Cup First Presented by Guildford Worthy Comes Home

Published on: 31 Jul, 2014
Updated on: 4 Aug, 2014

Members of Guildford’s Castle Green Bowling Club are over the moon now that the Frank Lasham Trophy has ‘come home’.

The trophy was presented to the club in 1919 when it was called Castle Bowling Club. It is named after Frank ‘Bulldog’ Lasham, a printer a stationer in Guildford and who was the first president of the Castle Bowling Club. (See biography below).

From left: Shirley West, Mayor David Elms, Andy Sutton, Paul Plummer and Julie Hinde.

He gave the trophy for a pairs competition between bowling clubs from Guildford.

Subsequently, it was used for the Mayor of Guildford’s competitions together with the Barnard Cup and the Kimber Cup until sadly these came to an end. The trophies for these competitions were then put away and forgotten.

[Ed: The Kimber Cup is surely named after former mayor, Harold Kimber, but what about the Bernard Cup? (probably nothing to do with Bernard Parke!]. 

However, the trophies came to light again last year and Shirley West, the president of Castle Green, was asked to see whether the trophies could be brought back into use.

She chose that the Lasham Pairs Trophy would be awarded to the winner of Castle Green’s Pairs Day, which was held last Sunday.

The trophy was presented by Andy Sutton, a very good ex-bowler of the club, together with the Mayor of Guildford, David Elms. The winners this year were Paul Plummer and Julie Hinde and the runners up were Brian West and Mary Redgwell.

Frank ‘Bulldog’ Lasham. Perhaps the nickname is self explanatory!

David Rose writes: In his day, Frank ‘Bulldog’ Lasham was a well known and respected Guildford resident. He was born in 1850 in Dedham, Essex. He can be traced to the 1851 census as the son of John and Anne Lasham. his father was a chemist. At the time Frank was the youngest of four children.

By the time of the 1881 census, Frank (now 30) was a visitor at a property in Finsbury, London, but on the census it states that he is in business in Guildford as a printer and stationer, employing one man and eight boys.

He can be traced to the 1891 census as resident at 61 High Street, Guildford, with his wife Adelene and five children.

The 1911 census lists him the same address as a bookseller and printer. Indeed, he published a number of guides to Guildford and issued his own picture postcards.

He became involved in many activities in Guildford, not least the Guildford Institute and its Natural History Society. For the latter he organised outings and events for the society and kept scrapbooks and journals. These are now in the archives of the Guildford Institute and well worth looking at!

Frank Lasham died on November 8, 1925. His will was proved in 1926, in which he left £6,390 11s 2d.

A newspaper cutting from the Surrey Weekly Press on the death of Frank Lasham. More interesting details here in that he married into the Gates family of Cow & Gate fame.

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