A FOUNDER member of the Griffin Bowling Club, Clifford Barker Armitage, was commemorated with a bench and plaque ahead of Sunday's Rosebowl final.

The decision to mark his prestigious bowling career was taken by his daughters, Leila Hanson and Rita Dyson, and son, Trevor, who lives in Anglesey.

Mr Armitage, known as CB, was one of the town's leading bowlers and in 1968 formed the Griffin Private Bowling Club along with Jacky Cuerde, who was a greenkeeper, and Philip Carter to bring Sunday bowling to Huddersfield for the first time.

It was a direct response to a bowling ban he had received from the Yorkshire Crown Green Bowling Association.

In 1959 when bowling prizes were silver tea services and canteens of cutlery the News Chronicle sponsored a tournament with a prize fund of £500.

This attracted all the leading bowlers of the day and CB's opening round was at Meltham on a Sunday.

He was assured that according to British Crown Green Association rules he could play, but having played was informed by Yorkshire that he was barred for a year from all competitions affiliated to the Yorkshire CGA, because he had bowled on a Sunday. Meltham BC were also barred for one year.

He turned to Lancashire for his competition and was soon winning there, and learning how they ran their tournaments.

He won an 'invitation sixteen' at the Star at Failsworth, beating Vernon Lee in the final, and in 1968 he became the first Yorkshireman to win the major 'Star Handicap' at Failsworth with a prize of £75 (four times his weekly wage) and half a gallon of whiskey.

Travelling back home he thought, "Why can't we do this in Yorkshire?" and soon afterwards the Griffin was formed.

His 23 victories included the Colne Valley Merit, Yorkshire Charity Handicap, Huddersfield WMC Merit, Colne Valley Festival of Britain Merit, Noble Victor Handicap, Griffin Champion of Champions and the Stones Cup.

His last victories were in 1989 when he won the Huddersfield Veterans Examiner Rosebowl Handicap and the Huddersfield Veterans Over 70's Handicap.

Mr Armitage continued to attend the Griffin once or twice during every winter bowling season until his death last year, aged 90.

* Ronnie Wormald lived up to his 'favourite' tag by winning Sunday's Rosebowl, sponsored by Lockwood Windows, with a 31-28 victory against Steven Hirst.

In a high-quality final which swung in both player's favour, a mid-game 10-break tipped the balance Wormald's way as he clinched the £280 first prize.

Mick Pogson refereed the final as the representative of the sponsors. The presentation was made at Lockwood Con, and the Griffin are very grateful to the club for making them welcome every week since their former base, the Junction, closed.

Wormald said: "Now the green's running so well and we've a decent bowling surface I can feel them away. It's bowling not slinging.

"I didn't play too well in my first two games but I knew I had to in the final against such a class act."

Hirst added: "Ronnie played really well and that 10-break in the middle of the game made the difference. That and a bit of luck."

First round: F Griffin 31 B Morley 17, T WIlson 18 R Wormald 31, S Hirst 31 B Gibson 11, M J Sykes 26 R Mudd 31.

Semi-finals: Griffin 21 Wormald 31, Hirst 31 Mudd 29.

Final: Wormald 31 Hirst 28.

The draw for Sunday's Sixteen, sponsored by Lockwood Con (11.00):

First round: W Dews (14) v D Walkden (6), F Griffin (8) v R Taylor (50), L Schofield (3) v M Hinchliffe (14), W Higgins (50) v C Davies (20), R Mudd (6) v J Wright (12), M Bramall (10) v Geoff Sigsworth (33), M Richardson (12) v R Brook (8), G Whitehead (16) v S Hirst (2).