In 1925, a four-month tour to southern Africa was organised by the All England Women’s Hockey Association (AEWHA) Council. It took place between June and September 1925, and the travel itinerary included visits to Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria and three days at Victoria Falls.
18 women banded together to take on their South African and Rhodesian counterparts in 14 matches. They travelled by steam ship (the Grantully Castle) for the price of £65-70 (approximately £5,500 in today’s money), setting off from Tilbury on 21 May. Notable passengers on board included Miss Edith Thompson (President of the AEWHA), Wilhelmina Baumann (Honorary Secretary of the AEWHA) and Miss Kathleen Doman (captain of the touring team).

The AEWHA touring team onboard their steamship, the Grantully Castle.
From the Joyce Whitehead photograph album; from the AEWHA Archive, University of Bath Library.
The full team line-up was, as follows:
Goalkeeper: CJ Gaskell (Cambridgeshire, East)
Backs: K Doman (Kent, East, England), WA Baumann (Surrey, South, England), A Pearce (Cheshire, North), L Scott (Kent)
Halves: FI Bryan (Middlesex, South, England), B Hewlett (Surrey, Lancashire, North, England Reserve), H Begbie (Surrey, South, England Reserve), Dr M Simcock (Lancashire, North), KM Dupre (Yorkshire, North)
Forwards: B Newell (Bedfordshire, Midlands, England), F Jackson (Surrey, South, England Reserve), J Brown (Surrey, South), E de Putron (Gloucestershire, West), K Coad (Gloucestershire, West), M Wynn-Evans (Chesire, North), E Edwards (Middlesex).
Six of the players on the South Africa tour were existing England internationals as recognised by the AEWHA: WA Baumann, H Begbie, FI Bryan, K Doman, F Jackson and B Newell were all officially capped.

The AEWHA touring team take in the sights of southern Africa in 1925.
From the Joyce Whitehead photograph album; from the AEWHA Archive, University of Bath Library.
Of the 14 matches played, three were test matches against the South African national team; the remaining 11 games were against various local and regional teams. The touring team won all their matches with a total of (reports vary) 78 or 83 goals scored and only six conceded.
Miss Brenda Newell emerged as the top player, scoring half of the total goals (37).
“Miss Newell[’s] … brilliant play was the feature of several matches. In Johannesburg she scored four goals in little over six minutes and at Bloemfontein five goals in less than 10 minutes — a really wonderful individual performance.”
Special mention was also made of Miss L Scott:
“Miss Scott bore the brunt of the umpiring, including the three test matches and acquitted herself most ably.”
No English hockey team had ever been to South Africa before, so many of the women were eager to see the standard of play that awaited them. Straight away the English encountered interesting differences compared to the hockey at home. The pitches were harder — matches in Rhodesia and the Transvaal were played on compact reddish sand. The surface was described as tough on the knees with balls sent hurtling towards players at considerable speed. Yet players enjoyed the fast-paced intensity that came with these types of pitches. Technical play had to be adapted as it was very easy to mistakenly overhit and ‘flying shots’ were practically impossible. The new ground also required new footwear — the English settled on using leather shoes with bars after serious deliberation. Matches were played under the South African Women’s Hockey Association (SAWHA) rules, which meant shorter games of 25 minutes each way. The English team were slow to settle in and accustom themselves to the ‘strange’ grounds. They found that just as they would get into their stride the final whistle would blow.
Although less experienced on the African pitches, the AEWHA team welcomed the challenge. During the test matches, they reportedly out skilled the South Africans who were fast but lacked stick control. Reports concluded that the South Africans failed to make enough use of their wings, players were “indiscriminate” with their hits which led to decreased accuracy, and their defence was too relaxed. However, the touring team complimented them on their vigour and tenacity which held up throughout the entirety of every game.
The hosts treated the tourists well which ensured that the English women’s visit was a memorable one. The SAWHA was only two years old at the time of hosting compared to their then 30-year-old English counterpart, but the visitors were impressed by the magnitude of effort and financial responsibility that the South African association had shown. Everything was exceptionally planned by Miss Hard, the SAWHA Secretary, who was most notable in her efforts, from providing hot water bottles for the players, to wresting a railway coach from reluctant officials in Rhodesia.
From the moment they exited the boat they were met with a series of activities: motor drives, traditional dances, theatre performances and a visit to the House of Assembly where they drank tea with the South African Prime Minister, General JBM Hertzog.

Cover page of the programme for a reception and dance in honour of the visiting English women’s hockey team in Bloemfontein, South Africa, August 1925.
From the AEWHA Archive, University of Bath Library.
The South African’s hospitality was appreciated and reciprocated in kind with visits made by the English players to schools, notably by Kathleen Doman who was a member of staff at Dartford Physical Training College and Eileen Edwards who held the Olympic record for the quarter mile.
“[Miss Edwards] excited considerable interest and gave much pleasure by visiting several schools which had taken up running seriously and talking to them on the subject.”
“[Miss Doman] made herself very popular wherever she went and was always ready to give a lecture or arrange a demonstration. She must have given quite a dozen regular lectures to large audiences during the tour, and hundreds of schoolgirls should now be playing better hockey thanks to her efforts.”
On one occasion, on route by train to Port Elizabeth, the team encountered a hair-raising ‘wash away’ in the small town of Worcester. Flooding had completely destroyed the railway bridge and their journey came to a halt. After 17 hours of anxiously waiting, repairs were completed and the train “very gingerly” crept over the bridge and back on route.
During the early part of the 20th century, travelling abroad was a luxury and a privilege. Touring hockey of this scale was only available to those with the leisure time and financial means to travel for such a long period. Nevertheless, the women of the AEWHA team were treated to some very special moments and had experiences that were incredibly rare for people of the time. As Hockey Field & Lacrosse reported:
“They have returned having seen more of South Africa in eleven weeks than the average inhabitant sees in a lifetime.”

