Oral HISTORY INTERVIEWS

In this oral history interview, England and Great Britain hockey internationals John Peake (standing) and Anthony "Tony" Nunn (seated) fondly reminisce over their hockey years. Despite being of similar age (a three-year age gap) and hockey-playing contemporaries,...

John Peake is an England and Great Britain international hockey player. He studied mechanical engineering at Cambridge University and, after graduating, he joined the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors where he also played hockey. In 1948, John was selected to...

Martin Gotheridge is best known for his administrative work within hockey but he was also a National League umpire and an international match official. In this interview he charts his rise to becoming President of the European Hockey Federation (EHF), reflects on the...

Anita White is a former international player and current academic. She is also the former President of Great Britain Hockey. White played for England at Wembley Stadium and represented her country at international tournaments in the 1970s. As well as recalling her...

Monica Pickersgill was the last President of the All England Women's Hockey Association (AEWHA). She oversaw its merger with the Hockey Association (HA) whereupon she became the first President of the newly formed English Hockey Association (EHA). She was also...

Anne Ellis has enjoyed a distinguished career as an international player and coach whilst her off-the-field administrative roles within the game have encompassed national and international federations. In this interview Anne recalls her journey through hockey, from...

Morley Pecker is a man who, in his own words, has "worn many hats" within hockey. He is a former international umpire, administrator and photographer. In this interview Pecker recalls his experiences of officiating at the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games in Munich and...

Audrey Appleby is best known as an international umpire. She umpired women's international matches at Wembley Stadium and went to become a successful umpire coach and assessor. Over the course of her hockey career Appleby witnessed a variety of rules changes and the...

Pat Ward talks of her life as the Editor of Hockey Field until its demise; she tells of her time as President of Cornwall Hockey Association (CHA) and of the Western Counties Women's Hockey Association (WCWHA) where she was instrumental in the forming of a...

Bernie Cotton is a former England and Great Britain international player and captain who represented his country on international tours, at European and World Cups and at the Olympic Games. He went on to coach GB men at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games working under Roger...

Peter Savage is a policeman turned hockey photographer and journalist. He tells of his early playing career and how his passion for hockey manifested itself in broadcast and written journalism and in sports photography. Peter explores the technical and logistical...

Biddy Burgum was a versatile sportswoman and England international hockey player who toured to South Africa. She was a teacher at Bedford and Chelsea PE Colleges and went on to become a respected coach, developing young talent but also training hockey coaches. In this...

Richard Dodds talks about his progress in hockey culminating in reaching the Great Britain squad. He recalls their last minute call up to the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games and describes in detail how Great Britain won the Gold Medal in Seoul in 1988. He mentions his...

Brenda Read is a former England international player who coached several national teams and was instrumental, as Secretary of the International Hockey Federation's (FIH) Equipment Committee, in the development of the artificial pitch. Brenda describes how this...

Roger Self is a former Wales and Great Britain Manager. He is best known for leading the GB men's team to Gold in the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games. In this interview Self recalls his hockey playing career before discussing the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games as the build...

Chris Todd became England's youngest international umpire in 1974. In this interview he recalls the World and European Cups, Champions Trophies and Olympic and Pan American Games in which he has umpired. As well as his biographical accounts, Todd discusses the impact...

Stephen Martin is a former Irish and Great Britain international player who won Gold at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games. In this interview he recalls his route into hockey, breaking into the Ireland and GB setups at a young age and his experiences of, and the build up...

  Freddie Martin is best known as a former Ireland international player and was part of the first Irish squad to go to a World Cup in 1978. As well as reflecting on his international career, in this interview Martin offers insight into the rise and fall of...

Francis (Howard) Davis describes how he made progress from school hockey through to England - partly due to the misfortunes of others - and went on to achieve a record-breaking 81 caps for England and Great Britain through three Olympic Games. Images courtesy of...

Francis (Howard) Davis describes how he made progress from school hockey through to England - partly due to the misfortunes of others - and went on to achieve a record-breaking 81 caps for England and Great Britain through three Olympic Games. Images courtesy of...

Peter Child is best known for his involvement with the internationally touring Angels Hockey Club of the 1960s and for his administrative role in setting up the World Grand Masters Association (WGMA) in 2002, whereupon he became its inaugural President.

Hamish Jamson is an international umpire who has umpired at Champions Trophies, EuroHockey Championships and Olympics. He speaks with particular affection of the London 2012 Olympic Games and looks back on the learning curve that was touring, as an umpire, with...

Lieutenant Commander Alan Walker was a driving force in Navy hockey and a prominent coach in the south of England. He was known as ‘Mr Hockey’ in Navy circles such was his commitment to the game. In this interview, he recalls his hockey playing career in...

Jane Sixsmith is an England and Great Britain international player who competed at four consecutive Olympic Games between 1988 and 2000. She also won a Gold Medal with England at the Brussels 1991 EuroHockey Championships. As well as recalling her international...

Jenny Cardwell is a former international player, coach and manager. As well as reflecting on her playing career, Cardwell recalls her transition to coaching at county and territory level before being appointed by England. She discusses the hurdles she faced coaching...

Laurie Alcock, aka 'Mr Cannock', has been playing hockey since 1954. He remains heavily committed to the administration of hockey in Staffordshire and the Midlands and gives his insights to the challenges faced during the merger of the Hockey Association (HA) and the...

Leandro Negre is an ex-Spanish international goalkeeper and former President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH). He recalls being thrust into his club first team as an under 16 and his progression through to international hockey representing Spain at the...

Maggie Souyave is a former international captain and coach. In this interview Souyave recalls her England playing career with specific reference to her experiences at Wembley Stadium and the 1975 IFWHA World Championship in Edinburgh. She discusses her appointment as...