A man who organised several groups in a Hampshire village is hoping to reunite a number of former members. 

Dennis Bryant, 91, moved to North Baddesley in 1964 and over the next few decades he organised sports activities for children, many of which are still fondly remembered. 

It all started the year he moved to the village. He said: "I noticed a group of young lads kicking a ball about on a patch of green by the side of the road. They told me that they were keen footballers but they had nowhere to play."

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Hampshire Chronicle: The former Southampton player contacted the council in an attempt to find a pitch and along with several members' support, a pitch was established alongside the cricket square.

Mr Bryant said: "I brought some timber from B&Q and made some goal posts, then went down to the parks department in Southampton and managed to get an old pair of goal nets they were throwing out." 

Friendly matches were arranged with nearby districts as the word began to spread for the start of the Mini-League. Soon they had teams from North Baddesley, Romsey, Whitenap, Woodley, Eastleigh and Childworth taking part. 

With the help of volunteers, Mr Bryant published fixtures and match reports in the Romsey Advertiser. They held a cup competition where a Saints player awarded the annual cup and this tradition continued into the early 70’s.

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Hampshire Chronicle: In 1972, Mr Bryant attended a show hosted at his local village hall, he visited backstage and consequently, ended up producing scripts for the following 30 years and forming the Baddesley Barnstormers, who still perform pantomimes to this day.

Mr Bryant said: “I went backstage and all the cast were gathered around the producer in an excited state. They all had enjoyed it so much, they were eager to do another show but the producer was unable to find a script. So, me being a writer, I agreed to write a script for them”.

In 1980, the Moscow Olympic Games inspired Mr Bryant to form Baddesley's own Olympic Games. Smith’s Crisps provided the medals for success and equipment was borrowed from generous locals.

He said: "When The Games started, the athletes all marched into the arena, led by a girl carrying our flag, which my wife embroidered. When they were lined up in the arena, a girl ran around the track with a lightened torch.

"It was a wonderful day and many people in the village still remember and talk about it." 

Hampshire Chronicle: He is now planning to host a reunion for Barnstormers, Mini-League players and competitors from the 1980 Baddesley games. 

Mr Bryant said: "It was my daughter, Kay, who suggested that we have a reunion. Many of them have kids of their own now and several of them are old age pensioners. I am 91 now, so it is probably a good time to do it." 

The reunion will be held at Fleming Avenue Community Hall at 3pm on April 20.