Throughout its existence, the Club has benefited enormously from the many contributions made by players’ wives and other ladies associated with the Club. In the early days, in addition to undoubted tasks of knitting sweaters and ensuring that players’ clothing was ready for matches, the ladies were extremely active in organising social activities and in fund-raising. 

The ladies didn’t hesitate to support their husbands, for example by being on the match-day refreshments rota, not only serving cups of tea, but often making the sandwiches and cakes, which were then sold and provided a contribution to fund-raising.

For many years, the social life of players and their families were closely tied to the Club.  The very fact that wives would bring their children to the cricket field, where they would meet and play with other children, was in respect of the boys at least, helping to prepare the next generation of team players.  The Minutes Books provide ample evidence of family ‘threads’ with grand-parents and parents being followed by family members, not only developing into competent players for the Club, but also in taking on major responsibilities within the Club, and successfully leading it forward.  Without the support and strong ties of the ladies with the Club, this would not have happened.

This of course is not unique to Salesbury, but it certainly has been a strong characteristic of the Club, helped in no small measure by virtue of it being a rural village Club, which for many years had strict residential membership requirements.

The oldest Minutes Book, dating back to 1919, refers to a ‘Finance and Entertainments Committee’ in 1926, which quite quickly appeared to become the ‘Entertainments Committee’ with at least once, the responsibility of organising the ‘Winter Programme of Entertainments’. The Entertainments Committee membership was entirely male, but it would be quite reasonable to assume that a significant amount of organisation and implementation was carried out by ladies. In addition to events being much enjoyed, they would also have generated essential income to ensure the continuation of the Club. 

A ‘Refreshments Hut’ (no doubt staffed by the ladies) was given go-ahead for construction in 1926 and installed on the field some 10 yards from the footpath near Common Land boundary.

In 1930 the first formally recorded recognition of the Club’s appreciation of the work undertaken by lady members, appears when the Secretary was asked to ‘write to Miss Stokes and to Miss Coar, and thank them for their services this last season’.

A resolution passed at a meeting in April 1930, sounds quite daunting: ‘that Mrs Counsell provide tea and cakes etc for the refreshments for this season,’ but whatever detailed arrangements were put into place, we can assume that the Club conveyed its appreciation.

The Minutes Book covering the fifties contains many records of the invaluable contributions of the ladies.  In the AGM of 1953, the Minutes record that the Chairman Mr Rozee ‘spoke of the great help received from the ladies and expressed the Club’s gratitude not only for their financial assistance but also for the delightful way in which they had again provided refreshments for the teams and spectators.’  He proposed a vote of thanks which was carried unanimously, and the Hon Secretary was instructed to address a suitable letter of appreciation to Mrs Baldwin.

The Committee also unanimously decided shortly afterwards, that ‘the Ladies’ Committee and helpers should be invited to be the guests of the Club at a function, to be held on a date to be decided by the Ladies’. A view was expressed and recorded in the Minutes that ‘the arrangements made for the last similar occasion, could not be improved’.

Attendance of Mrs Baldwin and Mrs Kenyon at a Club Committee meeting in March 1954, appears to be the first occasion on which ladies had attended a Club Committee meeting. At that meeting they drew attention to the urgent need for repairs to the Tea Cabin and also of their difficulty on match days of obtaining water. The Chairman promised to draw these issues to the attention of all playing members and to put the matter (presumably the water difficulty) on a proper footing for the coming season. At the next meeting, playing members were urged to support the Whist Drive organized by the Ladies’ Committee in April and that everything possible should be done to assist the Ladies on match days.

The first mention of a possible Jumble Sale appears in the Minutes of the July 1954 Committee meeting, accompanied by a note indicating that members of the Ladies Committee were willing to assist. The records indicate that the first of a long string of profitable Jumble Sales took place in March 1956, the ladies being always heavily involved.

Once again, at the !954 AGM a tribute was paid to the efforts of the Ladies’ Committee. Towards the end of 1954, it was decided that a Social Evening be arranged during the Winter, at which the Ladies’ Committee should be the guests of the Club. It transpired that the Ladies’ Committee felt that they should forgo such an event, owing to the Club’s poor financial situation, which evoked the following response from the Club: ‘the least they could do to repay the ladies for the amount of trouble they took all through the season, was to continue with Social Evenings’.  A similar situation arose in 1956, when because the Ladies’ Committee had not raised as much money as previously, they had hesitancy in accepting the Club’s invitation, but again the Club Committee insisted on the ladies again being invited to the usual dinner as the Club’s guests.  These matters having been recorded in the Minutes, illustrate just how much support the Ladies’ Committee gave to the Club, and also how much the Club genuinely appreciated their efforts.  In 1977, at the request of the Ladies’ Committee, a ‘joint’ Social Committee was established including men.

Without the involvement of ladies, the Club Musical Concerts which took place in the Memorial Hall in the seventies, simply would not have been possible.  These were magnificent team efforts, which brought enjoyment to many.

Suffice it to say that the Club’s Minutes books record the appreciation expressed at AGM’s of the efforts of the ladies, particularly in aid of fund-raising, such as in 1960, 1962, 1967, 1970

The establishment of a Bar and House Committee in 1988, probably arose in recognition of the steadily increasing utilisation of the pavilion extension. Quite soon after that it was recognised that the Bar and House Committee would be benefit by the inclusion of some lady members, as an alternative to attempting to re-establish a Ladies Committee. Throughout the eighties, Jumble Sales, having commenced in the fifties, also provided a reliable source of funding.

The purpose of these notes is to make abundantly clear, how invaluable the assistance, of ladies associated with the Club, has been throughout the Club’s existence. The serving of refreshments by the ladies on match days has been a feature of the Club throughout its history, but it is hoped that this particular article will serve to make abundantly clear our sincere gratitude for everything they have done and still do, for the benefit of the Club.