The First-ever County Open Badminton Tournament.

120 years ago, the Middlesex County Badminton Association organised the first-ever County Open Tournament on January 2nd 1905. It was played at the Ealing Badminton Hall, Kenilworth Road, Ealing, London. With its three courts, the hall was privately run and owned by shareholders. The tournament consisted of men’s, women’s and mixed doubles, and a veteran’s handicap men’s doubles section. The tournament was open to all members of badminton clubs affiliated with the Badminton Association. Slazenger shuttlecocks were used.

It said in the February 1st 1905 copy of the Lawn Tennis and Badminton magazine, which was the official magazine of the Badminton Association at that time. “The promoters of the Middlesex County Championships meeting deserve hearty congratulations on the success of their venture. Their liberal and sporting policy in throwing open their prizes to all comers has been greatly appreciated.”

The tournament was supported by all the best players in England, all the winners were All-England champions.

Ethel Thompson.

Click on the images to enlarge.

The mixed doubles with 11 pairs was won by George Thomas and Ethel Thompson after a close final match with Stewart Massey and Muriel Lucas.

Muriel Lucas and Ethel Thompson.

The women’s doubles event consisted of six pairs and was won by the Devonshire pair of Muriel Lucas and Ethel Thompson without losing a game; the runners-up were Daisy St. John and Dorothea Douglass. Muriel Lucas and Ethel Thompson were an exceptionally strong pairing at that time; It was said they never lost a game in tournament play and won four women’s All-England titles together.

The men’s doubles with eight pairs was won by Stewart Massey and Charles Barnes, with runners-up Dr Henry Marrett and Albert Prebble. Massey and Barnes went on to win the All-England men’s doubles later that year.

 The veteran’s doubles failed to attract more than four pairs, possibly because the age handicap was not announced beforehand. The winners were R. Abbatt and A. Cowley.

Men’s and women’s singles were introduced to the Middlesex Championships 1907. The tournament has continued to be played yearly except for the war years and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Click on the images to enlarge.

                1908 Middlesex Open Championships.

The Middlesex Open Championships moved from the Ealing Badminton Hall to Hampstead Baths in 1947, including the Hampstead Tournament. It then moved to Orion Hall in 1952. Finally, moving to Hounslow Dome in 1987, when the Orion Hall was sold. The Middlesex Open Championships are still played at the Hounslow Dome and are part of the Badminton England tournament circuit.

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2026 Yonex All-England Badminton Championships

Tuesday 3 March 2026 to Sunday 8 March 2026.

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Visit the Badminton Museum, National Badminton Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, MILTON KEYNES MK8 9LA.

Visitors are welcome to look around the Museum unescorted at any time – The National Badminton Centre is normally open 9am to 8pm every day.

Free Admission.

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Accessibility

The Badminton Museum is on the 1st floor with a lift. Disabled toilet facilities are available on the 1st floor. There is no wheelchair accessibility to the Museum office.

——————————————-

There is a restaurant on the first floor serving breakfasts every day of the week and light lunches on weekdays.

Free parking at the National Badminton Centre.

—————————————-

National Badminton Centre 

Lodge Hotel.

For more information and to book a room – Click Here.

————————————————–

If you have any badminton memorabilia, archive material, or any other items and would like to donate them to the Badminton Museum please contact us at: –

 museum@badmintonengland.co.uk

Thank you to all the ‘Friends of the Museum’ and people who have made donations to the Badminton Museum, your support enables us to purchase extremely rare badminton artefacts for the National Collection as they become available.

https://badmintonmuseum.com/donations/

The Badminton Museum has had a purple feathered battledore shuttlecock circa 1870 donated to the National Shuttlecock Collection.

The shuttlecock has a brown velvet base with a wool trim and 26 purple feathers. It has a diameter of 100 mm (4 “) x 125 mm (5 “) in length and a base diameter of 45 mm (1 ¾”); the shuttlecock is about twice the size of a modern shuttle, and it weighs 14 grams, which is over twice the weight of a modern shuttle. We believe the shuttlecock was made in England.

