About Our Club
Our History
The Club was founded in 1950 as a memorial to those who died in the 1939/45 War. It has enjoyed a mixed membership since the earliest days, when we were a private club, being run and maintained by our members. The land is owned by the Memorial Hall (now a Charity Commission charity) and for the first decade, the club was run as a Memorial Hall facility, but always maintaining its financial independence. We now lease the land from the Memorial Hall. Since 2008 the Club has been a registered CASC (Community Amateur Sports Club).
Bowling
From the start, the Club entered and made steady progress to the higher echelons of the Bournemouth and District and Dorset leagues. By 1976, three members had become regular Middleton Cup players and in 1978 we enjoyed a magnificent year of achievement when the club players won virtually every county trophy, both Ladies and Men Sections - in 1980, Lou Trim reached the EBA Singles Final. The Club has been honoured to provide several County Presidents and officers over the years - In 1986 Eve Walker became President of the EWBA.
To ensure full participation in the game for all members, a Monday Line-up was introduced in 1955 for those bowlers who were new or not interested in leagues but who liked good company and a competitive match. The line-ups continue today as popular as ever with new bowlers. In the mid-1990s a Friday night triples league was set up to attract players of all abilities to participate.
Also during the 1990s, the West Moors Ladies enjoyed great success over a lengthy period at county level and several members have represented Dorset in the National Finals at Leamington. Janet Green reached the 2000 Finals in 5 separate competitions ending runner-up in two of them. It remains that West Moors Ladies are considered one of the strongest teams in Dorset.
Clubhouse
The first small changing room was replaced in 1960 with a pavilion donated by a Club member, Col. Abbott. An extension, built by members over a winter period in the mid 1970s, gave us the space to add a kitchen and a bar to our amenities. This building was finally taken down in 1999 with the opening of the present clubhouse.
In our Jubilee Year (2000) our new clubhouse was opened by Tony Allcock MBE. The building was jointly funded from the Sports Lottery Fund, local Councils and our members. Its design has permitted the Club to introduce Short Mat bowling which proved an immediate success during the Winter months. By 2006, over 115 residents have become members of this section and the club has raised up to five teams and joined the County short mat league.
The Green
The present green was laid when the Club opened in 1950 and for over 30 years it was fully maintained by volunteer members and brought up to a standard for County matches.
Like most greens, it has had good and not so good seasons but for 15 years the Club employed its own green keeper, Norman Cook, who provided a consistently high standard of green maintenance to ensure it was one of the most admired in Dorset. Norman unfortunately retired from green keeping back in 2006!
In 2010 the Club took over management of the green and arranged a contract with Greenside Ltd who carried out all the maintenance work except for the day-to-day tasks of cutting the grass and maintaining the ditches and watering system. Back in the Winter of 2019, an expensive ditch upgrade took place which means the green now meets the full specifications required for representative matches.
In 2026 we have had the green's irrigation replaced, a significant investment for the Club, which will ensure that we will have enough water to maintain the green whatever the weather.