History of Kent County Athletics Association

Last amended at 03-01-23

The Association was formed in September 1990 by the amalgamation of the Kent County Women's Athletic Association and the Kent County Amateur Athletic Association.

The history of the Women's Association started with its formation in 1946 with Bill Hitchen the first Secretary. The first Championships were held at Aylesford Paper Mills, backed by Col. Sheldon. The 1948 Championships were held at Ravensbourne, Lee, and were a financial disaster but Col. Sheldon paid off all the debts "in recognition of the lady athletes performance at the 1948 Olympic Games held at Wembley". After organisational problems in 1963 a Championship Committee was formed, consisting of Percy Davies, Faraday Coomber and Alan Luckett. Alan Luckett was to become Association Chairman in 1968 and President in 1973, both posts which he held to the 1990 amalgamation.

The Men's Association was formed in 1920 by a nucleus of clubs who had existed in the County from Victorian times. The oldest of these were Blackheath Harriers founded in 1869, and Cambridge Harriers in 1890 both still members. Following the First World War the Amateur Athletic Association recommended that County associations be formed and on 6th May 1920 a meeting was held at the Town Hall, Maidstone, at the invitation of the Mayor and under the chairmanship of the Marquis Camden, Lord Lieutenant of Kent, with a view to forming such a Kent Association. Unfortunately the meeting was poorly attended and considered not to be fully representative so a further meeting was held in the London offices of the Amateur Athletic Association on 26th May 1920. As a consequence the Kent County A.A.A. was formed with T. Crafter of Blackheath Harriers and Charles Otway of Herne Hill Harriers as the first Chairman and Secretary respectively. The first Championships were held on 7th August 1920 at the Woolwich Polytechnic Ground, Eltham, and the first Cross Country Championships on the 5th March 1921 from the Ravensbourne Club Ground in Lee from where it was possible to run in Mottingham, Eltham Green, Well Hall and Kidbrooke. From then, with the exception of the period of the Second World War, these Championships have been held annually around the County, though since 1967 the Track and Field Championships were nearly all held at Crystal Palace and from 1976 as a single event with the Ladies Championships.

The County has been fortunate to be helped from the beginning by many long-serving men and women who have given freely of their time and effort so that Kent is one of the leading Athletic Counties. From the earliest days when Charles  Otway was Secretary of the A. A. A. from 1914 to 1929 and C. W. Pearce of Herne Hill, who had been President of the English Cross Country Union 1914 to 1919, took over as Treasurer of that organisation from Jack Cottrell of Cambridge Harriers through to Alan Brent of Blackheath Harriers recently President of the English Cross Country Union and Eric Nash of Cambridge Harriers until 1998 Secretary of the South of England Athletic Association where he followed Len Smith of Medway Athletic Club.

Athletically, too, the County has had a continuing succession of high performers with regular representation for Great Britain at Olympic Games and European Championships and for England at the Commonwealth Games and the International Cross Country Championships.

Individually the greatest performances must be the World Records obtained by Sydney Wooderson and Steve Backley while the consistency and fine performance of Frank Sando in the International Cross Country Championships, competing every year from 1952 until 1960 and the winner in 1955 and 1957 is unlikely to be surpassed. During most of her long and active career Judy Oakes threw for Kent and most recently Dame Kelly Holmes has become a leading British competitor winning Gold at the Olympic Games.

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Past Presidents & Honorary Life Members (HLM) of KCAA

Denis Foxley (HLM) (1994-1995)
Graham Holder (HLM) (2015 -2018)
Louise Knight (HLM) (2011 - 2015)
David Maynard (HLM) (1999-2000)

2023	Present		President		Andrew Scoones
2018	2022		President		Claire Capon
2015	2018		President		Graham Holder
2011	2015		President		Louise Knight
2010	2011		President		Barry Royden
2009	2010		President		David Ralph
2008	2009		President		Derek Garrard
2007	2008		President		Marjorie Sawyer
2006	2007		President		Ken Gilbert
2005	2006		President		Mike Rowbottom
2004	2005		President		Ian F Smith
2003	2004		President		Neil C P Smith
2002	2003		President		Frank D Sando
2001	2002		President		Ron Hale
2000	2001		President		Eric Nash
1999	2000		President		David Maynard
1998	1999		President		F Len Murphy
1997	1998		President		Ron P Sawyer
1996	1997		President		Chris Newman
1995	1996		President		Mick Paul
1994	1995		President		Dennis Foxley
1993	1994		President		Mrs Daphne M Reed
1992	1993		President		Jack G Alston
1991	1992		President		Alan J Brent
1990	1991		President		Alan W Luckett
KCAA formed 30 September 1990 from KCWAAA & KCAAA