The game of ‘battledore and shuttlecock’ dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries. The roots of the game have been reported to go back to ancient times in China and other Asian countries. The game was played with rackets, battledores and even wooden paddles. ‘Battledore and shuttlecock ‘was played without a net and without the boundary lines of a court. If a single player played, they would hit the shuttlecock in the air counting the number of times they could do this without it falling on the floor. If two or more players played they would hit the shuttlecock back and forth to each other, it was usually a cooperative rather than a competitive game, the players purposely hit the shuttlecock towards rather than away from each other, their goal was to have as long a rally as possible keeping the shuttlecock up in the air and counting the number of consecutive successful strokes in each rally. The present-day game of badminton developed from this much older game of ‘battledore and shuttlecock’. Badminton was being played in at least 1863 and maybe a few years before that.

For more information on the game of Battledore and Shuttlecock – Click Here.

This shuttlecock and many more can be seen at the Badminton Museum, National Badminton Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, MILTON KEYNES MK8 9LA

The Badminton Museum would like to thank Jim Warner,  http://www.jimstennis.com  for the Battledore Shuttlecock.

Photos: – Geoff Hinder                              Click on images to enlarge

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2026 Yonex All-England Badminton Championships

Tuesday 3 March 2026 to Sunday 8 March 2026.

—————————————————

Visit the Badminton Museum, National Badminton Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, MILTON KEYNES MK8 9LA.

Visitors are welcome to look around the Museum unescorted at any time – The National Badminton Centre is normally open 9am to 8pm every day.

Free Admission.

———————————————-

Accessibility

The Badminton Museum is on the 1st floor with a lift. Disabled toilet facilities are available on the 1st floor. There is no wheelchair accessibility to the Museum office.

——————————————-

There is a restaurant on the first floor serving breakfasts every day of the week and light lunches on weekdays.

Free parking at the National Badminton Centre.

—————————————-

National Badminton Centre 

Lodge Hotel

For more information and to book a room – Click Here.

———————————————–

If you have any badminton memorabilia, archive material, or any other items and would like to donate them to the Badminton Museum please contact us at: –

 museum@badmintonengland.co.uk

Thank you to all the ‘Friends of the Museum’ and people who have made donations to the Badminton Museum, your support enables us to purchase extremely rare badminton artefacts for the National Collection as they become available.

https://badmintonmuseum.org/donations/

Yonex Nanoflare 1000 Z racket.

India’s Satwiksairaj Rankireddy broke a decade-old Guinness world record for the fastest shot ever in badminton, 351 miles per hour (565 km per hour), using a Yonex Nanoflare 1000 Z racket with BG80 strings.

          Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (India)

Pearly Tan from Malaysia also set a new record for the fastest female badminton hit with a remarkable speed of 272 miles per hour (438 km per hour). Pearly Tan became the first female Guinness World Records title holder in this category.

Pearly Tan (Malaysia)

Photos: – Badminton Photo.                  Click on images to enlarge.

The records were set on 14 April 2023 at the Yonex Tokyo factory and verified by official judges from the Guinness World Records. Measurement method: the moment of impact in the actual smash was calculated using a high-speed camera. The instant velocity of the shuttlecock after the impact was then calculated from photographic recording. Calculation method: the movement distance and the elapsed time of the shuttlecock were calculated between two coordinates.

Rankireddy’s record speed of 351 miles per hour (565 km per hour) greatly exceeded the previous world record of 306 miles per hour (493 km per hour) which was achieved by Malaysian badminton player Tan Boon Heong in May 2013. Tan Boon Heong was a former Asian Games doubles champion.

These new records show that badminton is significantly faster than other racket sports. The fastest tennis serve is 163 miles per hour (263 km per hour) and faster than Formula One, at 246 miles per hour (397 km per hour).

For more information about the history of the All-England Badminton Championships – Click Here.

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Yonex Nanoflare 1000 Z racket on display at the Badminton Museum, Milton Keynes.

2026 Yonex All-England Badminton Championships

Tuesday 3 March 2026 to Sunday 8 March 2026.

——————————————-

Visit the Badminton Museum, National Badminton Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, MILTON KEYNES MK8 9LA.

