Harold Janion
As Secretary of Royal Liverpool G.C., Harold Janion established himself as the most respected golf administrator of his era, and was generally considered to have no equal when it came to running major championships and matches.
Janion became Hon Treasurer at Royal Liverpool in 1896, and it appears his appointment as salaried Secretary when Mr Ryder Richardson moved to Royal St George's in 1900 was viewed as obvious choice for this important role.
Having taken over as Secretary at Hoylake, one of Janion's first achievements was to cut through the politics of discussions about an England v Scotland fixture and establish the event in 1902, by-passing the R&A in the process.
During World War I, Janion was also Director of a munitions factory in Hoylake.
Janion became a member of the R&A Championship committee.
The formation of the Cheshire Union of Golf Clubs could never have proceeded without the full backing of the Royal Liverpool club, and it was undoubtably Janion's support for the proposal that led to the formation of the CUGC in November, 1920. Janion was the obvious choice as the first Cheshire President. Janion was evidently very keen to see a uniform system of handicapping created, however this did not happen until the English Golf Union was formed in 1924.
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| Janion (left) at the presentation of the Open Championship, 1907. The winner is Arnaud Massy of France |
Sadly, his tenure as Cheshire President lasted only 18 months, for he passed away suddenly just days before the county championship in 1922. A glowing obituary (below) appeared in the national press.
