Gravesham & Wellcome hockey clubClub History
Two clubs with a long and proud history joined together in the summer of 2015 to ensure a stronger and more promising future for hockey in the Gravesend and Dartford area. That club became Gravesham & Wellcome Hockey Club.
Gravesham Hockey Club
Gravesham Hockey Club existed for 15 years and was formed from an amalgamation of Gravesend Hockey Club and Old Gravesendians Hockey Club in the year 2000. Prior to this roots from both clubs can be traced back 75 years previously with Gravesend H.C. having celebrated their 75th anniversary in 1998. Old Gravesendians was created by a splinter from Gravesend Hockey Club in the late 1980s.
The club traditionally had strong ties with Gravesend Grammar School providing plenty of youth players coming through the ranks.
Wellcome Dartford Hockey Club
Wellcome Hockey Club was formed in 1904 as part of the Wellcome Club initiative, established "to provide harmony and happy social intercourse amongst the employees" of pharmaceutical company Burroughs Wellcome & Co. From here, the club grew, at its peak running six men’s teams, two women’s teams and a mixed team.
Being strongly rooted in community, Wellcome also have a long history of international involvement, attending the first International Hockey Festival in Hanau, West Germany in 1968, and continuing international tours since. This involvement played a large part in the twinning of Dartford and Hanau in 1972.
Through its history, Wellcome has always strived to maintain the culture of sportsmanship and enjoyment that was part of its founding over a century ago.