Visitors are welcome to look around the Museum unescorted at any time – The National Badminton Centre is normally open 9am to 8pm every day.

Free Admission.

——————————————-

Accessibility

The Badminton Museum is on the 1st floor with a lift. Disabled toilet facilities are available on the 1st floor. There is no wheelchair accessibility to the Museum office.

—–—————————————

There is a restaurant on the first floor serving breakfasts every day of the week and light lunches on weekdays.

Free parking at the National Badminton Centre.

—————————————-

National Badminton Centre 

Lodge Hotel.

For more information and to book a room – Click Here.

——————————————-

If you have any badminton memorabilia, archive material, or any other items and would like to donate them to the Badminton Museum please contact us at: –

 museum@badmintonengland.co.uk

Thank you to all the ‘Friends of the Museum’ and people who have made donations to the Badminton Museum, your support enables us to purchase extremely rare badminton artefacts for the National Collection as they become available.

https://badmintonmuseum.org/donations/ 

The First All-England Badminton Club in 1875

In 1875 Wimbledon was just a croquet club known as the All-England Croquet Club. At this time croquet was losing its popularity and to boost the membership numbers at the club, in February 1875 a motion was passed by the committee of the All-England Croquet Club to convert parts of the croquet lawns for playing badminton and lawn tennis.

An announcement to this effect was later published in the Field newspaper 24th April 1875. It said,      “The lawn tennis and badminton regulations are as: –  Balls and shuttlecocks will be kept by the gardener, from whom they may be purchased by members. Lockers capable of holding rackets, balls, shoes, flannels, &c. will be provided at an annual rental of 5 shillings. Members are strongly recommended not to play unless provided with racket shoes, or flat-soled shoes. On the days occupied in playing for the club championships and open Championships no lawn tennis and badminton will be allowed. The rules regarding payment by non-playing members and by visitors will be the same as for croquet.”

There was an advertisement in the Field newspaper 4 September 1875 for Jefferson’s of Lowood Street Woolwich, London, for their sports equipment offering “Patent SHUTTLECOCKS for BADMINTON, as used by the All-England Badminton Club.”

1870s Shuttlecock

Photos: Geoff Hinder                                                                                                                      Click on the image to enlarge

It was reported in July 1875 that lawn tennis had proved a success, a number of members having joined the club for the sake of playing that game. The membership fee was two guineas, £2.2s.

 In the Field newspaper in April 1877, they reported that the name of the club had changed to the All-England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. The first Wimbledon All-England Lawn Tennis Championships were held later that year, while badminton practically disappeared, with only the occasional item reminding us that it was still being played.

The First Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships in 1877.

Badminton had its big chance to become popular, but competing as a summer outdoor game, it is no surprise that it lost out to lawn tennis which went on to a phenomenal success.

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The Second All-England Badminton Club in 1962

The second All-England Badminton Club was founded on 24th October 1962 at a meeting at the Charing Cross Hotel, London.

The object of the club was to organise: – (a) at the All-England Championships a clubroom where members can meet and renew old friendships and make new ones. (b) any other activities that appears desirable to the committee.

All-England Badminton Club Lapel Membership Badge

Full membership was open to the undermentioned on payment of the prescribed entrance fee: -The committee fixed the entrance fee at one guinea, £1 1s and produced a lapel membership badge.

a). Past and present international players of winners of an All-England Championship.

b). Past and present officers and councillors of the International Badminton Federation.

c). Others at the discretion of the committee (Such as official overseas visitors to the Championships).

 The committee fixed the entrance fee at one guinea, £1 1s and produced a lapel membership badge.

In 1962, the Badminton Association of England set aside a newly built lounge with a bar at Wembley during the All-England Championships, where drinks and light refreshments could be bought.

The entrance fee covered the cost of the badge and other expenses incurred during the club. Ken Livingstone, a member of the committee who wrote in the Badminton Gazettes in 1963, claimed that membership was growing steadily.

For more information on the history of the All-England Badminton Championships – Click Here.

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2026 Yonex All-England Badminton Championships

Tuesday 3 March 2026 to Sunday 8 March 2026.

