In our long history lots of Sutton Coldfield players have represented their country at international level and won many awards. Here are player profiles of some of them.

Jane Sixsmith MBE

Jane was born 5 September 1967 in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, West Midlands played hockey and was a member of the British squad that won the bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. She retired from the international scene after scoring over hundred goals and winning 165 caps for England and 158 for Great Britain. Jane is the only British female hockey player to have appeared at four Olympic Games which included the 1988 Games in Seoul, 1992 in Barcelona, 1996 in Atlanta and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Jane took up hockey when, at the age of twelve, after she was unable to play football for a boys' team. As a teenager, she was selected as a reserve for the England under-18 netball team before being chosen for England's under-18 hockey squad. Jane attended St Joseph's Catholic Junior School and Bishop Walsh Catholic School.

Jane has always played her club hockey for her hometown, Sutton Coldfield and for many years was a permanent fixture in the Ladies 1XI in the England Hockey National League.

Jane continues to play hockey for the Sutton Coldfield Club and her honours include, an MBE, an Olympic bronze in 1992, a European Cup Gold in 1991, silver in 1987 & bronze in 1999 and a Commonwealth silver medal in 1998.

Jane also played indoor hockey for Sutton Coldfield, reaching the finals day of the 2013 Maxifuels Super Sixes indoor hockey. They reached the final after beating Bowden Hightown in the Semi Finals. Jane scored the second goal in her teams’ 2 - 5 defeat to champions Reading HC in the final at the Wembley Arena on 27 January 2013.

The Hockey Writer’s Club Annual Award for the “UK Hockey Player Award for 2000” was Jane Sixsmith MBE.

Sutton Coldfield Observer’s Interview with Jane Sixsmith
30 April 1999
It is sheer modesty which doesn't allow Jane Sixsmith to boast to the world about her achievements as an international hockey player.
As a sportswomen who has reached the very top of the game she loves, her achievements in a sport considered. `minority' by many have sadly long been glossed over. But the fact remains that Jane is currently Great Britain's all-time record goalscorer, and with 269 international appearances to her name is the second most capped player ever in world history.
Not forgetting the little matter of three Olympic appearances, including a bronze medal, numerous Commonwealth titles and the serious possibility of participating in her fourth Olympics at the next games in Sydney in the year 2000.

It is an impressive curriculum vitae which will ensure the unassuming 31-year-old. who lives near Mere Green, will surely go down in the history of hockey as one of the finest players of all time.

"I have lived in the town all my life and played for Sutton Coldfield Ladies hockey club since I was 19 years old," said Jane. "Although you go through phases of wanting to move and thinking of winning trophies with other clubs, I have always decided against leaving the area.

"I owe the club a lot. They have looked after and I have made a lot of friends. With me also working in Birmingham, there seems little sense in moving to a different part of the world."

As a promising young athlete, Jane represented Bishop Walsh School at both hockey and netball, and her team's regular success at the time on a national basis gave her the confidence to aim for the top. . Despite harsh words from teachers in school reports bemoaning her preference to scoring goals and netting balls, her love for sport has provided her with a good living.

For five years she gained valuable experience working for the department of leisure and community services and more recently in coach education and training.
Now she has been appointed hockey development officer for Sport Birmingham with the briefing of encouraging more youngsters to take up the sport. "If hockey is to progress, it is important the
sport is publicised and more young people are recruited. "It is a job that excites me and I will be working with local schools in a bid to increasing participation of hockey across the area.

"I will be on hand to help support and advise everybody, and hopefully pass on my knowledge and experiences learnt from the game over the last 15 years." Under Jane's watchful eye, hockey in Sutton is currently undergoing a dramatic transformation in a bid to increase interest.

The launch of a new £700,000 state-of-the art Astro turf pitch at Wyndley Leisure Centre this weekend has ensured top class hockey can once again take place in the town.

For Jane's team it marks the first time in a decade they will be able to play in Sutton, after problems with the original pitch meant they were forced to play firstly at the Alexander Stadium and then Cannock. But, more importantly, it will give youngsters the opportunity to play hockey locally. "Wyndley was one of the first synthetic pitches in the country," added Jane.

"But nobody knew how long it was going to last and in the end it was used too much, to the effect that it become uneven and very dangerous.

"We desperately wanted to come back to the area. It is important to the club and important to the players to give them a feeling of really being part of something.

