Trophies contested in the Ladies' Section

Compiled by Winifred Thomas

Adrianne Johnson Trophy

The trophy was donated to the club by Adrianne Johnson, who was lady captain in 1996, and is played for among the past club, lady and seniors' captains. Adrianne was successful in forming a junior girls’ section at Canterbury and at one time there were 10 young players working to gain their first handicap certificates.

Algarve Vases

An 18-hole four-ball betterball Stableford that was introduced by Cynthia Sheppard, who moved with her husband to the Algarve. In March 1981, a farewell four-ball betterball Stableford was held, with lunch provided for the occasion by Cynthia, who then presented the two winners with matching silver-plated vases. These were named the Algarve Vases and have remained part of the ladies’ summer programme ever since.

Captain’s Prize

This prize has been in existence throughout the history of the club and is awarded on Lady Captain’s Day.  Whereas most of the competitions within the club are associated with a trophy, at this event, the winner’s prize is provided by the incumbent lady captain, who also decides on the format.

In 2014, Julia Barton donated two Greensome salvers from Herne Bay Golf Club after its closure and since then, one of the two salvers has been awarded as the lady captain’s prize on Lady Captain’s Day.

Cardy Salver 

The trophy for this competition, a Stableford for players with handicaps from 30 to 54, was presented by Rosemary Cardy in the 1980s . Mrs Cardy joined the club in July 1979 with her husband, John, who died in 2021. 

The original format was a knock-out matchplay event, played throughout the summer months.

Castles Cup

The Castles Cup was donated by Chris Castles in 2008.  It is awarded for the best medal or Stableford score from October to September inclusive that did not win a trophy competition.

Chris and her husband, Ron, who was MD of his company, left Australia to initially spend three years in England from January 2001.  They settled so well to life in Kent that they did not return to Australia until November 2008, by which time their two sons had married and provided the Castles with grandchildren.  Living in the village of Wickhambreaux, they enjoyed travelling in Europe and around the UK. 
Chris was a popular member of the Ladies’ Section and represented the club in the Pearson Trophy.
To quote Chris:  "Australia is home, but the UK was the best part of my life!"

Cayley Cup

Presented by Elspeth Cayley, joint captain with Margaret Nye in 1975.  Elspeth was a great stalwart of the club for over 45 years and played in the Silver Division for most of her golfing life.  She presented the cup in 1981 to celebrate 25 happy years as a member and it is played as a weekend 18-hole bogey competition.

Challenge Bowl

An 18-hole medal, the Challenge Bowl is open to all winners of monthly medal and medal cup competitions played throughout a defined year.

It came into being at the end of the club's first year at Scotland Hills. The ladies’ membership stood at 23 and there was enough money in the funds to purchase this hallmarked cup.   Little could it have been imagined that years later, the Rev Pamela Lloyd, who was the holder of the trophy, would use the cup for a baptism in HM Prison, Canterbury, when no font was available.

Connie Groves Rose Bowl

After 45 years' membership, Connie Groves presented the Ladies’ Section with a beautiful rose bowl, to be competed for in an 18-hole medal. Connie went on to play golf for a further five years.  She acted as lady captain in 1957 and again in 1975 and was ladies’ secretary for seven years. 

Connie came to Canterbury to teach at the Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School in the late 1930s and joined the club. Her new golf clubs, which she thought would last her many years, were lost just a few days later in the fire which destroyed the old thatched-roofed clubhouse in 1938.

Daphne Hobbs Cup 

A winter knockout singles matchplay competition had been in existence for some years but without a trophy until 1997 when Jack Hobbs donated the cup in memory of his late wife, Daphne, who had been a popular lady member.

Eileen Fisher Cup

Eileen Fisher was Canterbury's lady captain twice, in 1949 and again in 1952. When, in 1950, the ladies' committee decided to award the Sillars Bowl to the winner of the scratch prize in the Ladies’ Open, an 18-hole medal, Mrs Fisher donated a cup for the Bronze Division winner. It is now awarded to the highest scoring Canterbury lady in the Festival of Golf individual Stableford.

Ethel Brook Cup

This trophy is awarded to the player with the best net aggregate score from the Spring and Autumn Meetings, both of which are 18-hole medals

Ethel Brook was lady captain in 1950, and in 1969 presented a cup in her name to the Ladies'’ Section.  She was the wife of PTS Brook, president of the club for a number of years.

Hallet Cup

This trophy was presented in 1960 for a foursomes knockout competition to be played annually and it continues to be a highly-contested and popular competition each summer.  The donor, Peggy Hallet, was lady captain in 1962.

Ickham Bowl

This is a beautiful, hallmarked Cup which came to the Ladies’ Section from the original club at Ickham.

The competition is a summer knockout singles matchplay competition over 18 holes. 

Ida Cook Trophies

An 18-hole mixed foursomes matchplay knockout competition for which the prizes are two silver-plated statuettes that were originally presented to the Ladies' Section by Ida Cook, lady captain in 1954 and 1956.

The competition is staged throughout the summer and each lady’s male partner must be a member of the Canterbury’s Men's Section.

Jubilee Cup

When King George V celebrated his Silver Jubilee in 1935, Carol Powers, headmaster of St Edmund's Junior School, donated this trophy.  Originally, it was contested on two afternoons in the autumn but various committees have changed the format over the years.  The net winner of the 36-hole event, played as a medal competition over two days, is now deemed to be the club handicap champion. The Sillars Cup is awarded for the best 36-hole gross score.

