The Table Tennis England Centenary book has landed – and you can now order either the Official Edition or our Special Edition signed by three greats of the English game!

English Table Tennis at 100 – A Century in Photographs is a 192-page hardback book which showcases the pictures which perfectly illustrate the key moments, events, performances and people over the 100-year history of the National Governing Body.

Starting with the early days after the foundation in November 1921, it is packed with photos which take the reader on a journey from the days of ‘founding father’ Ivor Montagu and 1929 world champion Fred Perry all the way through to the Tokyo 2021 Olympics and Paralympics.

On the way, readers will discover more about the personalities who have made an indelible mark on the sport in this country, whether as administrators or players, and enjoy some rarely-seen photos from every decade of our history.

The Official Edition is priced at £25 plus £3.20 postage and packing, while the autographed Special Edition – of which there are only 200 copies available – is £45 plus P&P. Signed by three giants of the game – Jill Hammersley-Parker MBE, Desmond Douglas MBE and Will Bayley MBE, this is a truly special souvenir of the last 100 years.

The foreword has been written by Matt Syed, journalist, author, broadcaster and former English table tennis international, national champion and English No 1.

Researched by Diane Webb and Colin Clemett, the pictures are compiled by the Table Tennis England Senior Communications Officer, Paul Stimpson, including many never-before-published images.

Des, Jill and Will visited the Table Tennis England HQ in Milton Keynes earlier this week to sign the book, which was brought to life by Blue Green Design of Bedford – and delighted in reminiscing about the photos in the book and finding their personal favourites.

Jill, who is the Table Tennis England President, said: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed looking through the many amazing photos. It’s the sort of book you can pick up again and again and I’m sure all those who love table tennis in this country will find this a fascinating addition to their bookshelves or coffee table.”

We are grateful to Centenary Book Sponsors Butterfly and Tees Sport for their support of the book.

Butterfly Japan and Butterfly Europe, with their UK distributor Ransome Sporting Goods and Tees Sport, have provided significant support to the sport across more than four decades, at every level from the grassroots to major international events, as illustrated in a special section of the book.

In addition, more than 150 people are Named Supporters of the book. Click here to view the list of Named Supporters.

Will Bayley signs the Centenary book