'Now we have returned home and, being a club which attracts more than 1,000 youngsters every
Sunday morning, it is important to keep that interest going." Disappointingly, during their time away from the town, Jane's side notched up a string of European successes with no local people to witness it.
The Premier Division outfit won the All England cup in 1991 to qualify for the European Cup Winners Cup and, after finishing losing finalists in the same year, went one better twelve months later to be crowned kings of Europe.

To complete an incredible year for Jane, she was selected to represent Great Britain in the Barcelona Olympics and was an integral part of the team which collected the bronze medal.

Now the goal-hungry forward is aiming to take part in her fourth Olympics at Sydney next year and have one last shot at winning the gold before she retires from the international scene.

"Getting to the Olympics is the ultimate pinnacle to your career and it is a fabulous feeling to be part of it.
"All the world's best athletes from every sport are gathered in one place and it really does feel like you are part of one big family. "I am coming to the end of my career and this will be my last chance.
"We have finished in the top four for the last three Olympics, so we have as good a chance as anybody."

Sutton Coldfield Ladies Hockey Club star Jane Sixsmith has spoken of her delight after she was among a handful of Sutton people whose achievements were recognised in the New Year's Honours.

The 32-year-old, who hopes to play in her fourth consecutive Olympics later this year, said she was "totally shocked' by the award of an MBE and had found it difficult to keep the honour a secret. "I received a letter from Downing Street in November and it said the honour was confidential," she said.

"I told my family and my husband's family over Christmas but I hadn't told my team-mates. "I'm very surprised but very delighted. Hockey doesn't get a great deal of recognition but to get an honour at the start of the Millennium is very special."

Sixsmith has played all her club hockey for Sutton Coldfield in the National League and she has been capped 126 times by Great Britain and 165 times by England.
Janes Profile
Born: 6th September, 1967, Sutton Coldfield
Marital status: Married to management accountant, Tim Beeton
Job: Hockey development officer for Birmingham City Council
Favourite music: Pop
Favourite film: The Full Monty
Favourite meal: Chicken tikka sag balti, chilli andarice
Favourite actor: Denzel Washington
Favourite actress: Demi Moore & Whoopi Goldberg
Hero: Michael Johnson
Favourite TV shows: Coronation Street & Match of the Day
Favourite holiday- Cairns, Australia
Hobbies: Socialising, eating out
Other sports: Tennis & football
First played hockey: Aged 12, at Bishop Walsh School in Sutton
Career debut: England v Wales, 1987
Most memorable moment: Winning bronze at the Barcelona Olympics, 1992
Other achievements: European silver medal 1987, European gold 1991
Ambition: To win Olympic gold.

Laura Unsworth MBE

Laura was born on 8th March 1988 and attended Coppice Primary School, Four Oaks and Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls before going to University of Loughborough to study business and finance.

At the age of 10 Laura became a regular member of the Sutton Coldfield Junior Coaching programme, held on Sunday mornings at Wyndley under the watchful eye of Peter Westbrook, Junior Player Coach. However, it was not long before Laura had quickly working her way through the Club’s lower side to establishing a 1st Team place, although still only just 15 and a 2nd team player Laura was selected to play for England Under-16 Girls in the “Four Nations National Tournament” at Easter 2003 in Alcala La Real, near Granada in Spain. This was to be the first of Laura’s 129 England caps she received by the end of 2017. Laura also represented England in the Under-18 age group.

Laura also helped her Sutton Coldfield Club to win Indoor National competitions as well as getting the 1st team back in the Nation Premier outdoor league at the end of the 2005-06 season. Laura also represented England on two occasions and Great Britain on 5 occasions in Indoor Competitions. Laura was part of the Sutton Coldfield indoor team that reached the SuperSixes final in 2013.

Laura made her senior international debut for Great Britain in October 2008 and she currently has 95 GB caps and 140 England caps as at February 2019. She currently has 3 GB and 6 England goals (at February 2019).

The undoubted highlight of Laura’s playing career to date is as part of the first GB women's hockey team to win Olympic Gold at the 2016 Rio Games. Laura was an integral part of a defence that conceded only 8 goals in the whole tournament and she was one of 5 players who took part in the nerve jangling penalty shootout at the end of the Gold medal match - roared on by a packed SCHC clubhouse glued to the footage on the big screen. Laura returned to Sutton Coldfield that Autumn to let everyone see the Gold medal in person and have her photo taken with seemingly every junior player in the club.

