Fifty Years of Progress 1880-1930

A.A.A. JUBILEE SOUVENIR time, but his experience and discretion would account for his selection. At the present time, every one would be astonished, to the verge of speechlessness, if they found a Chairman twenty-six years old controlling the Annual Meeting! On this occasion the Chairman had a difficult agenda before him. Mr. George Lacy Hillier, an eloquent supporter of cycling in later years, made a very able speech against the proposed con– cession respecting money prizes won by soldiers and sailors, referred to in an earlier paragraph. " If soldiers and sailors," he exclaimed, "were to be exempt from the universal law of Athletics, I fail to see why a similar concession should not be made in favour of the Volunteers, Police and other sections of the community." The proposal was rejected by forty– one votes to twenty-one. The '.' Irish difficulty," which came before the Annual Meeting in 1930, occurred in another form. The Northern Counties Association was appointed to deal with applications for reinstatement from Ireland until an " Irish A.A.A." had been formed. In the eighties, lawn tennis was a very primitive affair, and it is amusing to read that the Chairman proposed a resolution to the effect that although the A.A.A. strongly disapproved of the practice of giving money prizes for any contest, they did not wish to claim jurisdiction over lawn tennis! I might mention that the governing body of lawn tennis was formed eight years after the A.A.A., viz., in 1888. "Local Officers" were appointed in remote districts to promote the interests of the A.A.A., which in some places was quite unknown. They were, in a limited sense, the forerunners of the County Associations, though they only held office for the purpose of negotiating with local athletic meetings and reporting to the governing body. There was cer– tainly one item on the agenda which deserves to be recorded as a matter of historical interest. The Southern Committee, consisting of ten mem– bers, was elected for the first time, the full list being Messrs. H. J. Grandison, G. L. Hillier, J. H. A. Reay, J. Shearman, P.H. Stenning, S. H. Baker, A. J. Puttick, A. J. Fowden, H. H. Griffin and G. P. Beckley. This was the beginning of a body which, of course, has had its critics, and on the last Friday in every month has to display the wisdom of Solomon, and, it might be added, the patience of Job! Every type of Club and Association, every school of thought in athletics, conservative, democratic, even revolutionary, is represented. At times strong opinions are expressed, and it has been suggested, humorously, that " a man who can control the Southern Committee effectively could be Speaker of the House of Commons." Certainly, Mr. C. J. Pratt, who has acted as its Chairman since 1923, has ruled with impartiality and geniality, and older members of the Committee will recall the excellent services of his pre– decessor, Mr. G. V. A. Schofield, who held this difficult position for over thirty years. Many interesting things happened in r 886. The voting power of the Northern Counties Association was increased from twelve to twenty, and 40