Hash Club #2:  Royal Milan & Bordighera Hash House Harriers

By Ed "Hazukashii" Howell.  Sources include the Interhash 1998 InfoMag and an interview with Robert "Bwana" Walker. 

The Bordighera H3 was founded by Captain "Gus" Mackey on 2 April 1947 in Bordighera, Italy. 

Gus was an officer in a Gurka regiment of the British Military, had run with the Hash House Harriers in Kuala Lumpur before the war as a guest of his brother Rupert Mackey.  During World War II while fighting in the battle for Anzio, Capt Mackey was captured and imprisoned in Milan, Italy.  After his release, he stayed on in Milan, and eventually settled down with his new wife Anna-Marie in Bordighera on the Italian Riviera and formed the Bordighera H3, with the first run taking place on 2 April 1947.  The BH3 was popular with other British veterans that had also settled in the area and enjoyed over a decade of trails. Alas, after 14 years, the pack drifted away, sometime in 1961. 

On 12 December 1984, The Bordighera H3 was revived during the construction of the Bordighera Arena for Science, Technology, Arts, Research and Development Center, sponsored by Giovanni Paradiso, the grandson of deposed King Emmanuel Vittorio III and also fellow prisoner during the war with Gus, and would now be known as the Royal Bordighera H3.  Anna-Marie Mackey, at nearly 70, was still on hand and was made Honorary GM-Hash Mistress.  The RBH3 lasted only a short period of time, and  conducted occasional runs with the Riviera H3 (France).

On 23 June 1990, Robert "Bwana" Walker, previously from the Mombasa H3 in Kenya, founded the Milan H3 in Milan, Italy.  In September of 1991, Bwana visited the Singapore H3 and then went on to Bangkok, where he met the late Hash Historian Tim "Magic" Hughes.  Magic explained what he knew of the history of the Bordighera H3, and asked Bwana to see if he could turn up any old information on the BH3 upon his return to Italy.  

In coordination with Fabio "Fabulous" D'Ambrosio, the Milan H3 "Hash Italian" (an actual committee position), they were able to find some Riviera Hashers with recollection of the temporary rebirth of the RBH3, and eventually tracked down Anna-Marie Mackey, the widow of founder "Gus" Mackey.  In a wild turn of events, it was discovered that Fabulous was actually a relative of Anna-Marie.  Although she was on in years, it was reported that she could still chug a down-down with the best of them.  With the approval of Anna-Marie, the Milan H3 merged with the remnants of the RBH3 forming the Royal Milan & Bordighera H3 in November 1991.  Once again Anna-Marie was named Honorable Grand Mistress, and it was agreed that they would hash in Finale Ligure, near Bordighera, every year to keep the tradition going.  

According to Bwana, "The reason for 'near' and not 'at' is a long story, which involves and entire hash being stuck on a hilltop in a thorn thicket late at night, local rescue teams and some pretty gory bleeding legs.  The terrain there is incredibly rough and thorny, which prompted the then Milan RA "Wild Bill" Ridout to make his personal motto 'Bugger Bordighera!', and avoid setting any trails nearer than 50 Km from it.  The 'near Bordighera' became focused just up the coast in Finale Ligure, where Fabulous had a house on a spectacular Riviera hillside.  

We hashed there every year, and without fail, the ghost of Gus Mackey, haunted us every time, with apparitions on hillsides, all in white, including a white pith helmet and kilt, and playing a white bagpipe.  He was also spotted prowling the balconies of the hotel we used, late at night, and once was seen getting out of a smoking grave!  The hash became known as the "Ghost on the Coast" and was well attended by hashers from all over the world."

The motto of the Royal Milan & Bordighera H3 is "In Gus We Trust"

Other RMBH3 T-shirts: Ghost on the Coast and 50 Years of Hashing - First Milan H3 T-shirt.