Milton Park Bowls Club celebrate centenary in style

The club, based in Goldsmith Avenue, welcomed Portsmouth Mayor Tom Coles as well as city council leaders past and present, Gerald Vernon Jackson and Steve Pitt.

A total of 44 bowlers took on club members, including eight each representing Bowls Hampshire and the Portsmouth & District Bowls League.

Priory and Milton Park Ladies - who use the same greens as Milton Park - each brought along eight players.

The remaining 12 were shared between three other south coast clubs - Portsmouth-based Pembroke Gardens, Bridport and Sussex-based Hurstpierpoint - who are also celebrating their 100th birthdays in 2023.

Matches were followed by a meal, with all attendees presented with a special centenary badge.

Milton Park had also produced a 12-page centenary brochure to mark their special milestone.

The club currently have 51 members, which committee member Robert Rowe said is ‘quite good in the city’.

The club run three teams in the Portsmouth League, all of whom won promotion last summer.

In addition to league fixtures, Milton Park also host singles, over-60s and handicap competitions.

In a reciprocal agreement, the club will soon be sending players to compete in centenary events at Hurstpierpoint and Pembroke Gardens.

Priory are due to celebrate their centenary in three years time, but Milton Park Ladies were only formed in the 1960s.