Claude Stephens

Claude Stephens
Personal information
NationalityBritish (Welsh)
Born(1905-05-13)13 May 1905
Died16 January 1988(1988-01-16) (aged 82)
Pontypool, Wales
Sport
SportLawn bowls
ClubAbergavenny BC
Medal record
Representing  Wales
British Isles Championships
1961 fours
National Championships
1953 pairs
1960 fours

Claude Leopold Vernon Stephens (13 May 1905 – 16 January 1988), was a Welsh international lawn bowler who competed at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games (now Commonwealth Games).

Biography

Stephens lived in Hatherleigh Road and was a member of the Abergavenny Bowling Club. After the war he became a newsagent.[1]

In 1953, partnering Albert Evans, the pair won the Welsh National Bowls Championships title[2] and Stephens subsequently made his Welsh international debut in 1954.[3]

In 1960 the Abergavenny quartet of Stephens, Albert Evans, Tom Griffiths and Lynn Probert, won the national fours title at the Welsh Championships.[4] Subsequently, the four then won British Isles Bowls Championships in 1961.[5]

Stephens represented the 1962 Welsh team[6] at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia[7] in the fours/rinks event, with Evans, Griffiths and Probert,[8] where they finished in fifth place.[9][10]

References

  1. ^ "Abergavenny Bowls Club goes misty eyed at a little blast". Abergavenny Chronicle. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  2. ^ Bolsover, Godfrey (1959). Who's Who and Encyclopaedia of Bowls. Rowland Publishers Ltd (Pre isbn). p. 453.
  3. ^ Bolsover, Godfrey (1959). Who's Who and Encyclopaedia of Bowls. Rowland Publishers Ltd (Pre isbn). p. 459.
  4. ^ Hawkes/Lindley, Ken/Gerard (1974). the Encyclopaedia of Bowls. Robert Hale and Company. p. 210. ISBN 0-7091-3658-7.
  5. ^ Sullivan, Patrick (1986). Guinness Bowls – The Records. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 53. ISBN 0-85112-414-3.
  6. ^ "The Family Affair". Daily Mirror. 16 August 1962. p. 19. Retrieved 27 October 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ Sullivan, Patrick (1986). Guinness Bowls Records. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 82. ISBN 0-85112-414-3.
  8. ^ "Wales Perth 1962". Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  9. ^ "Shock Defeat for England Bowlers". Torbay Express and South Devon Echo. 20 November 1962. p. 8. Retrieved 27 October 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "Wales in front after 7th round". Liverpool Daily Post (Welsh Edition). 22 November 1962. p. 12. Retrieved 27 October 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.