Whitby Company of Archers

 One of the smallest clubs in Britain Whitby Company of Archers was formed around 1974 by the some of the shooters from Whitby rifle club. The club used to be part of the Rifle club but there were disagreements about the time allotted to the archery. They then decided to go it alone, which we believe was 1974. The founder members were John Tindale and Brian Askew. John remained an active shooting member for some years and was club chairman from then until 1997. In 1992 the club presented John with a sword and made him an honoree life member.

Paul Cromack joined the club about 1974/5 and remains a highly active member to this day. Paul has been shooting since he was a boy and has used all formats of archery in his time but prefers the skill of long bow archery these days.

Dave Edwards (now deceased) was the club coach, along with his wife Joan were the secretary and treasurer for ten years. They represented the club at many competitions and gained a reputation of excellence. They were asked to join the Royal Toxophalist Society. This is the oldest club and you join by invite only.

One of the clubs present claim to fame is the fact that club member Kath Nellis was Yorkshire Champion in 1996 and last year (1999) ranked 6th in Britain.

As well as Paul Cromack winning a number of trophies Phyllis Walker is a renown shot and has a number of tournaments trophies to her credit thus gaining a good competitive grounding for the club. Lately it has been Ced Marr who has been making his mark in the longbow section.

The Club also gaining a name for putting on good interesting field shoots (see calendar for dates).

The Company boasts some 22 adult members plus 3 Junior members. It is also worth mentioning that Archery is a sport for all people from all walks of life. The club members occupations range from farmers, factory workers, joiners, hotel manager, butchers and so on.

The Club not only target shoots but also has access to excellent field shooting facilities that are used weekly by the members.

Sean Wilson, Phyllis Walker and Paul Cromack