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I happened across this article while flying from the IPOH post-lube back to Kuala Lumpur after World InterHash 1998 (In the Malaysian Airlines Magazine).
It is the best article I have seen on the origin of hashing. It was no doubt relayed from someone over a beer in the Selangor Club.
On-On and Enjoy,
Hazukashii
HASH BASH
Interhash '98 in Kuala Lumpur celebrates the 60th
anniversary of the founding of the Hash House Harriers in Malaysia's capital.
The celebrated running event has a colorful history. The original
idea was to mimic the Hare and Hounds or Fox and Hounds style chases that have been around
for centuries in one form or another. Some "gentle-men" substituted men for the
game in an effort to add something different to the sport. There is evidence of this in
colonial America as well as in England. It seemed a logical development then, to
substitute the hounds with runners as well. Men, not as well endowed as dogs with a sense
of smell, required a trail of some sort to track their quarry. Paper seemed the ideal
solution. This sport was well entrenched long before these sportsmen became known as
"hashers" and the sport was referred to as Hounds and Hares or the Paper Chase.
The Hash House Harriers had its humble beginnings in 1938 with an Englishman named Albert
Stephen Ignatius Gispert, in [Malaya]
what is now Malaysia. Having a fondness for the "paper
chase," he gathered together a group of expatriates - including Cecil Lee,
"Horse" Thomson and "Torch" Bennett - to form a group in Kuala Lumpur
that would later become a worldwide legacy. The fraternity received its name from the
Selangor Club Chambers, which due to its lacklustre food was commonly referred to as the
"Hash House."
Almost a dozen runs took place [Haz note:
Actually 117 runs, suspending further activity on 12 Dec
1941. Mother hash celebrated run # 100 on 15 Aug 1941.], although attendance could sometimes be counted on one
hand. The sport was cut short during World War II, but then re-established when peace
returned [Haz note: the first rebirth run
was held in Aug 1946]. It was some time before the international phenomena we are familiar with today
began spreading around the world. A hash was formed in 1947 in Bordighera, Italy (near
Milan) by some former members of the original Hash House Harriers. It ceased operations
for many years but was reborn in 1984 and is now quite alive and well as the Royal Milan
and Bordighera HHH.
It wasn't until 1962 that the next official group was formed in Singapore. The Singapore
HHH was slowly followed by others until by the 1,500th postwar run in 1973, there were 35
known hashes around the world. This figure climbed into the hundreds by the 1980's and
there are now well over 1,300 active hashes.
The main difference between hash groups is their emphasis on the sporting versus social
aspects of hashing. Some choose to maintain the tradition of a live hare hash chasing
runners while they lay a trail after being given a few minutes head start. They thrill in
the hunt the occasional catch and the notion that there is a real pursuit in progress
during the event.
Other hashes have shunned the competitive nature of the live hare hashes, pre-laying the
trail with a number of marks designed to keep the pack together. These gathering checks
and other delaying marks allow the hashers of the dead hare hashes to sing and make merry
from point to point, emphasizing the social aspects of the sport.
Regardless the event, hashing knows no age boundaries, with family hashes and children's
hashes, as well as members from all ages, with hashers in their 70's or even older. So
there's no reason to not join. As one popular Hash House Harriers' motto goes: "If
you've half a mind to join the hash, that's all you need!"
The
common myth of hashdom is “there are no rules.” Some of
you may be familiar with the objectives outlined in
paragraph 3, but here is the rest of the story. Way
back in 1950 the Hon. Secretary of the KLH3 drafted the
following, as part of the KL city club registration
process:
(from the INTERHASH ’98 INFOMAG)
EARLIEST RECORDED RULES OF THE HASH HOUSE
HARRIERS
(Devised late one night circa 1950 by an Irish
accountant, T.D. Kennedy, who was then On-sec for KLH3)
Basics
1. This Association shall be known as the Hash House
Harriers.
2. Its place of meeting shall be at any club or
premises in Kuala Lumpur at which permission to meet has
been obtained, and its address for correspondence shall
be at 633 Circular Road, Kuala Lumpur, until further
notice.
3. Its objectives are:
(a) to promote physical fitness amongst its members
(b) to get rid of weekend hangovers
(c) to acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it with
beer
(d) to persuade the older members that they are not
as old as they feel
Membership
4. Membership is open to all male persons who are
interested in taking part in a weekly cross country
paper chase.
