Battle of Britain Tournaments?

[John Upham]

I'm hoping someone can help...

Is there a record of the winners of the Battle of Britain Tournaments?

I believe that Mike Franklin won the title on several occasions.

DBP was Chairman of the organisation that ran it.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Kevin Thurlow]

H Boxall won the 1st one in 1948 (200+ played)
In 1956, the finalists were Mike Franklin, J Fuller, JB Howson, Ken Messere (who was third, and came second in 1957, so might have won some time?)
Mike Basman won in 1964

I never got beyond the second round. For the uninitiated, early rounds were a regional KO, so I usually got paired with a club colleague. Most games were played at one player's house, although if both were members of a club, they might play there. Eventually, there were four finalists who played an all-play-all somewhere in the Midlands I think. I'm pretty sure Mike Franklin won it and I would imagine Squadron Leader Pritchard would have done also. I stopped playing in it in 1972 and I cannot recall when it stopped happening, but I think entry was declining. Coincidentally, I was wearing a mask depicting Spitfires when I went to the local shop this morning.

[John Moore]

Can you do a picture of your mask, Kevin, please

[Kevin Thurlow]

To spare forumites an image of me, here is the RAF Museum's advert

https://www.rafmuseumshop.com/face-mask-spitfire.html

[John Moore]

Thanks Kevin!

[Ken Norman]

Winners of the Battle of Britain Tournament

Year Winner score Semi-finalists Number of entries
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1948 R.F. Boxall
1949 No Tournament
1950 No Tournament
1951 No Tournament
1952 N.Hammond 3/3 V.Berger, M.Blaine, P.G.Challis
1953 G.J.Martin 2.5/3 E.C.Hughes 1.5, A.Y.Green 1, N.Hammond 1
1954 G.J.Martin 2.5/3 M.J.Franklin 2.5/3 Martin won Play-off
1955 L.W.Barden
1956 J.A.Fuller 2.5/3 M.J.Franklin 2/3, K.C.Messere 1.5/3, J.B.Hawson 0/3
1957 D.N.Bellis
1958 J.B.Howson
1959 M.J.Franklin 3/3
1960 M.J.Franklin
1961 M.J.Franklin 2/3 R.Payne 2/3 Frankin won Play-0ff
1962 M.J.Franklin
1963 R.H.Fertozegi
1964 M.J.Basman
1965 J.D.Taylor
1966 G.Speed G.Speed & Miss E. Tranmer 2.5/3 S.Reuben & E.C.Cameron 0.5/3
1967 R.H.Watson
1968 J.E.Scholes
1969 J.E.Scholes J.E.Scholes 3, P.G.Killick 2, L.A.Edwards 1, D.G.Levens 0
1970 J.E.Scholes J.G.Isted, R.S.Sefton
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976 R.Payne
1977 P.A.Brown 3/3 G.F.Steele1/3, J.L.A.Stone 1/3, K.Vickers 1/3
1978

[John Upham]

Ken,

That is most kind of you.

May I ask where this record came from ?

John

[Ken Norman]

Winners of the Battle of Britain Tournament

Year Winner score Semi-finalists
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1948 R.F. Boxall
1949 No Tournament
1950 No Tournament
1951 No Tournament
1952 N.Hammond 3/3 V.Berger, M.Blaine, P.G.Challis
1953 G.J.Martin 2.5/3 E.C.Hughes 1.5, A.Y.Green 1, N.Hammond 1
1954 G.J.Martin 2.5/3 M.J.Franklin 2.5/3 Martin won Play-off
1955 L.W.Barden
1956 J.A.Fuller 2.5/3 M.J.Franklin 2/3, K.C.Messere 1.5/3, J.B.Hawson 0/3
1957 D.N.Bellis
1958 J.B.Howson
1959 M.J.Franklin 3/3
1960 M.J.Franklin
1961 M.J.Franklin 2/3 R.Payne 2/3 Frankin won Play-0ff
1962 M.J.Franklin
1963 R.H.Fertozegi
1964 M.J.Basman
1965 J.D.Taylor
1966 G.Speed G.Speed & Miss E. Tranmer 2.5/3 S.Reuben & E.C.Cameron 0.5/3
1967 R.H.Watson
1968 J.E.Scholes
1969 J.E.Scholes J.E.Scholes 3, P.G.Killick 2, L.A.Edwards 1, D.G.Levens 0
1970 J.E.Scholes
1972 No information
1973 No information
1974 No information
1975 No information
1976 R.Payne
1977 P.A.Brown 3/3 G.F.Steele1/3, J.L.A.Stone 1/3, K.Vickers 1/3

