History of the Ladies Recreation Club - Hong Kong

1896 - Music in the late evening

1899 - Tennis Tournament

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Quite early on in the history of the Club, croquet became a popular game. Mr. H. J. Armstrong, in the speech he made on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone of the new clubhouse in April 1955, mentions it:

"Court 3, the site of this clubhouse, was then a grass court big enough for croquet on which overdressed gentlemen in tight trousers and waistcoats, equally overdressed ladies in trailing skirts and large hats, battled their way through the hoops." His mother, besides her prowess at tennis, was also Croquet Champion in 1910.

Another old member, thinking back, mistakenly thought that the club was originally for croquet, although from the China Mail report of the opening, it is clear that tennis was the club's first purpose. However, it does show how important croquet must have been at one time.

Mention is also made by another past member of the many devotees of the game, but "for some reason unexplained, it was only ephemeral." A former member, Mr. P. Cassidy, mentions that "Mr. Paul Hodgson, in his straw boater, was the unexpected Croquet Champion for many years."

Books

The L.R.C. - that is the Ladies' Recreation Club, or, as some read it, Ladies' Recrimination Club, is managed with great care by ladies. Gentlemen are eligible as subscribers.

"John Chinaman at Home: Sketches of Men, Manners and Things in China", Rev. E.J. Hardy, 1905

The cable tramway is a comparatively recent institution; In the morning the trams are crowded with European merchants, bankers, solicitors and their clerks, descending to their offices in the city. In the afternoon they are filled with the gay butterflies of society going up or down to pay calls, shop, or play tennis and croquet at the Ladies' Recreation Ground, half-way between the Peak and Victoria. The red coats of British soldiers are seen in the cars after parade hours or at night, when they are hurrying back to barracks before tattoo.

"The Land of the Boxers" by Gordon Casserly - 1910