Jubilee Year Trophy

In 1977, the golf club had been in existence for 50 years and to celebrate the occasion, the trophy was purchased by the Ladies’ Section and awarded to the player with the lowest individual score in either of the two rounds of the Jubilee Cup

Margaret Vernon Cup 

Margaret Vernon was Lady Captain in 1970 and she donated this trophy, possibly for the benefit of weekend lady golfers. The competition is an 18-hole individual Stableford played on a Sunday afternoon or evening.

Mary Edmondson Consistency Salvers

The death of Mary Edmondson in November 1999, saw the Ladies’ Section lose a most supportive and generous benefactor.  As lady captain in 1971, she gifted a trust fund which has provided the wine served at the Ladies’ Annual Dinner and Prizegiving. In her will, she bequeathed further monies and the members of her frust fund purchased two silver salvers to be awarded to the most consistent golfers in the Silver and Bronze Divisions, both medals and Stablefords, each year.  They are known as the Mary Edmondson Consistency Salvers.

Mary Edmondson Scratch Bowl

This trophy was presented by Mary Edmondson to the Ladies’ Section of Herne Bay Golf Club many years ago.  Upon the closure of the club in 2012, Julia Barton organised its transfer to the Ladies’ Section at Canterbury. It is now presented to the winner of the best aggregate scratch medal score at the Spring and Autumn Meetings.

Mary Edmondson Greensomes Salvers

The salver came to Canterbury when Herne Bay Golf Club closed in 2012 and its transfer was organised by Julia Barton.  The trophy and the scratch salver, both presented by Mary Edmondson, are keenly contested by the club’s lower handicap ladies and are awarded to the winners of the winter knockout scratch competitions.

McCormick Trophy

Before the club was formed in 1927, there had been several years of negotiation with the War Office regarding the lease of the land known as Old Park. Three senior Army officers based at Canterbury were eventually able to secure a lease, initially for 28 years.  One of these officers was Colonel McCormick, the husband of Ida. She played in competitions and matches as early as 1938, but with the destruction of the clubhouse by fire in 1938 and the subsequent loss of the lady captains’ noticeboard, it is not known whether she was ever lady captain.

Past Captains’ Trophy

Sylvia Kerman was lady captain from January 1989 to March 1990 and she presented a silver griffin bowl to be played for in an 18-hole medal by the past lady captains of the club. The competition is followed by a luncheon, organised by the immediate past captain.

Pollard Cup

Reginald Pollard was the proprietor of a well-known Canterbury jewellery firm.  He was an army officer in the First World War and was taken prisoner while serving in France.  In the Second World War, his premises were destroyed by enemy action in 1942. 

Mr Pollard donated this trophy, a hallmarked cup with plinth and shields dated 1935, in 1938 for the winner of an 18-hole medal..

Sillars Bowl

This beautiful bowl is hallmarked 1920 and was donated by the Sillars family, who owned the land on which the old Ickham Golf Club was formed. It was transferred to Canterbury in 1928 when most of its members joined the new club.  The Sillars Bowl was originally awarded to the scratch winner in the Ladies' Open but in 2010, the committee agreed that the trophy should be awarded to the lady with the best gross score over the two rounds of the Jubilee Cup competition, played as a medal competition over two days. The winner is deemed the club scratch champion. The Jubilee Cup is awarded for the best 36-hole net score.

Summer Rose Bowl

The Spring and Autumn Meetings had been part of the club’s calendar for many years, but when a Summer Meeting was introduced in 1991, Ann White presented the ladies with a trophy to be named the Summer Rose Bowl.  Ann was lady captain in 1985.

Tchitcherine Salver

Miss Tchitcherine was a member of a small group of white Russians who had escaped the revolution in 1917 and settled in Canterbury. She enjoyed playing bridge at the club with the president, PTS Brook and his wife, Ethel. The salver has a diameter of 10 inches, is hallmarked silver and is presented to the winning pair in an 18-hole medal foursomes.

Thirties Cup

The Thirties Cup is so named because it is an 18-hole Stableford for players with handicaps of 30 and over

During her first spell as lady captain in 1967, Mary Starbuck donated a trophy for a matchplay knockout competition for players with handicaps of 30 and over and this became a popular event, particularly for beginners. Mary became lady captain again in 1992 after she retired from her work as a renowned and popular ophthalmic surgeon.

36-Hole Salver

This is a competition comprising two rounds of medal golf played on the same day. 

Three ladies from Herne Bay - Julia Barton, Cicely Hellyer and Olive Marshall - presented a silver salver during the 1970s to be awarded to the player with the lowest medal score over two rounds.  Olive was lady captain in 1973 and Julia continues to be a member of this club and the main organiser of its thriving Bridge Section, which meets on Mondays.

Veterans’ Trophy

An 18-hole individual Stableford for ladies aged 65 and over for a trophy presented by Kay Hutchinson, who was a popular ladies’ secretary for 22 years. On her retirement from the committee, Kay she presented a trophy to the Ladies’ Section. Originally, ladies entering the competition had to be aged 50 or over but, since then, the age has been increased and is now 65. This could be a little embarrassing for those ladies who were winners at the age of 50 if, in later years, they were assumed to be at least 65 when they won the trophy.

The Winter Cups

Past captains Gwen Allen and Moira Holt donated the Winter Cups in 1990.  As there was not much excitement in the club calendar in the winter months, the ladies thought it would be enjoyable to play for a trophy towards the end of January and they added to the fun by asking some gentlemen golfers to serve warming drinks as each pair arrived at the 10th tee. Played as an 18-hole Greensomes Stableford, this continues to be a most popular competition.