Hash House Harriers: A History
The Hash House Harriers history goes back to the 1930s. It started in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was founded by British expat Albert Stephen Ignatius Gispert (“G“).
Why “Hash House Harriers?”
The name “Hash House Harriers came from the Selangor Club Chambers. They also called this building the “Hash House” – thanks to its bad, bland food they called “hash”. This was an older slang term for bad food.
How Did Hashing Start?
In the beginning, the original Hashers met on Friday evenings. The goal was to mix drinking, physical activity and camaraderie. The Second World War caused a short hiatus, but the club was established again in 1946. Runs were then shifted to Monday evenings.
The group soon became popular. This led to more chapters opening up all over the world. Today there are roughly 1600 active chapters.
Want to learn more? Check out Wikipedia.
Hashing Around the World
There are plenty of Hash House Harrier kennels and chapters all over the world. Almost every major city either had or still has one. Some are defunct, some are still around and others have been revived.
If you’re interested, you can read a history of the Combined Rhine Area Pack. You can also check out other hash kennels in Germany.