Club
Croquet
Wrest Park
John Wheeler
John Wheeler, a pillar of the club for over forty years, died on the 31st December 2016. There will be a memorial service at St James Church, Silsoe, on Tuesday 7th February at 12 pm.
John started playing croquet soon after the club was formed in 1961 and within a few years was entering and winning CA tournaments. His heyday was during the 1970s when he was twice runner-
John’s achievements on the playing side were more than matched by what he did on the non-
John’s practical skills covered everything from making hoops, building and fitting out the old pavilion and changing room, and maintaining the mowers and other machinery.For many years he cut six lawns every week with Pandora’s help, and he also organised all the other activities associated with maintaining the lawns, from trailers to take away the mowings to deliveries of top-
The news that the club would have to move from its old site in the gardens was hard to take, but it was not long before John came to appreciate the many advantages, not the least of which was being able to park within yards of the lawns. Although no longer playing he would still volunteer for catering duties at tournaments and watch the play with glass of wine in hand, and it must have been a source of satisfaction for him to have witnessed the first triple peel on the new lawns (by Mark Avery during an Inter Club match against Colchester in 2014) and see that the club he had done so much to develop was renewing itself in new surroundings.
John at the Inter Counties in 1986
Carpenter -
Plumber -
Bon viveur -
© Wrest Park Croquet Club