Laura was awarded an MBE in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to hockey. She also won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2012 London Games. She also picked awards in EuroHockey Championship in 2009, 2011 and in 2017 with Bronze medals, in 2015 with silver and in 2017 with a gold medal. Success was also achieved in the Commonwealth Games with a Bronze in 2010 and Silver in 2014.

World Cup success was achieved in 2010 with a Bronze and in World League Final in 2013 a Bronze success was recorded. In both World League Semi-Finals of 2015 and 2017 a Gold medal and a Bronze were respectively obtained. In the Champions Trophy of 2010 and 2012 a Bronze and a Silver medal were respectively awarded.

Laura has achieved to date (at February 2019) a total of 16 Top International Awards:

2018 Commonwealth Games - Bronze
2017 World League Semi Final - Bronze
2017 EuroHockey Championships - Bronze
2016 Olympic Games - Gold
2015 World League Semi Final - Gold
2015 EuroHockey Championships - Gold
2014 Commonwealth Games - Silver
2013 EuroHockey Championships - Silver
2013 World League Final - Bronze
2012 Olympic Games - Bronze
2012 Champions Trophy - Silver
2011 EuroHockey Championships - Bronze
2010 World Cup - Bronze
2010 Commonwealth Games - Bronze
2010 Champions Trophy - Bronze
2009 EuroHockey Championships - Bronze

Since leaving Sutton Coldfield Club Laura has played for Leicester, Loughborough Students, and Holcombe before moving on to her current club, East Grinstead. Everyone at Sutton Coldfield Hockey Club is extremely proud to have been able to help Laura to develop in one of the world’s best hockey players and both GB Hockey and England Hockey have benefited from this outstanding player as both defender and in midfield.

Lisa Prince née Bayliss

Lisa was born on the 27th November 1966 in Walsall and became involved with the Sutton Coldfield Ladies Hockey Club from about 17 years of age and made an early impression in the 1985-86 indoor season when playing in the 1st team for Sutton when the team won all games in the Worcestershire Invitation League with a squad of only 12 players. The squad went on to win the National Indoor finals at Crystal Place after a successful win in the Midlands in January 86. Lisa also played for Warwickshire Indoor team in 1987.

Lisa outdoor hockey was also impressive having played for Staffordshire, Midlands and England Juniors in 86, including the Midland Under-21’s in the 1986-87 season, she became an automatic selected player for Staffordshire, England and Great Britain where she played for G.B. on 30 occasions and scored 4 goals during the period 1990-92, including the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona where she picked up a bronze medal when the team beat Korea in the play off 4 - 3.

During Lisa’s early playing days she took on the role of 1st team captain in 1989 for the Sutton Club, a post she held for two seasons before moving into the 1st team’s vice-captaincy for a number of seasons before she was persuaded to captain the side in the 1995-96 season. Lisa also took on the job of match secretary in the 1987-88 season

Lisa’s organising the formation of a Sutton Coldfield Ladies Over-45 team and represented England in an over 50’s tournament where the team won the silver medal in the 2017 tournament in the Netherlands. England beat Scotland 4-0, Wales 3-0, Holland 2-1 and drawing 1-1 with Ireland before losing in the decider to a Dutch team

Mandy Davies

Mandy was born in Sutton Coldfield on the 29th September 1966 before the family moved to Four Oaks when she went to the Arthur Terry School at the age of 13 when her hockey talent was quickly recognised and she was sent for a trial at Sutton Coldfield Ladies HC, but Mandy unfortunately arrived at the Sutton UR & M hockey trials on Tamworth Road and having passed with flying colours the SUR&M recommended that she should go to SCLHC on Rectory Road as she had turned up at the wrong Sutton Hockey club. So began a relationship with Sutton Coldfield Ladies HC that is still continuing some 40 seasons later.

While still a schoolgirl Mandy played for the West Midlands in both Under-16 and the Under-18 as well as the Warwickshire Senior team and was also representing Midland Hockey at Under-18, Under-21 and with the Seniors. In 1987, while away from Sutton Coldfield at Bedford College on a Higher Education course, Mandy became a BUCS Gold Medalist and was selected in 1989 to play her first game for England which was followed by another 93 occasions. In the following year she gained the first of her 87 International caps with Great Britain.

