All Dorset Hospitality Hash House Harriers

The History of Hash House Harriers

Ancient history

Hash House Harrier roots extend back to the old English schoolboy game of "Hares and Hounds," in which some players, called "hounds," chase others, called "hares," who have left a trail of paper scraps along their route across fields, hedges, streams, bogs, and hills. One of the earliest Hares and Hounds events on record was the "Crick Run" at Rugby School in Warwickshire, first held in 1837.

Hare and Hounds as an adult sport began in the autumn of 1867 with a group of London oarsmen who wanted to keep fit during the winter. Also called "Paper Chasing" or the "Paper Chase," the game became very popular after its introduction on Wimbledon Common in 1868 by the Thames Hare and Hounds. Early clubs called themselves "Hare and Hounds" or simply "Harriers."

In the Beginning

Hashing began in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1938, when a small group of British colonial officials and expatriates, led by A.S Gispert, a British accountant of Catalan descent, founded a running club called the Hash House Harriers. As batchelors, they were billeted in the Selangor Club Annex, known locally as the Hash House, because of its monotonous food.

After running for some months they were approached by the Registrar of Societies, who advised then that, as they were a "group" they would require a Constitution and a name. A.S.Gispert (known as "G") suggested the name. Hash House Harrier runs were patterned after the traditional British paper chase. A hare was given a head start to blaze a trail, marking his devious way with shreds of paper, all the while pursued by a shouting pack of "harriers". Only the hare knew where he was going... the harriers followed his clues to stay on trail.

Apart from the excitement of chasing the hare and solving the clues, reaching the end was its own reward... for there, thirsty harriers would find a tub of iced beer.

The man who started it all

The original Hash House in Kuala Lumpur

Modern Hashing

Hashing died out during World War II after the Japanese invasion of Malayisa, but started again shortly after the war, when the original protagonists, minus "G" who had been killed in the Japanese invasion of Singapore, re-assembled in Kuala Lumpur. Apart from a "one off" chapter, formed in the Italian Riviera, (now the Royal Milan and Bordighera Hash), hashing didn't take off until 1962, when Ian Cumming founded the 2nd kennel in Singapore. From then on, the phenomenon started to grow, spreading through the Far East, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as Europe and North America. Hashing really exploded in popularity in the mid-1970s.

There are now thousands of Hash House Harrier kennels throughout the world.

National and international conventions are organised regularly.

All Dorset Hospitality H3 (ADH4) History:

Dorset Hospitality H3 (DH4) was started by Sharky sometime in 1978-9, & run fortnightly on a Friday evening. It was started due to a fall out between Wessex organisers.

Haunch of Venison (HoV) was also formed from a Wessex management fall out.

Alternate Dorset H3 (ADH3) was started by K9 in September 2015, to fit in with DH4 - on the alternate Fridays.

All Dorset Hospiality H3 (ADH4) was started in August 2021 bringing both Friday hashes under one club. The first hash was from the Acorn, Creekmoor. We were honoured with the notable presence of Frostbite Willy & Mr Bunn.