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by Dave Roberts
There's long been a tradition of Tug 'o' War competitions in Middlewich, fostered by years of Middlewich Carnivals and other events in the town.
The photo above shows the Kings Arms team in 1975 at a rally organised by the Inland Waterways Association on the site of Seddon's Pepper Street salt works (now the site of The Moorings off St Michael's Way).
You'll note a few question marks in the caption. On the extreme left is someone we're sure was called Bob (or Robert) but I can't recall his surname. He lived in King Street and died tragically young while working abroad. On the right hand side of the line-up are two other familiar faces. Can anyone put names to them?
And if we've got any of these names wrong, or misidentified anyone, please don't hesitate to put us right.
We're calling it the IWA Rally of 1975 although the Association's Wikipedia page says that their main rally that year was in York. Whatever the truth of the matter, there most certainly was a boat rally in Middlewich that year and it was under the auspices of the IWA. Somewhere in our archives we have the official programme of events and this diary entry will be updated when it comes to light.
This boat rally was one of the inspirations for the Folk & Boat Festival fifteen years later.
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| L to R. Henry Barnet, Mike McCrystal, Cllr Derek Millington, Alan Betley, Bob ?, IWA Lady, Frank Burrows, John Smith, Ken Sumner, Alan 'Tud' Burrows, pub landlord Derek Williams |
Our second photo shows members of what was obviously the winning team being congratulated by the lady we've dubbed 'IWA Lady'. Possibly back in those unenlightened days she may have been given the title 'Miss Waterways 1975' or somthing similar. She certainly appears to be wearing a sash indicating some distinction of that sort. Standing behind her is the elusive Bob (or Robert) again. We'd love to be able to record his full name for posterity.
And now, fifty years on in 2025, we can bring you news of a proposed revival of Tug O'War in Middlewich, courtesy of the Middlewich Folk & Boat Festival.
Festival organisers have been approached by Bosley Tug 'o' War Club with a view to Middlewich, with its much-expanded facilities at Kinderton, next year becoming a training venue for the National Championships. Hopefully this will lead, in future years, to Middlewich itself hosting the National Championships.
This year the Festival hopes to stage a 'taster' event at Kinderton Lodge as a way of re-introducing this much loved sport to the town, and is hoping that organisations such as the Young Farmers might like to get involved.
Organisers would like to hear from you if you're interested in getting involved.
You can email them at:
mfabfestival@gmail.com
BOSLEY TUG 'O' WAR CLUB ON FACEBOOK
Acknowledgments:
Many thanks to:
ELAINE CARLIN
JOHN WILLIAMS
for the photographs.