—————————————————

Visit the Badminton Museum, National Badminton Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, MILTON KEYNES MK8 9LA.

Visitors are welcome to look around the Museum unescorted at any time – The National Badminton Centre is normally open 9am to 8pm every day.

Free Admission.

————————————————–

Accessibility

The Badminton Museum is on the 1st floor with a lift. Disabled toilet facilities are available on the 1st floor. There is no wheelchair accessibility to the Museum office.

——————————————-

The restaurant on the first floor serves breakfast every day and light lunches on weekdays.

Free parking at the National Badminton Centre.

—————————————–

National Badminton Centre 

Lodge Hotel

For more information and to book a room – Click Here.

———————————–

If you have any badminton memorabilia, archive material, or any other items and would like to donate them to the Badminton Museum please contact us at: –

 museum@badmintonengland.co.uk

Thank you to all the ‘Friends of the Museum’ and people who have made donations to the Badminton Museum, your support enables us to purchase extremely rare badminton artefacts for the National Collection as they become available.

Table Badminton

The first record of Table Badminton that we can trace appeared in the Lawn Tennis and Badminton magazine, in March 1901 – “Whiff Whaff or Table Badminton is to appear shortly. That the game will prove immensely popular there is not the slightest doubt, indeed, considering what an excellent game table tennis is, it is surprising Badminton has not been adapted to the table before now”     How wrong they were to be.

Click on images to enlarge

It was in the 1930s that this new game was being advertised in the Badminton Gazette as something to do while you wait to get on the court. In 1935 a book was produced by E.E.Natali with foreword by Jack Hobbs the well-known cricketer who was later knighted. We found inside our copy of this book a letter from St James’s Palace addressed to Mr. Natali, dated October 15 1935, and signed by the Assistant Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII, thanking him for sending a handbook on Table Badminton and recording that his Royal Highness was interested in the game which he thinks should be a good one.

The National Badminton Museum has two sets of the game in their collection of memorabilia, one in a cardboard box, labeled, Arena Table Badminton, Empire Model, 25 shillings (£1.25p) containing two racquets, two net posts, net and marking tape, shuttles and a book of laws. The second Table Badminton set is boxed in a leatherette traveling case with the same contents, but the racquets are of better quality, described as Arena Table Badminton priced at 45 shillings (£2.25p).

Table Badminton shuttlecock with a modern shuttle.  

The table or playing surface would have been 2ft. 6ins (0.76m) above the floor with a playing surface of 5ft. (1.5m)  x  9ft. (2.7m). The net was 6ins. (15cm) in depth and the top of the net was 13.5ins. (34cm ) above the playing surface. Table Badminton racquets would not have exceeded 22ins. (56cm) in length, with a circular head of 7.5ins. (19cm) in diameter. The Table Badminton racquet is slightly smaller than a badminton racket. Games were played to 21 points, with the service changing sides every five points. During the rallies, the shuttlecock would not touch the playing surface.

Table badminton racquet with a modern badminton racket.

The Arena Table Badminton sets were advertised in the Badminton Gazette from November 1935 to April 1937.

Table Badminton sets were manufactured under license from Table Badminton Ltd. by British Music & Tennis Strings Ltd. London.

     Table Badminton display at the National Badminton Museum.

It was a small piece of badminton history that was expected to take off and flourish but, in fact, came and went very quickly.

Photos: – Geoff Hinder                                                         Click on images to enlarge.

———————————————–

Visit the Badminton Museum, National Badminton Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, MILTON KEYNES MK8 9LA.

Visitors are welcome to look around the Museum unescorted at any time – The National Badminton Centre is normally open 9am to 8pm every day.

Free Admission.

————————————————–

Accessibility

The Badminton Museum is on the 1st floor with a lift. Disabled toilet facilities are available on the 1st floor. There is no wheelchair accessibility to the Museum office.

——————————————-

There is a restaurant on the first floor serving breakfasts every day of the week and light lunches on weekdays.

Free parking at the National Badminton Centre.

————————————–

National Badminton Centre 

Lodge Hotel.

For more information and to book a room – Click Here.

