John Janaway, celebrated local historian and long time GAS member, put together an historical record of the first eighty years of our Society.
His work gives a fascinating insight into the beginnings of the Society in the late 19th and its growth through the 20th Century.
Our initial membership was just 25- the founding fathers - and rose to 113 by the first AGM. Sunday fishing was frowned upon and matches were all day matches- literally dawn till dusk.
The society grew between the wars, imposing voluntary close seasons and fighting to keep the river in good condition. After the war we see the evolution of a strong fisheries management team guided by Alf Johnson, who is now immortalised in the name of our prize carp and crucian water at Milford.
John Janaway's work is not just a history of the Society, it is also a fascinating insight into earlier times when pubs like the Stag at Eashing had its own brewery. John Janaway sadly passed away in 2020.
