Dorchester Badminton Club History (1977 – 1981)

Recollections of Peter and Margaret Purnell

We were already keen badminton players when we moved to Dorchester from Sussex in 1977. So, we were very pleased to be able to join our local badminton club that Autumn.

Yet, we not quite so pleased to have to travel to Maiden Newton, which is about seven miles from Dorchester. The Club met in the Village Hall, not ideal for badminton, but nice to play on with its beautifully-polished wooden floor. Its big disadvantage, especially on Club nights, was that the single court limited the opportunities for play, so singles matches were a luxury.

This wasn’t so much a problem in league matches because the single court meant that other team members became involved as spectators, which made for a good atmosphere. We could entertain the visitors with refreshments and feel, when we travelled home, that we had had an enjoyable evening, especially after a hard-earned victory.

Home fixtures might have given us a tiny advantage over our opponents because of the hall’s challenging roof supports. We soon learned to adapt our play so that lobs (usually) missed the struts. If they did hit, the shuttlecock could be diverted in any direction with the shuttlecock still in play, which could be disconcerting for our opponents in league matches. Yet the future of the Club was about to change.

Hardye’s School new multi-use sports hall was completed about 1979. This gave a number of voluntary groups, including Dorchester Badminton Club, an opportunity to move there for our home fixtures. After some discussion at Committee, and concerns about cost and the effect on subscriptions, we went for it. We felt that the four courts would give us growth potential and clearly establish Dorchester Badminton Club as the premier venue for badminton in the area. Also, we admitted Hardye’s sixth formers on half-priced subscriptions, which encouraged a younger membership and added to Club numbers.

The switch to four courts was a big boost for us. The picture I’ve put of a Club night shows how active the scene is in the background - Rosemary Coleman and I are showing off our league trophy after the Club had had a successful season in both our divisions.

We’re not sure whether it was at that time that the Club increased its number of teams in the West Dorset Badminton League. We certainly had at least two teams then, with Margaret in the higher division and me playing in the lower, but both teams were doing well. The division III team won the special award shown here.

Here is a teams photo from 1980, taken in Hardye’s Sports Hall.

It would be nice to give names to faces on the photo above, but the best we can do is:
Top row: Peter Purnell, John Gilbert, ? , Tom ?, ? , David Swain, ?

Lower row: Rosemary Coleman, Caroline Drummond, Annette ?, ? , ? , Margaret Purnell

Perhaps David and Carol Swain could help with the gaps; their memories may go further back than our own 47 years.

These recollections sum up what Margaret and I can recall of Dorchester Badminton Club - except for one valuable aspect, the relationship we built up with the Lübbecke Badminton Club in North Germany during the three years 1979 – 1982.

During that time, some of our Club members travelled to Lübbecke twice, and they came over here twice in return. Dorchester won the matches each time, but the main thing is that we all had a fantastic experience, fostered international relationships, and in some cases built up lifelong friendships. I will write a separate account (with some pictures) of all this in case anyone is interested.

It’s getting on for half a century now since we moved to Derbyshire, but our involvement with Dorchester Badminton Club were among our happiest times.

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