A wonderful celebration of tennis was held as Elstree Lawn Tennis Club (ELTC) dedicated a plaque to one of its founding members, 90-year-old Diana Rimmer.
Last month, after the final club match of the season, friends and family, including Diana’s son who flew in from America, came together to recognise Diana’s contributions to the sport.
Diana and a group of her friends founded the tennis club in 1975 and were granted permission the following year to use the grass court behind Hill House Care Home on Elstree Hill.
They would often have to mow the lawn before they could play tennis, and allegedly were forbidden to play on a Sunday morning before morning service at St Nicholas’ Church had finished.
Eventually, permission was given to Diana and her friends to use the land on the corner of Elstree Road and Aldenham Road, which adjoined the cricket club, to play tennis.
Diana was deemed to be an excellent left-handed player and very competitive as she also played alongside ELTC’s first chairman, Ernest Jacoby, and his wife, Jenny.
She won numerous mixed doubles tournaments with her partner, the late Peter Hayes, who was another founding member of ELTC.
Diana was thrilled to be honoured by ELTC as her plaque read: “Diana Rimmer, founder, long-time committee member and great friend to Elstree Tennis Club.”
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