The Sad
History of Dorothy
Dubbs of
Wormwood
Scrubbs…& other
hockey pioneers
1895-1945
All England Women's Hockey Association (AEWHA) formed 1895
By 1898 the North and Midlands regional associations had
formed, each with ten clubs; the West and Southern regional
associations affiliated in 1902 and East England in 1906.
By 1931 had the AEWHA had 1, 400 affiliated clubs, 43 county
associations, three national leagues and four affiliated ‘Dominion
Associations’ (USA; SA; Australia; NZ) with another 60, 000
players. By 1939 3, 000 clubs.
Three themes of this paper: Who were some of the original
pioneers, how did they mediate their sport amongst themselves
and what are the key issues in the expansion of the women’s
game in England and abroad?
'Hockey jottings’ Kings College Ladies Hockey Club 1898. In 1901 Edith
Thompson (centre with a copy of Burke) established The Hockey Field
Journal. She served as President of the All England Women's Hockey
Association. Often known as ‘The grand old lady of hockey’ here, we
see Thompson & friends as young women.
Dorothy Dubbs: self-help and
strong willpower
The Sad History of Dorothy
Dubbs
i
Dorothy Dubbs of Wormwood
Scrubbs
Was happy as a girl could be
For her only thought was to do
as she ought
So her life from care was free
And her mother cried, with a
natural pride
'What a charming girl is she!'
ii
Oh! Dorothy Dubbs of Wormwood Scrubbs
There's trouble in store for you!
For she heard one day, from a friend to say
That if she had nothing to do,
She might come round to the College Ground
A Hockey match to view.
iii
So Dorothy Dubbs of Wormwood Scrubbs
Set off the very next day.
And her mother's reply, to her fond goodbye
Was ‘Don’t let them make you play.
Tho' it's up-to-date you know how I hate
Girls who behave in that way.’
iv
Oh! Mrs Dubbs of Wormwood Scrubbs
Your warning was quite in vain!
For the Spirit of Sport your daughter has caught,
And she won't come home again
She has joined six clubs at Wormwood Scrubbs
And has hockey on the Brain!
V
Poor Dorothy Dubbs of Wormwood
Scrubbs
In matches all day she'd play,
and when they were oe'r she'd clamour
for more,
Tho' half dead with fatigue she'd lay.
Tho' she could not walk, she still would
talk
Of the goals she'd shot that day.
Vi
Poor Dorothy Dubbs of Wormwood
Scrubbs
Died in the thick of the fight
And to see her tomb in the gathering
gloom
Is a melancholy sight;
And they say that her ghost
May be seen at its post
On any moonlit night.
Hockey as a model for amateur
female sporting success in a
changing world.
Other perils (top left) losing at
half time; (bottom left) fog
(bottom right) a player lacking the
necessary backbone.
Edith Marie Thompson
Secretary to appeal for Bedford College, Regents Park while in her 20s
Voluntary Aid Division during WW1
1917-1920 Controller of Inspection Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps
1918 Helped to found Ex-Service Women’s Association
1919 OBE; 1920 CBE
1932 Lancet Commission on Nursing; Executive Committee of
National Playing Fields Association
1939-1940
HQ Organiser of Women’s Land Army
1940-1945
Children’s Overseas Reception Board South Africa
1936-1946
Executive Chair Society of the Overseas Settlement of
British Women
Mayoress of Aldeburgh; town councillor and East Suffolk Education
Committee
Governor of Bedford College and St Felix School, Southwold
Dies 1961
leaves £44,000
The sociable and the sporting apects
of being in a club are evident in the
communal portraits
(left) music evening and (below right)
‘The Selectors’
The scrapbook as a piece of
social networking celebrated
education, creativity,
humour, leadership, stoicism
and liberal culture.
Home international Records 1895-1931
England v Scotland played 24 won 22 drawn 1 lost 1 (131: 20 goals)
England v Ireland played 31 won 26 drawn 2 lost 3 (158: 33 goals)
England v Wales played 10 won 10
(108: 2 goals)
AEWHA Tours 1914-1931
1914 New Zealand p 26
1921 USA
p 15
1922 Denmark
p3
1925 South Africa p 14
1926 Germany
p4
1927 Australia
p 19
1928 USA
p 15
1930 South Africa p 16
won 22
won 15
won 3
won 14
won 4
won 19
won 15
won 14
drawn 1 lost 3 (183 goals to 36)
(259 goals to 10)
(24 goals to 2)
(78 goals to 6)
(49 goals to 0)
(228 goals to 9)
(229 goals to 3)
drawn 1 lost 1 (75 goals to 18)
1st Triennial Conference: Geneva, Switzerland 4-8 July 1930
Second: Copenhagen, Denmark 5-10 September 1933
Third: Philadelphia, USA 20 October -1 November 1936
Cancelled due to outbreak of war in 1939
Fourth: Johannesburg, South Africa 29 June- 12 July 1950
Fifth: Folkestone, Kent 28 September-10 October 1953
Sixth: Sydney, Australia 20 May-2 June 1956
Seventh: Amsterdam, Netherlands 23 April-7 May 1959
The cult of colours
Oct. 1897
Atalanta Hockey Club, Bromley (Colours-Light Blue Shirt, Dark
Blue Tie and Hat-band)
Jan 1898
Bath Ladies' hockey club, Bath (Colours-Electric Blue Shirt, White
Tie and Waistband, Electric Blue and White Hat-band)
Sep. 1896
Bayford Ladies' Hockey Club, Hertford (Colours-Scarlet, Grey
and White)
Apr. 1899
Beckenham Ladies Hockey Club, Hertford (Colours-Green Skirt,
White Shirt, Green and Pale Blue Striped Tie)
Nov. 1897
Bedford College Hockey Club, York Place W. (Colours-Black, Red
and White)
Nov. 1897
Bergman-österberg Physical training College Hockey Club,
Dartford Heath (Colours-Navy Tunic, White Jersey, Badge in
Blue and Gold)