In The High School of Glasgow’s milestone 900th anniversary year, the London Club golfers have made their own contribution to the celebrations by winning their annual matches against both Glasgow and Kelvinside Academicals.

In June, the London Club team was delighted to reclaim the Anniesland Trophy from Glasgow Accies. And then in October, the double success was achieved by winning the GHK London Golf Cup from Kelvinside Accies.

The fixture against Glasgow Accies has been a staple in the calendar since 1962, taking place within the Scottish Schools Championships at Denham Golf Club. Over that whole period, HSOG teams have three more victories in total than our rivals from ‘through the fence’.

This year’s winning team comprised Gordon Dewar (Class of 1968), Ian Farr (Class of 1966), Michael Herriot (Class of 1961), Bob Pringle (Class of 1969) and Alastair Weight (Class of 1965). The presentation of the trophy was made by the Glasgow Accies’ captain, Peter Marr, along with a bottle of their very own malt whisky.

The match against Kelvinside Accies is a much newer fixture, established in 2022. The London Club golfers were pleased to present the trophy for the annual competition.

The photograph above shows this year’s High School winners with the GHK London Golf Cup. The numbered ‘900’ balloons pictured behind the team were kindly organised by the Kelvinside Accies’ captain, John Burleigh – a lovely gesture to mark our School’s momentous anniversary. Pictured L-R are Ian Brodie (Class of 1969), Ian Farr (Class of 1966), Jim Riddell (Class of 1968) and Alastair Watson (Class of 1969).

Ian Farr, the High School captain at both events, commented: “Both of these fixtures are a joy to play in and our opponents are always great company. As well as these fixtures, each year we compete in the London Scottish Schools Championships and also have our own meeting for the Denham Trophy, which was presented to the London Club in 1960.

“To round off the High School’s 900th celebratory year, what we would really like is to increase our membership, which is predominantly drawn from former pupils living in or around London. In particular, we would like to see an uptick in the number of younger members. Some of the teams we play against do have a significant proportion of younger players and so our current squad of aging players are beginning to need some help in defending our reputation! Whatever your handicap, you can be sure of a very warm welcome. Please contact our convener, Ian Welsh (Class of 1991) at igwelsh@yahoo.co.uk or me at ianafarr@gmail.com if you’re interested in joining us.”

A huge congratulations to the teams for their victories in such a special year, and for maintaining the warm and friendly rivalry with other Glasgow schools.