————————————————–

If you have any badminton memorabilia, archive material, or any other items and would like to donate them to the Badminton Museum please contact us at: –

 museum@badmintonengland.co.uk

Thank you to all the ‘Friends of the Museum’ and people who have made donations to the Badminton Museum, your support enables us to purchase extremely rare badminton artefacts for the National Collection as they become available.

Victorian Skirt Lifter

The advent of the skirt lifter in 1846 was met with immediate success, this device usually made of brass, appeared as a pair of tongs with a locking mechanism. The skirt lifter had circular padded grips that held a chunk of material of the skirt up, the lifter was then connected to the belt at waist level via a chain or cord. This creation allowed women to be more active in their lives even getting involved in sports like tennis and badminton.

Eventually, crinoline frames were invented that allowed worn skirts to be significantly lighter, these honeycomb-shaped structures supported the topmost layers of the outfit making the need for several layers of petticoats redundant.

Display case at the Badminton Museum, Milton Keynes.

Photos: – Geoff Hinder                                                         Click on images to enlarge

——————————————-

Visit the Badminton Museum, National Badminton Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, MILTON KEYNES MK8 9LA.

Visitors are welcome to look around the Museum unescorted at any time – The National Badminton Centre is normally open 9am to 8pm every day.

Free Admission.

————————————————–

Accessibility

The Badminton Museum is on the 1st floor with a lift. Disabled toilet facilities are available on the 1st floor. There is no wheelchair accessibility to the Museum office.

——————————————-

There is a restaurant on the first floor serving breakfasts every day of the week and light lunches on weekdays.

Free parking at the National Badminton Centre.

——————————————-

National Badminton Centre 

Lodge Hotel.

For more information and to book a room – Click Here.

————————————————–

If you have any badminton memorabilia, archive material, or any other items and would like to donate them to the Badminton Museum please contact us at: –

 museum@badmintonengland.co.uk

Thank you to all the ‘Friends of the Museum’ and people who have made donations to the Badminton Museum, your support enables us to purchase extremely rare badminton artefacts for the National Collection as they become available.

The Badminton Museum has a Battledore Set circa 1870 on display at the Museum in Milton Keynes. The set was originally sold by William Payne of London.

Photos: – Geoff Hinder                                                                                                                       Click on images to enlarge

The battledoor set contains two of the largest made battledore rackets – size 6 as stamped on the throat, length 56 cm (22 inches) width 20.5 cm (8 inches) the drums are covered on one side with vellum and strung on the other side. The style of stringing with every cross-string wound around every main string, is a type that became obsolete in the mid-1800s as tighter strings were now being sought. The set includes three original shuttlecocks, all different sizes and weights. Also, a very rare net instrument allowed ladies to pick up shuttlecocks more easily from the floor whilst wearing very long and cumbersome skirts and dresses.

The Battledore bats usually had fine leather covered shafts and almost circular heads. Instead of having strings the heads are covered in vellum. The two rackets in this set have vellum on one side and strings on the other side and are size 6. Battledore bats came in sizes 1 to 6, with sizes 1 to 3 usually used for ping-pong and table tennis and sizes 4 to 6 usually used for the game of battledore and shuttlecock.

The game of ‘battledore and shuttlecock’ dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries. The roots of the game have been reported to go back to ancient times in China and other Asian countries. The game was played with rackets, battledores and even wooden paddles. ‘Battledore and shuttlecock ‘was played without a net and without the boundary lines of a court. If a single player played, they would hit the shuttle in the air counting the number of times they could do this without it falling on the floor. If two or more players played they would hit the shuttlecock back and forth to each other, it was usually a cooperative rather than a competitive game, the players purposely hit the shuttlecock towards rather than away from each other, their goal was to have as long a rally as possible keeping the shuttlecock up in the air and counting the number of consecutive successful strokes in each rally. The present-day game of badminton developed from this much older game of ‘battledore and shuttlecock’. Badminton was being played in at least 1863 and maybe a few years before that.

The shuttlecocks in the set are three different sizes and weights.

A shuttlecock from the set with a modern shuttle.

The net was used for picking up the shuttlecocks.

Photos: – Geoff Hinder                                                                                                                      Click on images to enlarge.

