1938-05-24 — Page 21

THE CHINA MAIL, MAY 24, 1988.

BUTLER'S HARD-COURT TRIUMPH

Christian Boussus Defeated

(By A. WALLIS MYERS)

Bournemouth, April 26. “Gone with the wind" at Mel- ville Park to-day, were Christian Boussus, of France, the second seeded player; Ronald Shayes, in his new Davis Cup cap; Eric Fil- by, who will assuredly wear one soon; Donald MacPhail, the Scot- tish champion; and, among the women, Miss Dorothy Stevenson, finalist in the Australian Cham- pionship last January.

·

'It was a day of gusts and blown sand, and the conditions levelled up form, rendering sur- prises always possible and giving the newcomer to England to de- finite handicap. Patience, rather than power, had the premium to- day.

Not that the conquerors did not earn their laurels nor win on their merits; and, of course, Olliff has al- ways had a kindly feeling towards the Bournemouth courts. He has beaten Perry on them and come within a stroke of defeating Austin.

Butler's dismissal of Boussus was

SET OF 20 GAMES

BLAZING CAR CHARGES CROWD AT BROOKLANDS

A few minutes after the start of the International Trophy Race at Brooklands a 12 cylinder Delage car, driven by the French ace Joseph Paul, burst into flames after crashing in to the crowd and killing Miss Peggy Williams and injuring 6 other spectators. Our photograph shows the scene a few seconds after the crash, with spectators breaking down the fence to enable rescuers to release a victim of the tragedy, who is pinned between the car and the railings. (Copyright, Fox).

Well-Known Scottish Yachtsman Passes

RIGHT-HAND MAN OF SIR THOMAS LIPTON

(By Major B. HECKSTALL-SMITH)

London, April 21. A great yachtsman, Col Duncan Ferguson Dempster Neill, has died in an Edinburgh nursing home at the age of 69. He was right- hand, man to the late Sir Thomas Lipton throughout his yachting career and one of the executors under his will.

Son of the late John Neill, a Greenock sugar refiner who was well known as a Clyde yachtsman, Col. Duncan Neill was educated at Edinburgh and Glasgow University. His nautical knowledge was of considerable service during the Great War, for he had command- ed for some years the Clyde Volunteer Division, Submarine Miners, R.E.

the event of the day. The French times produce a genuine thriller, left-hander started confidently en- Now he meets

who Eric Peters, ough and won the first set to two. equalled his own record at Bourne- But the wily, fast-moving player mouth-made against Charles Hare from Worcestershire had not then when he was junior champion-by begun to throw up his stream of taking three love sets against R. P. teasing lobs, nor to race like a 10 Harman, the only American entry. sec. man round the court in pursuit Austin braved the wind well, but of the French cross-drives.

had a vantage third set. Lee, on a more sheltered court, scarcely miss- It was the long, wavering seconded a drive against MacPhail, and set of 20 games that virtually won Kho Sin Kie was never stresserl. the match. Butler was always alert,

MISS SCRIVEN WINS always sprinting and the protracted: In the women's singles, Miss rallies were never over until he had Scriven negotiated her first fence visited the stop-netting in chasing with every sign of clearing others

One of the most experienced the steam yachts Erin I. and Erin a seemingly winning ball.

and defeated Madame Henrotin, of Scottish yachtsmen at first-class II. Boussus made too many errors in France, in two sets. The second racing and the owner of many Col. Duncan Neill's greatest suc- the next two sets to save his skin. was a little anxious, for the girl yachts, he began in his boyhood cess in the sport of yacht racing, He would get on top for a couple of who can drop the ball from the base in the small classes on the Clyde. however, was from 1908 onwards games, as in the fourth set, increas-line just over the net and make it On the 2 rater Mimine he set when, with the late Capt. Sycamore ing both his speed and his guile, screw back led 3-0 and 4-1. Miss the first Bermudian sail used infas his skipper, he handled Sir but the wind would spoil some of Scriven had to summon all her hap-racing, more than a quarter of Thomas Lipton's 23-metre cutter, his customary coups, and Butler py wrong-footing drives before she a century before the rig became Shamrock. This was a vessel built was always hoisting sound lobs or could hit her last winner.

for British racing, and not one of stretching deep to achieve a last-

conqueror was In his early career he gained the numbered-Shamrocks built as second sliced volley. So Christian Miss Harvey, who found an oppon-much practical knowledge of larger cup challengers. carried his burden to the club house, lent lacking any experience of sand-racing vessels when, as an active defeated in his first match.

court play, or, of course, of Miss young amateur, he was often mast- Shayes fell to that calm and op-Harvey's very shrewd methods of head hand aboard Mr. timistic driver George Godsell, of attrition. It was never a match. Coats's 72-ton cutter Marjorie. Gloucestershire. After losing the Miss Scott's volleys were just too

WITH SIR T. LIPTON .... Mrs. Pittman; Senorita In 1899 Col. Neill became asso- two opening sets, finding his wings wide for neatly scorched by passing shots, Lizana did not bother too much ciated with Sir Thomas Lipton. He

EXAMPLE IN SPORTSMANSHIP

Their most famous competitors Shayes squared the match and then, when she played and defeated Miss. sailed in every race in Lipton's five

and Miss Saunders, Shamrocks with which he competed included White Heather, Nyria, seemingly full of confidence, advan- Patterson; ced to 4-2 in the fifth set. Here though she lost the middle set to for the America's Cup in 1899, 1901, Brynhild, Britannia, Terpsichore- he overdid his service zeal, and Mrs. McKelvie, took care to play 1903, 1920 and 1930, accompanying afterwards Lulworth-Astra. Cam-

the yachts to the United States in bria, and Candida. Godsell, gathering new stamina her best in the other two. from some concealed source, caught and passed him-virtually at the post. The stylist was beaten by steel.

FILBY'S DESPERATE EFFORT Filby, caught in the toils of Ol- liff's clever and purposeful play, made a desperate effort to save the match. He won the third set from 5-2 down and actually levelled the fourth after-Olliff led 5-0. Olliff harnessed the wind to his spinful strokes well, and Filby was inclined to forget that the day and the court imposed circumspective play. he had beaten Olliff before.

Miss Stevenson's

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stiffen all his Corsican blood shake off a very determined resis tance. The Frenchman had loose periods when experiments fail- neat ed and the wind disturbed a coup, but his volleying was often brilliant, and when he was tucked up in the corners he would some-

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Neill and Sycamore were a won- derful combination of talent. Their judgment, skill, and nerve in the art of handling a great racing cut- ter, with 10,000 square feet of set, were extraordinary, and have never been surpassed in yachting history.

canvas

I was shipmate with them for 80 years in most of their hardest con- tests. So close was the racing be- tween the great 23-metre cutters Shamrock and White Heather in 1909, that after sailing- 38 duel races all round. the coast each of. us had won 19 first prizes.

Col. Duncan Neill endeared him- self to yachtsmen of every grade by the high example he set in and sportsmanship, seamanship fair play, and when aboard the steam yacht Erin he was ever ready to assist the smaller vessels by towing them from port to port. No yachtsman who sailed round the coast with the racing fleet was more greatly beloved.

He' was a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron, Royal Clyde, Ro- yal Northern, Royal Thames, Royal · Gourock, Mudhook, and many other clubs, and also sat upon the council of the Yacht Racing Association for 15 years.