These photographs tell the story of a convivial charity match involving Christ’s Hospital school (CH) during World War One (WW1). They were unearthed by staff at Christ’s Hospital Museum and shared with The Hockey Museum.

Photographs of the hockey match fundraiser, 1917. Reproduced with permission of Christ’s Hospital Museum.

CH is an independent charity school with a core aim to offer children from humble backgrounds the chance of a better education. It enjoys a strong hockey-playing history and these photographs are a particularly fun example, albeit with a sincere background that might easily be overlooked.

They are from a 1917 charity hockey match between Christ’s Hospital Hertford girls and Regent Street Polytechnic in aid of The Star and Garter Home for Disabled Sailors and Soldiers in Richmond, Greater London. The match took place at Paddington Recreation Ground.

Postcard, 1890s. The Star and Garter had previously been a renowned hotel (pictured above) until it closed in 1906. It was used as a military hospital during WW1.

Despite the comic attire you’ll notice that oversized footwear was quite sensibly snubbed, otherwise the penalty corner count would have been far higher!

For more information on the history and various guises of The Star and Garter, click here.