5. A person wishing to join the Association submits his
name and address to the Hon. Secretary and is thereafter
considered to be a member until such time as he notifies
his intention to resign or ceases to pay his
subscriptions as they become due.
Entrance Fees, Subscriptions and Other Dues
6. No entrance fee is payable by new members.
7. Subscriptions are payable quarterly in advance at
the rate of $12.00 per quarter or at such other rate as
the committee may from time to time decide. New members
joining during a quarter will pay proportionately for
the period between the date of joining and the end of
the quarter.
8. The Hon. Treasurer will notify all members as and
when subscriptions become due. If a member falls in
arrears with his subscriptions for more than three
months, he shall be deemed to have resigned and will not
be entitled to take part in any future activities of the
Association. No legal action may be taken by the
Association against a former member for non-payment of
his debts, and any loss occasioned by failure of a
member to pay his dues will be borne by the remaining
members.
Management, General Meetings
9. The management of the society is vested in a General
Meeting of the members presided over by the President.
At least one quarter of the total membership of the
Society must be present at a General meeting for its
proceedings to be valid.
10. An Annual General Meeting will be held in
February. At other times a general meeting must be
called by the President on the request in writing of 10
or more members and may be called at any time by order
of the committee.
11. At least two weeks notice will be given of an
annual general meeting and of any other general
meeting. The following points will be considered at the
Annual General Meeting:
(a) The previous year’s accounts and the Report of
the Committee.
(b) The election of office-bearers for the
following year.
12. A Committee consisting of the following shall be
elected at each annual general meeting:
A President )
A Vice President ) (To be called the
Jointmasters)
An Honorary Secretary and Treasurer
The members of the Committee shall have power to
co-opt additional committee members or to elect a new
President, Vice President or Hon. Secretary and
Treasurer, in the event of the holder of these offices
being unwilling or unable to serve.
13. Committee meetings shall be held at such times as
may be considered desirable. At least seven days notice
of such meetings will be given to committee members. At
least one Joint Master and the Hon. Secretary and
Treasurer must be present at a committee meeting for its
proceeding to be valid.
14. The duty of the Committee is to organize and
supervise the daily activities of the society and to
make decisions on matters affecting its running when the
general meeting is not sitting. It may not act contrary
to the express wishes of the general meeting without
prior reference to it, and always remains subordinate to
the general meeting.
Office Bearers
15. The duties of the office bearers are as follows:
(a) The President shall act as Chairman at all
general and committee meetings. He shall also represent
the Society in its dealings with outside persons.
(b) The Vice President shall deputize for the
President in the latter’s absence. It shall be the duty
of the President and Vice President as Joint Masters to
count the numbers of runners at the start of each meet
and to ensure that all have returned to the starting
point before the remainder have gone home. On the
occasion of the “meet”, they will appoint two harriers
to act as “hares” for the ensuing meet.
(c) The Hon. Secretary and Treasurer shall keep all
books and records of the Association and shall be
responsible for their correctness. He shall collect all
monies due to the Association and shall disburse all
monies payable by it. He will not keep more than $10.00
in the form of cash and any money collected by him on
behalf of the Association shall be paid into the
Association’s bank account. Cheques for withdrawal from
the bank will be signed by the Hon. Treasurer. Full
details of all receipts and payments will be recorded by
him in a Cash Book, the entries being supported where
possible by document and vouchers. It shall be the duty
of the Hon. Secretary and Treasurer to notify members in
advance of the date and starting place of each run.
Weekly Runs
16. Members who are appointed as “hares” for a meet
will arrange to supply the necessary liquid refreshment
and shall be entitled to recover from the Hon. Treasurer
the cost of all liquid refreshment, and shall be
entitled to recover from the Hon. Treasurer the cost of
all drinks, cigarettes and ice consumed. “Hares” will
be held responsible for bringing mugs, bottle openers,
ice, cigarettes, beer, ginger beer, paper and haversacks
to the starting place and will hand over the
non-consumable stores to the “hares” for the following
week’s run at the conclusion of the meet.
17. Reasonable gaps in the trail may be left by the
“hares” and false trails may be laid at their
discretion. Gaps and false trails must not exceed 50
yards in length and should be considerably less in
belukar or difficult country. Scent should be
sufficiently strong to enable hounds to spend most of
the time in following it and not in wandering round in
circles looking for odd scraps of paper.
