To begin at the beginning, as they say in all the best yarns, one should go back to 1938 in Kuala Lumpur, in what is now Malaysia, when a group of British army types started a modified paper chase in order to work up a decent thirst before retiring to the Selangor Club. There the restaurant was known locally as the "Hash House" so naturally the name was adopted by the harriers and in contrast to other groups undertaking similar activities the name stuck.
The
particular genius of the founding father, A S Gispert, nicknamed "G", was to make the traditional hare & hounds
running more fun by making it non-competitive. But you knew all that really,
didn't you? So we will move on quickly to the Second World War and its
aftermath which became known as the Malayan Emergency when British and
Australian troops joined in the fun and when posted elsewhere began new
chapters and the Hash House Harriers spread throughout the world rather
like the AIDS virus spread from a central origin in Africa. You knew that,
too? Well, perhaps not the fact that Hashing is an affliction akin to
AIDS but how's this for exponential growth: -
Date - Event
1938
- Kuala Lumpur H3 (Mother Hash) founded
1962 - Singapore H3 founded
1967 - Dhekelia H3 - first hash in Europe
1967 - Sydney H3 - first Hash in Australia
1971 - Fort Eustis H3 - first Hash in the North America
1971 - Westcombe Park H3 founded - oldest Hash in UK
1973 - KL H3 1500th run - 35 other Hashes "known" to exist
1974 - Bicester H3 founded
1975 - Surrey H3 founded
1976 - London H3 founded
1977 - 90 Hashes known in 35 countries
1984 - Harrier International founded
1986 - 555 Hashes known in 85 countries
1988 - 700 Hashes known in 125 countries
1990 - FUKFM H3 founded
1997 - 1470 Hashes known in 184 countries at least 100,000
hashers worldwide
2005 - FUKFMH3 celebrates fifteen years 'by the light' at Belgian Nash Hash.
2011 - We reach the ripe old age of 21, but still no sense.
2014 - Doing what we do best: supporting the Brussels Beer Odyssey weekend with a r*n at Kobbegem, along with 3000 other people. Ok, we didn't get Interhash, but it will be an awesome event.
2015 - FUK host the ninth Full Moon Nash Hash!
Both servicemen and diplomats have been largely responsible for the contagion spreading and indeed the first known recorded hash in the UK was the Commando Forces H3 based at Plymouth founded in 1971/2 by the then Col Ray Thornton (ex-JM of Singapore H3) which flourished in the early seventies but like many military hashes petered out when postings decimated the membership. The afore-mentioned Ray Thornton also founded the Bicester Hash on 1st April 1974. Further details of hash history and current affairs can be found in HASH PUBLICATIONS .A detailed history has been published by Tim "Magic" Hughes of Harrier International.
Goals of the Hash
- To promote physical fitness among our members
- To get rid of weekend hangovers
- To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer
- To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel
These are as true now as they were in 1938. On - On!
