The Birth of OUABA
A note by the first Chairman, David Nicholson
In 1996 I, with others, responded to a note in the Alumni Section of Oxford
Today to get in touch with the office if we believed that ex-members of the
University would be interested in forming an Oxford Alumni Bridge
Association. Within a few weeks I received an invitation to lunch at
Brasenose College with the Assistant Director of Oxford Alumni for a further discussion. The lunch was attended by about a dozen people and was a rather jolly affair - the Alumni Office later confirmed that it had accounted for a generous portion of the available budget.
During the course of the lunch it soon became clear that, as the local lad (I was then living in Woodstock), I was expected to play an active part in the association. As I was very much involved in politics at the time I thought up a cunning plan which would enable me to reduce my commitment to a minimum; it was that we put association positions in one pot, and the names of people interested in becoming members of the committee in another, and draw out names and positions in a random order. The lots were drawn by
Anne Brew. The first position to be drawn out was Chairman and the first name, mine. Hence my ‘election’ to head this new committee. By the same random process David Osborne was chosen as the first treasurer, John
Robbins as membership secretary, and Eric Wood as events secretary. John
Robbins also agreed to be our tournament director. Whatever success we achieved during my term of office can be attributed to the herculean endeavours of these initial committee members. The original committee
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also included a Vice-Chairman, but it was soon agreed that this post was not needed.
The first problem was to determine the nature of the association and its programme. We decided to advertise in Oxford Today for intending members to get in touch and received in excess of 40 names. Much heartened by the response, we decided to go in at the deep end and announce a weekend meeting in an Oxford College. This was difficult because of the costings involved and availability. However, after visiting many colleges, we settled on Wadham because their costs were much lower than elsewhere and the summertime occupation of college rooms by overseas students ended by the beginning of September, before the start of the new term; hence the timing, which remained, of our subsequent meetings. After much committee debate and particularly the experienced comments of John
Robbins, we decided on a weekend programme which, with minor changes, still serves as the pattern for the organisation of our meetings. The first meeting attracted around 40-50 people and was a great success which gave us all considerable heart for future events.
And then there was a major development which really gave the Association a boost. Alan Truscott, a former world champion, was on his usual summer tour of European congresses for his American newspaper, the Herald
Tribune . He had gone down in 1946 and went straight into bridge journalism, writing books, playing and reporting all over the world for his newspaper and many other syndicates in the USA. I arranged to meet him at the Randolph Hotel and we got on very well together, so much so that I invited him to be our guest at our next meeting in 1998. He accepted for
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himself and his wife, Dorothy Hayden Truscott (another former World
Champion), particularly as early September suited his rather hectic timetable. A few weeks later I received a very large parcel of his books and confirmation of attendance. He and Dorothy were a great success, his books were given as prizes, much to the delight of the winners, and he and Dorothy gave a witty and brilliant seminar on the Saturday morning. Naturally he won the afternoon tournament, though declined the prize, which was awarded to the second Oxford pair.
So by this stage we were very much on our way and managed to get some publicity (and photographs) in Oxford Today which stimulated further interest. I then turned my attention to widening contacts and arranging
‘friendly’ competitions with others. Hence the start of our annual games with Cambridge, the House of Lords, and Oxford Bridge Club, who readily accepted our invitation to play. For these matches I contacted the Alumni
Association at Cambridge - who at the time didn’t have a team or regular playing arrangements - who contacted past members from all over the country. This led to a rather ramshackle first match, which we won! The next year and subsequent years were very well organised on both sides - for which we have to thank Eric Wood - and we enjoyed fine hospitality and some great matches, followed by a meal at a local restaurant. The Oxford
Bridge Club match was a far simpler affair as I was a member of the Club.
Through the Oxford connection I met with Evan Harris, MP for West
Oxford. He put us in touch with the leader of the House of Lords Bridge
Club who were delighted to host a match against us at the House of Lords.
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During my seven years as Chairman, from 1996 to 2003, the committee grew in numbers. Apart from those already mentioned, members who served included Cliff Ellis, who acted as Minutes Secretary, Marion
Hebblethwaite (formerly Hazzledine), who set up and hosted the
Association’s first website, Eryl Howard, John Bailey, Roy Garthwaite, and
Richard Whittington. The Association owes a great deal to their efforts.
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