Handwritten archival document by hockey author and supporter of the women’s game Major AU Udal titled “A Few Hints for those about to tour in South Africa”. It covers luggage, laundry, hairstyles and clothes.
From the AEWHA Archive, University of Bath Library.
South Africa and Rhodesia tour results
The results of the tour matches were as follows:
- vs Western Province at Cape Town, 5 – 0
- vs Eastern Province at Port Elizabeth, 6 – 0
- vs NE and Border Province at Queenstown, 6 – 0
- vs Natal at Maritzburg, 7 – 2
- vs Natal at Durban, 6 – 0
- vs South Africa (1st Test) at Durban, 3 – 1
- vs Rhodesia at Bulawayo, 9 – 0vs South Africa (2nd Test) at Johannesburg, 5 –1
- vs South Transvaal at Johannesburg, 7 – 0
- vs South Africa (3rd Test) at Pretoria, 2 – 1
- vs Northern Transvaal at Pretoria, 3 – 0
- vs Orange Free State at Bloemfontein, 6 – 0
- vs Griqualand at Kimberley, 7 – 0
- vs Western Province at Cape Town, 6 – 1

Newspaper cutting from the Birmingham Mail, August 1925.
From a scrapbook of the 1925 tour in the AEWHA Archive, University of Bath Library.
First impressions of umpiring in South Africa
“By an unfortunate would-B umpire” — transcript of an article in Hockey Field & Lacrosse, 1925.
DUST !!!**
Dust to the right of you,
Dust to the left of you,
Dust all round you,
Dust in your mouth, dust in your whistle, dust in your eyes; heavens, what a thirst!!! And dear! Oh, dear! Where are the players, to say nothing of the ball!!!!! What’s happened now — was that a goal, or offside? Where’s the ball? Can’t see a blessed thing — what a fool these South African players must think me — shall have to get blinkers or goggles if I continue umpiring out here. Thank heavens it seems to be a corner — what a relief; I’d better blow the whistle.
Collapse of umpire.
These were my hectic impressions after the first ten minutes of umpiring on a hard pitch one sunny hot afternoon at the beginning of the South African hockey season, and it was many a long day before I got used to umpiring in a regular dust storm, or acquired the art of keeping on my feet on a slippery hard pitch during the fast play.
I arrived, more or less straight from the green flat fields of the Polytechnic Ground, Merton, resplendent in blazer, seater, short skirt, brogues and all the regalia of the correct umpire. I walked briskly on to the pitch, only to stop aghast at the sight of the brown, hard, sun-baked, gritty ground, with an incline of 25°, holes here and there and not one scrap of shade. However, I recovered sufficiently to grasp the fact that play was only 25 minutes each way, and the game started. (Needless to say, this was not a first-class pitch.)
By reason of the hard surface, play is very swift. The players have far less control of themselves, sticks and ball; there is far less stick work, science or combination that in English hockey and there are many falls and tumbles; consequently, umpiring is far from easy. When one umpire takes the whole field (as is often the case owing to the dearth of umpires) it is real hard work and requires a very large amount of energy, speed and enthusiasm.
All this soon dawned on me as I panted up and down the side line, gradually shedding all superfluous articles of clothing, sighing for a pair of runner shoes and dear old England, and heavens! What a thirst! But troubles had only just begun, it never rains in the winter here for about five months, consequently the ground gets very dry. Most of the pitches are made of ant heaps, and, during the winter, the surface gets very powdery, so that after the first 10 minutes of a game, clouds of dust mark the passage of ball and players. In a scrum in the goal circle, it is perfectly hopeless trying to see the ball, for the players themselves are often invisible, and the hapless umpire has to judge the game from the movements of the players — or the thickest portion of the dust clouds. Goal linesmen are absolutely essential towards the end of the season and at times even they cannot see the ball.
Twenty-five minutes seemed years to me, but at last half-time arrived, and South Africa presented one of its many compensations in the shape of unlimited oranges — real big juicy ones, and a whole one to myself, not a measly quarter.
One soon got used to conditions, however, and so learnt to umpire in rubber shoes (crepe soles are best) and a short, thin tennis frock, as well as coloured glasses. I found coloured glasses save the eyes very considerably from the dust and glare of the sun, especially when umpiring for several matches in one day, two in the morning and two in the afternoon are not uncommon occurrences in some parts.
There are many compensations for dust and heat. It is a great joy to know that it is not going to rain for the next two months and therefore one can get in all the coaching and umpire practices without being rushed. It’s also most encouraging to feel that however badly one umpires, or, however inadequate one feels, the players of this country always want the umpire and are always eager to learn. It is a greater incentive to enthusiasm and keenness to coach players who need it and are sporting.