London Indian Hockey Club was formed in 1958 by Anglo Indians and couple of English players who had played in India and wanted to continue playing the ‘Indian-style’ of hockey. Jimmy James, the London Indians president was very keen supporter of the idea. He loved to watch hockey and was keen to do the admin job.
It was decided that membership would be by invitation only with strict discipline and a smart dress code after matches. The team would play on Sundays against strong opposition. The next problem was to find a ground and a club house; luckily one of the members was working for Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank he managed to get the pitch for the London Indians. English players were welcomed to as long as they played the ‘Indian-style’ of hockey.
Some of the Anglo Indians were finding it hard to find a club that played their brand of hockey, and they were not welcomed with open arms. Often they were not given the chance to play in club first elevens, so London Indians Hockey Club had very strong early support from the Anglo Indian community.
First it was formed with the view to play abroad in tournaments as a touring side and play in England at Bank holidays and Easter time.
London Indians were invited to the famous Folkestone International Hockey Festival in the early 1960s. Over the weekend they did not lose a single game and were very entertaining. The following year they were invited again and they won over all the hockey lovers.
By this time Asians from East Africa started arriving and London Indians started to grow and became very famous. By 1963/4 they played every Sunday against County and touring international teams, because they were virtually an international team in their own right!
Hard working Suki Rao captained the club for almost 10 years set a very high standard; he was well respected and loved wherever he went. For every player selected it was an honour to wear the London Indians black and white playing shirt.
There were lot of young very talented players who had come for East Africa (most from Kenya) in early 1970s. The vacuum left by senior players was filled by the new arrivals, so the standard was maintained. There is a strong view that Kenya Hockey would have continued to perform well in world hockey if these players had remained in Kenya. London Indians often played against the England and Great Britain (GB) international teams before they travelled abroad or if they were going to play an international match at home. These matches were always fun and a challenge for our players to prove to them and the management that we were better. We often beat them.
London Indians HC at Crystal Palace (ought to have been Lord’s Cricket Ground), 25 March 1979.
Back row, left to right: Garry Singh Grewal, Harvinder Singh Sibia, Shahid Khan, Ravinder Singh Laly, Iqbal Singh Khullar, Paul Cottam, Mohan Singh Kalsi, Badar Butt, Tarlochan Singh Panesar, Manjit Singh Flora, Alan Mayo.
Front row, left to right: Barjinder David, Parminder Singh Kalsi, Satish Dosaj, Jinder Singh Panesar, Jimmy James, Imtiaz Shiek, Balwant Singh Siani, Mac Ganesh.
Former London Indians captain Avtar Bhurji recalls:
“One match that stands out in mind is at Hackney Marsh 1976 against GB. The pitch had rubber mat; GB was a standby team for the Montreal Olympic Games and they had been practicing on this pitch for months. We were asked to play them twice in a day, morning and afternoon; we had never seen a pitch like this in our life. We lost the morning game; for one we had not practiced on this pitch and second our players from far had not yet arrived. At lunch Patrick Rowley asked me if I had a plan to change the formation for the afternoon game. I told Pat London Indians have always played 5 – 3 – 2 – 1 and I have no plan to change the formation. That afternoon we beat them 6-0 and their coach threw his clip board down on the ground in disgust.”
Oral History Interview: Avtar Singh Bhurji | The Hockey Museum
London Indian players have had good time and have contributed to success of hockey in England. Several players went on to play for England and GB using the London Indians platform to propel into international hockey. Many other members of London Indians – Asian and English players alike – went on to establish themselves at club and county level. In those days playing county hockey was a stepping stone toward international hockey.
It was always a pleasure and privilege to play for London Indians. London Indians was based in London, but players used to travel from all over the UK to play for them.
Avtar also recalls:
“Another memory from 1978 is playing against England at Bisham Abbey just before they took off to play the World Cup in Argentina. We beat them 3-1 and it was not good result for England.”
In 1979, London Indians HC celebrated their 21st anniversary by organising a big tournament, inviting international teams. They won this tournament with notable victories beating England (playing as England Lions) 6-0 and in a great final watched by a large crowd, they beat the famous Dutch club H.O.C. Gazellen-Combinatie (better known as HGC) 3-2.
London Indians HC, winners of their own 21st anniversary tournament in 1979.
Back row, left to right: Barjinder Daved, Graham Nash (umpire), Sutinder Singh Khehar, Badar Butt, Imtiaz Sheikh, Jinder Singh Panesar (Manager), Satish Dosaj, Shahid Khan, Parminder Singh Kalsi, Doug Bruce (umpire).
Front row, left to right: Jaswinder Singh Missan, Ravinder Singh Laly, Garry Singh Grewal, Ian Taylor, Balwant Singh Saini, Manjit Singh Flora, Tarlochan Singh Panesar.
London Indians HC Barcelona / caption: London Indians HC in Barcelona, 1977.
Back row, left to right: Jimmy James (President) Harvinder Singh Sibia, Nirmal Singh Sehmi, Cliff Mitchell, Garry Singh Grewal, Jinder Singh Panesar (Manager), Tishi Sharma, Ralph Thomas, Shahid Khan.
Front row, left to right: Kulbir Singh Bhaura, Clive Osborn, Tarlochan Singh Panesar, Shaffiq Amin, Tochi Singh Marwaha, Badar Butt.
In 1983 (24.08 – 18.09) London Indians had a fantastic and successful tour to the far east taking in Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and India. A fantastic tour and team with great performances, notably a draw against an Australian Hotspurs XI which boasted many Australian internationals who had just returned from playing in an international tournament in India.
London Indians had many match reports in national papers including the Times, Guardian and Telegraph.
A few years later, London Indians HC died a natural death: a gradual shortage of opposition and players followed the formation of the National League in England which played on Sundays. The last gathering of London Indians was held at Slough Hockey Club in 2004. After Jimmy James’s death we lost all the trophies, memorabilia and history of London Indians. Jimmy James`s wife Mary was not in sound mind, and it was hard to connect with her or acquire any of this material from her.
[Editor’s note: unbeknownst to Tochi, an archive of London Indians’ heritage had made its way to The Hockey Museum via Jimmy James’s nephew. See: Hidden Histories: London Indians Hockey Club | The Hockey Museum]
Through London Indians, players had a beautiful journey and, on the way, met many interesting personalities and made lifelong friends.
Postscript
No mention has been made of names of great people and players who represented London Indians HC because there were so many of them.
My thanks to Avtar Singh Bhurji an ex-London Indians captain who has provided the basis of this article for me to add to and edit.
Tochi Panesar, THM Trustee
August 2021
