Budleigh Past and Present

[Budleigh Salterton enjoys the distinction of having one of the oldest if not the oldest croquet club in the world, with records of committee meetings back to 1869! So it was fitting that a major international championship should be held here. Golf Croquet is one of three different forms of the game, the others being Association Croquet and Garden Croquet.] Four days of intense but friendly competition last week were played out last week on the lawns of Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club, writes Charles Townshend. Twelve countries were represented among the 33 people taking part. The largest group were from England, including Tony Bower, one of our club members from Budleigh, who achieved a creditable twelfth place. A six-strong squad from Sweden , nearly all young men, provided high quality opposition for the home country. Welsh, Scottish and Irish players added to the mix and were joined by others from Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Germany and Italy! This championship was l...