 

Below is information supplied by Brian Boulton

Kent County Amateur Athletic Association - Officers 1920-1990
Year	President	Secretary	Treasurer	Chairman	Vice Chairman	Notes
1920	Marquess Camden	C Otway	T W.Higgs	T Crafter
		Herne Hill H	W P A C	Blackheath H
1921	Marquess Camden	C Otway	T W Higgs	T Crafter
		Herne Hill H	W P A C	Blackheath H
1922	Marquess Camden	C Otway	F H Hulford	T K Grant
		Herne Hill H	Herne Hill H.	Blackheath H
1923	Marquess Camden	C Otway	F H Hulford	T K Grant		AGM 2nd March 1923
		Herne Hill H		Blackheath H
1924	Marquess Camden	C Otway	F H Hulford	T K Grant		AGM 27th February 1924
		Herne Hill H		Blackheath H
1925	Marquess Camden	C Otway	H G Brockman	T K Grant		AGM 9th February 1925
		Herne Hill H	Herne Hill H	Blackheath H
1926	Marquess Camden	C Otway	H G Brockman	T K Grant		C Otway died on 7th October
		Herne Hill H	Herne Hill H	Blackheath H		1934. AGM 24th February 1926
1927	Marquess Camden	A E Waldegrave	H G Brockman	T W Higgs
			Herne Hill H
1928	Marquess Camden	A E Waldegrave	H G Brockman	T W Higgs
			Herne Hill H
1929	Marquess Camden	A E Waldegrave	H G Brockman	T W Higgs
			Herne Hill H
1930	Marquess Camden	A E Waldegrave	H G Brockman	T W Higgs	J H Williams (Pt)
			Herne Hill H		Blackheath H.
1931	Marquess Camden	A E Waldegrave	H G Brockman	T W Higgs	J H Williams
			Herne Hill H		Blackheath H.
1932	Marquess Camden	A E Waldegrave	A D Thwaites	T W Higgs	J H Williams
			Blackheath H		Blackheath H.
1933	Marquess Camden	A E Waldegrave	A D Thwaites	T W Higgs *	J H Williams	* Deceased 25 April 1935
			Blackheath H		Blackheath H.
1934	Marquess Camden	A E Waldegrave	A D Thwaites	J H Williams	C W F Pearce
			Blackheath H	Blackheath H.	Herne Hill H
1935	Marquess Camden	A E Waldegrave	A D Thwaites	J H Williams	C W F Pearce
			Blackheath H	Blackheath H.	Herne Hill H
1936	Marquess Camden	A E Waldegrave	A D Thwaites	J H Williams	C W F Pearce
			Blackheath H	Blackheath H.	Herne Hill H
1937	Marquess Camden	A E Waldegrave	A D Thwaites	J H Williams	C W F Pearce
			Blackheath H	Blackheath H.	Herne Hill H
1938	Lt. Col. C D Sheldon	A E Waldegrave *	A D Thwaites	J H Williams	H W E Sercombe	* Resigned 7 December 1938
		(resigned 7/12/38)	Blackheath H	Blackheath H.	Blackheath H.	L Hammill Asst Sec 13/10/38
1939	Lt. Col. C D Sheldon	L E Hammill	A D Thwaites	W C A Findlay	H W E Sercombe
		Blackheath H	Blackheath H	Herne Hill H.	Blackheath H.
1940	Lt. Col. C D Sheldon	L E Hammill	A D Thwaites	W C A Findlay	W J Western
		Blackheath H	Blackheath H	Herne Hill H.	Dartford H
		from 3rd July 1942
		W J Western
		acting Hon Sec
1943	Lt. Col. C D Sheldon	W J Western	A D Thwaites	Chairman elected for
		Dartford H	Blackheath H	each meeting
1944	Lt. Col. C D Sheldon	W J Western	A D Thwaites	W C A Findlay
		Dartford H	Blackheath H	Herne Hill H.
1945	Lt. Col. C D Sheldon	W J Western	A D Thwaites	W C A Findlay
