ARTHUR NELSON
Born : 5th September 1912 in Warrington
Father & Mother : John & Esther Nelson
Married : Hilda Webb (B. 7th November 1914) in 1937
Occupation : Cake salesman at Broadhurst & Co, Rudheath, Northwich.
Lived at 2, Griffiths Drive, Rudheath, Northwich.
Arthur at work at Broadhurst, Rudheath
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Children
Barry J Nelson : 1940 in Northwich
Christine S Nelson : B.1948 in Northwich
1939
In 1939 Arthur and Hilda are living at 2 Griffiths Drive, Rudheath, Northwich, Arthur is working at Broadhurst Bakeries of Rudheath as a Cake salesman van driver.
December 1987
The Chronicle , March 1995
Mid Cheshire Table Tennis last week paid homage to ARTHUR NELSON as a special presentation dinner in recognition of his services to the game.
Now 82, Arthur talks about his sporting life, his enthusiasm for the game undiminished.
FULL NAME: Arthur Nelson
AGE: 82
BIRTHPLACE: Warrington
OCCUPATION: Retired cake salesman
LIVES: Rudheath
SPORTING BACKGROUND: “I came to Northwich to work at Broadhurst in 1934 and began to play table tennis at about the same time. Of course facilities were very limited in those days but we used to play quite regularly at Winsford and occasionally a couple of us would cycle to Runcorn to get a game. That might sound a bit excessive nowadays, but when you are young you think nothing of it.
I served at El Alamein in the Middle East during the war but on my return, I was a member of the Broadhurst team that was part of the inaugural Mid Cheshire League”.
MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS/MEMORIES TO DATE: Arthur dominated local table tennis in the years immediately after his return from wartime service.
“I was Mid Cheshire champion from 1947 to 1950 and continued to play the game right up until the age of 46 in 1958. I then took up golf and really started to enjoy it. I played at Sandiway and when I last played eight years ago, I was playing off a handicap of 14. I was fortunate enough to score a celebrated ‘Hole in One’ on two occasions, one at the 6th and one at the 18th, that was a lovely feeling”.
HOPES AND AMBITIONS: Arthur has had to cut down on his sporting activities in recent years due to deteriorating eyesight and he is now almost blind.
“I cannot complain as I’ve been fortunate enough to life a very full life. After I stopped playing table tennis, I served on the committee for many years and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Mid Cheshire league has always been fortune enough to have a dedicated bunch of workers behind the scenes and it would be remiss of me not to mention some of those chaps. Roger Eaton the Chairman and Bob Malam have helped the league come on in strides and Campbell Eaton is another hard worker. His lad Ian (Featured in the column a couple of weeks ago) has a vast potential to do well in the game”.
FIRST SPORTING MEMORY: “I think your first win always tends to stay with you and my best win in the early days came whilst I was playing in one of the Mission churches in Warrington, near Victoria Park”.
FAVOURITE SPORTING LOCATION: “I loved playing golf at Sandiway. It is a beautiful course and a smashing place to play. I used to arrange a minibus tour up to Scotland for many years and a group of a dozen or so of us would go up and play at some of the leading courses such as St Andrews. However, Sandiway holds a special place in my affections”.
OTHER INTERESTS: “I used to enjoy the races and watching them on TV. Nowadays, I enjoy listening to the commentaries on the radio”.
OTHER SPORTS PLAYED/WATCHED: “As a junior, I played rugby and liked cricket, it was always table tennis and golf that were the main sports for me”.
IN WHAT WAYS HAS THE GAME CHANGED OVER THE YEARS? : “Almost completely. When I used to play we wore long trousers and certainly didn’t have any of those fancy shirts and shorts that are worn by players of Today.
Also, the new bats with their multilayered surfaces have transformed the flight of the ball and thus, altered the whole course of the sport. I used to think spending ten and sixpence for a bat was an extravagance.
It was a great honour for me to receive the presentation last week. I met many old friends and to be honest even caught up with some people I’d forgotten about !. I was quite moved”.
Death of Arthur
