On an occasion such as the 125th anniversary of Boldmere St Michaels sets one thinking of days gone by. It was a Herculean task for me trying to unearth as much information as possible about bygone players for my book `A History of Boldmere St Michaels but it is inevitable that huge chunks of the club’s history have vanished without trace. For example how many of our former committee men and players lost their lives at the Somme or at Passchendaele in World War One for example. There will have been some, no doubt about that. It’s possible of course to glean some information about the Mikes in its early years from archives of the local newspapers of that time but the name of so many stalwarts are lost for ever. Photographs are still in circulation and I think I have seen most of them but sadly, there are no surviving minutes of committee meetings from Victorian times (1883) so many questions get left unanswered. Was there any scandals. Like researching your own family tree you want to know of any `skeletons in the cupboard`
The point is of course, that so many really good stories about the club were lost as the club`s older supporters pass away.
The Boldmere club was founded in 1883, and although it early activities are obscure through all the records being lost. It may not be so unusual as Sutton based newspapers may have had better things to do than report on young lads kicking a `pigs bladder` about. If there was any documentation available it would have a `friendly` or a `local cup` competition. What little we do have is still very much appreciated.
.........................More on this chapter will appear in the book which is now available.
