Following the success of the 1957 Battle of the Brook, the gauntlet was thrown down again and the teams gathered the next year, on Easter Monday, at the field east of, what was then, the A43.
We’ve been able to record all the team members for the following six years and they are listed on the table below (click to enlarge). With this many men taking part, there must surely be some who you recognise either in the videos or in the table. Family or friend, if you have memories, stories or, even better, photos, we would very much like to see them and, with your permission, put them on this website. (Please let us know by using the ‘Enter your comment here . . . ‘ box.)
Battle of the Brook Teams
*** Winners.
But with 3 wins apiece, who were the winners in 1963? If you know the answer, please let us know by using the ‘Enter your comment here . . .’ box at the bottom of the page.
Out of all the team members, there were eight men willing and able to take part in all seven Battles. They were:
Michael Baker, Cliff Biddle, Neil Carver, Brian Cook, Jock Cuthell, B Johnson, Bert Stafford and Ian Tracey. And all eight were from the south side of the River Ise.
To watch the video of the 1959 Battle in colour, click on the ⇒ below.
Each team member, whether they were in the winning team or not, was awarded a Certificate.
And where is the anvil that, for many years, stood on its plinth besides the Brook near the ford, as a reminder of past battles? Occasionally it changed sides and it was the butt of various practical jokes, but it seems its disappearance around 1982 was, sadly, final.
To watch another colour video, this time recorded by local historian, the late Eddie Toseland, go to the Archive section and in Customs, you will find a sub-section entitled Battle of the Brook. There you will find Eddie’s video, also the video on this page as well as the black and white video in the first Battle of the Brook page.