Shop Assistants

Formed in the Summer of 1966 playing in the Summer Cup before joining the League for season 1966/67. At that time shops in Hereford closed on a Thursday lunchtime which meant that Shop Assistants had the afternoon free but worked all day on Saturday. Due to the fact that they could not participate in any sporting activities on a Saturday afternoon because they were working, a few of them got together to form cricket and later table tennis teams.

They then contacted various local establishments such as the Technical College, schools or individual shops that were large enough to form a team to play against each other on a Thursday afternoon. This was brought together by Ivan Bishop, and his two sons Stephen and Gerald, along with other local sportsmen. Originally from Yorkshire he moved to Hereford with his family and was a well known Gents Hairdresser in the City. His love of cricket was the main objective of forming these teams. After a while Chris Williams, who was a member of these teams, thought it would be a good idea to form a skittle team to play in the League and this was how Shop Assistants team was formed in 1966. Although some of the founders were Shop Assistants, their friends and other work associates joined as well.

The 'Shops', as they are usually known as, first played in the Summer Cup competition at the Bye Gate Inn, Commercial Street before entering the league for the 1966/67 season when they played at the Buckingham.Fifty years after their formation two members were still playing from the original team, they were Graham Preece and Alan Hartland, many of the others also played for many years.