		Dartford H	Blackheath H	Herne Hill H.
1946	Lt. Col. C D Sheldon	W J Western	E A Holland	W C A Findlay
		Dartford H	Cambridge H	Herne Hill H
1947	Lt. Col. C D Sheldon	A Howard	E A Holland	W C A Findlay	W J Western
		Aylesford P M	Cambridge H.	Herne Hill H.	Dartford H.
1948	Lt. Col. C D Sheldon	A Howard	E A Holland	W C A Findlay	W J Western
		Aylesford P M	Cambridge H.	Herne Hill H.	Dartford H.
1949	Lt. Col. C D Sheldon	A Howard	E A Holland	W C A Findlay	W J Western
		Aylesford P M	Cambridge H.	Herne Hill H.	Dartford H.
1950	Lt. Col. C D Sheldon	A Howard	E A Holland	W C A Findlay	W J Western
		Aylesford P M	Cambridge H.	Herne Hill H.	Dartford H.
1951	Lt. Col. C D Sheldon	A Howard	E A Holland	W C A Findlay	W J Western
		Aylesford P M	Cambridge H.	Herne Hill H.	Dartford H.
1952	Sir A. Ralph Reed *	A Howard	E A Holland	W C A Findlay	W J Western	* Family connection with
		Aylesford P M	Cambridge H.	Herne Hill H.	Dartford H.	Albert E Reed & Co.
1953	Sir A. Ralph Reed	A Howard	E A Holland	W C A Findlay	W J Western
		Aylesford P M	Cambridge H.	Herne Hill H.	Dartford H.
1954	Sir A. Ralph Reed	A Howard	E A Holland	W C A Findlay	W J Western
		Aylesford P M	Cambridge H.	Herne Hill H.	Dartford H.
1955	Sir A. Ralph Reed	F R Tregunno	E A Holland	W C A Findlay	W J Western
		Kent A C	Cambridge H.	Herne Hill H.	Dartford H.
1956	Sir A . Ralph Reed	F R Tregunno *	E A Holland	W C A Findlay	W J Western	* Resigned Hon Sec 5/9/56
		Kent A C	Cambridge H.	Herne Hill H.	Dartford H.	A Howard took over again
1957	Sir A. Ralph Reed	V W W Beardon	E A Holland	W C A Findlay	W J Western
		Blackheath H.	Cambridge H.	Herne Hill H.	Dartford H.
1958	Sir A. Ralph Reed *	V W W Beardon	E A Holland	W C A Findlay #	W J Western	# Deceased 26th April 1958
		Blackheath H.	Cambridge H.	Herne Hill H.	Dartford H.	* Deceased June/ July 1958
1959	S W Barrow *	H C Rogers	E A Holland	A Howard	W R J Clarke	* Thought to have been a
		Cambridge H.	Cambridge H.	Aylesford P M	Blackheath H.	Director of Aylesford P Mills
1960	S W Barrow	H C Rogers	E A Holland *	A Howard	W R J Clarke	* Resigned Hon Treas 6/7/60
		Cambridge H.	Cambridge H.	Aylesford P M	Blackheath H.	R McCracken acting to AGM
1961	S W Barrow	H C Rogers	D J Hennessy	A Howard	W R J Clarke
		Cambridge H.		Aylesford P M	Blackheath H.
1962	S W Barrow	H C Rogers	D J Hennessy	A Howard *	W R J Clarke	* Deceased 22nd January 1963
		Cambridge H.		Aylesford P M	Blackheath H.	Obituary AW 26th January 1963
1963	S W Barrow	H C Rogers	D J Hennessy	W R J Clarke *	E A Holland	* Moved to Sussex Oct. 63
		Cambridge H.		Blackheath H.	Cambridge H.	Appears to have resigned
1964	S W Barrow	H C Rogers	D J Hennessy	E A Holland	A Beech
		Cambridge H.		Cambridge H.	Cambridge H.
1965	S W Barrow	D F Millgate	D J Hennessy	E A Holland	J G Alston
		Kent AC		Cambridge H.
