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Old 4th January 2016, 21.48:39   #28-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding member and player of Wrexham Football Club

Thomas Henry Sykes was born in Kirkheaton, Huddersfield in 1841.
There are no records to show who his father was, but the 1851 census names his mother as Mary Anne Sykes (widow). He had 1 brother- George William, and 2 sisters- Emmeline and Elenora. The 1861 census lists him as still living in Kirkheaton, but soon after his name appears on the team sheet of Denbighshire County Cricket Club.
He established a regular place on the cricket team throughout the 1860’s and 70’s and was an elected member of the clubs committee. He was present at the after dinner event in which Edward Manners announced his intention to start a football team, and he also played in our first ever football game against The Prince of Wales Fire Brigade, in October 1864.

Aside from his activity at the Racecourse, Thomas Henry was also a volunteer in the Denbighshire rifle militia I "RATTLER'S" STRAIGHT TIP FOR THE MAYOR'S CUP.|1869-09-25|Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register - Welsh Newspapers Online and was later promoted to the rank of Corporal.
There are a number of references to Thomas paying subscriptions to aid the sick and needy, and an advertisement in The Wrexham Advertiser suggests that in August 1868 he may have been living in Fairfield and had an association with The White Bear Tavern in Yorke Street.

Thomas married Maria Jones at St Oswald, Chester on 19th April 1870 and his occupation is recorded as a gilder, although his address is shown as The Rainbow Vaults, Hope Street, where he also worked as an Inn Keeper.
His wife gave birth to a daughter, Maria, at the Rainbow vaults on the 19th December 1870, although it must be presumed that his wife died shortly after giving birth, as the 1871 census listed Thomas Henry Sykes (born Kirkheaton, Huddersfield) being the landlord of The Rainbow Vaults, aged 29 and widowed. His daughter and his sister-Emmeline are also registered as living with him at Hope Street, as well as his late wife’s sister and two children, the youngest of which (aged 3) is listed as his stepdaughter.
Four years later an article in the Wrexham Advertiser reported that on the 8th March 1875, Thomas appeared in court, charged with serving alcohol to a policeman on duty at The Rainbow Vaults in Hope Street, although the charge was dismissed.

BOROUGH MAGISTRATES' COURT.|1875-03-13|Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register - Welsh Newspapers Online

Things would appear to have again taken a turn for the worse for Thomas, as he left The Rainbow Vaults later that same year and on 18th September 1875 a claim was made in court by a doctor for an unpaid bill, relating to treatment he gave to Thomas’s late wife’s sister, while she stayed with him at The Rainbow Vaults.
Thomas was ordered to pay the amount outstanding and costs.

Then, in early 1877, Thomas placed an article in the Wrexham Advertiser informing that he had succeeded to the business of the late George Warburton of Queen Street (an established carver and Gilder) for whom he had been a manager for the last 15 years, and that he would be continuing his business from 9 Lambpitt Street. However, his new venture would seem to have been short-lived, because in December of the same year, he posted another advertisement for an auction, in which he was selling all of his tools, equipment and stock, as well as furniture and his household items.
Then, on March 11th 1878, the courts granted a distress warrant against Thomas for non payment of water rates, and having not paid the amount due, The Advertiser (20 April 1878) reported that a committal order for 5 weeks imprisonment had been issued against Thomas Henry Sykes for non compliance with a court order to pay arrears of rates.
BOROUGH MAGISTRATES' COURT. I|1878-04-20|Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register - Welsh Newspapers Online
It is not known if he served his sentence in a debtor’s prison, but he disappeared from the records in Wrexham in 1878.
He then reappeared in the 1881 census as a lodger in a house, which he shared with 5 other people in Wollaton Street, Nottingham, but by the time of the next census in 1891, Thomas had remarried and was living with his new wife, Fanny, in Pelican Street, Nottingham.
His occupation was listed as a Gilder.
Fanny Sykes died in 1899, and her husband, Thomas Henry Sykes died in Nottingham at the age of 70, in 1910.

Thomas Henry Sykes 1841-1910

Last edited by eastsussexred; 4th January 2016 at 21.54:26..
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Old 4th January 2016, 22.12:36   #29-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding member and player of Wrexham Football Club

Quote:
Originally Posted by ABd View Post
I believe the second ever game of the new Wrexham Football Club was against Braintree in December 1864. However the game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, despite the Great Braintree Drought of 1863/64.
Very, very funny!, but somewhat ironic for me as I travelled to Braintree for the game before Christmas, ( I live about 30 miles away). The weather had been so stable, that it never struck me to check before leaving that the game may not be on, my garden was certainly playable!. Anyway I got there and parked up near the Orange Tree pub (Wrexham fans usual haunt), and thinking back, yes I parked unusually close to the pub, and went in for a swift one with about 40 mins to kick off, only to find I was the only one who had bothered to attend!!. Gradually with the assistance of Sky sports the ugly realisation gripped me!!, Waterlogged My Arse!!.
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Old 6th January 2016, 20.33:19   #30-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding member and player of Wrexham Football Club

