Author: Don Ebdon, Life Member, BFCC

On summer evenings in I980 and 1981 the local lads played cricket on the playing field situated at the bottom of Bloomfield Road just off The Bear Flat.

Eventually a team was formed and the members used to go for a drink after matches at the Rose and Laurel pub on Rush Hill.

As this was the Club’s first HQ the team was called the Rose and Laurel Cricket Club.

Funds were raised to buy kit by the paying of subscriptions and using some of the money to acquire “pre-lottery” tickets.

As time passed there was a desire to improve the standard of play and I suggested that we changed the name to the Bear Flat Cricket Club as there was more chance of obtaining better quality fixtures by not being known as a pub side.

My suggestion that we should apply to join the North Somerset Cricket League initially did not receive much support, however one dark, wet, miserable November evening in 1982 Lorna and I, because no-one else was sufficiently interested, travelled to Chew Magna to enter a team in the North Somerset Cricket League.

Because the League had received so many applications that year it created a new 5th Division which consisted of the Club and six other teams.

Although there was resistance from certain quarters to a pub team being admitted as a member of the League when I mentioned that the team was to be known as the Bear Flat Cricket Club which was affiliated to the Bear Flat Community Association the resistance abated.

I invited Major Rikki Peters to become the President of the Club and John Carter also readily agreed to become the Chairman.

My next task was to obtain some trophies.

Rikki kindly donated a trophy in perpetuity for the Batsman of the Year and Paul Richards, Don Gilbert, and Wellsway Motors also donated trophies.

The first league fixture of 1983 was played at Corston, now the home of the Stothert & Pitt Rugby Club, against Easton-in-Gordano.

The members of that first ever league team were John Bryant, Dave Parker, John Swannick, Alan Garrett, Terry Owen, Andy Ebdon, Clive Hulbert, Peter White, John Carter, Andy Terrett and Rich Smith.

The 12th Man was Andy Isaacs simply because no one knew where he lived or how to contact him!

John Swannick turned up late because he went to Corsham instead of Corston!

The game was abandoned because of rain and each side was awarded 2 points.

At times during the 1983 season the Club struggled to raise a team.

On one occasion when the Club was playing at Whitchurch I brought along a young lad who lived in the same road as myself and I was rebuked for bringing such a little kid to play.

After the match the team retired to the pub however the landlord forbade the side entry, making it clear that never again was that little kid to be taken into the pub!

That little kid was Dave Godman who at the time sported a head of very curly hair.

Dave went on not only to captain the Saturday team but also to play a significant role in the development of the Club.  He no longer however, sports the same head of hair.