History of the Club
In 1998 Old Walcountians Hockey Club merged with Purley Hockey Club. In recognition of this merger of equals the name of the club was changed to ''Purley Walcountians'' under which name it subsquently won the Premier South League and qualified for the National League Play-offs.
Previously in 1991 Old Walcountians had merged with Wallington Ladies HC. This gave the Club for the first time a Ladies Section fielding two teams.
Old Walcountians was formed in 1953 apparently by the members of the Old Walcountians Cricket Club who thought hockey would be a useful way of keeping their eye in during the winter. The Club had no ground in those days and it operated on a nomadic basis until as late as 1965. Fortunes changed for the better when the Club along with the Rugby and Cricket sections in conjunction with Wallington County Grammar School aquired the land at Clock House Farm, Woodmansterne,creating several new pitches and a club house.Improvements and extensions were made to both the pitches and club house over a period of time although the original pitches were of poor quality to say the least.
Following several tours to Holland in the 1980's some members of the Club saw the potential for Hockey played on Astroturf and efforts were made to provide an artificial facility at Clock House. After an initial false start and in the face of extreme scepticism of many within the wider hockey community, the Club established its own facility which was ready for use at the start of the 1989/90 season . The funding of the pitch-which cost almost £300,000-was provided 97.5% by the club itself and at the time was only the 3rd such facility in the United Kingdom within the private sector and the first in Surrey for many years to come. This was the catalyst for the future development of the Club and a rapid rise up the Leagues coupled with the quality of hockey played. The Astro-carpet and facilities were upgraded in 2004 and again in 2015 with state of the art Tiger Evo Pro.
By contrast with most mergers the creation of Purley Walcountians proved most successful with the gain of many new players both young and old, novices to internationals and the creation of a much stronger Club.The Club has always maintained its' position in the South Premier League and won the Surrey Cup several times since its conception and is always looking at improving both on and off the pitch.