The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Bowled over by Circle name
As the cricket season draws to its close, Richard Miller enlightens Craigie on Dundee’s long-gone Circle Cricket Club.
Richard emails to say: “Dundee HSFP’s secretary Gavin Garden was contacted recently by Jack Horsfall from Carnoustie.
“In clearing out his late mother’s possessions he had come across the membership card for Circle CC for 1939, which featured his grandfather Mr J Turnbull as vice-president and umpire, his mother Ann Turnbull as scorer, aged 15, and his uncle David Turnbull whose card it was.
“Mr Horsfall felt that the card deserved a home where it would be appreciated as a cricket memento. Gavin passed the card to Graham McLaren of Clubsport who asked me if I knew anything of the origins of Circle CC. I discovered that they were formed around 1926 and played on Caird Park, but I wasn’t able to discover the reason for the name Circle.
“Examining the card more closely, I noticed the name of W Steele listed as an honorary member. That turned out to be William Steele, father of Alec Steele, the Forfarshire and Scotland cricketer who is still playing regularly for the Forty Club at the age of 80.
“Alec knew that his father had played for Circle before moving to Rhodesia in the mid1930s. He was able to describe his father’s old cricket cap which was blue with a cream circular band, but was unable to throw any light on where the name Circle came from.
“Alec was so delighted to see a cricket memento with his father’s name in it that we decided it should stay with him.
“I know that Circle played well into the ’50s but folded like so many other Dundee parks sides long before I began playing.”
If you can help fill in the blanks in Circle CC’s history, we’d love to hear from you!