The Old Specimen Groups

[Ron Troversial Clay]

One of the first Specimen Groups was The London Specimen Hunters Club formed in the 50s

Members I remember were Peter Butler and Herbie Green. Who were the others?

Then there was the Herts Chiltern Group.

Frank Guttfield, Bernie Everitt, Pete Frost, Bill Keal, Jack Hilton, Tony Williams, Bill Quinlan, who remembers the rest?

Coventry Group

Merv Wilkinson (bless his heart), Tony Miles, Phil Smith, Trefor West, Don Wittich, and that brillaint fly fisher, who was he?

Northants Group:

Bob Church, Cyril Inwood and company who tore the reservoirs apart.

Northern Specimen Group:

My own group

Tag Barnes, Ray Webb, Eric Hodson, Barrie Rickards, Steve Crawshaw, John Neville, John Weston, **** Clegg amonst others.

Hallamshire Group:

Mick Lomas, Eric Hodson, Stewart Hurst, Dave Plummer,

Cambridgeshire Pike Group:

Barrie Rickards, Rian Tingay, Bill Chillingworth, Christine Rickards, and others.

How many of you remember these names from the past and others? Many of them are still with us today. Were you a member of a Specimen Group?

 

[Warren 'Hatrick' (Wol) Gaunt]

Northants group is still going.

Did Merv start the Coventry group or was is Trev?

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

I am sure it was Tony. The story is in one of Tony's books.

**** Walker was also a member of The Barbel Catchers with Peter Mead - remember him?

Other Groups were:

Kent Specimen Group, Birmingham Specimen Group, North Leicester Specimen Group, Manchester Specimen Group, The Monk will remember most of those names.

 

[Warren 'Hatrick' (Wol) Gaunt]

Recognise this Ron?


http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/images/articles/chevin12.jpg

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

**** Walker's fishing hut on the Upper Ouse at Little Hill Farm below Thornton Bridge.

I'll never forget it.

It burned down you know some years ago. It's a pity that little hut was not made into a National Monument.

Many have been the happy times spent in that hut. And there are many tales that could be told.

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

The farmer's name was Marchant by the way.

One of the best English farming characters I have ever met.

 

[Robert Woods 1]

Ron,
I see **** Clegg was in a group. Was this before he came a match angler.

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

**** was a very keen specimen angler long before he turned to match fishing. I fished with him many times. His first love was touch legering on the Swale, Ure and Nidd for chub and barbel.

He even tried a bit of pike fishing, although I don't think that was his cup of tea. His first love was rivers.

In the early 70s **** decided to try his hand at match fishing. Just as an experiment you understand.

He was successful.

What struck him was that the approach of many match anglers at the time was totally wrong. No way was the English match angler going to beat the continentals on their home territory.

He changed English match angling to the point where the English team could take on all comers - and win.

A big thinker is our ****.

 

[Richard Huggett 1]

The National Crucian Carp Study Group..I was a member years ago. We never had a club badge, with a name like that it would have been two foot long!

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

One of the most important groups was of course the Ruffe Study Group. Started by our Monk of course, it folded at the inaugural meeting.

Apparently some people thought it was to be a fishing club. Was it hell. The room was full of Ruffe Slappers are vying to be the first under his habit.

 

[The Monk]

Actually Ron,
I wasnt the founder of the Ruffe Study Group

The Ruffe Slappers Study Group yes

I still have all the old NASG and NASA group lists

Q"uite a few groups from the seventies and late sixties still survive of course, My own Manchester Carp Group is still about of course. It was a great time when we all belonged to local SGs, in fact NASG even promoted a string of Junior Specimen groups

 

[Bob Hornegold 3]

London Specimen Hunter Group--Pete Green

I think the second Specimen Group to be formed, was the West Essex Specimen Hunters.

Roy Child, Lenney Savage, Ray Taylor, Brian and Alan Preston,Alan Chinnock, Peter Harper,Paul Pascoe, Ron Clay,Peter Bakeman,
Tony Pithers, Peter Bean, Sos, Ginger and Bob Hornegold.

Oh, but such a long time ago ?

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

Some of those names are coming back Bob.

I think it was Herbie Green in the LSHC.

 

[Bob Hornegold 3]

Ron,

Unfortunately Roy Child died about Ten Years ago.

Lenny Savage told me earlier this year that the W.E.S.H. were the second ever group.

Lenny Savage and Ray Taylor really took places like Walthamstow Reserviors apart in the 70s.

They are both still fishing regually and I suspect still catching.

I'm afraid I have lost touch with most of the other members of the group, but would appreciate an e-mail if any of the old group read this ?

Bob

 

[Bob Hornegold 3]

Ron,

Was Don of Don's of Edmonton a member of the L.S.H.G. ?

Bob

 

[GrahamM]

The Lapworth Naturalist Anglers, founded by **** Crudgington and Graham Marsden.

Fancy name for just another specimen group at the time, taking its name from Professor Charles Lapworth, a famous naturalist.

 

[Bob Hornegold 3]

What about the Kent Lads=Bob Morris and crew ?

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

The Lapworth Naturist Anglers.

So you went around karl-gat (naked) Graham?

Whoops sorry - N a t u r a l i s t.

Me bloody eyes need testing!

The debate as to who the first specimen group will go one for years I guess. The first group of anglers who actually used the word: "Specimen" was The London Specimen Hunters Club.

Prior to that was the Carp Catchers Club, The Tench Fishers Club, and even before that you could call the group of anglers in the Hitchin AC a specimen hunters club. They consisted of **** Walker, Pete Thomas, Bob Rutland and a few others who went out to win the Daily Mirror big fish contest.

And that little group blew the rest away with catches of carp, perch, chub, bream and roach that became legendary. Part of the story is told in "Still Water Angling."

And before that you had a group of Nottingham anglers led by the legendary FWK Wallis who caught lots of big barbel from the Hants Avon in the 30s. Another member of that little band was the late Ken Clower.

And then before that you had JW Martin, Frank Sims and friends on the Trent.

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

Don of Don's of Edmunton could indeed have been a member of the LSHC.

I have been looking through "The history of the big fish movement" written by Eric Hodson

There are a lot of the old names mentioned here.

Lets see how many of you remember some of them:

Reg Brotherton, Eric J Taylor, Fred Wagstaffe, Dave Moore, Brian White, Gwynne Williams, Peter Mead, Gordon Wood, Tony Goldstraw, Peter Rayment, Don Stockton,
Bob Rolph, Roy Ecob, Mike Muse, Alan Otter, Fred Thorncroft, Ron Applegate, Mick Fellows, Tony Harrison, Peter Mohan, Jim Gregory, George Sharman, Mike Wilson, Greg Fletcher, Rod Hutchinson, Rex Elgood, Eric Allen, Fred Buller, Peter Tasker, Gord Burton, Maurice Titcombe.

And a few others I can name.

I wonder what has happened to many of these people? How many are still alive?

 

[GrahamM]

Tony Goldstraw lives about 1/2 a mile from me. He hasn't fished for years, but has become a big name, locally, at crown green bowling.