| OLA History |
|
|
|
 Old Lyonian football at Pinner View in the 1930s The Old Lyonian Association (OLA) has a long and proud history. Fifteen years after the School opened in 1876, the first Old Lyonian dinner was held in December 1891 at Harrow Liberal Club, and this was so successful that similar functions were held in the four succeeding years. Thereafter, either a dinner or smoking concert was arranged every year up to the outbreak of the First World War. Cricket and football sides were raised for matches against the school from the earliest days. In early 1898, the Old Lyonian Cricket Club was formed and a fairly full fixture list for that season was arranged. Unfortunately, this proved a false start: by 1900, the club was finding it hard to raise a full side and this early venture had to be abandoned. Two years later, on 9 July 1902, the Old Lyonian Football Club (OLFC) was formed in a meeting held at the School. The Old Lyonian Association also began in its nascent form at around this date and elected its first President, J. Parkhouse. The Football Club’s home matches were played on Harrow Recreation Ground, with the club allowed to rope off the pitch and sell programmes for 6d. Boosted by a series of league and cup successes in the years prior to the First World War, on occasions the club achieved programme sales of up to 2,000 for a match. Dramatic beginnings  John Lyon and 'Mistress Lyon' - detail from a window in Harrow School Chapel During the First World War, however, all activities ceased, as some 350 Old Lyonians served with His Majesty’s forces. News of them featured prominently in wartime issues of The Lyonian magazine. A total of 58 Old Lyonians gave their lives in the conflict. On 1 October 1919, the Association formally took possession of its new premises in the High Street, on the Hill – a venue open three nights a week for members to play games including billiards, table tennis and cards. Purchasing Pinner View Progress and enthusiasm were such that in 1921, the Association purchased 6½ acres of farm land at Pinner View, which remains its premises to this day. For the convenience of title and to raise the necessary finance, a limited liability company was formed, known as the Old Lyonian Athletic Club Ltd. To transform the land, members formed working parties and soon had the job done, with the first football match played there in September 1921.
From these beginnings, the Association continued to thrive throughout the inter-war years and up to the present era. OLA landmarks after the Second World War included the formation of a Veterans XI led by Club Chairman Bill Reynolds in 1961/62 and the first foreign tour (to Holland and France) in 1965.
|
The benefits of this bold move were soon seen: the summer of 1922 saw the formation of both the Old Lyonian Cricket Club and the Old Lyonian Tennis Club. In January 1923, Frank Perrin, of Lyon Farm, Preston, near Harrow, lent the Association £500 to build a grandstand. It was well used, with football matches in the 1930s regularly drawing crowds of more than 800, or even up to 2,000 for FA Cup matches. (Sadly the grandstand is no more, having suffered at the hands of the great storm of 1987 and the Taylor Report.)