The Hockey Museum is making an appeal to trace the families and descendants of male international Great Britain (GB) hockey players from years prior to 1957 – we have a unique honours cap for you that commemorates your ancestor’s sporting legacy.

There are only a few remaining women’s GB cap presentations to be made. The success on finding all of these women is mainly due to the sterling efforts of Katie Dodd and Sue Lane who have made a definitive record of the GB international women’s statistics. As women only began participating in international GB matches in 1965, the list of women eligible for an honours cap is more recent history and therefore significantly shorter than the men’s.

Our data on men’s international players and matches stretches as far back as 1920 and it is sadly very unlikely that the remaining early GB international players will ever receive their caps in person. These players were pioneers of early international hockey history so it would be a great loss if their families cannot be found to receive them in their honour. We are therefore requesting that relatives of these past internationals get in touch with the museum so that we may present them with their ancestor’s cap. We would love to reunite the achievements of these men with their families.

Names of players dating from 1920 to 1956 who are yet to receive their cap:

Some incredible stories have come out of the GB Caps Project and more continue to emerge as more families get in touch. These touching presentations are a great way for families to personally learn more about their relative and witness their legacy and accomplishments first hand. Here are some examples to the families of early GB men we have managed to find and present caps to.

• Robert Comyn  Comyn up trumps: posthumous cap presentation for Robert Comyn, member of the second ever Great Britain team – The Hockey Museum.
• Harry Haslam  A Golden Centenary: The Event – The Hockey Museum

The first Great Britain men’s hockey team at the Antwerp 1920 Olympic Games, incorrectly labelled here as an England team. Harry Haslam is standing furthest left. His family have received his GB honours cap.
Photograph courtesy of Marlborough College.

The Great Britain Caps Project

In 2016, The Hockey Museum’s Statistics Working Group began researching our collection to create a definitive database of every Great British (GB) international player and every international match that took place as early as 1920. The dedicated efforts of volunteers and their hundreds of hours of research helped to produce a definitive list of international GB player names from past to present. Prior to the project, a list like this did not exist anywhere.

In the last four years, the museum has championed a project which aimed to present GB international players with an honours cap to recognise their involvement in these games. Each honours cap is embroidered with its own unique legacy number that directly and chronologically corresponds to a player and forever symbolises their participation in GB hockey history.

Writing to the museum in 2021, GB international Ellie Rayer (GB women’s player #193) shared how meaningful the honours caps truly are.

“I currently wear number 13 [on my shirt], but I am merely looking after the number for the moment. 193 is my number and it always will be, which is incredibly special. A huge, huge thank you for the work you have done.”

Contact us

If you’re a relative of any of the men listed above and wish to receive an honours cap presentation in their honour, please do get in touch with the museum via our online contact form. We would love to hear from you!

Photography credits/copyright

• Top photograph: WORLDSPORTPICS © WILL PALMER (courtesy of GB Hockey)
• Second photograph: courtesy of Marlborough College