BRIEF HISTORY OF ELMWOOD LAWN TENNIS CLUB (MITCHAM)

Elmwood was founded in 1922-3 on the ground owned by Sir Isaac Wilson at the end of Elmwood Road, Mitcham.  When in 1936 Sir Isaac decided to build Cumberland House, Elmwood received notice to vacate.

However, what at first seemed a heavy blow, turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  With money subscribed by the members and borrowed from the Bank, the Club bought and equipped the present ground and opened for play in 1937 - with finances just balanced.  1939 saw the outbreak of War, and the Club had no alternative but to carry on and in spite of the raids, a few members managed to keep the Club open so that when the members in the Forces were on leave, they were able to come to Elmwood for relaxation in a game or a chat and a drink.

Perhaps some idea of the difficulties encountered may be gathered by the following - inscribed in the minutes of a Committee meeting held in 1944 "Owing to the fact that we had raided Berlin the previous night and the Germans retaliated, the meeting was continuously interrupted by heavy gun-fire.  A loud crash nearby caused concern for our Club, but our fears proved unfounded and the meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the Chairman."

All through, the Club has had to find its own finances, and consequently the members have had to do a considerable amount of work themselves.  Perhaps this has built up the very good social side which has been carried on all through and has never been better than today.  There is little doubt that this has largely contributed to the success of the Club.