The Badminton Museum would like to thank Jim Warner, http://www.jimstennis.com for the Battledore Set and the information about the set.

We know that the game of badminton evolved from the older game of Battledore and Shuttlecock because of an article called ‘Life in a Country House’ in the December 1863 Cornhill magazine. The Cornhill Magazine was a monthly Victorian literary journal. The relevant part of the game of badminton was: –

 “If the weather be such as to induce you to remain within doors, your co-operation will be sought for a game at pool, badminton (which is battledore and shuttlecock played with sides, across a string suspended some five feet from the ground), and similar amusements.”

This article about life in large English stately homes shows that the game was being played in England and called badminton in 1863, it also suggests that the game evolved from the older game of battledore and shuttlecock. The article shows us where the height of the net, five feet (1.52m) originated from, and those players played the game on either side of the net. The North Hall at Badminton House is the same size as a badminton court as we know it today, 13.4m by 6.1m.

Battledore and Shuttlecock being played in the North Hall at Badminton House.

We know the game of ‘battledore and shuttlecock’ was played at Badminton House as early as 1830 because they still have a battledore bat in their possession, which has inscriptions handwritten in ink on its parchment face. The oldest reads: ‘Kept up with Lady Somerset on Saturday January 12th 1830 to 2117 with… (unreadable)’. The second says: ‘Lady Henrietta Somerset in February 1845 kept up with Beth Mitchell 2018.’

Battledores and shuttlecocks in the North Hall at Badminton House.

 One thing we did notice at the Badminton Museum, looking through the old press reports from the 1860s/1870s, was that the legal profession and politicians often used the words ‘battledore and shuttlecock’ to describe something that had been passed backwards and forwards many times.

For more information on the game of Battledore and Shuttlecock – Click Here.

The Battledore Set can be seen at the Badminton Museum, National Badminton Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, MILTON KEYNES MK8 9LA.

Visitors are welcome to look around the Museum unescorted at any time – The National Badminton Centre is normally open 9am to 8pm every day.

Free Admission.

————————————–

Accessibility

The Badminton Museum is on the 1st floor with a lift. Disabled toilet facilities are available on the 1st floor. There is no wheelchair accessibility to the Museum office.

——————————————-

There is a restaurant on the first floor serving breakfasts every day of the week and light lunches on weekdays.

Free parking at the National Badminton Centre.

———————————————

National Badminton Centre 

Lodge Hotel.

For more information and to book a room – Click Here.

——————————————

If you have any badminton memorabilia, archive material, or any other items and would like to donate them to the Badminton Museum please contact us at: –

 museum@badmintonengland.co.uk

Thank you to all the ‘Friends of the Museum’ and people who have made donations to the Badminton Museum, your support enables us to purchase extremely rare badminton artefacts for the National Collection as they become available.

The History of Reinforced Shuttlecocks Ltd – RSL

South Norwood, London in the middle part of the 20th century was home to one of the country’s leading sports goods manufacturers. Webber Bros. Ltd. supplied balls for many sports including football, rugby, netball, volleyball, cricket and hockey. In addition, their second business, Reinforced Shuttlecocks Ltd (RSL) designed and manufactured one of the world’s best shuttlecocks at their Stanley Works, South Norwood, London.

In the 1920s Richard Webber became interested in the manufacture of shuttlecocks. He started making shuttles at home, washing the feathers in the bath and drying them with his wife assistance in their kitchen. It is understood that he started his business in 1928, at some point he met Rene Gathier and G.P. Thompson who were importers of gut and string manufacturers. In 1930 the three became directors of a new company Reinforced Shuttlecocks Ltd.  

Shuttlecocks were produced by hand in the 1930s at RSL’s South Norwood factory.

Reinforced Shuttlecocks Ltd. RSL took its name from the strengthening or reinforcing of each feather quill from the top of the cork to the stitching with a thin plastic sleeve, which was actually shrunk on the quill thus adding considerable strength. The idea was praiseworthy but did not actually work in practice, RSL’s ‘Bluebird’ shuttlecock did not fly as intended but it was the first of a long line of shuttles.

