Hampshire had won the Montague-Jones Cup the previous year, beating Devon in the final. This year these two teams met in the semi-final and Devon came out on top. Devon would go on to win the competition, and the full list of winners are on the SCCU website.
Before this match, Hampshire played and beat the improving Dorset twice.
In other activities Hampshire played four Correspondence matches, an 18 year old school boy won the Hampshire Individual Championship and economic and political unrest caused issues in the country.
For the record of Hampshire County matches, and links to any articles I have written, the table on the Hampshire County Chess Matches page will detail these. The Hampshire County Chess History page summaries the leagues Hampshire have played in, and the successes Hampshire have achieved. Both of these are available from the menu at the top of the site as well.
As can be seen from previous articles, the SCCU had changed numerous times since its formation, with newer counties joining, sections changing etc. In 1930 the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette had an article which detailed the current structure. It highlighted Devon’s unfortunate grouping in the Montague Jones Cup, and included the pairings. Interestingly this looks a pre-cursor to the eventual changes, with the forming of the WECU, where the western counties were from the counties in sections 1 and 2 and 4. Section 3 also makes up some of the initial counties in the Chiltern League, which Hampshire also now play in, along with Oxfordshire.
Devon’s Unfortunate Grouping Difficulty
Exeter and Plymouth Gazette – Thursday 12 June 1930
The report of the Southern Counties* Chess Union for 1929-30 contains much information of interest to Devon and other Western chess players. Surrey, the Union champion county, carried their success its logical conclusion by winning the English counties final against Yorkshire, and thus secured the Lowenthal Cup, while Sussex won the Amboyna Shield and Kent regained possession of the Ebony Shield.
Referring to the “Combined Year Book” the report continues, “The Union’s new enterprise appeared rather later than was anticipated, but was very well received. The general feeling was that it was an important step the right direction, and that its publication with the improvements would be increasingly beneficial to the Union as a whole.” The return of Dorsetshire to the Union was heartily welcomed, and it is hoped that other counties will be quick to follow this example.
Counties are specially advised to enter a team for the correspondence championship, even such a team be weak, as players in county districts can play and be able to feel that they are doing something for their county (and chess). Tabulated tables show Devon’s progress in the championship, while full details of other districts’ progress are given.
Entries for the 1930-31 competitions include the Championship. Montague-Jones’ Cup, Ebony and Amboyna Shields, and the counties are grouped into the following districts:—1: Cornwall and Devon; 2: Gloucester and Somerset; 3: Bedfordshire, Berkshire, and Herts; 4: Hampshire and Dorset; 5: Essex, Kent, Middlesex, Surrey, and Sussex.
The eventual winners of the Union Championship will enter the final stage of the Counties’ Championship, in which the victorious shires of the Southern, Midland, and Northern Unions participate.
A complete list of fixtures accompanies the documents, and from this it transpires that Gloucester and Wilts are early in the struggle, their meeting being fixed for October 11th. November 8th Gloucester is due to meet Somerset, or alternatively, Somerset will play Wilts, and on December 16th Somerset is due to entertain their near rivals Gloucester. The winners of this group will play the winners of Devon v. Cornwall, but is doubtful if the Cornishmen will oppose Devon’s right into the semi-final. The final of the Montague-Jones’ Cup, groups 1, 2, and 4 is to be played on March 28th, and the semi-final of the Union Championship April 18th and May 16th respectively.
If things turn out as anticipated the end of February will be reached before Devon comes into the contest at all, whereas other groups will have contested several matches. While Devon, therefore, will be somewhat an uncertain quantity to opponents, they will also have lacked the county practice, experience which counts for so much in meetings of this sort. True, they have their domestic contests, and these are exceedingly useful as a preparation for the more serious events, but the fact that there is no county match for them until comparatively late greatly diminishes their chances.
ln the old days when Devon, Gloucester, Somerset, and Wilts comprised the group, the Devonians had plenty of the essential experience. Cornwall’s unfortunate geographical difficulty, coupled with lethargy in matters chess rather handicaps Devon, and things in this connexion cannot be expected to improve until some different system of grouping is adopted.
Hampshire 13 – Dorset 5 – 25th Oct 1930 – Bournemouth
Hampshire had to play Dorset twice in the league section of the Montague Jones Cup and the combined result of the two matches would determine which county would progress to the semi-final. The first match was played over 18 boards, but there were four additional games played, which did not count towards the match. Hampshire won 13 – 5 on the top boards and 16 – 6 including the friendlies.
According to the Hampshire Advertiser Dorset were missing three of their best players, but this did not stop them being very competitive on the top boards, only losing the one game on boards 1 to 5. DH Napper was a three time Dorset Individual Chess champion, winning in 1929 (the first), 1931 and 1948. He played board one for Dorset and held JH Blake to a draw.
