The Hockey Museum (THM) continues its rewarding programme of Great Britain (GB) honour cap presentations, tracking down past GB players in all four corners of the world. The most recent presentation took place in the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands on Friday 21 April 2023: Andrew West (GB men’s player number 292) received his cap from Nigel Bates, President of Cayman Hockey at the Cayman Compass.
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| The GB honours cap presentation to Andrew West. Left to right: Ivan Burges (Cayman Hockey Secretary), Andrew West, Nigel Bates (President of Cayman Hockey), and Dwayne Atherley (Cayman captain and Barbadian international) Photography copyright: Compass Media – Seaford – Russell Jr. | ||
Andrew earned 6 GB caps in addition to his representative honours for England, which included the 2005 European Nations Championships in Leipzig, Germany. His GB caps all came during a Tri-Nations tournament against Canada and Belgium in in Vancouver in 2003.
Date | Teams | Score | Venue |
09 July 2003 | Canada : Great Britain | 3 : 1 | Vancouver, Wright Field, University of British Columbia |
07 July 2003 | Great Britain : Belgium | 6 : 2 | Vancouver, Wright Field, University of British Columbia |
05 July 2003 | Canada : Great Britain | 1 : 2 | Vancouver, Wright Field, University of British Columbia |
04 July 2003 | Great Britain : Belgium | 2 : 1 | Vancouver, Wright Field, University of British Columbia |
02 July 2003 | Canada : Great Britain | 4 : 1 | Vancouver, Wright Field, University of British Columbia |
01 July 2003 | Great Britain : Belgium | 4 : 3 | Vancouver, Wright Field, University of British Columbia |
Andrew started playing hockey in Hong Kong, aged five. His parents worked there for several years before returning to their homeland of England when Andrew was nine. He played representative hockey for Northamptonshire, the Midlands and England Under 15s through to Under 21s, captaining all age groups for county and country matches. As an England Under 18, Andrew and his team won the Junior European Nations Championships – he was player of the tournament and top goal scorer. At Under 21 level, Andrew won a bronze medal at the Junior World Cup in Hobart, Australia, in 2001.
From a club perspective, Andrew started his men’s club career at Beeston in 1996, competing in the Men’s National Hockey League. At the time, he was the youngest ever starting finalist in the Hockey Association Cup, aged 16, when Beeston lost to Cannock in 1998. For the 2000-2001 season Andrew was named captain of Beeston Hockey Club, aged 19, becoming the youngest ever captain of a National League side – do these records still stand?
In 2001, Andrew moved to Cannock Hockey Club and won four National League titles in 2002-‘03, 2003-‘04, 2004-‘05, and 2005-‘06. That is still the longest winning streak of any club, and 3 English Hockey Association Cups in 2001-‘02, 2004-‘05, and 2006-‘07. Andrew left Cannock in 2009 and joined Holcombe Hockey Club for a season before retiring in 2010.
Andrew retired from international hockey in 2005 to start at career in investment banking with JP Morgan.
The Hockey Museum is indebted to Ivan Burges for his support in tracing Andrew West and organising Andrew’s GB cap presentation in collaboration with THM President Mike Smith.
