Sports for All - Gymnasts

Intake School students also designed this piece representing gymnasts.

The embroidery was done on a computerised sewing machine, purchased for the Tapestry with the aid of a lottery grant. There were several debates when the panels were being made, about whether machine- and computerised-machine embroidery are a form of cheating. A personal view is that it's like comparing using oils, acrylics and water colours in painting. Each has something different to offer.

One of the gymnasts was scanned into a dedicated software programme on the computer. Areas for sewing were selected, then the computer linked to the sewing machine. The computerised sewing machines are supplied with a hoop for stretching the fabric across, and it's the hoop that moves under instruction from the programme. The programme was run four times to produce the four gymnasts. The sewing machine sews away without interference or need for the pedal but there is a tendency for the thread to snap the minute the 'embroiderer' leaves the room.

Machine embroidered by Barbara Walker (5 hours)

Sports for All - Rugby Players

I can't identify the rugby players, they are an embroidered version of a cartoon drawn by one of the pupils at Intake School. Apparently the school closed in 2009 and re-opened as Leeds West Academy.

They were hand stitched by Pat Potton.

A very quick posting this morning.

Sports for All - Rugby Stadium

Not only did the pupils at Intake School contribute to the Sports Panel with their designs, teachers also became involved. One of them, Kathryn Vincent, spent many hours stitching the Rhino's ground which had been chartered by Peter Cowgill.

The team were known as Leeds Rugby League Club until 1997 when they became Leeds Rhinos. The ground is adjacent to the Yorkshire County Cricket Club in Headingley. For more information it's probably better to look at their club website rather than have me burble on.

Sports for All - Len Hutton (1916-1990)

Sometimes it can be difficult to think of a subject for the daily blog. There are so many diverse subjects on the Tapestry that a link with the news stories of the day can help. Cricket seems to be featuring heavily at the moment, so not exactly linked to the news story, today's offering is Sir Len Hutton.

Born at Fulneck, Pudsey on 23rd June 1916, he first played cricket, with his father, with Fulneck Sunday School and at the age of 13 was chosen to use the ‘nets’ at Headingley. In 1934 he scored the first of 129 centuries for county and country. In 1938, against the Australians at the Oval, he scored 364 runs, a record that stood for many years until Gary Sobers beat it by one run (against Pakistan in 1958). He was awarded his knighthood in the 1956 New Year’s Honour's List.

The embroidery was hand stitched by Merel Jackson (14 hours). I suspect the print was based on a cigarette card owned by Robin Dove.

Sports for All - Bobby Whiteley, Bramley

The last of the Baines cards and I'm out of my comfort zone. Apparently Bramley, prior to 2nd June 1896, was a rugby union club, so W Bobby Whiteley (born 1871) may have played both Union and League for the club. As a Rugby Union player Bobby won a cap for England in 1896.

According to one of the websites dedicated to these cards Mr Baines offered the boys prizes if they had collected so many and took them back to the base in Bradford. What is not mentioned is whether the cards had to be handed in or were kept by the boys. It reminded me of the Sunday School sticker books in the 1950s. A good way to encourage regular attendance by the children but I think they were handed in for certificates, a shame that we couldn't keep them. Finally found a reference to them, presumably the collector stopped going to Sunday School before the book was finished. I know it's off the point but can anyone else remember them?

Ann Wheatley hand stitched this Baines card on printed fabric.

Sports for All - Jack White, Leeds City

Another of the Baines cards? This one of Jack (Jabez) White who played for Leeds City between 1908 and 1910. It seems there was some controversy with football and payments to team members and Leeds City was expelled from the Football League in 1919.

The same day as the players were sold off there was a meeting held with more than 1,000 of the current supporters leading to the formation of Leeds United Association Football Club with Elland Road as their home.

Audrey Pigeon hand stitched this piece.

Sports for All - Baron Hawke

A revelation.

Just been down to the Leeds Museum to see the new exhibition of costume - Heroes and Heroines (well worth the visit) - and happened to stray into one of the other galleries. I've wondered what these images on the Tapestry are, and where they come from. There's a whole collection of them on display and apparently they come from Baines of Manningham, Bradford.

The forerunners of collector's items such as whacky plaques and football sticker albums, they were sold at the turn of the last century (1890s onward) in packs of six for boys to collect. In the flesh they look similar to beer mats, but slightly smaller.

The subject of this particular card is 7th Baron Hawke (1860 - 1938) who was a noted captain of Yorkshire County Cricket. He was born in Gainsborough Lincolnshire, so presumably the rules for playing for the County were changed after he played for the team.

Hawke was first appointed Yorkshire captain in 1883 and held the post for 28 seasons until 1910, he remained the President of the club until his death in 1938.

I suspect the card came from Robin Dove's collection. An appropriate subject given that Muttiah Muralitharan has just taken his 800th wicket in test cricket today.

The embroidery was hand stitched by Joan Holah.

Sports for All - Leeds Golf Club

This is the clubhouse of Leeds Golf Club, built in 1909, though presumably enlarged over the years since then.

