Tamesis A S

[EricW]

I've just added yet another pole to my burgeoning collection and I find them endlessly fascinating. For a simple implement of bamboo sections stuck inside each other, they do have a lot of variations. This one is 21 ft long or so I am told, I haven't yet measured it although it is clearly considerably longer than my 18 and 19 footers. Rudimentary inspection with a torch reveals that there is newspaper stuffed into the bottom of the lower two sections although retrieving it to establish a possible age will have to wait for its ultimate ascent to the top of the pile. It has brass inners on every single female ferrule which I believe is a first among my poles and suggests that it is maybe a later model. No makers name as yet unfortunately. The gentleman that I bought it from was selling it for an ex tackle dealer who had bought it in from its previous owner who believed it to be a Sowerbutts. As far as I am concerned it has no engraved company name on it so it probably isn't. The bag it came in is clearly extremely old, double thickness material on the bottom 12" or so and with a shortened pocket to take the butt extension section. The first point of interest for me is the writing on the flap of the rod bag though, It bears an owners name and the legend 'Tamesis A S'. Does anybody know anything about this club? Any info or suggestions gratefully received.

[MWithell]

Wow. It's Roman, then!

[EricW]

I'll be in trouble if its a Roman newspaper! I never paid much attention in Latin classes at school.

[Olly]

Tamesis Club is in Teddington Middx. - - tamesisclub.co.uk

Sailing Club - - Sports Club

[EricW]

Thank you Olly. I looked them up but could find no info regarding anything but sailing. I believe you were/are fairly local to that area and wonder if you knew of their angling section? I lived and fished not terribly far from there in the seventies and can't say I'd heard of them.

[Olly]

I was very local for about 26 years! But never heard of them - - however I have found/read something of Tamesis in old documents - - don't know which or where they were - - but I have a very vague recollection of the Oxford area - - or I may be barking up the wrong tree!!

[MWithell]

I lived near Teddington in the 70s and never heard of Tamesis AS.

[Olly]

I arrived in Strawberry Hill in 1951 and my father was a member of Lensbury Club for Shell employees which is about 100 to 200m downstream of the current Tamesis club site. I fished Lensbury for many years until I married & left home 1976.

A list of Thames Angling clubs through the ages is needed!

[EricW]

You don't know a Mr B Gent then, for it his name on the sleeve that the pole came in? Agreed a list of Thames angling clubs would be very interesting.

[Olly]

What date do you think the pole is from?

Richmond upon Thames is where after WWI large numbers of Europeans came to fish - there is a film somewhere on here showing this - using hemp seed as bait and roach poles.