On the 12th May 1991 Mandy played her first game for England in the Women's European Nations Championship held in Brussels, Belgium with England winning the final against Germany 2-1, with her Sutton Coldfield colleague, Jane Sixsmith who scored both goals resulted in Mandy and Jane picking up European Gold medals. This win secured England’s first European title and was the beginning of the two girls picking up three awards at the highest level of European woman’s hockey. In the same year playing for the Sutton Coldfield Ladies Hockey Club both girls picked up silver medals being runner up, losing in the final in the European Cup Winners Cup 1991. However, in the next season 1992 and still playing under the Sutton Coldfield Club name Mandy picked up a Gold Medal as the team secured a victory over Dutch side, MOP Vught in a dramatic final to become the first British club to win a European championship.

In 1996 Mandy was selected to play in the Great Britain team in the Olympic Games in Atlanta, where the team won its group but lost in the Semi-final and with great disappointment lost again in the play-off for the bronze medal against the Dutch side with the last penalty stroke of the game 5 – 4 after the score had been 0 – 0 after extra time, so finished 4th in the competition.

On the 29th May 1997 Mandy, the newly appointed captain of the England team, lead them out to play Germany in Berlin, in with what the press described as an inexperienced side.

Mandy in her youth had always been a sporting girl with interest and talent for netball, where she represented Warwickshire in both Under-16 and Under-18 age groups and in athletics on the track where she picked up an Under-16 Gold Medal in the West Midland 100 meter Championship as well as the silver medal at the same championship in the 200 meter event.

Looking back on Mandy’s outstanding hockey playing career she remembers with nostalgia some funny events; of Jane Swinnerton having driven an empty minibus all the way to Taunton because she thought the rest of the team had gone without her, when the rest of the team were actually having a cup of tea in Walsall waiting for her to pick them up; On another occasion that brings a smile to one’s face was the printing of some funny contact cards at a motorway services after beating Slough 2-0 and handing them out to other teams – “How to beat Slough - phone 2-0 2-0 2-0 and ask for Brilliant Bayliss, Super Sixsmith and Perfect Pickles”. Also the annual Weymouth Easter Hockey Festival regularly brought out lots of fun moments that linger a life time.

Mandy is still involved in hockey and was appointed as Coach to the SCHC L1XI Team in the 2018-19 season.

Barbara Hambly OBE née Holden

Barbara Hambly OBE was born 12 March 1958 in Chichester , West Sussex, and educated at Chichester H.S and Chelsea C.P.E. P.E. Teacher, before playing hockey for the South 1976 – 79, Midlands 1979 – 82, England Under-18 in 1976 and England Under-23 in 1977-78, England “B” 1976-77 England 1980-82, toured Spain in 1977, Great Britain Squad 1980 and played for Sussex and Northamptonshire, before moving into the Birmingham area and joined the Sutton Coldfield Club for the 1981- 82 season. Barbara also had played as a junior for Sussex at basketball and played cricket for Sussex seniors and England junior cricketers.

Barbara was selected to go to the Moscow Olympic Games in 1980, but due to a political stance the Great Britton team withdrew, and unfortunately G.B. did not make the qualification level to play in the Los Angles Games of 1984. Barbara captained England at the 1986 World Cup in Amstelveen, Netherlands.

Now at the age of 30, the physical Education teacher, was with her husband, Richard, seriously considered starting a family. However, these thoughts were put on one side when Barbara was invited to captain the G.B. Olympic hockey team at the Seoul Games of 1988.

A great honour to lead ones country even if they are the lowest of the eight national sides competing in Korea. Although no medal was achieved the Great Britain team finish a very creditable 4th losing the bronze play off 1 - 0 to the host team, South Korea, In their group they had finished runners up to the Netherlands with a win 1 - 0 over Argentina and a 2 – 2 draw against the USA.

Barbara linked up with her England and Great Britain colleague Jane Swinnerton helping the Sutton Club to achieve success in Warwickshire, Midlands and European competitions having played for Great Britain and been their captain, playing 54 game for them scoring 2 goals in a career spanning 9 years - 1980 to 1988,

She retired from international commitments after losing in the bronze medal play-off against the Netherlands at the Seoul Olympics of 1988 losing 3 -1. from international commitments after losing in the bronze medal play-off against the Netherlands at the Seoul Olympics of 1988 losing 3 -1.