1966	E A Holland*	D F Millgate	W J Traer	J G Alston	L E Hammill	First Annual President
	Cambridge H	Kent AC	Blackheath H.		Blackheath H.	* Arthur Holland
1967	A W Spalding*	D F Millgate	W J Traer	J G Alston		* Alec Spalding
	Cambridge H	Kent AC	Blackheath H
1968	W J Western*	D F Millgate	W J Traer	J G Alston		* Bill Western
	Dartford H	Kent AC	Blackheath H
1969	L E Hammill*	D F Millgate	W J Traer	J G Alston		* Laurie Hammill
	Blackheath H	Kent AC	Blackheath H
1970	H C Rogers*	D F Millgate	W J Traer	J G Alston	L E Hammill	* Bert Rogers
	Cambridge H	Kent AC	Blackheath H		Blackheath H
1971	J Hennessey*	D F Millgate	W J Traer	J G Alston		* Jim Hennessey
		Kent AC	Blackheath H
1972	V G Wood*	D F Millgate		J G Alston		* Vic Wood
		Kent AC
1973	H F Rainbird*	D F Millgate	W H Alexander	J G Alston		* Harold Rainbird
	Cambridge H	Kent AC
1974	A W Luckett*	D F Millgate	W H Alexander	J G Alston		* Alan Luckett
		Kent AC
1975	N M Lewis*	L A Smith	W H Alexander	J G Alston	L E Hammill	* Norman Lewis
		Medway AC			Blackheath H
1976	J G Alston*	L A Smith	W H Alexander	J G Alston		* Jack Alston
		Medway AC
1977	P W Green*	L A Smith	W H Alexander	J G Alston		* Jimmy Green
	Medway AC	Medway AC
1978	A Nye*	D F Millgate	W H Alexander	J G Alston		* Arthur Nye
	Blackheath H	Kent AC	Elliott Reed A C
1979	A J Brent*1	D F Millgate	W H Alexander	J G Alston	L E Hammill	*1 Alan Brent
	Blackheath H	Kent AC *2	Elliott A C		Blackheath H.	*2 Joined Blackheath H 6/8/79
1980	F D Sando*1	D F Millgate	F D Sando	J G Alston		*1 Frank Sando
	Elliott A C	Blackheath H. ? *2	Elliott A C			*2 Unclear if resigned Kent A C
1981	S T Fry*	D F Millgate	F D Sando	J G Alston	L E Hammill	* "Ticker" Fry
	Medway AC	Blackheath H.	Elliott A C		Blackheath H
1982	N C P Smith*	D F Millgate	F D Sando	J G Alston	S T Fry	* Neil Smith
	Sevenoaks AC	Blackheath H.	Elliott A C		Medway  A C
1983	D F Millgate*	D F Millgate	F D Sando	J G Alston	S T Fry	* Dennis Millgate
	Blackheath H.	Blackheath H.	Elliott A C		Medway A C
1984	W H Alexander*	D F Millgate	F D Sando	J G Alston	A W Luckett	* Bill Alexander
	Elliott A C	Blackheath H.	Elliott A C
1985	P Stedall*	D F Millgate	F D Sando	J G Alston	A W Luckett	* Peter Stedall
	Medway A C	Blackheath H.	GEC Avionics AC
1986	R Hale*	D Foxley	F D Sando	J G Alston	A W Luckett	* Ron Hale
	Kent AC	Medway AC	GEC Avionics AC
1987	I F Smith*	D Foxley	F D Sando	J G Alston		* Iain Smith
	Blackheath H	Medway AC	GEC Avionics AC
1988	V W W Beardon*	D Foxley	F D Sando	J G Alston	A W Luckett?	* Victor Beardon
	Blackheath H	Medway AC	GEC Avionics AC
1989	D Foxley*	D Foxley	F D Sando	J G Alston	A W Luckett	* Dennis Foxley
	Medway AC	Medway AC	GEC Avionics AC
1990	B E Boulton*	D Foxley	F D Sando	J G Alston	AW Luckett ?	* Brian Boulton
	Cambridge H	Medway AC	GEC Avionics AC			KCAAA amalgamated with
						KCWAAA from 30th September
						1990