Tilgate Forest Golf Club Seniors

Wednesday 15th May 2024, home match versus B&H (Brighton & Hove)

Competition Result:

Chris Burton / Martin Seale; won 4-3

Gordon Harrison / Richard Jameson; won 8-6
Terry O’Sullivan / Bob Usher; won 7-6
Steve Chambers / Martin Mintrim; lost 2-0
Steve Allum / Alec Steven; won 8-7
Bill Lowther/Keki Singporewala; won 8-7

Match won by Tilgate 5-1 (Away Match at B&H scheduled for 3 rd Oct 2024)

A most enjoyable/glorious day of golf experienced by both teams. Thank you to our club captain Keith
White and B&H captain Bob McKellar for organizing the day. Keith unfortunately couldn’t play due to
a shoulder injury. The captaincy baton was taken up by our vice-captain Gordon Harrison and Chris
Burton played instead of Keith.
Pictures below recorded on the day:

Tilgate’s picturesque and challenging 17th Fairway

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Group-1

Group-2

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Group-3

Group-4

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Group-5

Group-6

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Non-playing captain Keith White – 2nd from left

Tilgate Glendale staff that served lunch – Chicken pie with gravy, new potatoes & peas.
Pudding was Apple crumble with custard.

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Captain of the day, our vice-captain Gordon Harrison speech and customary joke recital
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B&H captain speech

Nearest to the pin (15th par-3) B&H winner

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For the benefit of B&H golfers
The following is a brief history of Tilgate:

Trees around Tilgate golf course today owe their origin to ‘John Ashburner Nix’

John Ashburner Nix (1 July 1866 – 9 May 1927) was an English businessman, estate
owner, Conservative Party politician, and barrister. He held the position of High Sheriff of
Sussex in 1911:
 Family Background: John Ashburner Nix was the son of John Hennings Nix, one of the
partners in the London bank Fuller, Banbury, Nix & Co, and Sarah Ashburner, a wealthy
heiress born in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. Sarah’s father, George Ashburner, originally
from Bombay (now Mumbai), had amassed a fortune as a merchant in India. Towards the end
of his life, George purchased Tilgate House, a sprawling 2,185-acre estate in Crawley Sussex.

 Inheritance: After George’s death, Tilgate House was inherited by John & Sarah Nix. Following
Sarah’s passing, the estate came under the ownership of John Ashburner Nix from 1904 until
his demise in 1927. Upon his death, the estate passed to his brother, Charles Nix, who, on the
outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, put it up for auction.

 Military Service and Legal Studies: Before pursuing a legal career, John Ashburner Nix served
as a second lieutenant in the Welch Regiment. His interest in law led him to study the subject.

 Business Ventures: Nix was also a director of the mining company San Antonio de
Esimilacho in Peru.

 Political Aspirations: In the 1895 United Kingdom general election, he stood as a Conservative
candidate for Ashburton, although he lost to the incumbent, Charles Seale-Hayne.

John Ashburner Nix’s multifaceted life spanned business, law, politics, and estate management. His
legacy remains intertwined with the historic Tilgate House and its extensive grounds in Sussex

Crawley Urban District Council purchased the land in 1964 for the people of Crawley.

End
Keki Singporewala
(Tilgate hon. Secretary)

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