In 1985 two dissidents, one from Clacton Archers and one from
(St Osyth) Priory Bowmen decided the Tendring peninsular needed
a third archery club, one which would emphasise the family aspects
of the sport. They conned a local councillor into letting them have the free use of his field in Rushgreen, Clacton, between the airfield and the rubbish tip. They put up a garden shed to house some rudimentary equipment, and started a beginners class. My family of five was amongst those early enthusiasts. We aspired to be high flyers, but mostly we were rubbish.
We couldn't afford to mow the field regularly, and in consequence we spent many happy hours hunting for arrows in the thick grass, a skill has still not fallen into disuse. Come winter, we were fortunate enough to obtain the use of the sea-scouts hut in Great Clacton for indoor shooting. We couldn't afford much heating, of course, which is why in the early days we all shot fast - to heck with the classy style, get back to that puny gas heater, warm your hands on a cup of hot tea!
In those days, we were affiliated to the National Field Archery Society. It was a pleasant surprise to me that kids were as welcome as adults at local field archery competitions, and we had some great times, particularly at CADAC (Colchester) and Tudor Field Archers (Boxford). The latter were especially famous for their all-weekend events, which included a night shoot in the woods (I don't believe anyone ever got shot) and peripheral entertainment like blindfold pillow boxing. By the Sunday afternoon, the organisers were tending towards 'tired and emotional', and there was always much dissent over the allocation of trophies and medals. Happy days! Our founder members (Pete Dark and Chris Brown) were pretty thrusting (Pete especially, beg pardon ladies) and bullied us into running an open tournament the first year. We didn't know what the hell we were doing, but fortunately it seems to be in the nature of most archers to forgive little foibles like shooting on used target faces. And having the club Chairman shoot (and win with an immodest score) at the event he was hosting, provided the catering and raffle were good. The local clubs were generous in their support, even lending precious equipment into our inexpert hands.
The second year, we put on two shoots, the earlier one being a 'Double American' early in the season. It's the only time I can remember it snowing so late in April.
After two years, our landlord started building houses on our field (what a cheek!) Didn't he appreciate all the time money and trouble we had put into cultivating his turf?) and we had to seek pastures new. All the members actively sought suitable locations for field archery ("Please mister, can me and a load of my chums come and shoot arrows in your wood? No, of course we won't disturb the pheasants. Money, what's that?) We couldn't stage our next scheduled outdoor tournament, so we looked for an indoor venue. That was when we made contact with Bramston Sports Centre.
Remarkably, the manager was quite sympathetic and even had a list of people who had expressed an interest in learning Archery. We ran a beginners course, and were lucky enough to find we had an apt and enthusiastic bunch of budding bowmen. We negotiated to move to the sports centre, the only condition put on the club being to change our name to incorporate the name of the centre, which you can see we faithfully did.
Our first tournament at Witham was held on the sports field in Spinks Lane. Being a bit unfamiliar with the layout, we failed to note a footpath at the limit of the overshoot. Every time someone started walking in the line of site someone would call 'Fast' (that means 'Hold Fast') and all the archers would stand waiting impatiently for the field to clear. The walker would suddenly look up and, taking in the scene of forty or so people with bows and arrows all staring antagonistically, would freeze. You couldn't always tell if they were hoping to see some action, or if they were paralysed with fright. Not everyone was amused.
Well the last thirteen years or so have seen us mature somewhat. In fact many of us are now old farts. We've continued to encourage family membership, and like to think that we're less formal than most other clubs. This doesn't detract from strict adherence to the safety rules essential in a sport centred on weapons invented for killing. We have been affiliated now for many years to the Grand National Archery Society, the governing body for target archery. We continue to hold two tournaments a year, although now we can afford new target faces. In fact these tournaments are accredited with national record status. This means we have to be vetted by GNAS National Judges to make sure we achieve strict standards of field accuracy and control. This doesn't mean that we don't still have crises. We were still frantically manufacturing target stands the night before our last shoot.
We still need new members who will want to do a bit more than just shoot. The youngsters who have done best (We've had three juniors who've represented Great Britain on the international circuit) have all been encouraged and supported by one or both member parents. The members mould the character of the club. For example, a few years ago a large proportion of us were keen on competitive shooting, and we participated in the county league, which we won outright in 19??.
In 19?? the then secretary organised a link with a Dutch club with whom we still have annual intercourse. And in 19?? our present Chairman organised our first expedition to the Lake District where we enjoyed some abseiling and ghyll scrambling (the odd beverage was also consumed) and this we intend will also be an annual event.