The Hockey Writer’s Club Annual Award for the “UK Hockey Player Award for 1988” was won by Barbara Hambly. OBE and she was their Chief Guest at the 18th March 1989 England v Germany hockey game at Wembley. Further accolades were awarded to Barbara in the 1990 New Year Honours when Barbara received an OBE for her services to Women’s Hockey.

In April 1990, the Sutton Coldfield Ladies won the National Club Championship in Bournemouth with Barbara scoring the all-important winning goal, after having finishing runner up in the previous season. The Ladies having already won the Warwickshire and the Midlands Championships.

It is worthy of note of Barbara’s dedication to hockey when she played in all four games that Sutton played in Europe - six weeks after having a baby in March 1991.

Pauline Gibbon

Played for Great Britain 1971 – 85 and was part of the initial Women’s GB squad qualifying for Olympic status and she played 21 matches for GB

Pauline played for England Under-23’s 8 times

Played for England 78 times
(Note caps were not always awarded (early days)

She played in Goal, without a helmet or face mask and with cricket wicket keeping pads.

Pauline played in England’s winning world cup team in 1975 in Edinburgh
Played for SCLHC between 1980’s and managed them in 1985.

She was in the GB squad for the Moscow Olympics in 1980 along with Jane Swinnerton (also SCLHC) but the team didn’t go to Moscow because of a political Boycott.

Played in goal for the England in the game against Scotland at Wembley Stadium on the 21st March 1976, which England won 3 – 0 and was highly mentioned in the after dinners game for her performance. You can see her in action in this video (00:42 and 1:38)

She played Cricket against the Australian Ladies touring side, as wicketkeeper, conceded no byes and was top scorer with 29 out of their total of 66 all out and was mentioned in the BBC2 News that nigh. She also played against Middlesex and was selected to tour India but decline due to hockey commitments.

Pauline played cricket for the Civil Service in July 1970 against Middlesex at Sudbury Hill and in May 1971 again against Middlesex at Chiswick. Both games were drawn and Pauline batted only once and was not out without scoring a run.
Pauline also took to golf and became the Walmley Golf Club’s Lady Captain in 2013 and organised a charity event raising £8,000 for the Cancer unit at the Birmingham.

Jane H. Swinnerton

Jane Heather Swinnerton was the daughter of John Gerald and Betty (nee Sutcliffe) and was born in Erdington on 7th May 1954. She first played for Sutton Coldfield Ladies Hockey Club in April 1971 when only 16.
At the AGM of 29th March 1976, Jane was presented with an engraved silver bracelet to commemorate her selection for the England “B” Xl that Year and was also elected 1st Xl Captain by the Sutton Club.
By 1974 Jane had become an active committee member of the Sutton Ladies Club and an outstanding 1st Xl player and by 1977 she was a regular member of the England Women’s Hockey team going on to win 100 caps during the next 10 years. Jane was also England’s team Captain for a number of years.

In 1977 the Women’s Hockey Board of Great Britain and Ireland met for the first time resulting in Jane playing for the first Women’s team playing under the Great Britain and Ireland banner losing on the 29, and on the 30 April 1978 at Amstevlveen in the Netherlands but recorded their first ever win against Belgium on 1st May 5 – 2 at the same venue.

Other reports goes on to say that Jane playing at Centre Forward had scored over 100 goals in the 1975-76 season and in her recent five week tour of America with the Great Britain & Ireland Under-23 squad, Jane scored 15 goals in 11 games.
Jane was duly invited to join the Olympic Women’s Hockey squad for the Moscow games in 1980, but because of the USSR invasion of Afghanistan, a number of countries withdrew, including the GB Hockey teams, which was great disappointment to Jane and her colleagues from the Sutton Coldfield Ladies Hockey Club, Pauline Gibbon, Barbara Hambly née Holden who were also selected.

Jane did play for Great Britain in 14 games scoring 13 goals in a 5 year period 1978 to 1984, including the Four Nations tournament in Dublin and the American Cup in 1981 followed by a Four Nations event in Berlin in April 1984 after which Jane was informed that she would receive a G.B. invite for the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, but a mix-up in the G.B. Entry resulted in Great retain not being invited although than had obtained winning results over other countries invited, including Netherlands, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. This was another great disappointment for Jane, who outstanding talent was not to be seen on the world stage of Women’s Hockey.

However, the greatest highlight of her club career was part of the Sutton Coldfield team that won the European championships in Vught, Holland in 1992. It was a game that she played with that other great England & Sutton Coldfield player, Jane Sixsmith.

