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Three generations of Stratford family to have played bowls for Bidford and Warwickshire




TALENTED teenager Lucas Hampson is the third generation of his family to take to the green for Bidford and Warwickshire.

Sporting dynasty: Bidford bowler Daniel Hampson pictured with his sons Lucas, aged 15, and Joseph, 11. Photo: Mark Williamson
Sporting dynasty: Bidford bowler Daniel Hampson pictured with his sons Lucas, aged 15, and Joseph, 11. Photo: Mark Williamson

The soon-to-be 16-year-old is following in the footsteps of his father Daniel, 41, who has been a member of the Salford Road club for 12 years, and his late grandfather Nigel Undery, who was a former captain.

Sadly, in 2019, Nigel passed away. He had been forced to stop playing bowls around 2016 due to various health issues.

“It’s one of those things where Lucas wished he could have played lawn bowls with his grandad but he never had the opportunity to do so,” said Daniel.

When asked what Nigel would have thought of Lucas being the third generation to play bowls at Bidford, Daniel, who lives in Stratford, told the Herald: “He would have absolutely loved it.

“He was always keen to attend my county games and when I played my first match in Rugby I know he was very proud of me.

“With Lucas being his grandson, he’d have been even more proud to have seen him play for Warwickshire. Nigel was chuffed to bits to see Lucas showing a lot of interest in playing bowls at such a young age and to see him become an efficient lead for the team is fantastic.”

So how did Daniel and Lucas get into bowls?

His first taste of the historic sport was when he used to be taken down to Avon BC during the summer by his grandmother and her sister, where they’d sit and watch the players whilst eating a bag of chips.

Daniel described the sport as one where “you need someone to introduce you to it to get a foot in the door” and it was only when he got married that he learned his father-in-law was the captain at Bidford.

Picking up the story, Daniel told the Herald: “They used to go on tour in Okehampton and one time they had some spare places so we went along and I was asked if I fancied giving bowls a try.

“After a few sessions I picked it up quite naturally and I remember Nigel telling me ‘I hate people like you as it took me years to pick this sport up’. When I was in my late 20s Nigel took me down to the bowls club and I have been there ever since.”

Meanwhile, Lucas gained an interest in bowls from an early age, with Daniel saying he’d spot his son “making delivery actions whilst I was playing”. It was then that Lucas’s grandparents brought him a carpet bowls set so “he didn’t feel left out”.

“Lucas would play carpet bowls with Nigel in the house, usually in the hallway and living room, you could not walk around without that being on the floor,” said Daniel.

“When Lucas was strong enough to pick up the junior bowls I got him down the club and he absolutely loved it.

“As soon as he was big enough to move up to the adult-sized bowls, we moved him onto that and he’s now part of the county academy over in Leamington.”

Lucas has worked his way up to county level and was recently awarded his Colts Badge for making his first appearance for Warwickshire. He will now be looking to earn his Blazer Badge, which is awarded to those who play six games for the county in less than three years.

Leamington Spa played host to the bowls and para-bowls during the Commonwealth Games and Daniel hopes that will inspire more youngsters to take up the sport, adding: “It’s a shame bowls has got the stigma of it being an old person’s sport.

“It’s not an old person’s sport, there are players in their 20s, 30s and 40s on the national and international stage.

“I liken it to a game of physical chess, it’s a very tactical sport and it’s not about being as close to the jack as possible, you have to try and read your opponent and exploit their weaknesses.

“As long as you’ve got young players coming through, the game will grow.”

Alongside bowls, the family also has a connection with local football. Daniel’s other son, Joseph, 11, plays for Stratford Town Colts while his great-grandfather ‘Curly’ Reynolds helped form Stratford Rangers in 1941.



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