Guards Polo Club Official Yearbook 2017 Official Yearbook 2017 | Page 36

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The 1964 final of the Friar Park Cup at Guards Polo Club. © Charles White/Michael Chevis
renamed the Archie David Cup following
Major David’s death in 1972.
Although the tournament has been a
low-goal tournament since its inception
60 years ago, it has always attracted
a significant entry. From 11 teams in
that first year, it saw an impressive
37 teams in 2004, ensuring that the
Archie David Cup is the UK’s leading
8-goal tournament. With a new sponsor
– Hildon Natural Mineral Water –
supporting the competition from 2017,
the tournament’s anniversary year has all
the hallmarks to be a fitting tribute to one
of Guards Polo Club’s unsung heroes.
M
ajor Archie David’s extraordinary
influence at Guards Polo
Club is at odds with the quiet,
understated man himself. This former tea
planter, who had been a familiar figure at
Cowdray Park in the 1930s, and regularly
played with his own Friar Park team, was
instrumental in the recovery of polo after
the Second World War in what was a very
difficult period for the game.
Eight years before Guards Polo Club was
created, Archie David had already developed
his own polo grounds at his home, Friar
Park, near Henley. These playing fields were
laid out on what had been part of the old
wartime airfield at Remenham in 1947.
Major David’s generous spirit was much
in evidence at this time as he regularly
invited fellow officers to use the facilities at
Friar Park and join him to play in private
tournaments and friendly matches in the
late 1940s and early 50s.
Of course, as Cowdray Park was some
distance from Windsor, so the location of
the Friar Park grounds made them even
more important to the many Berkshire
and London-based players, which
included, of course, HRH The Duke of
Edinburgh. So when the plans for Guards
Polo Club started to come to fruition in
the winter of 1954, it was not surprising
that HRH The Duke of Edinburgh invited
Major David to join the Household
Brigade Polo Club (as Guards was
originally known) Committee as a founder
member. Our President also suggested
that Archie David move his entire Henley
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establishment to Smith’s Lawn and
continue playing.
Major David not only agreed to the
move, but generously brought a substantial
string of ponies to Windsor. He loaned
mounts to young players and provided a
pool of ponies for the new Club. These
were stabled at the Royal Mews at
Windsor Castle where the Club’s offices
were originally based and a list of Major
David’s ponies could often be found in
early Club programmes. Incredibly, he also
leased two grounds from Colonel Henry
Micklem on the London Road in Henley,
which Major David kept in reserve for the
Household Brigade Club if needed.
In 1957, the Club recognised Major
David’s generosity with the creation of
the Friar Park Cup. This tournament was
guards polo club official yearbook 2017