In the same season Jane scored 9 goals when they outplayed Harrow 15 – 0 in the Women’s Hockey Association Cup.

In 1979 Jane scored a hat trick playing for the Festival Women’s XI in the Motorway Hockey Festival against a Spanish Side the “Spanish Flies” and then had her jaw broken when she was in collision with a Spanish defender. In 1994 Jane was invited to manage the England squad, in sharp contrast to when she was dropped as a player some years earlier because they did not consider that Jane took playing hockey seriously, although those who knew Jane found her the most agreeable and lighted hearted person but once she was on the hockey field with stick in her hand, she was devastating, showing all her determination and stick skill. However, they quickly realised their mistake and she was back in the England team and played for them on 49 occasions. It was no surprise that she maintained an integral part of Great Britain team until 1987 when she retired from the international scene.

In “The Great Britain Hockey Story" of 2000 written by Bill Colwill, placed Jane at the top of the “Highest Strike Rate by a Great Britain Women Players” with a strike rate of 0.93 compared to the runner up Jennifer Givan née Redpath with 0.53.

Winner of the “Player-of- the Tournament Trophy”.

Jane greatest achievement was winning a gold medal when playing for Sutton Coldfield Ladies Hockey Club in the final of the European Cup Winners Cup final in May 1992 when she scored 12 goals and was awarded the “Player-of- the Tournament Trophy”.

On a personal note: - Jane married John Ions a member of Stone Hockey Club in 1993 and they have two sons who have both played hockey for Cannock HC.

Staffordshire County Hockey
Jane had contributed considerable to the success of the Staffordshire County Hockey and the Sentinel from Stoke on Trent in 1992 covered Jane’s career, and below is a copy their tribute to Jane, written by Viv Wyndham:

STAFFORDSHIRE'S Jane Swinnerton is still very much one of the country's star hockey players, although it is two years since she appeared on the international scene.
After dropping out of representative hockey at the highest level, she opted to continue in the county team which was very much to the relief of the selectors, her team-mates and supporters.

As an attacker she had always been a prolific goal-getter and very much a live-wire of the front line. Jane entered senior hockey as a fifth former at school when she joined Sutton 20 years ago. She has been with her one and only club, now indisputably one of the nation's top sides, ever since. In these two decades she has travelled the world playing, and consistently scoring goals for England and Great Britain. Perhaps her biggest disappointment was twice being in the Olympic squad and never making the Games themselves.

Quit
The first setback was the boycott which followed the Afghanistan affair. Individual Olympic Associations in this country had to make up their minds — and hockey chose not to go. Then they were all set to go to Los Angeles, but were eliminated at the last minute because officialdom suddenly decided, without any previous warning, that the team had not played a sufficient number of qualifying matches to establish a justifiable tract record. It was because of this that Jane decided to quit as far as the Great Britain team was concerned. She told me: "We had a squad good enough to win a medal, but we were not even given the opportunity to go and prove ourselves.

"It was not up to the players to see to it that we completed the right number of qualifying matches, but it was up to the powers that be to have told us how many games were needed. "We had done eight years of hard work to take part in the Games. After we missed hose two I realised it would he another four years to wait for the next.

Tilt
"The squad was breaking up anyway and I decided that would be that as far as the Great Britain squad was concerned." Altogether she played for Great Britain on more than 20 occasions and gained 49 England "caps" between 1971 and 1987, making seven appearances in the-then televised Wembley internationals. Her travels abroad included trips to Malaysia, Canada, and the USA as well as numerous European countries.

The head of girls PE at a school in the Midlands, Jane is very much to the forefront of hockey.
Her club has just finished third in the first season of the new National League and she declares: "We are aiming to win that title next season."

The Sutton Coldfield Ladies Hockey Club have won most competitions, tournaments, and trophies available to clubs.

Linda (Bobbie) Robson

Linda was playing for SCLHC 1st team according to an article in the Birmingham Evening Mail of Wednesday 14th November 1976 titled “You have to possess a Very Good Playing Pedigree for Sutton Coldfield Ladies Hockey Club”

Linda had played for Worcestershire County Hockey Team before she joined the Sutton Club and was an AEWHA “B” Umpire. She played in the Sutton Ladies team when they were invited to play in the 9th European Cup in Vienna in 1982.
Linda was nicknamed Bobbie after the famous England football player Sir Bobby Robson

In January 1986 Linda was an “A” grade umpire and was invited by the England WHA to umpire in the Netherlands and for her achievements as an International “A” Umpire the Club presented Linda with an engraved goblet.

