Archery in Ilkley?

[Deadeye Doc]

While reading the obituary of a female archer in Archery UK some time ago there was a mention of an Ilkley Archery club. Now, as Ilkley is the capital of Yorkshire I wondered if any of the Yorkshire archers know anything about the club or it's demise?

[Littlest Furface]

There's currently a feild archery club that shoots in Hebers Gill, which is called something along the lines of Aire and Wharfe Valley archers, but the one you were probably hearing of would be the Ben Rhydding Archers, who shot where the grammar school playing feild is now, and seem to have shut down sometime in the 60s. They held the Grand Northern at some stage, we have photographs, and was where the origional Ilkley Arrow was held.
I've been getting permission from the school to be shooting on that ground throughout the summer holidays in the past, but no word came back this year...

[Deadeye Doc]

Thanks LFF

However, although you are right about the Aire and Wharfe Archers (AWA), who seem to have very sparse shoots - I am only aware of two per annum - the Senior Aardvark spoke to me a couple of days ago about his recollection of shooting a long-bow competition on a field between Addingham and Ilkley in, he thinks, 1974.

As you probably know, said Senior Aardvark is a mine of knowledge about archery , but I'm less sure of his geography.

I think I'm off to the library or our own museum for some further research . I'm going to have to go back and find the obituary in which archery in Ilkley came up. Drat!

[Deadeye Doc]

Thanks LFF

However, although you are right about the Aire and Wharfe Archers (AWA), who seem to have very sparse shoots - I am only aware of two per annum - the Senior Aardvark spoke to me a couple of days ago about his recollection of shooting a long-bow competition on a field between Addingham and Ilkley in, he thinks, 1974.

As you probably know, said Senior Aardvark is a mine of knowledge about archery , but I'm less sure of his geography.

I think I'm off to the library or our own museum for some further research . I'm going to have to go back and find the obituary in which archery in Ilkley came up. Drat!