We are keeping a diary of the project as we go along so you can get a flavour of what we are up to.
We had a wonderful premiere of the film part of the project on Saturday June 1st. It was great to see so many people there and to have it so well received.
The screening was followed by a fascinating Q&A with interviewees and volunteers which provided the audience of over 100 people with a deeper understanding of the importance of Wimbledon Stadium in the social history of greyhound racing both locally and nationally.
You are invited along to the launch screening of the Going to the Dogs film documentary. If you would like to attend please reserve your place by emailing: info@wimbledoninsportinghistory.com
We had two screenings of the rough cut of the documentary film being made for this project. The first was to the people who were interviewed as part of the project. Next we showed it to our team of volunteers. Both led to extremely useful and interesting conversations. We will now go and re-edit the film with that feedback in mind and start getting ready for the premiere of the film. The date of that to be announced soon.
The historic mosaic had stood in the Wimbledon Stadium for years and was saved when that stadium was demolished in 2017, bringing to an end not only greyhound racing in Wimbledon, but greyhound racing in London . One of the major aims of this project was to resurrect the mosaic and to commemorate the stadium and the years of greyhound racing that took place there. We are very pleased to announce that on the 15th of March we finally did this infront of an audience of people involved in greyhound racing in Wimbledon as well as local politicians, press and oother members of the public. See images below. John Lynch of WiSH gave a short speech after the unveiling. The mosaic now stands by the main entrance to the AFC Wimbledon Stadium
Built to commemorate the most famous greyhound in history, the mosaic of Mick the Miller sat for many years in the floor of Wimbledon Greyhound Stadium, a familiar sight to the many thousands who visted the stadium over the years. When the stadium was demolished in 2017 English Heritage stipulated that the mosaic needed to be preserved. It was removed still attached to a large lump of concrete and put into storage. As a major part of this project the mosaic has been repaired and restored and will be placed prominently at the AFC stadium to forever commemorate the years of greyhound racing that took place there. We are going to have an unveiling of the mosaic and everyone is invited. Details below.
RSVP to info@wimbledonsportinghistory.com
Our interviewees brought in wonderful old photos, videos and ephemera to illustrate what they were telling us about. Thank you to everyone who gave up their time to come and share their histories with us.
Our team popped to Faversham for the day to interview Roger Cearns, great grandson of the orginal builder and owner of Wimbledon Stadium for many years. Roger has had a long involvement with Wimbledon and greyhound racing generally as well as many other interests and ventures. He had an amazing collection of photos and ephmera related to the stadium going back to the 1920s as well as some old films, all of which he shared with us. It was well worth the trip. Thanks to Roger for hosting us and giving his time so generously. Below is just one of the many amazing photographs he has in his collection and which he shared with us for this project.
We did a further eleven interviews over these two days and have now completed twenty two. Below - our interview team with Robert Boswell and with John Forster.
We did eleven interviews over the first two days with punters, dog owners, a track manager, and two women who worked at the stadium. These were great interviews and we are looking forward to the next two days next week.
Below - our interview team with Floyd Amphlett, Mark Burridge, Margaret Ryder and Pip Barry.
Training took place at the AFC Wimbledon stadium and began with a talk and discussion about oral history covering practical and ethical issues. We then had a talk about the history of greyhound racing in Wimbledon given by journalist Floyd Amphlett. After this we were joined by several people involved in greyhound racing for a reminsicence session to talk about their memories of the stadium. For this we were joined by a bookmaker, a dog owner, two women who worked at the stadium (one fo them for 51 years!) and a journalist. It was a great discussion and the day helped us build a picture of the history. Our thanks to David Lipsey, Mark Burridge, Mags Hutcinson, Margaret Ryder, John Henwood and Jonathan Hobbs for coming along to share their memories. (photo below)
The next two days of training covered the practicalities of using audio equipment, interview skills, and then preparing the interviews. There was lots of hands on practise and lots of fun
Photos: Various of training and at the bottom, the reminiscence session.
We were hosted by Karen McMillan at Romford Stadium. She gave us a talk abut the history of racing and we stayed to get a flavour of what a night at the dogs was like. With all of central London's stadiums now closed this was the closest and it really helped us get a sense of what it's all about. Thanks very much to Karen and the team for hosting us.
Below: A talk from Karen McMillan. Then some a couple of photos of some of our team who came along to Romford.
2024 marks the 90th anniversary of Mick The Miller's last filmed appearance. This famous greyhound was based at Wimbledon Greyhound Track and achieved a series of remarkable victories there. A recent list of the 100 most important sporting achievements in the UK included only two animals - Red Rum and Mick the Miller.
When the old stadium was knocked down English Heritage stipulated that the historic mosaic of "Mick the Miller' was the only thing that needed to be preserved. This is the mosaic which for many years adorned the greyhound stadium. It was taken down carefully and has been preserved but needs some repairs now and needs to be placed prominently in order to keep it safe. Wimbledon in Sporting History own the mosaic of "Mick the Miller" outright and with part of the funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for this project and donations from Galliards and the Greyhound Racing Board of Great Britain the mosaic will be repaired and then replaced on the new stadium to mark the heritage of the old stadium and the many years it hosted tens of thousands of people who went "down the dogs".