Hampshire winners were WJ Fry, CT Bennett, FA Joyce, AS Dance, HL Gardiner, R Drake, HM Southon, JW Webster, GT Lloyd, Brig-Gen GF Muspratt, ACE Hughes and EG Parsons.
| Board | Hampshire | Result | Dorset | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JH Blake | ½ | DH Napper | ½ |
| 2 | FJH Elwell | ½ | EL Raymond | ½ |
| 3 | HA Way | ½ | BW Wood | ½ |
| 4 | WJ Fry | 1 | WH Curtis | 0 |
| 5 | AB Coe | ½ | AF Thomas | ½ |
| 6 | CT Bennett | 1 | GH Smith | 0 |
| 7 | Revd HF Hawkes | ½ | WL Long | ½ |
| 8 | FA Joyce | 1 | Capt PH di Marco | 0 |
| 9 | HL Streeter | ½ | P Ward | ½ |
| 10 | AS Dance | 1 | FWC Mitchener | 0 |
| 11 | Capt GP Britton | ½ | Dr BE Sendermore | ½ |
| 12 | HL Gardiner | 1 | Revd WS Clarke | 0 |
| 13 | SL Russell | 0 | A Gray-Wallis | 1 |
| 14 | R Drake | 1 | WT Wilkinson | 0 |
| 15 | HM Southon | 1 | Mrs CW Bullows | 0 |
| 16 | JW Webster | 1 | G Barnby | 0 |
| 17 | FJ Tinkler | ½ | Mrs CW Bullows | ½ |
| 18 | GT Lloyd | 1 | R Coxson | 0 |
| 19 | Brig-Gen GF Muspratt | 1 | HJ Fowler | 0 |
| 20 | ACE Hughes | 1 | C Real | 0 |
| 21 | Miss ML Harrison | 0 | GE Durnford | 1 |
| 22 | EG Parsons | 1 | W Davis | 0 |
| 1-22 boards | 16 | 1-22 boards | 6 | |
| Total (top 18) | 13 | Total | 5 |
Hampshire 11 – Dorset 7 – 29th Nov 1930 – Bournemouth
Hampshire met Dorset again in November and this time the match was closer, with Dorset only losing the 18 board match by 4 points, although the three additional friendly boards also went Hampshire’s way. Dorset held Hampshire on the top 6 boards, winning on 3 and 4. The Western Gazette stated that an additional 15 minutes was allowed compared to the first match, which helped with the number of unfinished games, and that 11 of the Dorset players were members of the Parkstone Chess club.
Hampshire winners were JH Blake, FJH Elwell, AS Dance, Revd AR Witt, Capt GP Britton, FJ Tinkler, JW Webster, FG Rinning, Brig-Gen GF Muspratt, Miss ML Harrison and EA Pink.
This was the third county game for Graham Powell Britton (not a captain at this time) who would go on to win the Hampshire Individual Championship in 1931 at the age if 18. Capt. Britton would also represent Oxford 4 times in the Varsity matches 1933 – 1936 and play for Hampshire from 1929 to 1971. He likely stopped playing when Hampshire moved from the SCCU to the WECU, as was only 58 years old. He was living in London when he died in 1978. If he was living in London this is another indication for him to stop playing county chess. I think this was the case for several Hampshire players who played in the SCCU, but not the WECU.
| Board | Hampshire | Result | Dorset | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JH Blake | 1 | DH Napper | 0 |
| 2 | FJH Elwell | 1 | EL Raymond | 0 |
| 3 | WJ Fry | 0 | BW Wood | 1 |
| 4 | AB Coe | 0 | WH Curtis | 1 |
| 5 | HL Streeter | ½ | AF Thomas | ½ |
| 6 | CT Bennett | ½ | GH Smith | ½ |
| 7 | AS Dance | 1 | A Gray-Wallis | 0 |
| 8 | R Drake | ½ | WL Long | ½ |
| 9 | Revd AR Witt | 1 | Capt PH di Marco | 0 |
| 10 | FL Taylor | 1 | FB Gibson | 0 |
| 11 | Capt GP Britton | 1 | P Ward | 0 |
| 12 | GT Lloyd | ½ | Dr BE Sendermore | ½ |
| 13 | HL Gardiner | 0 | FWC Mitchener | 1 |
| 14 | FJ Tinkler | 1 | EL Millward | 0 |
| 15 | JW Webster | 1 | C Real | 0 |
| 16 | FG Rinning | 1 | R Coxson | 0 |
| 17 | SL Russell | 0 | GE Durnford | 1 |
| 18 | ACE Hughes | 0 | AL Player | 1 |
| 19 | Brig-Gen GF Muspratt | 1 | Capt White | 0 |
| 20 | Miss ML Harrison | 1 | HW Gregory | 0 |
| 21 | EA Pink | 1 | A Curtis | 0 |
| 1-21 boards | 14 | 1-21 boards | 7 | |
| Total (top 18) | 11 | Total | 7 |
Hampshire 7½ – Devon 8½ – 11th April 1931- Exeter
Hampshire met Devon in the semi-final of the Montague Jones Cup (district 4). Unlike when these two counties met in the final the previous year in Salisbury, this year Hampshire had to travel to Exeter, although there was some dispute about the location. It seems that the previous year Devon had agreed to travel to Salisbury, but Hampshire were not so happy to return the favour and play in Exeter.
