Taken from the 1970 Bonnet Guild Festival Guide

In May, 1923, a group of Stewartonians who were interested in the game of tennis decided to form a club.

Ground owned by the late Mr. Whiteford of 'Ashbank', was rented, and in the remarkably short time of six weeks, two courts had been laid and wire netting erected around them.

It was also decided to build a clubhouse, and in order to raise funds for such expensive undertakings, a bazaar, was held. The amount raised by this venture was the outstanding sum of £467.16.6. Just think of that in terms of today's values!

The Gala Opening of the courts, which took place on 1st September, 1923, was performed by Mrs. Neilson of Chapeltoun and the large crowd was treated to an exhibition game by members of the Kilmarnock Club. An American Tournament was played in which one of the winners was local' Miss A. Whiteford. Although the standard of the league' players from Kilmarnock must have seemed very high to the budding novices of Stewarton, it was not very long before the latter were producing players of a good standard. In fact in 1925 Stewarton were playing in the Ayrshire League and also took part in the preliminary rounds of the Scottish Cup.

The Club was an instant success, and in 1924 the members decided to purchase the ground they had previously rented, together with sufficient land to construct a third court. The third court was completed in 1925, and it is interesting to note that the small burn, which can be seen from the Dunlop Road beside Cocklebie Farm, runs underneath this court, down between Dunlop Street and The Crescent, joining the River Corsehill near 'Greenbank'.

In those days the membership was over one hundred, and a great feature was the Saturday afternoon session when tea and cakes were provided by the lady members for the invariably large turnout. Those readers with long memories may remember names like—Dr. Watson, George Forrest, R.G. Crowe, Sister Forwell and many others who played a large part in running the Club in the early years.

Gradually, however, the older names faded from the scene and younger members came more to the fore, until by 1933 the Gents Team read along the lines of — R. Smith, R. C. Brown, 1. Currie, J. Shedden, W. Falconer, S. Nelson, J. McGowan, etc. The Ladies could field a team consisting of names like — J. Smith, J. Bowie, J. H. Cassells, M. W. Kerr, J. Orr and J. Nelson.

The Tennis Dance was considered to be one of the social events of the year and although it was always held in the Institute Hall, dinner suits and long dresses were the order of the night. I am sure a lot of people can still cast their minds back to those dances and relive many happy moments. It is rather amusing to recall the first dances when the parents of the younger members would take chairs with them, and sit on the platform surveying the scene, and woe betide any aspiring Don Juan who paid too much attention to any one girl... How times have changed!

In 1939, war came and the courts and clubhouse were requisitioned for the troops. It looked as if this period would see the end of the Club as many of the members were away in the forces and the Club was rather short of cash. Moreover, the courts and the netting was badly damaged by the army) who for a time used the courts for parking lorries and trucks. After the war mainly through the efforts of the late David Sim and 'die late Mrs. Robert Mackie, considerable compensation was obtained from the military authorities, and the Club was able to reopen.

The post war years saw a tennis boom, and an enthusiastic new membership was soon recruited by the old-stagers. During this period, the Club had perhaps its largest ever membership, and one was only allowed twenty minutes playing time on the courts, so great was the demand.

This happy state of affairs continued for around fifteen years, and then interest in the game gradually waned and membership steadily decreased. The Club was finding it increasingly difficult every year, because of rising costs and decreasing subscriptions, to keep the courts in a good condition.

A few stalwarts of the Club continued to make various efforts, such as sales of work, whist drives, raffles etc., to raise the necessary cash, but because of the condition of the courts, membership fell rapidly until this year when the Town Council, knowing the plight of the Club, asked to take over the courts.

After much discussion, the Club agreed, on the condition that the ground will always be used for tennis as long as there is a demand for the game.

The Town Council intend improving the courts and it is expected, with good playing conditions, interest in the Club will be revived.

Let's hope that soon the cry in Stewarton will once again be "anyone for tennis?"