Can you help to identify the women in this photograph?

The All England Women’s Hockey Association (AEWHA) had been the ruling body of women’s hockey since 1895 but in the early part of the twentieth century the emergence of women’s hockey leagues, mainly in the north of England, began to cause problems for the Association. Heaven forbid! They played for points and trophies and had men in executive positions and as umpires. The AEWHA disapproved of many things the leagues did but with the number of clubs affiliated to the AEWHA falling, they realised that trying to work with the leagues may be the best way forward.

Despite restrictions put on the leagues by the national governing body, some still joined the AEWHA and brought with them a number of teams. The Ladies’ Hockey League for example, who affiliated to the AEWHA in 1920, are listed as having 72 affiliated teams in the 1926-27 AEWHA handbook. However, some leagues began to feel that the AEWHA was not the right home for them and in 1932 the English Ladies’ Hockey Leagues Association (ELHLA) was formed to look after their interests. It did not attract all the leagues however: some remained with the AEWHA and some did not affiliate to either association. Research shows it seems to have been the Lancashire leagues who joined the new association.

We know that there was a meeting between the two Associations in 1939 and the above photograph indicates there was an earlier meeting in 1934. Hilda Light, the AEWHA president, is shown with a group of fellow attendees including four men, one of whom is probably John Lishman, a key driving force behind the ELHLA and its secretary. Up until now, The Hockey Museum has been unable to discover the outcome of these two meetings and research is ongoing to uncover what, if anything, they achieved. We are keen to identify the people in the photograph above and would be delighted if anyone could help in identifying the attendees.

Contact Us | The Hockey Museum

A meeting of the AEWHA and ELHLA in 1934.