At the time of his death Edward Manners resided with his daughter in Wellington Road.
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Old 7th January 2016, 04.10:41   #31-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding member and player of Wrexham Football Club

Thomas Heath was born the son of George and Mary Anne, in Ramsbury, Wiltshire in February 1824
He joined The Grenadier Guards at the age of 17 and would later serve as a sergeant in the Crimean war, for which he was decorated for services relating to HMS Vesuvius assault on Sebastopol. (Sept 1854-Sept 1855)
Thomas then left the Grenadier Guards (from which he received a Chelsea Pension) and moved to Windsor where he married Sarah Rixon in 1857.
His wife gave birth to a son (Thomas Crawford) in Windsor that same year but the family would later move to Wrexham where Thomas found work as a corn miller. He also joined The Denbighshire Militia Volunteers in November 1861, and was promoted to drill sergeant of No1 Company.
Sergeant Thomas Heath was named in a number of newspaper articles as a winner of military prizes in rifle shooting competitions throughout the 1860’s, and an article in the Wrexham Advertiser also reported that he received a silver watch in reward for his duties at an event in his honour at the Feathers Hotel in January 1863.
[No title]|1863-01-31|Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register - Welsh Newspapers Online
The following year his name appeared in a small article about a new football team which had been formed by The Denbighshire County Cricket Club, and who’s first game had taken place at The Racecourse Ground on the 22nd October 1864.
Thomas would have been very familiar with both the cricket club and The Racecourse Ground, as the cricket team was made up mostly of militia volunteers, and The Racecourse Ground itself was frequently used as a training ground and drill venue for the various military units based in Wrexham at that time. And so, at the age of 40, Sergeant Thomas Heath would be one of the 10 men who laced up their boots to become the founding players of Wrexham Football Club, in their first ever game against The Prince of Wales fire Brigade.

Thomas and his family lived in Gresford for a period of around 14 years, during which, Sarah Heath gave birth to 4 children (Charles Edward, Albert David, Sarah and Robert) before the family moved to Lambeth, South London, in 1873.
The couple would have 2 more children in Lambeth (Edwin Harries and Alice Mary), before moving again to Wycombe in Berkshire, where Thomas died in 1887 at the age of 63.


Thomas Heath 1824-1887

Last edited by eastsussexred; 7th January 2016 at 04.13:32..
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Old 13th January 2016, 15.25:43   #32-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding member and player of Wrexham Football Club

Scouting and team selection for our national side was also a much simpler affair back then, as can be seen from this article in The Wrexham Guardian (1879)
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Wrexham Guardian 15th February 1879.jpg (299.6 KB, 62 views)

Last edited by eastsussexred; 13th January 2016 at 15.29:07..
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Old 15th January 2016, 15.29:40   #33-0 (permalink)
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I am looking for any information with regard to a G.R. Johnson who played in our first ever game in October 1864.
I have not found any information for him in the Wrexham area aside from a few games for Provincial Cricket Club (possibly related to The Provincial Insurance office, High St Wrexham) at The racecourse in the months leading up to him playing for the newly formed football club on 22nd October 1864.
He then seems to disappear from the archives, although there is a George Rose Johnson (b 1844 Cowes, Isle of White) who is recorded in the 1880/90's as the curate of St Pauls church, Birkenhead) although I cannot find any reference which links him with the person who played for WAFC. There doesn't appear to be any other G.R. Johnson's in the archives who would be at an age where he would be playing cricket and football in 1864.
Would appreciate any information from anyone, so that G.R. Johnson can be identified, and his history recorded as one of our players.
My intention would be to forward all histories of the original 10 players to WST and have them recorded and hopefully in some way commemorated (perhaps by means of a plaque) at The Racecourse.

Last edited by eastsussexred; 15th January 2016 at 15.41:13..
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Old 15th January 2016, 16.04:20   #34-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding member and player of Wrexham Football Club

Great work.
We stand on the shoulders of giants.
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Old 20th January 2016, 05.23:55   #35-0 (permalink)
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The Provincial ‘Welsh’ Insurance Company (a subsidiary of the National Provincial Bank) was established in 1852 and sold fire and life insurance from its office on The High Street, Wrexham. The company also created its own Fire Brigade to protect its assets in the town, but this proved to be ineffective and was soon disbanded, to be replaced by The Price of Wales Fire Brigade.

