The club’s origins lie in the late Victorian enthusiasm for organised sport among the former pupils of public schools. On 19 October 1887, former pupils of the Edinburgh Institution met at 8 Queen Street and unanimously agreed to form a golf club – an act that began the lineage that would later become the Stewart’s Melville FP Golf Club. Early leadership came from W. Gibson Bloxsom, a pioneering figure in Scottish golf and co‑inventor of all things, the portable tee . In July 1875, Bloxsom completed a remarkable endurance feat in Aberdeen: he played 12 rounds of golf and walked 10 miles in a single 24-hour day. His donation of a gold scratch medal set the tone for a tradition of impressive trophies.
By the 1890s, the club was thriving, boasting over 100 members and competing against FP clubs across Scotland. Daniel Stewart’s College soon developed its own FP club, founded in the early 1890s and rapidly growing in strength. Both clubs embraced medals as markers of their heritage and history as well as impressive performances on the fairways.
The Medals: Carriers of Memory
The three surviving medals encapsulate the club’s long story. Their engraved names and dates form a roll‑call of Stewart’s Melville golfers – from early scratch players to mid‑century champions – each representing a moment of triumph on courses from Gullane to St Andrews. They are more than trophies; they are historical documents in miniature, recording the evolution of the club through wars, mergers, and changing sporting fashions.
These medals survived the club’s nomadic decades, its post-war revival, and the era of great personalities such as G.C. Manford, whose achievements in the 1920s made him a national figure, and Bobby Cruickshank, the club’s most celebrated son. Cruickshank’s 17 PGA Tour victories and two U.S. Open runner-up finishes became part of the club’s mythology, and his name sits comfortably alongside those engraved on the medals.
Into Safe Keeping: The Merchant Company
On 6 July, the medals were formally transferred to the Merchant Company of Edinburgh for safekeeping. This decision ensures that these irreplaceable artefacts, central to the club’s identity, will be preserved under professional custodianship. In the short term, they will be stored securely in the Company’s strong room. Periodically, they will be brought out for display when the Company showcases its memorabilia, allowing future generations to appreciate their craftsmanship and historical significance.
This move reflects a wider commitment to safeguarding the heritage of Stewart’s Melville College and FP Clubs. As the club continues to thrive, its medals now rest in the Merchant Company archives where their condition, security, and long‑term preservation are guaranteed.
Pictured: Ken Richards, Member of Stewart’s Melville Golf Club, Charlie Allan, Treasurer of Stewart’s Melville Golf Club, Grant Macrae, Master of The Royal Company of Merchants of the City of Edinburgh and Tommy Bryson, Past Captain of Stewart’s Melville Golf Club
