The history of Llanelli Cricket Club

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Following the success of the Merthyr/Wanderers charity match, the Club was again invited to send a team to play against Merthyr to celebrate the official opening of their new clubhouse. Once again the Wanderers fielded a team which included guest players such as Terry Davies; R. H. Williams; Keith Rowlands and John Leleu. By all account a splendid night was had by all and the Wanderers were congratulated on their "spectacular open rugby and wonderful singing", certain evidence that the choir remained in good voice. The Wanderers also invite representatives of other rugby clubs to attend this social evening. It is a night of a fine dinner, excellent after dinner speeches, informal conversations with the guests, and the function inevitably ends with a "Gymanfa Ganu". It is truly a great night for rugby men. Allan Evans smashed the Club record of 111 pts. for the 1st XV which he set in season 74/75 when he scored a total of 173 points in season 75/76, a record he still holds. Following much activity and the dedication of Wynne Davies to his task, what was wasteland had by now become a lush playing surface and on the 1st September, 1975 the ground was officially opened by the then President of the Welsh Rugby Union, Handel C. Rogers. There followed a match between the Wanderers and a team made up of former Wanderers players. For the record, the teams were:

Alan Prosser Harries; Meredith Evans; Howard Rees; Graham Morse; Howell Davies; Ellis Griffiths; Handel Greville; Howard (Ash) Davies; Robin Williams; Lionel Thomas; Graham Tobias; David Griffiths; John Rowlands; H. D. Williams and D. H. Williams. Among the forwards was a young aspiring prop forward in Howard (Ash) Davies who was destined to captain the town's premier club. The match resulted in victory for the Wanderers by 5-11. The match was reported by the South Wales Evening Post as follows: Meanwhile, the Wanderers held their 8th Triennial Dinner with chief guests Dewi Griffiths and Phil Bennett relating their experiences whilst on tour of New Zealand with the 1977 Lions. Phil Bennett, of course, was captain of the tour and Dewi Griffiths was involved in the T.V. coverage of the tour for B.B.C. President: Mr. Elvet Jones; Chairman: Mr. Hector Griffiths; Hon. Sec.: Mr. T. G. Pugh; Hon. Treasurer: Mr. J. D. C. Evans. The other members present at this meeting were D. M. Hughes; Ken John; Albert Lewis; Hugh Rowe; R. E. Williams and G. R. Wilson. Several other Welsh-born players established a first-team place, including Dai and Emrys Davies from Llanelli, Cyril Walters from Neath as well as Maurice Turnbull from Cardiff, who duly went on to turn around the fortunes of the Club during the 1930s.

FIXTURES & RESULTS

This was at the start of a season which was to see the first Wanderer raise his personal tally of points into three figures. This distinction fell to Harry Thomas, who also repeated the feat in seasons 59/60 and 61/62. The concept of the Wanderers having their own ground was one which the founder members of the Club had looked forward to from the early days. Unfortunately, one of them in particular was not to see this project finalised, for in July, 1974 the Wanderers, as well as the whole of the rugby fraternity, mourned the passing of D. M. Hughes. He was a man, held in considerable respect by all who knew him. After retiring as a player, he took up refereeing and was appointed to the International Referee's panel in 1964. He refereed five internationals and numerous repesentative matches before retiring in 1967. He was Vice Chairman of the Wanderers Club from 1954 to 1957 when he became Chairman until 1959. He then became the Club's Secretary, a position he held until 1967. Although he left Llanelli in 1971 to take up a position at Melton Mowbray, he maintained his close links with the Club even to the extent of arranging an annual rugby match between the Wanderers and Melton Mowbray.

April 1954 again saw the Edinburgh Northern club visit Llanelli, for the annual 'mini-international', and on the Wanderers return visit the following year, the Wanderers extended their sporting curriculum by engaging the Scots in a game of skittles. It is not recorded who was victorious in that particular confrontation, but on the Northerns visit in February 1956, it was seen fit for them to be the first club to be presented with the Club's plaque in the form of the Wanderers’ crest. While playing for Carmarthen Quins, he was capped for Wales Youth and was then spotted by Welsh giants, Llanelli. The 1966/67 season was one which bestowed a unique distinction on the Wanderers Club when two of the Club's second string were borrowed, on two separate occasions, by Llanelli. They were Roger Howells and Mike Tanner, who made their premier debuts against Newbridge and Pontypridd in midweek matches. The first recipients of these trophies for the season 1971/72 were Wynne Davies who received the President’s Cup and Robert Morgan received the Players’ Trophy. Among the highlights of the Club's first season were fixtures with St. Luke's College, Exeter, Swansea Athletic and Edinburgh Northern.Four years later, Matthew was the Club's captain as together with many of the class of '93, he led Glamorgan to their third Championship title. The summer of 1997 also saw Waqar Younis, the great Pakistani fast bowler, play for the Welsh county, and like Viv in 1993, Waqar played an integral role in Glamorgan's title success, delivering a series of match-winning spells, including one at Liverpool as Lancashire were dismissed for just 51. The Club's motto "Cyfeillach Trwy Grwydro" means "Friendship Through Wandering", and whilst it is known that there was plenty of friendship at this time, so too was there plenty of Wandering with the Club moving its headquarters from the Prince of Wales Inn to the Bush Vaults and then on to the Salutation Hotel, which was also used at this time as a headquarters by Llanelly R.F.C. The close links between the Club and the Scarlets continued to develop over the years with the two Clubs jointly organising numerous social functions.

