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Welcome

Westwood Works 1903-2003

Cricket

A Cricket Club, known as the Panification Cricket Club, was formed in the Summer of  1905. The name was derived from "panification", which means "the process of bread making". This was the title of Lewis and Pointon Panification Ltd., Wellington. Shropshire – who had amalgamated with Werner, Pfleiderer & Perkins Ltd at around this period - and presumably supplied the majority of the players. Games were played at the Paul Pry Ground, Walton, the G.N. Railway Ground at the bottom of Westwood Bridge and across Westfield Road next to the Aublet Harry factory before moving to the Alma Road Ground on its purchase in 1919. The Cricket square at Alma Road acquired a national reputation and several First Class and List A matches were played there in the late 60s and early 70s.

1920 - 1949
1924: Westwood vs. Willesden Cricket Match	1936: Westwood Works Cricket 2nd XI	1937: Westwood Works Cricket 2nd XI	Late 1940s: The 2nd X1	1946: Cricket Fixtures	1947: Cricket Fixtures

1950 - 1959
Early 1950s: The 2nd X1	1950: The Staff Hostel Inter- Departmental Cricket Team	Early 1950's: Westwood 1st Xl	1951: Fixture Card	1952: 7th Annual Cricket Match between Westwood Works and Courtaulds	1952: 7th Annual Cricket Match between Westwood Works and Courtaulds	1952: Westwood Works 1st XI
1952: Fixture Card	1953: Westwood Works 1st XI	1954: Alan Dann and Vernon Lock	1954: The 2nd X1 Wives	1954: Westwood Works 2nd XI	1955: Cricket Section	1955: Walton beat Westwood for the Trelfa Shield
1956: Westwood Works 1st XI	1956: Fixture Card	1956/57: Westwood win the Urwin Cup	1958: Westwood Works 1st XI	1959: Losing Finalists - U-19s Urwin Cup	Late 1950's: Fitting Shop Inter-D Team	Late 1950s: Westwood Works 1st XI
Late 1950s: Westwood Works 2nd XI v Forgrove

First-Class Matches played at the Alma Road Ground

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Staff Thomas joined Baker Perkins as an apprentice in 1951 and participated in many of the activities of the Sports Club. We are fortunate that Staff has made a record of much of his time at Baker Perkins and we are grateful for his permission to use extracts on this website. Here, Staff recalls playing cricket for Westwood:

“I had only been in the apprentice bay two or three weeks when I was visited by Mr Harry Iliffe and Mr. Charlie Sheffield. They introduced themselves as cricket captains of the 1st and 2nd elevens. They asked if I would meet them at the cricket nets at Alma Road ground. Apparently, Charlie McCartney who lived next door but one to Mam and Dad, at 84 Montague Road, had recommended me to them. Mr Mac was a very good sportsman. He played football for Wrexham, Notts County and Peterborough United. He also played cricket for Peter Brotherhood and therefore knew Harry Iliffe very well. So, during that week I trained and bowled at the nets for Harry. He took a big interest in me and was a kind of mentor in my cricket career. To cut a long story short, I was picked for the 2nd XI on a Saturday and Sunday in May, but on the Friday before the day I was to make my debut, Harry paid another visit to me in the apprentice bay and informed me that I was playing in the 1st XI at Pye Radio, Cambridge. Apparently, one of the picked team, Charlie Allet, had dropped out with a back injury and as he was a bowler, Harry thought that I would fit the bill. The outcome was that I did bowl and happened to bag four wickets and from then on was a member of the 1st XI under Harry Iliffe’s guidance. So, for the next eleven years, I played for the 1st XI and never ever played in the 2nd XI. The only time I was absent was for my two years’ National Service but even then I still played cricket for Baker Perkins as I was only stationed at Waddington in Lincolnshire and having 48 hour passes every weekend (other than if I was on Duty Armourer) I still played most weekends.

We also played in the Jaidka Cup (a 20-over match) on a Wednesday evening. All the local teams played in the Jaidka, even Peterborough Town 1st and 2nd X1s - Brotherhoods, Hotpoint, Mitchell’s, British Railway, Crowland, Yaxley, Oundle Town, Castor, to name just a few. We were a very good team and we won the Jaidka cup a few times. It needed steady bowling to contain batsmen to get as few runs as possible.

From what I can remember, our team consisted of the following men:

Harry Iliffe – captain; Sos Mellow – wicket keeper; Alan Francia – fast bowler; Johnny Craythorne – batsman and bowler; Alf Jones – a very good batsman (he was over 60 years old when I played.); Dennis Woodhouse – batsman; Gordon Woodhouse – batsman; Staff Thomas – bowler (me); Dennis Barber – bat; Jack Baxter – bat and bowler; Ros Forvague – bit of both; Mick Bean – wicket keeper; Alan Curwin – slow bowler; Frank Swann – bowler; Pete Lister – bat; Brian Lister – bat; Jack Rouse – umpire; Bob Sharp – umpire; Bert Slater – umpire, (all committee men) Rex King (com) Jarry Jacklin - scorer; Sam Taylor – committee man; Albert Wadsley – ground controller; Harold Bembridge – committee man; Ted Bevan – committee man.

When I was 18, I topped the bowling averages for the 1st XI for that season, and received, as a prize, a cricket bat presented by Claude Dumbleton a Director of Baker Perkins. Was I proud! I still have it in our loft at 8 Denmark Drive, although the rubber grip on the handle has perished. Also in the loft is a cricket ball I received after taking a hat trick in a match!

Every year we played in a Directors’ match. Their team consisted of a few directors and the rest were professional cricketers; the likes of Norman Hever (Glamorgan); Godfrey Evans (Kent and England wicket keeper); Arthur Phebey (Kent batsman, opener); Alan Melville (Warwickshire slow bowler – very good); Alan Watkins (Glamorgan all rounder).These matches lasted all day (11 a.m. until the finish) with a big lunch in the middle of the match and a light tea at 4.30 p.m. I played against Ivor Baker, Chairman and owner of Baker Perkins, John Peake, Director, Leslie Simpson, Works Manager, and as I bowled very quickly, was told by Harry Iliffe to “slow it down against Ivor and Co.”

We also played a directors’ match against Birmingham Co-op who had a good team. The ground was huge with tennis courts and a bowling green at the far end. I remember how our Captain was annoyed that their team batted after tea (4 p.m.) as they hadn’t enough runs but we bowled them out anyway. So, we went into bat very upset and set about the bowling. Jack Baxter, who always batted without gloves, slammed them for 80 runs in half an hour. He hit the ball out of the ground three times and lost two balls. One hit was huge – a hit for six over the bowls green, over the tennis courts, over a huge tree and out of the ground. The spectators were cheering and clapping to see such hitting. Another match – a directors’ match with no directors playing, was against Courtauld’s of Coventry and played on a Warwickshire County ground. I remember there was an enormous grandstand and we had to walk right down from the top to get to the pitch. Johnny Craythorne had scored 50 runs when it was my turn to go in. Sixth or seventh wicket down, it was. Dennis Barker, our new captain as Harry Iliffe had retired, said to me “just block balls, if you can.” Well, I stopped in until Johnny Craythorne had scored 100 and then I was out – my score? Nil, nothing, a duck! That’s how we worked at the club – all as a team”.