

NEWSLETTER – SEPTEMBER 2026

BERNARD O’MALLEY MEMORIAL TROPHY – OPEN SINGLES 2026

SPONSORED BY BIRKDALE INSURANCE GROUP

The Club’s Open Singles competition, now named the Bernard O’Malley Memorial Trophy in honour of our late Honorary Vice-President, will take place this Sunday 6th September. We have received entries from Formby, Crosby, Skelmersdale, Liverpool, Wirral, Preston and Wigan, as well as a number of local bowlers. Play will commence at 10.00 am as the players battle it out for the £570 prize fund, boosted by the generous sponsorship of Birkdale Insurance Group.

At the time of writing, there are still a couple of vacancies in the competition at the 10.00 am start time. There is an entry fee of £10 and anyone interested in taking one of these places should contact Mike Milne (07752352065) or Chris Harding (07761733024).

Spectators on the day will be very welcome for what should be a day of quality bowling and any help with marking cards and measuring would be appreciated, especially for the first couple of sessions. If any members could spare an hour or so to assist with this, the organisers would be very grateful.

RACE NIGHT

Members are reminded that the club is holding a Race Night on Saturday, 19th September at Churchtown Conservative. The first race starts at 7:45pm.

We would encourage all members to support this event as the costs of running the club and maintaining the green are increasing year on year.

Tickets are on sale at £5.00 each and the evening will include a buffet.

Even if you are unable to attend on the night, you can support the event by purchasing a horse in one of the eight races at £5.00 per horse. The owner of the winning horse in each race will receive a prize. Horses are selling quickly, so please get in touch quickly to avoid missing out.

We are also looking for race sponsors at £20 per race.

There will also be a raffle and donations of prizes will be gratefully received on the night.

Tickets and horses can be purchased from team captains, at the Round Robin, or by contacting George Hitchmough 07977500131 or any committee member.

SOUTHPORT VETERANS’ LEAGUE

Congratulations to our Southport Veterans’ League team, the Hobbies, on reaching the final of the Joe Bond Knockout Trophy. The final will take place on Monday, 5th October, at a venue to be announced.

BOWLING MARATHON

On Sunday 30th August, the club hosted a Bowling Marathon. This was organised by Derek Ainsworth to raise funds for the Cornerstone Library, Churchtown’s volunteer run community library. Derek bowled for 12 hours from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm and raised a significant amount of money for the popular local library. Many thanks to everyone who supported the event by playing, sponsoring Derek, buying raffle tickets, marking cards and measuring.

A look back at Derek Ainsworth’s 12-hour bowls marathon for Cornerstone Library, a memorable day of bowling and community support in Churchtown.