George R. Johnson and Joseph Roberts played cricket for The Provincial Insurance Office Cricket Team and both would play football for Wrexham Football Club in the clubs first ever game; moreover, an article in The Wrexham Advertiser 13th March 1869 reported ‘Saturday afternoon, the 6th March, the Wrexham Football Club (consisting chiefly of clerks of the Provincial Insurance Office), played a game of football with Ruabon Grammar School. The game ended in a draw.

Charles Edward Kershaw (an elected member of The Wrexham Board of Guardians), George R. Johnson and James Davies were all volunteers of The Prince of Wales Fire Brigade, which stabled its horses at The Wynnstay Arms on the High Street.
Formerly known as The Eagles Inn, The Wynnstay Arms had been owned by the Wynn Family of Ruaban; - major land owners of a large estate in the area, which also included much of the grazing land surrounding the Town.
Sir Watkin Williams Wynn was the MP for Denbighshire and The Lieutenant Corporal of The Denbighshire Militia and Yeomanry, as well as being a trustee of The Provincial Welsh Insurance Company. (Edwin Alfred Cross (1842-1924) was a clerk at the Insurance Company’s High Street Offices, who would later win two Welsh Cup Final winners medals for Wrexham Football Club as well as making 2 International appearances for Wales in 1876 and 1877).
As landed gentry, the male descendants of The Wynn family also held military office for Merioneth and Denbighshire and were traditionally responsible for raising military units for the defence of the realm: these included The Denbighshire and Merioneth Militia and The Denbighshire and Merioneth Yeomanry Cavalry, and it seems likely that a field at Plas Coch, at the edge of the town, was first used in association with cavalry horses, or horses that were used for hunt meetings, at the end of the 18th Century.
By 1807, some of this land had been developed into a racecourse, where public events such as The Town Purse and The Silver Cavalry Cup were staged, until drunkenness and crowd trouble led to the meetings being abandoned, around 50 years later.
However, Military association with the racecourse had persisted throughout this period and The Racecourse Ground continued to serve as a parade ground and drill venue for the various military units of the area, including The Denbighshire Rifle Militia.
The Denbighshire Militia would regularly attend civic events in the town, together with The Prince of Wales fire Brigade.
Sergeant William Tootell, Sergeant Thomas Heath and Thomas Henry Sykes were all members of the Denbighshire Militia who would play in Wrexham Football Club’s first ever game.
The Racecourse had also been used as a cricket ground for The Wrexham Cricket Club, later be known as The Denbighshire County Cricket Club, of which, Edward Manners was the chairman and Charles Edward Kershaw the vice chairman, with members including, but not limited to, Sergeant William Tootell, Joseph Roberts, Evan Morris (Captain, Denbighshire Militia Volunteers, later to be The President of Wrexham Football Club and Vice-President of The Football Association of Wales) Edwin Alfred Cross, Edward Ephraim Knibbs, Thomas Broster, Thomas Henry Sykes, George Warburton (employer of Thomas Henry Sykes) John Whittaker (Denbighshire Yeomanry Cavalry and Landlord of The Turf Hotel) James Davies (1845-1910 Volunteer in The Prince of Wales Fire Brigade, who would later score the only goal for Wrexham Football Club in the final of The Welsh Cup Final against Druids in 1878: he was also a Welsh International, winning one cap against Scotland in the same year) Arthur Henry Maurice (Lieutenant Of Denbighshire Militia Volunteers) John Taylor (Played for Wrexham Football Club in their first ever game and was a joint secretary of Wrexham Olympic FC in 1884 and The Secretary to The Football Association of Wales 1885-1897) and William Henry Prichard (Insurance Clerk and Volunteer in The Prince of Wales fire Brigade, who would play for the fire brigade against Wrexham Football Club in October 1864, but later became the Secretary of Wrexham Athletic FC in 1868)
But it was Edward Manners, The Chairman of The Denbighshire County Cricket Club who bought a football and called for volunteers to attend The Racecourse ground, where the 10 founding players of Wrexham Football Club would play their first ever game, against 10 men of The Prince of Wales Fire Brigade on 22nd October 1864.

The heraldic crest of The Prince of Wales, a plume of 3 feathers, which adorns our crest today, was also the crest of The Provincial Welsh Insurance Company, The Prince of Wales Fire Brigade, The Denbighshire Yeoman Cavalry and The Denbighshire Militia Volunteers.

Last edited by eastsussexred; 20th January 2016 at 05.34:26..
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Old 21st January 2016, 12.26:02   #36-0 (permalink)
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Default Re: The sad case of a founding member and player of Wrexham Football Club

Thomas Hanmer (1839-1887) on page 2 of thread, was also the landlord of The Coach and Horses, High Street, Wrexham
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