[Kevin Thurlow]

Useful info!

I had the initial winner as H Boxall of Ministry of Supply (I had heard of RF Boxall of course). Is my Boxall a misprint?

However, the name R.H.Fertozegi is new to me...

[John Saunders]

battle of britain chess.jpg

I found this list in the 1973/74 BCF Yearbook. It is not as up-to-date as the one Ken Norman has posted but it supplies a little more detail about runners-up and numbers competing.

I found some more detail for the 1957 competition in BCM, November 1957, p286: "the final all-play-all tourney took place at St Bride's Institute. The result was a tie between D. N. Bellis and L. J. Mills, each with 2 points; they were followed by J. H. McK. Finch and R. E. James, with 1. The prize money was shared, but a match is being held to break the tie for the trophy."

My former Mitcham Chess Club colleague, the late Doug Bellis, was very proud of having won this competition and rightly so (he evidently won the play-off match, though I've not seen it reported). He took a decades-long break from chess shortly thereafter to devote himself to work and raising a family and, on his return, concentrated his energies on organising rather playing so never again revealed his full potential as a player.

[Leonard Barden]

Well, that's a relief.

I had a memory of winning the Battle of Britain and beating Jack Hawson in the final, but my memory said 1956 so I was confused when this thread spoke of John Fuller winning that year and of a four-player final. I decided to keep quiet unless there was more information which John Saunders has now provided.

I was sure that there were just the two of us in the final, but wasn't totally sure that I had won. I think now that there were two games, with me being in difficutles as Hawson launched a hack attack in the first before I scraped a draw and then me winning the return rather easily. It looks now as if 1956 was the first four-player final.

1955 was the only year I played. Although from my bedroom window as a 10-year-old in 1940 I witnessed the very start of the Battle, the massed attack on Croydon Aitport which the German flyers were said to have mistaken for Kenley, and although I did two years National Service in the RAF in 1947-49, my main motive for entering in 1955 was financial.

The first prize was meagre, but I was just starting out as a chess professional, didn't have much coming in, and reckoned the B of B as easy pickings, a concept which was nearly refuted by Hawson.

[John Saunders]

Battle of Britain Tournament, 1955.—This year the Battle of Britain Trophy went to L. W. Barden, who won the play-off after a triple tie in the final with J. B. Hawson and M. Rogan. The other finalist was A. Lukowicz, and the remaining prizes were won by G. D. Jones, G. C. Nurse, N. A. Perkins, and P. A. E. Washington. The total entry was 119, the prize-money amounted to £19, and the profit realized for the R.A.F. Benevolent Fund was £20.

[Leonard Barden]

Really dodgy memory, then. Rogan and Lukowicz come up blanks, and at least eight games to win £10...

[Neil Blackburn]

Interesting to see Perkins of Bletchley Park featuring in the placing a twice. I had never heard of these tournaments before. Thanks as alway for bringing us something old that is new!.

[Roger de Coverly]

I had never heard of these tournaments before.

Arguably the Fischer boom started with the victories in the Interzonal and Candidates matches. Possibly even before that.

A tournament not usually attracting more than two hundred people would fail to capture attention once the norm for major London weekend tournaments approached or exceeded the thousand mark.