William V Wilson 1844-1922
W.V. Wilson was born in Ireland and came to Brighton about twenty years later. He started to play regularly in the Public Chess Room about 1880 and gained the reputation of being a very strong player, winning the county championship for the first of several times in 1883. He became the first person to win the trophy on three occasions and was allowed to keep the cup, which is the one still presented today.
He was a contemporary of Henry Butler, and the pair were the two strongest Brighton players of the period. However, by the late Victoriam period he seemed to start to lose some of his interest in the game. It is also believed that he took exception to the fact that the new county trophy should belong permanently to the Association. His appearances became less frequent, though he did help Sussex to win the Southern Counties Championship in 1895. He made a brief return to regular chess after World War I before suffering a stroke. He died in 1922 at the age of 78.
The Wilson Cup
In 1922 the Wilson Cup was presented to the Sussex Chess Association by an anonymous donor in memory of the chess career of William Wilson. This was to be contested by the older boys in Secondary Schools in Sussex, while the Butler Cup was to be fought out by a younger age group.
The inscriptions on the trophy indicate it’s history. On one side it is first inscribed “Brighton Chess Club – Championship Cup, 1887”; and on the reverse, “Sussex Chess Association Wilson Cup – 1922”.
It is now held by Sussex Junior Chess and awarded annually to the winning school in the Under-18 section of it’s inter-schools cup competition.
Inscriptions:
| 1887 | H W Butler |
| 1888 | H W Butler |
| 1889 | W V Wilson |
| 1890 | H Erskine |
| and finally won by W V Wilson 1892 | |
“This cup having passed into the possession of The Sussex Chess Association , is in accordance with the wishes of Mr W V Wilson, now a permanent Senior School Trophy for the County.”
| 1923 | Brighton Municipal Secondary School for Boys |
| 1924 | Brighton Municipal Secondary School for Boys |
| 1925 | St Leonards Collegiate School |
| 1926 | Hastings Grammar School |
| 1927 | Hastings Grammar School |
| 1928 | Hastings Grammar School |
| 1928 – 29 | Varndean School Brighton (Boys) |
| 1929 – 30 | Varndean School Brighton (Boys) |
| 1931 | Varndean School Brighton (Boys) |
| 1932 | Rye Grammar School |
| 1933 | Rye Grammar School |
| 1934 | Rye Grammar School |
| 1935 | Worthing High School for Boys |
| 1936 | Worthing High School for Boys |
| 1937 | Varndean School Brighton (Boys) |
| 1938 | Varndean School Brighton (Boys) |
| 1939 | Varndean School Brighton (Boys) |
| 1940 – 46 | No Contest (WW2) |
| 1947 | Varndean School Brighton (Boys) |
| 1948 | Varndean School Brighton (Boys) |
| 1949 | Varndean School Brighton (Boys) |
| 1950 | Varndean School Brighton (Boys) |
| 1952 | Bexhill Grammar School |
| 1953 | Varndean School Brighton (Boys) |
| 1954 | Hove County Grammar School |
| 1955 | Steyning Grammar School |
| 1956 | Varndean |
| 1957 | Varndean |
| 1958 | Varndean |
| 1959 | Hove Grammar |
| 1960 | Hove Grammar |
| 1961 | Hove Grammar |
| 1962 | Hove Grammar |
| 1963 – 66 | Varndean |
| 1966 – 67 | Chichester High School |
| 1967 – 68 | Varndean |
| 1970 | Hove Grammar School |
| 1971 | Varndean Grammar School |
| 1972 | Hove Grammar School |
| 1973 | Varndean Grammar School |
| 1974 | Varndean Grammar School |
| 1975 | Varndean Grammar School |
| 1976 | Varndean VI Form |
| 1977 | Varndean VI Form |
| 1978 | Hastings Grammar School |
| 1979 | William Parker |
| 1980 | William Parker |
| 1981 | William Parker |
| 1982 | William Parker |
| new tier | |
| 1987 | Oathall |
| 1988 | Varndean VI Form |
| 1989 | Christ’s Hospital |
| 1990 | Christ’s Hospital |
| 1991 | Blatchington Mill |
| 1992 | Christ’s Hospital |
| 1993 | Beacon |
| 1994 | Christ’s Hospital |
| 1995 | Christ’s Hospital |
| 1996 | Christ’s Hospital |
| 1997 | Bexhill College |
| 1998 | Bexhill College |
| 1999 | Christ’s Hospital |
| 2000 | Christ’s Hospital |
| 2001 | Dorothy Stringer |
| 2002 | Dorothy Stringer |
| 2008 | Christ’s Hospital |