The Wanderers again extended their sporting horizons when in early 1963, they formed a swimming club. This, of course, was made possible by the opening of the Jubilee Pool shortly before. In fact, so popular was this new venture in the Club that the Wanderers decided to donate a trophy to the Llanelli Amateur Swimming Club to be competed for amongst its members. The official opening was performed on the 2nd April, 1962 by Danny E. Davies, the then President of the Welsh Rugby Union. Following the ceremony, the spotlight switched to Stradey Park where a Wanderers XV played an International XV. It was an enjoyable occasion, and no one did better than that "grand old man" of Welsh rugby, Rees Stephens. The Wanderers XV still recall with pride, that thrilling and enjoyable game. The teams were as follows:

Llanelli Cricket Club

Such was the enterprise of the Club Committee at this time, and no doubt encouraged by the experience of widening the Club's repertoire to include skittles, it was decided to organise a Boxing Tournament at the Drill Hall in May 1956. The whole Club was delighted when Clive Rees was recalled to the Welsh XV after so long an absence. Although Wales' International season did not fulfill its expectations, it is worthy of note that it was generally recognised by the press and other knowledgeable rugby men, that Clive was one of the few successes of the Welsh team showing flair when given the opportunity and showing an astute appreciation and application of the finer points of the game. Something that the Wanderers had known for some time!

St Helens came in for him and he became a full-time professional, having tried to tempt him several times before. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2022-09-08 18:37:59 Autocrop_version 0.0.14_books-20220331-0.2 Boxid IA40648018 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier September 1965 saw the Wanderers embark on their first continental tour. Under the tour managership of trusty Harry D. Evans, a party of 30 left Llanelli bound for Brussels. This tour had been long awaited by the Wanderers and the hospitality of the Belgians was well worth the wait. The touring party was entertained to a reception at the world famous Martini Bar and hosted by the Mayor of Brussels at the Brussels Town Hall. On the field the Club was to meet a Belgian XV and a Brussels XV. Incidentally, no "caps" were awarded for the match against the Belgian XV which resulted in a win for the Wanderers by 8 pts. to 3 pts. The Wanderers also beat the Brussels XV by 15 pts. to 13 pts. The 1976/77 season is another when a try scoring record was established when Michael Morgan, yet another wing threequarter, ran in for 5 tries for the 1st XV against Penlan, and success came to the Wanderers seven-a-side squad when they won the plate competition at the District G competition. The 6th July, 1956 was certainly a red letter day in the life of the Wanderers Club for it was at the Club's Annual General Meeting on that date that F. G. Phillips, the then Vice President of the Welsh Rugby Union, announced that the Wanderers had been admitted as probationary members of the Welsh Rugby Union. For the record, the Club's application was seconded by Mumbles and Skewen N.O.R. This was a unique achievement for a Club of only five years standing. Wanderers themselves believe that this was achieved not merely by the playing strength of the Club but also by the tremendous fillip given by its record as a Club whose hospitality was generally recognised as second to none. Amongst those whose diligence up to this point had been of un measured value to the Club, were Hector Griffiths, Chairman; Graham Pugh, Secretary; John Evans, Treasurer; and last but not least, Cliff Jones, whose "magic" baton did much to earn the Club its' reputation on the social side. The Wanderers were accepted into full membership of the Welsh Rugby Union in 1959 after serving the norma13 year probationary period. The Club's entry into the Union was celebrated in typical Wanderers style by a dinner at the Stepney Hotel in November, 1956.

Following Handel Greville's recall to the Scarlets side, the Club captaincy was bestowed on Huw C. Williams, and the Club's playing record at the end of its first season was certainly something to be proud of: The first match versus A.S. Poissy, resulted in a fine 21 pts. - 9 victory for the Wanderers with 17 pts. coming from the boot of outside half Geraint Llewellyn. The other match was played against St. Germain en Laye, and the Wanderers must have been feeling the effects of French hospitality as they were trailing by 24 pts. to 3 at half time! Quite what refreshed the team at the interval is not known, but it was sufficient for the Wanderers to achieve a drawn result at 27 points each to maintain the Wanderer's record of being unbeaten on the Continent. The investigations into the feasibility of the Wanderers own ground at Stradey proved to be fruitful and in March 1974 the Club launched an appeal fund to develop what was unsightly scrubland, into a playing area, with facilities which have since become the envy of many local sides. Llanelly Wanderers Ieuan Jones (Capt.), Wynne Davies, Gareth Morris, Neville Holmes, Clive Aitken ,Eifion Thomas, Peter H. Williams, Hywel Griffiths, Colwyn Owens, Godfrey Rees, Peter Williams, Rheinallt Jenkins, Dennis Shanahan, Peter Davies, Harry Thomas.