Whist results
Thursday, February 5: no play, snowbound. Everyone wisely stayed at home.
Saturday, February 7: top score - Mary Renowden (175); 1st lady - Mabel Whitaker (172); 2nd lady - Mair Marquiss (164); 1st gent - Bill Whitaker (173); 2nd gent - Ginnie Beeken (169); first half winner - Pauline Barnikel (98); second half - Elsie Breadnam (80); longest sitter - Olive Frost (eight times); lowest score - Mary Draper; raffles - Mair Marquiss and Olive Frost.
Bonus ball winners
Wednesday, February 4 - Joan and John Lloyd; Saturday, February - Judy.
The fairer sex
In 1923, the suffragettes were struggling for equality, which was very slow in coming, but not as slow as women's bowling here in Tenby, with one exception.
It its late September issue of that year, the Tenby Observer reportesd: "An innovation took place on the Tenby green. A match between two Tenby ladies' rinks, comprising of the following. Rink one: lead Mrs. Guy Bancroft; second - Miss D. Davies; third - Mrs. Mason; skip - Mrs. Gwatkin. Rink two: lead - Mrs. R. O. Dowdeswell; second - Miss D. Phillips; third - Mrs. Griffiths; skip - Mrs. F. Farthing."
Two games were played, the first on Thursday, September 12, 1923, which Mrs. Gwatkin's rink won 21-14, and the return match on September 17, which Mrs Farthing's rink won 21-16.
Surprisingly, nothing further developed for ladies' bowling, nothing official anyway, until the 1960s. Nevertheless, if it hadn't been for the active participation of wives and girlfriends of bowling members and other interested women, the club would never have survived. A truism which still applies today.
The Tenby club was always short of funds for many years, so fund-raising was the order of the day, every day. This is where the ladies of Tenby really shone, regular whist drives, bridge parties, dances, were all sources of income to be milked mercilessly; highlight being the prestigious Tenby Bowling Club ball, a very well attended affair each year.
(An extract from 'Revised history of Tenby Bowling Club').