Harborne Golf Club
The Sydney Dark Cup
Sydney Arthur Dark was born in Kings Norton in the summer of 1897 and had three siblings, one being a brother who later died in WW1 and is remembered at the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, Belgium. Sydney lived in Harborne with his wife and three boys, the youngest being Vernon who later also became a member of HGC.
Sydney was a quiet, amiable man but solid and focused. It’s thought he was a stock broker and in his spare time he became a very good golfer, slow and steady but careful and accurate, almost certainly lower, single figures. His first trophy win was the Challenge Cup in May 1926 and in May 1933 when Harborne won the Warwickshire Challenge Flag, Sydney won the Gold Medal for the best gross (75+75=150) by 6 shots. He also equalled the course record in the Club Championship with 70 gross.
In 1935 Sydney Dark became Captain and later, Treasurer in 1949. He died in 1965, aged 68, whilst playing the 9th hole at Harborne, hence a competition now in his name which began in 1968.
This weekend saw the Sydney Dark Cup played by 115 HGC members and congratulations goes to the winner, Andrew Mason, with a nett 62 and second and third place respectively to Barry Wenman and Stephen Ellis with a 67.
Many thanks to Colin Yarwood and Ron Fisher for their help and if anyone has any further memories of Sydney I'd love to hear from you jennie.rattlidge@gmail.com
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