Formally founded in 1930, CCHC is a community-based, not-for-profit, family hockey club offering hockey from 5 to 70+. CCHC is one of the leading hockey clubs in the East region, with 13 Senior league teams and a thriving Youth section. We enjoy excellent facilities at Wilberforce Road, benefitting from access to three high quality pitches, a meeting room and well equipped club house.
We are extremely proud to have both our M1 & W1 playing in the National League, but offer hockey for all abilities, with our teams playing across the East Leagues, and thriving 'Back to Hockey', Walking Hockey' & 'Masters Hockey' sections!
Our youth section provides a managed pathway from 5-18 and into senior hockey. Whilst proud of our youth teams’ strong performances in competition, our aim is for every player to end the season better than when they started, playing to their desired potential and, most of all, to have had fun along the way as members of a thriving and inclusive hockey club.
We enter teams into national, area and local competitions for performance and developing players, for both outdoor and indoor hockey, and take great pride in how many juniors progress through our senior sides and into our first teams.
We are very proud to support Flyerz (Disability) hockey festivals and partner with CADMuS, and continue to work with schools and the community to ensure greater access, and enjoyment of our sport. A key part of this is our Junior Development Program which is focused on supporting young players who are complete beginners, and the further development of young club players, all of whom have limited hockey opportunities through their school.
As each season goes by, we see our club go from strength to strength, and are excited for what the 2022-2023 season has in store for us
Although hockey was played actively in Cambridge in the early 1920s, interest in the game appeared to decline towards the end of the decade with the result that fixtures were becoming increasingly difficult to find. Thus, it was at the end of December 1929 when on a very wet Saturday afternoon eight enthusiastic players assembled at Mount Pleasant to participate in a practice game. After only 15 minutes of 4-a-side hockey the players were driven by the elements to take refuge in the three-sided equipment shelter, and there it was under this primitive roof that Cambridge City Hockey Club was conceived on that memorable Saturday afternoon – surely there can be few clubs who can claim to have been founded “apres le deluge”?
After some exploratory work by Bernard Coulson and Don Maltby a meeting was convened at the “Tea Shop”, Kings Parade. It was here, on Monday March 31st 1930, that the Club officially began under the name of Cambridge Town. 23 members were enrolled that first evening and the officials appointed included Dr. Rushmore of St Catharine’s College as President, Don Maltby and H. B. Coulson as joint Secretaries and Cat A. C. Taylor, A. K. Bird, Rev. J. Ainley and B. Lampard-Vachell as Vice Presidents. The first match on 4th October 1930 was played on Trinity Old Ground when the club in white shirts were beaten 7-1 by Chatteris. The Cambridge goal - the first official goal scored for the Club - was scored by Stanley Doggett. The match diary records the first Cambridge team as F. Pring, W. Nightingale, D. Maltby, T. Hughes, S. Doggett, F. Prime, R. Vinsen, H. Coulson, C. Sier, T. Darens (Capt) and J. Ainley. Not one victory was recorded during the initial season.
Fast forward to the 1950s and club Secretary, Stan Cooper, subsequently fell out with other team members and founded Cambridge Nomads. According to Don Maltby, another great City legend (his cousin, who resembled him in size, was the Dam Buster whose bomb broke the first dam in the war raid), the split was bitter. In fact Stan dominated Cambridgeshire Hockey in the 1970’s and arguably went close to achieving his ambition to topple City from their number one spot in the area, had we once been relegated.
Parker's Piece, Cambridge
Cambridge City 1st XI 1969:
Photo courtesy of Tony Johnson
Parker's Piece, Cambridge
Cambridge City 1st XI 1970-71:
Photo courtesy of Tony Johnson
Despite the 'schism', Cambridge City continued, playing all their home fixtures on Parkers Piece. These were all friendlies, until county league hockey started in the 1972-1973 season, as a starter for the East Leagues which started a few years later. Greene King were the first years sponsors, and then Norwich Union from about 1980 onwards to 1988.
Toasting success in 1974!
CCHC Men's 1st XI being presented with The Greene King team of the month award.
Photo courtesy of Tony Johnson
In 1988 the Men’s 1st XI were founder members of the new National League. Their first match was against East Grinstead captained by recent gold medallist, Richard Leman. Cambridge City was captained by Mike Mitcham and included stalwarts of the 2022 M6s team, Nigel Anns, Nigel Gadsby, Bill Davidson and Stephen Graves.
The Women's and Men's Clubs merged in September 1989 after apres ski discussions the previous January. The Women then qualified for the inaugural Women's National League in March 1991, going to play-offs in the May to decide which division of the new league structure they would enter, qualifying for the then Division 2. Both the Men's and Women's sides dropped down to East Premier for a while, but both are now in Division One of the National League, and the club has produced a string of international players.
After many years at Cambridge City Lawn Tennis Club, Wilberforce Road, and playing on various artificial pitches scattered around the city, the club is now based at the University Sports Ground on Wilberforce Road where it enjoys first class facilities for its 700+ members.
Victoria Franks
* Past President
David Baker
Clive Boast
Mick Bridgeland
Mark Brookes
Keith Burtenshaw
Dee Butler
Sharon Chahal
Julia Davison
Bruce Elam *
Sharon Ely
Chris Emery *
Vanya Fairman-Smith
Jeremy Farrant *
John Fordham
Vicki Franks
Jane Graves
* Past President
Rob Harris
Emilie House
Tim Ireland*
Martin Jeffery
Sally Jones
Rod King
Mervyn Leat
David Lunn
Mike Mitcham
Stephen Mulligan
Helen Napier
Eileen Normanton
Robert Pearce
David Pearson
Chris Rielly
David Roberts
Mark Sanderson
David Scott
Liane Shadrack
Julie Slater
Bob Stearn
Claire Sunderland
Nick Thompson
Laurel Tully
Nicola Valentine
Simon Webb
Chris Whitworth
Redvers Wilbur
Peter Wilkinson
Ian Wilson *
Nicholas Wilyman
Michael Wrathmall
Peter Wrench
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