Barbara "Bar" Winifred West (9 November 1913 – 4 November 2014) was a British hockey player, coach, and administrator. She and her twin Bridget West played Hockey for England and she was involved with British hockey for 50 years.

Life

West was born in

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

in 1913, twenty minutes before her identical sister, Bridget. She had two other sisters and in time a half brother. She was known as "Bar". Her father Francis Charles Bartholomew (Frank) West, a vicar’s son was called to the bar. He was of independent means and never practised. Her mother had attended Newnham College. Her father died as a soldier when she was a child. Her mother remarried and they had another son, Roger. She trained to be a teacher at

Froebel Institute Froebel College is one of the four constituent colleges of the University of Roehampton. History The college was founded as a women's teacher training college A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, t ...

in Roehampton. She then taught at Bartram Gables School, Downes School and

Brighton and Hove High School Brighton Girls, formerly Brighton and Hove High School, is an independent day school for girls aged 4 to 18 in the city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. Brighton Girls GDST is ISI rated ‘Excellent’. The school was founded in 1876 ...

. She taught at Chelsea College of Physical Education in Eastbourne for 22 years where she also coached. In her spare time she was a leader for the Girl Guides. She was a member of the Women's Institutes and she helped her village of Alfriston to become the

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competition. West died in

East Surrey Hospital East Surrey Hospital is a National Health Service hospital in the Whitebushes area to the south of Redhill, in Surrey, England. It is managed by the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. History The hospital has its origins in the Reigate C ...

in 2014 at the age of 100.

Hockey

She toured New Zealand as part of the England women's hockey team in 1938 when they won all of their fifteen matches. During the war she told the story of how a school game was interrupted when a passing German plane decide to machine gun the players. The only injury was a nettle sting as one girl dived for cover. After the war she played hockey for England touring the USA in 1947. The team included her sister Bridget West and Mary Russell Vick. They played 18 matches on that tour with one goalkeeper confused when two identical players both had a try at scoring a goal. The sisters were lifelong chums and in 1971 they were asked to look after the klaxon during a Scotland-England hockey match. They were so engrossed in the game that they forget to ring the klaxon and Scotland won the game 2-1. West acted as a selector and a coach. The goalkeeper Hazel Feltwell and the forward Val Robinson were two of her mentees.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Barbara Winifred 1913 births 2014 deaths Sportspeople from Rugby, Warwickshire English female field hockey players People from Alfriston British centenarians Women centenarians English twins English field hockey coaches English sports executives and administrators Identical twins