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The Lord's Taverners is a UK youth cricket and disability sports charity. Its charitable objective is to empower and positively impact the lives of young people facing challenges of inequality.[1]
 | |
| Formation | 1950; 74 years ago (1950) |
|---|---|
| Type | Charity |
| Headquarters | Chancery Lane, London |
Region served | UK |
| Website | Official website |
Lord's Taverners was founded in 1950 by a group of actors and BBC employees, led by founding Chairman and Martin Boddey and including John Mills, Jack Hawkins, John Snagge, Roy Plomley, Gordon Crier, and Brian Johnston. The founders were inspired by watching cricket from the Lord's Tavern pub in St John's Wood Road, close by Lord's Cricket Ground.[2][3]
The charity's headquarters are located in London,[4] with support in over 50 regions.[5] The Lord's Taverners also benefit from the fundraising activities of Regional Committees and its 5,000 members, many of them work in sport and entertainment. The list includes Sir Michael Parkinson, Sir Alastair Cook, Sir Andrew Strauss, Greg James, Miles Jupp, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Jonathan Agnew and Mike Gatting.
The Lord's Taverners was formed in 1950, the week after the West Indies' victory over England in the second Lord's Test Match.[6] Initially, money raised each year was given to the National Playing Fields Association (now known as Fields in Trust[7]) on the recommendation of The Duke of Edinburgh, Patron and 'Twelfth Man' of The Lord's Taverners.[8]
The existence of the Lord's Taverners and the involvement of early members can be broadly summarised by the following:
"We've all got professional and sporting interests in common. So why not start a club, based at the beloved old tavern here. We can talk about our work and watch the cricket. And we can try to put a few bob back into the game at the same time."[9]
By the time of the first annual dinner in September 1951, the Lord's Taverners had developed a membership programme - mirrored in much of the charity's activities today. Within the first year, the membership included Laurence Olivier, Jack Hawkins, Trevor Howard, Tommy Trinder and Richard Attenborough from the acting world, alongside John Arlott, Brian Johnston, FR Brown, AER Gilligan, RC Roberston-Glasgow, Rex Alston and Sir Pelham Warner from cricket. The mix of business and cricket continues to be the core of the charity membership, whilst other sports such as golf are also represented.[6]
The first official cricket match in the history of the charity was played in August 1953 against Bishops Stortford CC. Denis Compton scored 36 in one over.[10] Subsequently, celebrity cricket matches emerged and continue to be one of the core fundraising activities of the Taverners. Teams are a mixture of former Test and County cricketers with stars of stage, screen and sound along with those from other sports. Under the stewardship of former Kent wicketkeeper Derek Ufton, the Taverners hit their first £100,000 target in a season.[when?] Under his successor John Price, the charity now exceeds this figure each year.[6]
From 1972, under Secretary (and later Director) Captain Anthony Swainson RN, the charity's membership expanded through the newly created category of 'Friends of the Lord's Taverners', whilst the charity expanded outwards from London, developing a series of regional bases. Thus the Taverners turned from a club to a "major charity".[11]
There are now 50 regions, fundraising entities in their own right, who collectively raise over £1m per year.[5] The membership change and geographical expansion was accompanied by the development of the Lord's Taverners charitable remit in 1975 (beyond support for the NPFA) when money was first channelled towards providing recreation for young people with disabilities.[6] This programme initially focused on the provision of the 'trademark' green minibuses which provide recreational opportunities for organisations looking after young people with special needs.[6] The 1,000th minibus was delivered at the climax of the 2012 cricket season;[6]
The Lord's Taverners works closely with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), who are the charity's principal advisers on how funds to youth cricket should be spent, as well as the MCC, the English Schools Cricket Association and the NPFA. Every year, the Lord's Taverners donates over £3 million to help young people of all abilities and backgrounds participate in sporting activities.
The Lord's Taverners kit recycling programme equips UK clubs and developing nations with kit donated by manufacturers, clubs and members of the public.[citation needed]
UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was a key figure in the formation of the Lady Taverners. Traditionally, each Prime Minister has been made a member of the Lord's Taverners. As a result of Thatcher's electoral victory in 1979, the Honorary Lady Taverners were formed. In early 1980, David Evans invited Thatcher to become the first Honorary Lady Taverner.[25]
Thatcher became a Lady Taverner alongside twenty three other ladies, invited by then Lord's Taverners president Eric Morecambe. They were ladies who had helped at cricket matches and those who had organised a tombola at the President's Ball, including Ann Barrington, Anne Subba Row, Heyhoe Flint, Marjorie Gover, Judith Chalmers, Betty Surridge and Joan Morecambe.[25]
As of 2016, the Lady Taverners had a membership of over 1,000 and drew members from the sporting, show business and corporate worlds.[25]
In 2007 Sir Bobby Robson was to have succeeded Mike Gatting as president, although was unable to do so due to his ill-health. The charity later praised Robson posthumously with a March 2010 formal dinner in aid of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, in honour of "The best President we never had".[26]