18. “Hares’ are permitted to start 10 minutes before
the time scheduled for the hounds to move off.
Audit
19. Two persons not members of the Committee will be
elected as Hon. Auditors at each annual general
meeting. They will be required to audit each year’s
accounts and to present a report on them to the annual
general meeting. They may be required by the President
to audit the Society’s accounts for any period within
their tenure of office at any date and to make a report
to the committee.
Prohibitions
20. (a) Gaming and opium smoking at the meets and the
introduction of females and bad characters on runs are
prohibited.
(b) The funds of the society shall not be used to
pay the fines of members who have been convicted in
court.
(c) Neither the Society nor its members shall
attempt to restrict or in any other manner interfere
with trade or prices or engage in any Trade Union
activities as defined in the Trade Union Enactment,
1940.
(d) The Society shall not hold any lottery, whether
confined to it members or not, in the name of the
Society or its office bearers, committees or members.
Amendments to Rules
21. No alterations or additions to the rules shall be
made except at a general meeting, and they shall not
come into force without the prior sanction of the
Registrar of Societies.
Interpretations
22. In the event of any question or matter arising out
of any point which is not expressly provided for in the
rules, the committee shall have the power to use their
own discretion.
Dissolution
23. In this Rule, a “member” shall mean anyone who is,
in accordance with the Rules of Society, entitled to
vote:
(a) The Society shall not be dissolved, except with
the consent of not less than 3/5ths of the members of
the Society expressed, either in person or by proxy at a
general meeting convened for the purpose, or by postal
vote.
(b) In the event of the Society being dissolved as
provided above, all debts and liabilities legally
incurred on behalf of the Society shall be fully
discharged and the remaining funds will be distributed
in such a manner as may be decided by the majority of
the members at the general meeting convened for the
purpose of dissolution.
(c) Notice of dissolution will be given within 14
days of the dissolution to the Registrar of Societies on
Form A, signed by the Committee.
THE END
This letter was addressed to the Kuala Lumpur HHH in 1958 by
Cecil Lee, one of the co-founders of the Hash House Harriers. He was
a regular harrier 1938-40, and after the war, 1946-51, then in Borneo for three years before returning to KL to finish his hashing
1954-57.
"The Hash House Harriers were founded in a moment of post-prandial
inspiration at the Selangor Club Chambers, about 1937/38, by the inmates, who included
myself, E.J. Galvin, H.M. Doig, and AS Gispert.
Gispert was the real founder – a man of great wit and charm, who was killed on Singapore
Island in February 1942 whilst serving with the Argylls, having only just returned from
leave in Australia to rejoin the volunteers. I am glad of this opportunity to salute his
memory. He was a splendid fellow, and would be happy to know the Harriers are still going
strong, and are as merry and bright as ever - or more so. Gispert was not an athlete,
and stress was laid as much on the subsequent refreshment etc. as on the pure and austere
running. It was non-competitive, and abounded in slow packs. Life was then conservative
rather than competitive.
The name was a mock allusion to the institution that housed and fed us. Later
"Torch" Bennett
returned from leave, and produced order out of chaos - a bank account, balance sheet and
some system. But we pride ourselves on being rather disorganised - or the minimum
organization sufficed. The original joint masters were myself and "Horse" Thompson, still
running somewhere – a past-master at short-cuts and the conservation of energy.
Celebrations were held in various
places, and the first was in what is now the Legislative
Council, then the Volunteer Mess. The oratory, I recall,
was much the same as now.
Llew Davidson is an old member. Morris
Edgar was one, but apart from Llew and John Wyatt-Smith,
I do not think there are any more antediluvians still
running. Philip Wickens was also one who kept us
going post-war.
We started up again after the war due to Torch Bennett who discovered a Bank Balance and
put in a claim for War Damage on one tin bath, and two dozen mugs, and
possibly two old bags (not members).
We started by a small run in reduced circumstances around the race-course then the
horses were not much better.
The Emergency cramped our style but did not diminish our activities, and we were called
in for information on various by-ways in Selangor, but our period of usefulness to MI5 was brief,
and our information probably otiose. But the hares ran into two Bandits at Cheras, who
were later copped.
An Irish accountant, Kennedy, drew up the Rules we had to register as a club, and he seems
to have preserved the old traditions just as you do now."
Selemat tinggal HHH
Cecil Lee
KUALA LUMPUR
October 24, 1958
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