The first advertisement for the RSL ‘New Bluebird’ shuttlecock appeared in the November 1930 Badminton Gazette. It said “Every feather is patently reinforced thereby prolonging the ‘life’ by at least 50% without varying the weight or flight. Every feather perfectly cut and glued in base to a  regulated depth, ensuring True Flight and Perfect Balance.”

One month later in the December 1930 Badminton Gazette, RSL had altered the wording in the advertisement to “Every Quill protected by chemically prepared sleeve, thereby considerably prolonging the actual playing life without in any way vary in the Weight and Flight.”

From 1934 films of shuttlecocks in flight were studied. It was discovered that to make the perfect shuttlecock the goose feather needed to be from the same wing of the bird, either right or left, but not mix. They also needed to be from the same breed of geese from the same part of the world, as the curve of the feathers differed from region to region. This scientific analysis helped produce the RSL No. 1 Tourney which became the shuttlecock used in major championships around the world.

RSL ‘No.1 Tourney’ shuttlecock made in South Norwood in the 1930s.

Photos:- Geoff Hinder                               Click on images to enlarge

Production in England was closed down during World War II, but continued in their Pennsylvania, USA factory.

RSL Move Production to Sandwich, Kent

In April 1947 RSL opened a factory at Haigh Camp, Richborough, Kent creating 150 jobs for the Sandwich area. Work progressed on shuttlecock design accompanied by improved production machinery. When the All-England Championships commenced again after the Second World War in 1947, RSL No 1 Tourney shuttlecocks were chosen for the All-England Championships and use right through to 1983.

Film – Shuttlecocks being manufactured in the 1970s at the RSL factory in Sandwich, Kent.

Circa 1963. Experimental shuttlecocks made at Sandwich by RSL. Feathers were punched in a different configuration to give a more stable flight and added durability with a 3rd line of stitching at the top. It flew well but did not last.

Circa 1980. RSL ‘No. 1 Tourney’ shuttlecock made at the factory in Sandwich, Kent.

Used in the All-England Championships from 1947  to  1983.

Circa 1990. RSL ‘550’. Cork base fluorescent synthetic.

Photos: – Geoff Hinder

Click on images to enlarge

RSL Move Production to China

In order to guarantee the supply of top-quality goose feathers which were only available in China, RSL in 1980 entered into an arrangement with the Chinese Government whereby they set up a factory in Canton, China with the Chinese providing the raw materials and RSL the experience and machinery which had been perfected over the years.

The UK RSL company went into administrative receivership in 1991 but the name and production continue. The brand was purchased by a Hong Kong family business Double Happiness Ltd., Founded in 1978 by Douglas Chau, the father of the current CEO Duncan Chau. Now 66 million RSL shuttles are produced each year along with other sports equipment at 20 sites in China, the company has 1,300 employees worldwide.

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The Badminton Museum is grateful to Stuart Hibberd from Upper Norwood for all his research into RSL.

Shuttle display case at the Badminton Museum, Milton Keynes.

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Some of these shuttlecocks and many more can be seen at the Badminton Museum, National Badminton Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, MILTON KEYNES MK8 9LA.

Visitors are welcome to look around the Museum unescorted at any time – The National Badminton Centre is normally open 9am to 8pm every day.

Free Admission.

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Accessibility

The Badminton Museum is on the 1st floor with a lift. Disabled toilet facilities are available on the 1st floor. There is no wheelchair accessibility to the Museum office.

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There is a restaurant on the first floor serving breakfasts every day of the week and light lunches on weekdays.

Free parking at the National Badminton Centre.

—————————————-

2026 Yonex All-England Badminton Championships

Tuesday 3 March 2026 to Sunday 8 March 2026.

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National Badminton Centre 

Lodge Hotel.

For more information and to book a room – Click Here.

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If you have any badminton memorabilia, archive material, or any other items and would like to donate them to the Badminton Museum please contact us at: –

 museum@badmintonengland.co.uk

Thank you to all the ‘Friends of the Museum’ and people who have made donations to the Badminton Museum, your support enables us to purchase extremely rare badminton artefacts for the National Collection as they become available.

