Several notable ‘firsts’ followed in the years that ensued: match fees (6d) and formal playing rules were introduced in 1933, the club held its first dinner in 1934, and in 1935 it achieved the distinction of winning both matches in a weekend. In the club's earliest days, members recalled pulling mowers across St. Thomas' Drive trying to find an even piece of ground for a pitch. They later found temporary accommodation to play in Eastcote. In 1936, Saddlers Mead Recreation Ground on Clonard Way was bought by Middlesex County Council as a public open space, forming a permanent home for the club for the first time.

Like many clubs of the era, the outbreak of the Second World War had a profound impact. 90% of the club's members served in the forces during the war, with the other 10% engaged in roles of national importance or undertaking voluntary roles.  At one point, ten members of the First XI were serving in the military — a stark reminder of the interruption to sporting life and the wider contribution made by club members during the war years. During the summer of 1940, Robert Locke managed to keep things going from week to week with a number of older members, playing sides raised by local Air Raid Wardens, Auxhillary Fire Brigade, etc. During this time, Sadlers Mead was ploughed up for crops as part of the Dig For Victory campaign, with the pavilion also being badly damaged by incendiary bombs. 

The immediate post-war era began amid uncertainty. With Sadlers Mead still under cultivation at the direction of the Ministry of Agriculture, the club was left without a ground on which to play. A meeting was therefore held at St Anselms Hall, where the Governors and Headmaster of the Royal Commercial Travellers School (now the site of Morrisons in Hatch End) agreed to grant the club use of the school’s cricket ground and pavilion during the summer holidays. This arrangement provided the club with a temporary home for the next few seasons. 

In April 1948, the club was granted permission by the local council to make the short move to Shaftesbury Playing Fields. A new grass playing square was laid, while the remnants of the pavilion and tea hut from Sadlers Mead were relocated and combined to form a new clubhouse. By December of the same year, approval had been given to lay concrete practice wickets and extend the pavilion. This move proved pivotal, with Shaftesbury becoming the club’s spiritual home and the base from which it would grow steadily throughout the remainder of the twentieth century and into the early twenty-first.

The end of the post-war period marked a time of revival and expansion. In October 1957, the club held its Silver Jubilee with a dinner and dance at the Rest Hotel in Kenton. Guest speaker, Mr Patsy Hendren of England and Middlesex, drew the laughs with a spate of anecdotes from his days in the sun in Australia and the West Indies. A prolific batsman during the interwar period, Hendren played 51 tests for England, as well as playing football for Brentford and Queens Park Rangers, among other clubs. 

By 1957 the club boasted 53 playing members, and by 1958 was fielding three senior sides. Founding member, Mr Hillman, was quoted as saying "Hatch End has built up a wonderful reputation, not for winning matches, but for keeping fixtures. It was better to lose a good match than win a bad one". The club fielded a Third XI for the first time in the summer of 1957, and further investment followed with a pavilion extension in 1959, reflecting both the growing membership and renewed enthusiasm for the club.

Junior cricket also became a central part of the club’s identity. By the mid-1960s, a thriving colts section had been established under the guidance of Bill Burgess, something recalled with pride by club president and life member Mr G. Telfer, who remembered encouraging junior cricket as early as 1935. This commitment bore fruit, and by 1972 the club was fielding three colts sides at Under-14, Under-16, and Under-18 level.

Facilities continued to improve alongside on-field development. In 1964, the pavilion was upgraded with drainage support from Harrow Council and the installation of showers, with further clubhouse developments taking place in 1969 and again in 1972.

In July 1983 the club celebrated 50 years with a Jubilee match against a celebrity side which included most of the Middlesex teams with some of their past players. Middlesex totalled 187-9 with Clive Radley making 48 and John Embury 54 (including a six that he hit into Shaftesbury Avenue). Hatch End responded - against an attack which included at one time or another, Fred Titmus, Embury, Paul Downton, Wayne Daniel and Norman Cowans - with 100-8 to obtain a creditable draw.

Having been long-standing members of the Middlesex League, the club entered a new chapter in 1985 with a move to the Hertfordshire League. That same decade also saw success away from the outdoor game, with the club’s indoor cricket side winning the Harrow Cricket Association indoor six-a-side tournament in 1985.

The 1980s proved a challenging period for the club, with declining membership placing pressure on finances and a lack of playing strength contributing to difficult seasons both on and off the field. However, fortunes turned at the end of the decade. Promotion was secured in 1990, with 17 victories from 26 matches, ensuring Hatch End would compete in Division Two in 1991.