The Hockey Museum’s volunteer team is currently focused on a project to audit our objects and archives. Audit volunteers have been re-visiting the collection to record new data which will improve the accuracy of the data captured in the museum’s collections database. They have been hard at work and have made amazing progress over the last few months. This article showcases some of the objects our volunteers have found particularly fascinating!

Our volunteers’ favourites

The Robert Watson Bowl

One of our Tuesday audit volunteers, Jim, flagged this impressive glass piece, The Robert Watson Bowl. This was the London League’s main trophy award to the ‘Club of the Year’. Originally donated to the London League by the late hockey administrator and barrister Robert Watson, it was presented to The Hockey Museum in 2021 at the League’s last ever event held at Southgate Hockey Club.

The London Hockey League’s Robert Watson Bowl. From The Hockey Museum collection.

Detail of the Robert Watson Bowl

The London Hockey League began in 1969 as an organised competition for the 21 hockey clubs in Greater London. It was especially significant as it was the first league competition to be organised among clubs in England. The London League ran annually for 52 years before coming to an end in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a gradual decline in participating clubs and changes to the league structure.

The Robert Watson Bowl is presented to museum trustee Tochi Panesar for safekeeping by David Lloyd-Williams at the final London League match and lunch at Southgate Hockey Centre in September 2021.
Photo by Simon Parker/SP Action Images

Yellow technical delegate blazer, Moscow Olympic Games 1980

As part of the audit project, our textile collection is also being reviewed and this bright yellow blazer immediately caught our volunteers’ attention.

A yellow technical delegate blazer from the Moscow Olympic Games 1980. From The Hockey Museum collection.

The blazer belonged to John Falconer who was a British hockey official. John was a well-known personality of the era, umpiring and officiating at many levels. He was also a key figure in the early development of indoor hockey.

The blazer was worn for the Moscow Olympic Games, infamous for facing the largest boycott in Olympic history. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan resulted in 66 countries withdrawing, including Great Britain. Although the British teams boycotted the event, John was a technical delegate for the International Hockey Federation and was therefore entitled to attend the Games in this capacity.

The 1980 Moscow Olympic Games is also notable as being the first Olympic Games to include a women’s hockey event in which Zimbabwe won gold.

You can read more about the disappointing impacts the Moscow Olympic boycott had on the Great British hockey teams in this article published on our website: Echoes of the Moscow Olympic Hockey Boycott 42 Years Later – The Hockey Museum