The men who formed the club were the first to wield a golf club in Leeds, originally playing on Soldiers Field before renting the horse pastures, now the top nine of the present course.

The famous golf architect, Doctor Alistair MacKenzie was a member between 1900 and 1910 and he gave advice on the placing of bunkers and the layout of the course. There's a website devoted to the courses designed by him and even though this course is not mentioned it appears to have been the first he had a hand in.

Another first for the club seems to be that they gave the first professional golf trophy, The Leeds Cup.

The piece was machine embroidered on printed fabric by Barbara Walker (5 hours).

Sports for All - Moortown Golf Club

The founder of the club was Frederick Lawson Brown. It was officially incorporated as a limited company on 12 January 1909. Dr MacKenzie laid out and completed the 18 hole course in 1910 and it was officially opened that year by James Braid and Harry Varden, the present club house was opened three years later.
The international recognition of Moortown as a major championship venue has brought many visitors and notable tournaments to the course. The most prestigious event was staging the Ryder Cup in 1929, the first time for England and its first win (George Duncan was captain). Memorabilia pertaining to the match hangs in the clubhouse and attracts much interest. The ladies section plays for the Ryder Cup each year - a cup donated to the Ladies of the Club by Sam Ryder for all their help and support during the 1929 event.

Hand stitched on printed fabric by Betty Bertrand, a member of the club.

Sports for All - Chapel Allerton Tennis & Squash Club

I wonder if 'the service' embroidered here is another of Robin's cigarette cards?

Chapel Allerton Lawn Tennis Club was formed in 1880 with 17 male members. The club had 5 grass courts and a wooden pavilion. By 1927 the club was the northern venue for the Wimbledon qualifying event. Since then further courts have been added, totalling sixteen, of which 3 are indoor and three have floodlights.

In 1960 the club purchased a wooden squash court from Huddersfield LTC and due to the popularity of the sport the club changed its name to Chapel Allerton Lawn Tennis and Squash Club in 1963. The club now boast 6 courts of which three are glass backed.

In 1986 a gymnasium was added to the facilities and this area of the club now provides a wide range of equipment not just for the racket players but its own fitness members.

Joyce Fulton (now Howden) and Michael Hann, club members in the 1950s both played at Wimbledon. We have a connection.

The piece was hand stitched by Maureen Carr

Sports for All - Mrs Moody (1905-1998)

You're quite right, Mrs Moody has no connection with Leeds. Born in California, she was Wimbledon Ladies Singles Champion eight times in the 1920s and 1930s.

She appears on Leeds Tapestry courtesy of Robin Dove's collection of cigarette cards, giving an example of an action shot in tennis. Have any famous tennis players come from Leeds?

She appears on the blog today as a reminder that even though we may think its all over today (World Cup - hope I may have to eat my words) there's still a week of Wimbledon left.

Carol Marshall made this piece in wool on canvas. It looks as if it's petit point or tent stitch, though it's so neat it could be cross stitch.

What's in a name
Pamela Clabburn's definitions -

gros point: "Cross stitch. However, the term is often misapplied to canvas work done with a large tent stitch, and sometimes is even used for the whole piece of work, as 'my gros point'."

tent stitch: "canvas stitch, continental stitch, cushion stitch, half cross stitch, needlepoint stitch, petit point. Can be worked horizontally or diagonally (basket weave stitch in America)."

So, there we are.

Sports for All - John Charles CBE (1931-2004)

The ‘Gentle Giant’ was born in Swansea in 1931 and was signed by Leeds on his 16th birthday. In 1953-54 he scored 42 League goals to set a new United seasonal record, breaking another record 3 years later when he was sold to Juventus for £65,000. Charles returned to Leeds in 1962 but left for Roma after only 11 league games. He is said to have been Leeds greatest player outside of the Revie era and he earned his nickname by never being sent off or cautioned.

He has been honoured in Leeds with one of the stands at Leeds United being named after him and as we saw yesterday the South Leeds Stadium, once the home of Leeds Reserves is now renamed in his memory.

Hand stitched on printed fabric by Janet Carding(42 hours), all is not as it appears in the embroidery. Thanks to pictures in a 1950s football annual and a bit of photoshopping, his right arm (borrowed from Gary McAllister) and the football were added out of the frame.

Sports for All - John Charles Centre for Sport

This would appear to be the best all round sports centre in Leeds, but finding information about it on any website other than Wikki is like finding hen's teeth. The Council website gives the impression that it is only a Tennis centre, though controversially it is a difficult site to search.

So, the few facts found are that it was opened as the South Leeds Stadium in 1996 and renamed the John Charles Centre for Sport, possibly in 2006. The swimming pool is olympic standard and replaces the Poulson pool formerly in the City centre. It also seems that for the first time ever the election results were announced there, rather than at the Town Hall.

Hopefully no sportsperson was relying on this site for information about the venue and I will endeavor to find out more.

For swimmers there's this link, courtesy of Doncaster Dartes.

The embroidery was hand stitched by Joan Holah on printed fabric.

Post script

courtesy of Leeds Live it Love it

"Sporting excellence is part of the Leeds heritage, and with this in mind the John Charles Centre for Sport has been designed to the highest standards.