2025 Yonex All-England Badminton Championships

Tuesday 11 March 2025 to Sunday 16 March 2025.

At the Utilita Arena, Birmingham.

Slazenger G.A.T. Racket

Photo: – Geoff Hinder                                          Click on images to enlarge

The Badminton Museum has recently had a Slazenger G.A.T. racket donated to the National Racket Collection. Slazenger first manufactured this racket in 1909 and continue to sell them for the next 25 years. It was called G.A.T. because it was endorsed by George Alan Thomas later known as Sir George Thomas who was the most successful All-England champion, winning a total of 21 titles.

        Sir George Thomas 1929

For more information on Sir George Thomas – Click Here.

It was the racket manufacturer J. & S. Sheffield in 1907 that started naming their rackets with the initials of the top players of the time, A.D.P. after Albert Davies Prebble the All-England champion. 

This racket and many more can be seen at the Badminton Museum, National Badminton Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, MILTON KEYNES MK8 9LA

Visitors are welcome to look around the Museum unescorted at any time – The National Badminton Centre is normally open 9am to 8pm every day.

Free Admission.

——————————————–

Accessibility

The National Badminton Museum is on the 1st floor with a lift. Disabled toilet facilities are available on the 1st floor. There is no wheelchair accessibility to the Museum office.

——————————————-

There is a restaurant on the first floor serving breakfasts every day of the week and light lunches on weekdays.

Free parking at the National Badminton Centre.

——————————————-

National Badminton Centre 

Lodge Hotel.

For more information and to book a room – Click Here.

2026 Yonex All-England Badminton Championships

Tuesday 3 March 2026 to Sunday 8 March 2026.

At the Utilita Arena, Birmingham.

———————————————————-

If you have any badminton memorabilia, archive material, or any other items and would like to donate them to the Badminton Museum please contact us at: –

 museum@badmintonengland.co.uk

Thank you to all the ‘Friends of the Museum’ and people who have made donations to the Badminton Museum, your support enables us to purchase extremely rare badminton artefacts for the National Collection as they become available.

​

Yoneyama King Dia Racket

Photos: – Geoff Hinder                                                                                                                               Click on images to enlarge

The Badminton Museum has recently been able to acquire a Yoneyama King Dia wooden badminton racket circa 1965. The King Dia weighs 132 grams, a modern graphite racket weighs approximately 92 grams.

The late Minoru Yoneyama founder of the Yoneyama and Yonex companies.

Photo: – 1996         Peter Richardson 

In 1973 the company’s new ‘YY’ logo with blue and green colour combinations was introduced and soon became a familiar sight on badminton and tennis courts around the globe. One year later, the company and brand name changed to YONEX.

1973 Yoneyama Hy-Stainless Racket.

The Yonex company now produces tennis, badminton rackets and clothing also a full range of golfing equipment and many other sporting products.

For more information about the history of the Yonex All-England Badminton Championships – Click Here.

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These rackets and many more can be seen at the Badminton Museum, National Badminton Centre, Bradwell Road, Loughton Lodge, MILTON KEYNES MK8 9LA.

Visitors are welcome to look around the Museum unescorted at any time – The National Badminton Centre is normally open 9am to 8pm every day.

Free Admission.

————————————————–

Accessibility

The Badminton Museum is on the 1st floor with a lift. Disabled toilet facilities are available on the 1st floor. There is no wheelchair accessibility to the Museum office.

——————————————-

There is a restaurant on the first floor serving breakfasts every day of the week and light lunches on weekdays.

Free parking at the National Badminton Centre.

————————————————-

National Badminton Centre 

Lodge Hotel.

For more information and to book a room – Click Here.

————————————————

2026 Yonex All-England Badminton Championships

Tuesday 3 March 2026 to Sunday 8 March 2026.

At the Utilita Arena, Birmingham.

———————————————-

If you have any badminton memorabilia, archive material, or any other items and would like to donate them to the Badminton Museum please contact us at: –

 museum@badmintonengland.co.uk

Thank you to all the ‘Friends of the Museum’ and people who have made donations to the Badminton Museum, your support enables us to purchase extremely rare badminton artefacts for the National Collection as they become available.