The original date for the match was 28th February, but a decision had to be made by the SCCU executive to ensure Hampshire would travel to Exeter. The Western Gazette covers the dispute in detail over two days, before the SCCU decision.
This Hampshire Advertiser confirmed that Hampshire’s complaint about the location had been rejected by the SCCU, and they had to travel to Exeter (probably correctly!) for the match.
The Western Morning News reported that Devon had one of their strongest ever teams and that Hampshire were obliged to play a couple of substitutes (maybe missing A Ashby and FA Joyce). Looking at the Hampshire team though it seems a better team than the ones which faced Dorset. This maybe due to Hampshire not fielding their best teams against Dorset, but would have tried to field as strong as possible team against Devon, who had better players.
The match was extremely close, with Devon winning by the narrowest of margins. An interesting pairing on board one between JH Blake and Devon’s Ron Bruce who captained Devon for 40 years. There was certainly some symphony for Blake as he arrived early to help with the arrangements, especially as he was now 72 years old.
The Hampshire Advertiser also had a match result and from their point of view it seems Hampshire were looking good to win the match, especially after taking a three point lead.
Hampshire’s winners were FJH Elwell, JW Rivkin, WJ Fry, GP Britton and GT Lloyd.
| Board | Hampshire | Colour | Result | Devon | Colour | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JH Blake | Black | 0 | RM Bruce | White | 1 |
| 2 | FJH Elwell | White | 1 | F Pitt-Fox | Black | 0 |
| 3 | JW Rivkin | Black | 1 | HV Mallison | White | 0 |
| 4 | HD Lloyd | White | 0 | JB Goodman | Black | 1 |
| 5 | WJ Fry | Black | 1 | T Taylor | White | 0 |
| 6 | HA Way | White | ½ | HY Erskine | Black | ½ |
| 7 | CT Bennett | Black | ½ | HJ Stretton | White | ½ |
| 8 | AB Coe | White | 0 | HJH Cope | Black | 1 |
| 9 | HL Streeter | Black | ½ | RW Hornbrook | White | ½ |
| 10 | Dr GF Trubridge | White | ½ | Dr C Li Lander | Black | ½ |
| 11 | H Grover | Black | 0 | AB Treloar | White | 1 |
| 12 | Revd W Proctor | White | 0 | SB Slack | Black | 1 |
| 13 | HM Southon | Black | ½ | RJ Roberts | White | ½ |
| 14 | Capt GP Britton | White | 1 | Revd JAS Castle | Black | 0 |
| 15 | AS Dance | Black | 0 | WC Rickard | White | 1 |
| 16 | GT Lloyd | White | 1 | M Langdon | Black | 0 |
| Total | 7½ | Total | 8½ |
Summary
A summary of the county matches and the general chess activities in Hampshire.
Hampshire just failed to qualify to the final of the Montague Jones Cup after losing to Devon, but on the whole the AGM seemed to be happy with their performance, but were looking forward to winning the competition the coming season.
On the Correspondence front Hampshire played four matches, beating Cornwall, the Sunday Referee (100 board match!) and Warwickshire and scoring 12 points from 30 games in the Counties Championship. The individual results for all but the Counties championship are in the archives and can be seen in the FA Taylor document.
In the Hampshire league Southampton won Division One and Broughton Division Two. The Hampshire Advertiser had a picture of the Broughton Chess club.
The surprise winner of the HCA Individual Championship was Graham Powell Britton, who was only 18. He remained the youngest winner until 2022 when 15 year old Iwan Cave took the title. The 1931 championship was run as a KO and Graham Powell beat the strong Bournemouth player CT Bennett player in the final.
The report from the Hampshire Advertiser on the 42nd Hampshire AGM. On a non chess note the Secretary highlighted the political and economic unrest. As this was highlighted in the AGM this was obviously a major issue for the UK, on the back of the Great Depression and Stock Market crash in the USA.
The UK economy in the 1930s
The UK economy in the 1930s – Economics Help
The 1930s economy was marked by the effects of the great depression. After experiencing a decade of economic stagnation in the 1920s, the UK economy was further hit by the sharp global economic downturn in 1930-31. This lead to higher unemployment and widespread poverty.
However, although the great depression caused significant levels of poverty and hardship (especially in industrial heartlands), the second half of the 1930s was a period of quiet economic recovery. In parts of the UK (especially London and the South East), there was a mini economic boom with rising living standards and prosperity.
More positive news on the season, which I covered above was mentioned as well as the HCA appointed officers.
The HCA officers elected at the AGM were:
- JH Blake – President
- AB Coe – Hon. Secretary and Treasurer
- JH Blake – Match Captain
- FJH Elwell, HW Benest – Hon. Auditors
- JH Blake, HA Way & AB Coe – SCCU Delegates
Acknowledgements and Sources
- British Newspaper Archives
- Britbase
- Dorset Chess website
- Anthony Fulton for historic material on results
- Hampshire Advertiser
- Portsmouth Evening News
- Western Gazette
- Western Morning News
- Hampshire Chess Archives