TTT30 Spring 2023

It was the height of Beatles fame in the 1960s
and at one school, Erwin Klein introduced Ralph
as coming from Liverpool where he was a friend
of the Beatles and as you can probably imagine
even having that, supposed, tenuous link, was
enough for him to be mobbed. I reckon the
haircut would have helped.
To add to the woes of losing all that money the
Canadian Police stopped them and put them in
jail as vagrants – well, sleeping in a car with table
on the top doesn’t exactly give that good an
impression. They wanted the pairs fingerprints
and Ralph willingly gave his saying “I don’t
intend coming back” but David refused. When
they returned to the US border, David was not
allowed in. Eventually, Erwin Klein sorted it out.
When they returned home the two friends met
in the Kent Open and Ralph won the Men’s
Singles beating David in the final. Ralph was
certain that all that driving had worn David out
and so he wasn’t playing his best. It was a good
victory for Ralph.
David and Ralph with their beetle, their home for six months, the table
is on the roof
David returned to Butlins as a coach in 1964, 1965 and 1966 and it was while he was here, he developed his
love for golf. He received golf lessons from the pro at the camps and later from a local pro. He had realised he
couldn’t earn a living from table tennis (at the time the biggest prize it was possible to win in England was £5
for a Men’s Singles and Junior Singles). Consequently, David changed direction and eventually became a golf
pro himself in 1966, joining the European Seniors Golf Tour in 1993.
It was a great loss to table tennis but David certainly packed an awful lot into the five years he was at the top
of the game and took part in two very memorable and unique tours.
Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation
The last Commonwealth Championships, as opposed to the multi sport Commonwealth Games was last held
in 2018 in India. At that time India, Vikek Kohli, was elected as Chairman taking over from Alan Ransome who
had held the post for many years.
Usually, Commonwealth Championships are held every four years but there seems to have been no movement
yet for the Championships to be held this year.
The Commonwealth Championships are an important part of the international calendar for England and other
countries in the Commonwealth as affords an opportunity, of which there are very few nowadays, when
players can represent their country.
We hope that there will be some positive movement in the near future.
TTT: Issue 30: Spring 2023
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