Harlequin Bowmen club history
From A.E.R.E. Archery Club to Harlequin Bowmen
Harlequin Bowmen has been part of life at Harwell for more than six decades. Since then, the site, the county boundary and the club’s name have all changed, but the club itself has remained rooted in the same remarkable place.
From its beginnings as the A.E.R.E. Archery Club to the modern Harlequin Bowmen, the club’s story is one of continuity, adaptation and community. It has seen Harwell change from a post-war atomic research establishment into a modern science campus; it has seen the local county boundary change from Berkshire to Oxfordshire; and it has seen generations of archers step onto the shooting line.
The equipment, venues and names may have changed, but the essentials remain the same: good company, patient coaching, friendly competition and the simple satisfaction of a well-shot arrow.
Early days at Harwell
Harwell’s own story gives the club a unique setting. The Atomic Energy Research Establishment (A.E.R.E) was founded in 1946, shortly after the Second World War, on the former RAF Harwell site. It became one of Britain’s most important centres for scientific research, and the surrounding community grew with it.
One of the earliest mentions we can find of the club is from the March 1959 issue of the Harlequin (the leisure magazine of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Research Group), which lists the Archery Club among the site’s clubs and societies.
A richer snapshot appears in the Spring/Summer 1971 issue of Harlequin, in an article titled “A.E.R.E. Archery”. The article includes a photograph captioned “The A.E.R.E. Archery Club after a successful tournament”, showing a mixed group of archers gathered on the field. It describes the club as part of a wider national archery tradition and notes that novice and experienced tournament archers shot side by side.
The same 1971 article records that information and guidance could be obtained from the club secretary, and that instruction under qualified coaches and instructors was available on the centre sports field at A.E.R.E. on Friday evenings. It is a wonderful detail: structured coaching, regular shooting and a welcoming atmosphere were already part of the club’s identity more than 50 years ago.
The A.E.R.E. Archery Club after a successful tournament in 1971.
Two people inspect targets at the 1972 Diana Open Tournament.
Archers on the shooting line at the 1972 Diana Open Tournament.
The A.E.R.E. Archery Club after a successful tournament in 1971.
Becoming Harlequin Bowmen
The exact date when the A.E.R.E. Archery Club formally became Harlequin Bowmen is unclear, but surviving archery records suggest the change had taken place by the late 1980s. Southern Counties Archery Society (SCAS) records still list N Price shooting for A.E.R.E. Archery Club on 12 November 1987. However, another SCAS record lists R Price shooting for Harlequin on 21 August 1988. This places the public use of the Harlequin name somewhere between late 1987 and summer 1988.
That change of name reflected a wider story of change around the club. The Atomic Energy Research Establishment became part of the changing Harwell site, and Harwell itself moved from Berkshire into Oxfordshire through local government boundary changes. Yet Harlequin Bowmen retained one important historic link: despite now being based in Harwell, Oxfordshire, the club remains affiliated with Berkshire Archery Association.
Archers on the shooting line at the 1996 Diana Open Tournament.
Archers on the shooting line at the 1996 Diana Open Tournament.
Archers on the shooting line at the 1996 Diana Open Tournament.
Club logos over the years
Different venues, same club spirit
Over the years, the club has adapted to changing facilities while keeping its place in the Harwell community. Indoors, members have shot in the rifle club, where the backstop was a steel plate; in the dance hall of the old social club, until someone famously shot the piano; in the upstairs room of the social club; and later in the Air Hall, an inflatable building.
Today, winter indoor shooting takes place at John Mason School in Abingdon, while outdoor shooting continues at Harwell.
These stories are part of what makes Harlequin Bowmen more than just an archery club. They show generations of archers finding places to shoot, making the most of changing facilities and passing on the traditions, humour and practical knowledge that keep a club alive.
Harlequin Bowmen today
Today, Harlequin Bowmen is an active archery club of around 130 members, with archers enjoying target, clout, wand and field archery. The club has a strong junior contingent, regular shoots, beginners’ courses, coaching, club championships and open competitions, while members compete at club, local, national and even international level.
The club’s affiliations connect it to the wider archery community, while its Berkshire affiliation preserves an important thread back to the club’s origins at Harwell when the site was still in Berkshire.
In recent years, Harlequin Bowmen has also continued to try new things. In 2024, the club hosted its first Run Archery competition at Harwell Campus, bringing together archery and running, with Olympian Tom Hall among the participants. The event was covered in The Harwell News, showing that the club remains a visible and lively part of the local community.
Help us tell the full story
Do you have old photographs, score sheets, trophies, programmes or memories of Harlequin Bowmen or the former A.E.R.E. Archery Club? We would love to hear from past and present members who can help us fill in the gaps and preserve the club’s history for future generations.