The stadium offers a wide range of activities for all ages and abilities. It has a 2,500 seat grandstand and four floors of top-class sporting and hospitality accommodation. Facilities include Leeds' first ever indoor bowls centre, indoor athletics centre, eight-lane all-weather outdoor athletics track conforming to full International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) specifications, indoor and outdoor tennis courts and multiple all-weather and grass surface pitches.

The centre has also been home to the Hunslet Hawks rugby league side since it opened in 1995.

Facilities:
2,500 seat grandstand
Indoor bowling centre (open seven days a week from 10am to 10pm for both competitive and casual bowlers)
Indoor athletics centre, for track running, all four jumping disciplines (triple jump, long jump, high jump, pole vault), and an area for javelin, discus and hammer.
Weights area
Eight-lane all-weather outdoor athletics track
Tennis courts, indoor and outdoor."

Sports for All - young cyclists

More cyclists on the Sports panel, again unidentified people. Possibly this was taken from one of the photographs in the collection kept by Gill Keddie at South Leeds Stadium and loaned to the Tapestry for action shots. Since the panels were completed the Stadium has been renamed the John Charles Centre for Sport, which possibly provides a clue for tomorrow's blog.

Children when the photograph was taken and the embroidery stitched, I wonder if they're still cycling?

This piece was hand stitched on printed fabric by Cynthia Jackson.

Sports for All - Beryl Burton OBE (1937-1996)

Continuing the cycling theme today's offering should be a well known athlete, Beryl Burton. She absolutely dominated the sport winning the national pursuit champion 13 times and the road title on 12 occasions.

Moving on to time trials, the numbers go up a whole other level. She was 18 times the national 100-mile champion, 23 times the national ‘50' champion and 26 times the 25-mile champion. Burton was already in her 40s when the Road Time Trials Council introduced a national 10-mile title. Yet she also won that four times.

One of her great achievements was the 12 hour time trial.

Mrs Burton, born Beryl Charnock, came from Morley and spent the major part of her racing career with Morley Cycling Club.

Could you imagine a tennis player, footballer or snooker player with so many individual achievements within the sport being so little known in his or her own city, let alone country? Fortunately several people nominated her for the Tapestry and Morley has it's own memorial garden dedicated to her.

The embroidery was hand stitched on printed fabric by Anne Boyle.

Sports for All - Leeds Albion Cycling Club

I've searched the internet and can't find anything about this club. Presumably it's no longer running and that Robin Dove found it in one of his many reference books? One of the many things to research down at the Reference Library.

Lesley Dove hand stitched this piece in layers. It's not very big and I imagine it required great dexterity.



The skater below were designed at Intake School and embroidered by Dorothy Wrench.

Sport For All - Billy Bremner (1942-1997)

A sigh of relief from one whose extended family has both Leeds United and Hartlepool season tickets. For the last few seasons Boxing Day, and even once my birthday, have brought 'the family Derby' and the inevitable 'we was robbed'.

Next season Hartlepool stay in Division 1 and Leeds go up.

So, I add Billy Bremner to the blog.

Bremner was born in Stirling in 1942 and after being rejected by Arsenal and Chelsea for being ‘too small’ he joined Leeds in 1959. To quote Leeds United - A Complete Record he was ‘skilful, and his passing, leadership, never-say-die attitude and eye for the goal made him one of the game’s great midfielders’. He led United to 2 league championships, an FA Cup win and 2 Inter-Cities Fairs Cups. Billy Bremner moved from Leeds to Hull City in 1976.

"My family have always been supporters of Leeds United and it was such an honour to stitch Billy Bremner's statue on the Sporting Life panel. Most of my work however, was done on the Leeds in Bloom panel and I was thrilled to see it completed after many hours of work.
I have so enjoyed being involved in the creation of such a magnificent work of art and hope that future generations will enjoy it and that they too will be inspired."
Muriel Gabbitas 2003

Hand stitched on printed fabric, the image had been treated using Photoshop.

Sport For All - Leeds United players

Eirik Bakke (A Norwegian, he currently plays for SK Brann)


Olivier Dacourt (born in France he is currently without a club)


Alan Smith (Local lad now playing at Newcastle)


David Batty (Local lad, retired 2004)


Lucas Radabe (used to play for the Kaiser Chiefs - hence the name of our local band, named in his honour)


Today Leeds United fans find out whether the club get promotion, from league 1 to Championship. Once upon a time life was straight forward and the Leagues were numbered, now I believe, there are two divisions above 1 - Championship and Premier.

When the Sports Panel was planned and the book written (2002) the four players above were still playing for the team in the Premiership League. Since then fortunes have changed, the club was relegated from the Premiership in 2004 and the Championship in 2007.

Apologies to football fans if I've not been accurate - sifting through material as a non football fan is a bit of a nightmare.

Dorothy Wrench, who embroidered these footballers on printed cotton, is a football fan and totally approved of the choice of team members chosen by my then 13 year old son (2000) when she embroidered them. Wonderful socks and not a yellow boot in sight.

Good luck this afternoon Leeds.