If the 1960s saw the awakening of the Cumbria Bowling Association, then the 1970s saw the association begin to blossom at all levels and, during this decade, Cumbria won both the national pairs and the national fours titles.

New names which had begun to emerge in the mid-60s really came to the top in the early 70s, none more so than Tom Armstrong of Penrith Castle Park.

Armstrong had won the county singles for the first time in 1966 when beating another who was to go on to great bowling heights, John Bell of Wigton Throstle Nest. 

Armstrong began the decade with singles titles in 1970, 74, 76, 77 and was a beaten finalist in 73 and 78, a quite remarkable run of success. He was joined by Ron Milburn in the pairs and they enjoyed another great run, winning the pairs title in 1970, 71, 72, (1984 with George Renwick) and they were beaten in the final in 73. 

In 1969, Armstrong and Milburn had joined forces with Bernie Doyle and, again, it was success after success, taking the triples title in 1971, 73 and 75.

In 1982 Bill Wilkinson, better known as a Brampton player, and Tony Smith a new kid on the Castle Park scene (who was tragically killed in a car accident some years later) joined Armstrong and the trio were an immediate hit, winning the triples for three consecutive years. If all this was not enough, Armstrong enjoyed considerable success in the fours, winning that title in 1970, 71, 78, 82 and 83.

For the first two years, Harold Thompson played No.2 for Armstrong and though he was an unfashionable player, he was a very good second. He always said he played his best bowls in sight of the Penrith Beacon and, when he went to the national finals, he always had a post card of the Beacon with him.

Billy Wilkinson, George Renwick and Lenny Allen, whose father won the county fours from Holme Head in 1950, all played a part in these successes. Apart from county successes, Armstrong won nine Northern Counties Championships, the national pairs in 1973 and the British Isles pairs in 1974. 

Not surprisingly in view of his success, he was selected to play for England in 1972 and played in 12 series.

Castle Park was not a strong club, so it seems strange that Armstrong enjoyed only one success in the Champion of Champions. He was beaten in the second final in 1967 by Richard Cowman of Vulcan Park, a rare county success for that club, and also lost to Cumbria’s 2019 president Anthony Little in 1982.

He did, however, take the title in 1971 when beating Jack Bell of Wigton. The Two Wood Singles was a rare failure for Armstrong, his only final appearance being a defeat by Wigton’s John Bell in 1973.

Armstrong was a shrewd character but it was a rare error of judgement that brought his career in Cumbria to rather an abrupt and sorry end and, in the mid-80s, he left the county and eventually moved to Cheshire. 

He did play for Lancashire but did not appear to have quite the same desire, although he did win the national pairs for a second time in 1987 when he played with David Holt.

Currock’s Ray Moore was another player who emerged in the late 60s, winning the County and Northern Counties Pairs in 1966 with David Taylor, the county pairs in 1969 with Sid Huddart and in 1988 with Alan Robinson. 

Moore won the singles in 1967, the triples in 1968, and the Two Wood Singles in 1972. 

These results earned him an international trial but a quiet time in the 70s probably put an end to those hopes. 

However, having moved to Carlisle Subscription, he teamed up with Ian Graham, Harold Graham and Jimmy Heap and won the county fours in 1979 and then went to Worthing to win the National Fours. In 1980, Moore again won the county fours but a last end disaster at Worthing saw his four taken to an extra end which was lost.

The 1970s was a rather strange decade in the county competitions as, apart from the Castle Park club which had 13 successes, there was no other major challenger, though John Bell of Wigton won four titles in this period, the rest were spread among quite a number of clubs. 

Edenside won six while Workington’s Stan Laybourne picked up three of his club’s four wins. John Bell “Aigle Gill” and Tot Ashworth Jnr both scored two wins for Aspatria. 

Keswick Fitz Park won three which included the county singles which at last was won by Peter Towers. Peter was always a good competitor but had a disastrous semi-final at Silloth in 1965 when he met Courtfield’s Stan Bunting on rink five on the Old Green. 

Peter looked certain to go to Mortlake when he led 20-9 but Bunting managed a brace on the next and Peter became rather anxious, began firing and eventually lost 21-20. 

I was at Silloth that night and I think when he came off the green he might well have shed a tear or two. 

The other semi-final played that night also on the Old Green, playing to and from the railway, was on rink one and was between Jack Kilgour of Workington and the local policeman Frank Easton.

Kilgour never played anything other than the draw, probably as a result of his early days playing the West Cumberland game at Siddick. That night he was in good form and Easton was forced to play running bowls on many occasions. He was a fair exponent of that shot but, eventually, Kilgour’s relentless drawing got on top and as so often happens the good drawer beat the good firer. 

The singles final was played the following week but, on a windy evening on the New Green, Kilgour who was by now a good age, had difficulty in playing against the gale, particularly away from the path to the sea and the younger Stan Bunting emerged the winner.

The 1970s was a landmark for the Appleby club when Tommy Huck and George Alderson won the pairs, this was the club’s first in the pairs and only the second county championship, Bill Edgar, Bert Moore and Adam Jackson having won the triples in 1967.

Holme Head was another of the founder members of the County Association and T Grundy served as its second president. The club which was formed in 1872 was affiliated to the EBA before the County Association was in being, GE Edmondson was beaten in the national singles final in 1912.

It was quite a while before the club had another county president but RJ Doyle was elected in 1953. Doyle had played his part as No.3 when the club won the county fours in 1933 and, by 1937 when they won the title again, Doyle skipped the rink. 

In 1950, the club again won the county fours the skip being Lenny Allan’s father John. In 1954, the club won the county triples courtesy of Tommy Sewell, Bob Keddy and Bill Thorpe but there was then a big gap to a pairs win when Ian Reeves and David Taylor were playing there. 

These two were joined by Tony Dickinson, a Longtown lad with bags of potential who sadly died when very young, together they won the triples in 1981.

The green was a very good one in its heyday and there was no shortage of clubs wishing to play friendly matches. 

Fred Butler played on the green as a member of The Metal Box Club and he confirmed the quality of the green, and it should be noted that it was regularly used for the county fours which were always played early in May.

“Holme Headings” which was the factory’s monthly magazine reports those who played on the green in the county fours in May 1953 “were lavish in their praise”. 

The green was also home to Carlisle Co-Operative who won the county fours title in 1958, E Sinclair, W Johnston, R Bolton and R Moscrop beat the eventual national fours winners from Morton that year.

Coming into more recent times, however, and what had been a very good green was having problems with the roots of trees which surrounded. When North West Water Authority took its main offices to the old Factory in 1975, some of the staff played there and a new club called Nelson was was formed in 1979. 

However, the greenkeeper who was a Ferguson Brothers employee had ceased to work and the green continued to deteriorate. 

Eventually, the Holme Head club had to leave, the green was finished. The club survives today, but only just. 

Perhaps the new green at The Magpie may revive it.