The hockey team

[FrancesH]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-one/10325647/From-the-hockey-field-to-the-battlefield-the-team-which-lost-half-its-players-in-WW1.html

This article which appeared in the Sunday Telegraph yesterday refers to a project I am carrying out as part of the commemorative exhibition to be staged at the Royal Military College (Sandhurst) for WW1. It concerns a photograph featuring ten members of a hockey team in 1915. I have identified them and am working hard to find as much information about them and their careers as possible.I should be very glad indeed to hear from any GWF members with any knowledge, particularly family knowledge, about any of these ten men. They were all 2nd lieutenants in 1915, although one later became a captain and one a general. They are:

Frank Stanlie Layard, the Border Regiment; Isaac William Usher, the Royal Irish Regiment; James Lawrence Fowlie, Highland Light Infantry; Thomas John Carlyle Davies,

the Welsh Regiment; Thomas Norbury Wilmot, Worcestershire Regiment; Charles Henry Hugh Chesney Cook, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry

Douglas Neil Wimberley, Cameron Highlanders; Ivor Edward Morgan Cochrane, South Wales Borderers

Norman Kelley, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment; Trevor Davidson Southgate, Essex Regiment

[David_Underdown]

I had a bit of a twitter conversation with Jasper Copping about this. As a former hockey umpire I was surprised to see the first man referred to as a referee. So far as I know hockey has always had umpires, not referees, but referee is indeed what's given in the photo caption. I don't know if there's any real significance in it, but it's a slight anomaly.

[Broznitsky]

As a former hockey umpire I was surprised to see the first man referred to as a referee.

In Canadian ice hockey (which is played in Britain), the man would be a referee. Perhaps the reporter confused the two sports.

Dare I ask if what I call grass or field hockey is more popular than ice hockey in 21st Century Britain?

[David_Underdown]

They certainly look like (field) hockey sticks, and they sem to be wearing boots. Unqualified, hockey, generally doesn't involve skates in the UK. (Field) hockey is much more common than ice hockey, being played in a large number of schools, and about 1000 clubs in England (each runnning a number of men's and women's teams, plus junior teams of various descriptions), Wales, Scotland and Ireland (hockey is organised on an all-Ireland basis) also have a number of clubs. There are very few ice rinks in the UK which rather limits ice hockey (and of course it's rarely cold enough in the winter for informal games outside). Unlike Canada and the US field hockey is seen as a game for both sexes (in fact probably more men than women play around the world, and in the UK).

The point was that the caption appears to be original to 1915, rather than it being down to the reporter or researcher.

[Simon_Fielding]

Hello again Frances!

Have you seen this thread??

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=219552&hl=%2Bthomas+%2Bnorbury+%2Bwilmot#entry2173306

Simon

[FrancesH]

Hi Simon!

Thank you for linking me to the other thread, of which I was unaware.

I should be interested to know why your other correspondent was following up Cecil Wilmot, perhaps we can be of assistance to each other. I am in touch with the Wilmot family as well as both the Kings School Worcester and Hereford Cathedral School, both of which were attended by at least four of the five brothers, although not all at the same time. I haven't heard of the other school he mentioned. The two other brothers (Edward (Ned) and Lawrence (Larry) both survived the war.

Still going through E. C. Barton's 'Let the Boy Win HIs Spurs' at the moment, do let me know if anyone else at all from 2/Worcestershire left any personal narrative.

Very best wishes

Frances

[Simon_Fielding]

Still looking for 2nd Bn books....3rd and 10th seem well served....

Thought you might like to see another of my India collection .... 2nd Bn Jhansi 1911...

[tharkin56]

Simon

i was about to close my book on polo players and the great war, would you have any photos of polo players of this quality.

I am still missing a few photos, i have another thread on this thanks

Frances H which ones were casualties I can search what i have

[Simon_Fielding]

I think I have a picture of John Pitt Dening - would that be useful?

[FrancesH]

Hi tharkin56

Do you mean which of my research subjects were casualties who served in 2/Worcestershires? If so then it is only 2nd Lt Tom Wilmot that I am interested in as all my other subjects are in different regiments.

Best wishes

Frances

[Peter Shand]

I recognize the name of Douglas Wimberly. He was Colonel of the Cameron Highlanders in the early 1950's and was one of the forces behind the planning, funding, and construction of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders War Memorial Boys Club in Inverness, along with Major-General Angus Collier and others. The club was opened by the Queen Mother in 1953, as part of the ceremonies linked to the grant of the Freedom of the Town to the regiment.

Rather than build a cenotaph to honour the fallen, the building of a club to serve the next generation of young men of the town in honour of the war dead was unique. Many youths enjoyed sports and were introduced to hobbies including canoe building and use on the River Ness, tying flies, acting, camping and hiking. Most of the members participated in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award programme. My father was the first leader of the club from 1953 to 1961, following his participation in the committee formed to create the club, as a representative of the Boys' Brigade.

Wikepedia has a detailed summary of Douglas Neil Wimberley's life which was obviously the source of the biographic information used in the newspaper.

Regards, Pete

[FrancesH]

Hi Peter

I was particularly lucky to find I had Douglas Wimberley as one of my subjects in the photograph, as he wrote a lengthy unpublished autobiography which is in the IWM and BL, and which I have been steadily working through. I am delighted to hear about the boys' club, it sounds exactly the sort of sensible project he would have supported. I have a very soft spot for him.

The Wikipedia article is not entirely accurate. If anyone wants to look Wimberley up there is now an entry for him in the online Dictionary of National Biography, which was written with the cooperation of his family and his official biographer (that's not me, I'm just trying not to tread on his toes, but I do also have the family's cooperation!)

[FrancesH]

Anyone coming across this thread should note that my research has moved on and I have more accurate information on my subjects and their families. Please contact me directly if I can help.