Caroline Brewer née Rule

During Caroline 4 seasons with Sutton Coldfield Ladies 1988 to 1992, getting selected into the GB world squad, she was a very important player in helping the Club to qualify in 1990 to play in the play in the European Cup in 1991 and in the team winning the Cup in 1992 as well as the home club in the 1992 unsuccessful attempt in retaining the trophy.

Caroline joined the Sutton Coldfield Ladies from Leicester HC in 1988 to be registered as a Sutton player with Great Britain for the Seoul Olympics and joined her new colleagues, Barbara Hambly and Jane Sixsmith and played for the Sutton Coldfield club in the 1989-90 season before Caroline moved back to Leicester. Caroline played for Great Britain on 35 occasions between 1985 and 1988

Hilary Mary Rose

Great Britain
61 caps
Olympic Games
4th, Atlanta (1996)
Goal Keeper

( Hilary was a member of SCLHC in the 1995-96 season and was registered as Sutton player in the 1996 Olympics played in the Atlanta games ( photograph with Mandy and Jane below)) Most of Hilary’s caps were with Ipswich LHC

England
101 caps (1993 – 2002)
Most of Hilary’s caps were with Ipswich LHC

A former Sutton Coldfield Ladies Hockey Club, England and Great Britain goalkeeper Hilary made 162 international appearances during her playing career, notching up 101 caps for England and a further 61 for Great Britain. After making her international debut in 1993, Hilary went on to play for England at the World Cups of 1994, 1998 and 2002. She was a member of England’s double silver medal winning team at the 1998 and 2002 Commonwealth Games and the bronze medal winning side at the 1999 European Championships in Cologne Hilary was born in Sale, Greater Manchester on the 9th July 1971 and in the 1995 - 96 season she was a member of the Sutton Coldfield Ladies Hockey Club and the Great Britain squad at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta with Jane Sixsmith and Mandy Davies. Hilary also played in 2000 Olympics Sydney Games as a member of Ipswich HC, where she played for most of her hockey.
Hilary alongside with Richard Beer were appointed joint Team Managers to the senior England women’s hockey team until the end of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

Tom Crockford

Sutton Coldfield Hockey Club's first Olympic Gold medallist.

Eric Bertram Crockford known as Tom played for England fourteen times between 1911 and 1922 and represented Great Britain and Ireland in the 1920 Antwerp, Olympic Games winning a Gold Medal playing hockey.

This was the last Olympic Games when Great Britain and Ireland were one team. He would undoubtedly have received many more caps but for the intervention of the war period throughout which he served his country with distinction.

Tom was an outstanding sportsman playing cricket for the Warwickshire County Cricket Club and for Sutton Coldfield Cricket Club. He was also the Midland Billiard and Snooker champion.

Without doubt the greatest exponent of the game of hockey in the men's club's history who played for England fourteen times between 1911 and 1922 and represented Great Britain and Ireland in the 1920 Antwerp Olympic Games winning a Gold Medal playing hockey.

This was the last Olympic Games when Great Britain and Ireland were one team. He would undoubtedly have received many more caps but for the intervention of the war period throughout which he served his country with distinction.

Enlisting in September 1914, as a Private in the 14th Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment, he was Gazetted 2nd Lieutenant into the 6th Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment in August 1915 and subsequently promoted Lieutenant & served in France in 1916 & 1918.

P.C. Petrie
During the period 1921-1930 P. C. Petrie also played for England.

Dr John Bell

In addition to his appearances for Warwickshire, John Bell also played for England `B" and 5 times for the Midlands.

However his outstanding ability as a player meant that he was selected go to the 1960 Rome Olympics although still in the Army Medical Core as a Doctor with the rank of Lieutenant on National Service.

John played in two of the games 1st round qualifying matches, against Belgium which resulted in a drawn game 0 – 0 and in his second game in the Olympic Velodrome Great Britain beat Switzerland 3 – 0. As Great Britain’s opening game had been a 0 – 0 draw against Spain they were runner up in Group D to Spain and advanced to the quarter-final beating Kenya 2 – 0, a game John was rested.

However, John played his 3rd game for Great Britain against India in the semi-final, losing 1 – 0. Great Britain had play-off game against Spain which they lost 2 – 0 but John was not included in the team.

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