Devizes Budo Club (to use our proper name) started back in 1957 in a back garden in Victoria Road, Devizes practising on old mattresses with the two first members learning from a book loaned from the library.
The first inside venue was The Devizes Community Centre later in 1957 and a room in the Crown Inn from 1959 to 1964.
1964 saw the transportation of an old Army Nissan hut to land at Dunkirk Hill Devizes, a site the Club occupied until 2017 and now houses.
The early years of the Club featured Judo, Aikido, Karate and Kendo and was highlighted by the visits of Japanese masters including Abe and Otani with the early members achieving their Dan Grades.
The Club was rebuilt by club member Will Wrobel in 1976 after the original Club was lost in a fire. This Club was further extended in 1996 by Bill Davies.
Robert Hayter started the Club’s first junior competition squad in 1970 and by 1976 the Club boasted its first National Champion, Andrew Giddings. The Club in 2024 has trained 17 members to become national Champions, has four European Championships medallists, Robert Wixon, Julian Davies, Tom Reed & Evan Molloy, 4 World Championships competitors, Julian Davies, Tom Reed, Jemima Duxberry and Razz Hopkins (Veteran), 1 Olympian, Julian Davies and 1 Paralympian, Evan Molloy.
The Club continues to do what it does best and welcome individuals into the club environment and give them the opportunity to reach their full potential by top quality coaching.
The Club moved to its current location at Rowdeford School in 2017 welcoming members from all over Wiltshire and beyond.
Whilst this website is being constantly updated and added to, it will never contain the amount of club history as our own book “Devizes Budo Club – The First Fifty Years” written by our Chairman, Mr Lawrence Hibberd.
This book is available on Amazon, Devizes Books or if you drop us an email we can arrange a copy for you to be either collected or delivered. It’s 144 pages of Devizes Budo Club history from 1957 – 2007.
The books are normally priced at £5.00
We recently received an email out of the blue from a gentleman, Mr Ian Budd, regarding an old silver tray that had been found in an attic north of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. The silver tray had originally been given to Mr G Budd on the completion of his tenure as our first ever President in 1960. Mr Budd has very kindly donated and returned this 64 year old piece of Devizes Budo Club history back to us and it will eventually be displayed in our trophy cabinet once we get our new Dojo built.
Devizes Budo Club are very grateful to Mr Ian Budd for this extremely kind gesture.
Devizes Budo Club
Presidents
1. Mr G Budd 1957 – 1960
2. Lt-Col Theyre 1960 – 1976
3. Mr John Drake 1976 – 1999
4. Mr Gordon Hancock 1999 – 2003
5. Mr Bill Davies 2003 – 2005
6. Mr Julian Davies 2005 – 2011
7. Mr Roy Chandler 2011 –
Chairman
1. Mr Richard J Hopkins 1957 – 1977
2. Mr Gordon Hancock 1977 – 1999
3. Mr Roy Chandler 1999 – 2011
4. Mr Mark Burbidge 2011 – 2021
5. Mr Lawrence Hibberd 2022 –
Honorary Life Members 1957 – 2024 (in no particular order)
Graham Burt, Richard Collins, Richard Hopkins (Senior), Ken Hopkins, Larry Mullings, John Carter, John Underwood, Robbie Hayter, Gordon Hancock, William Wrobel, Vince Cortilla (Karate), Julian Davies, Bill Davies, Stephen Moxham, Mark Emery, Richard Hull (Aikido), Mike Smith (KSK), Dave Duxberry, Richard Hopkins (Junior), Jason Parsons, Graham Hickman, Evan Molloy, Roy Chandler, Lawrence Hibberd, Richard Hull, William Hickman, John Chandler, Mark Burbidge, Edward Hickman, John Drake, Clive Maya, John Wixon, Bill Harris, Steven Edwards, Fiona Edwards, John Parsons, Tom Reed, Jemima Duxberry & Jerard McKay
Devizes Budo Club “Highest Medal Award”
1981 J Davies – Scottish Open Champion
1982 A Slade – South of England Open Champion
1982 A Hampton – National Silver
1983 R Wixon, A Slade, D Park, M Dean & S Lapham – BSJA National Team Championship Silver
1984 J Davies & R Wixon – National Bronze
1984 R Wixon – Southern Area Open Champion
1986 D Trowbridge – West of England Champion
1986-87 D Trowbridge, S Docherty & B Lloyd – National Schoolboys U15 Team Event
1988 D Lloyd, M Wiltshire & C Longley – National Schoolboys U15 Team Event
1989 R Fishlock, P Auliar & I Wiltshire – National Schoolboys U13 Championship
1990 A Goodridge – Southern Area
1991 K Pope – West of England
1992 Ruth Nichols – National Silver
1993 Danny Scull & Ruth Nichols – National Gold
1994 Ruth Nichols – National Silver
1995 Steven Edwards – National Silver
1996 Ben Brundell – National Gold
1997 Ben Brundell – National Gold
1998 Ben Brundell – National Gold
1999 Carl Tucker & Tom Reed – National Bronze
2000 Tim Roberts – National Gold
2002 Laura McCullar – National Silver
2003 Charlotte Giles –
2004 Charlotte Giles – National Bronze
2005 Charlotte Giles – National Silver
2006 Jemima Duxberry – National Gold
2007 Jemima Duxberry – National Gold
2008 Jemima Duxberry – National Bronze
2010 Charlotte Emery – National Silver
2011 Amy Oram – National Flanders Cup Silver
2012 Amy Oram – National Dutch Cup Bronze
2013 Amy Oram – Venray International Bronze
2014 Isabel McKay – National Gold
2015 Guy Kyte – Minors Nationals Bronze
2016 Max Major – Pre-Cadet Nationals Gold
2017 Jack Raklander – National Silver
2018 Robyn Ward – National Silver
2019 Ollie Purbrick – Alkmaars International Silver
2022 Evan Molloy – Grand Prix Antalya Turkey Bronze
2023 Evan Molloy – Grand Prix Almeda Bronze, Grand Prix Baku Bronze, European Championships Rotterdam Bronze
Address: Silverwood School, Rowde, Devizes, SN10 2QQ