Caton United

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1 Caton United My selection as team of the decade is Caton United, a team I watched from the age of 5 in 1947 until I started playing at the Lancaster Lads Club in I hope this decision is impartial and without prejudice as Galgate also had a fine team that was very much in contention but the letter below was published in the Lancaster Guardian on December 30th 1949 and was the deciding factor in my choice as it identified a terrific football team establishing a record that I don t believe has ever been eclipsed. Year Team P W D L F A Pts Royal Air Force (Morecambe) Netherfield Lansil Recce Regiment Recce Regiment Netherfield Reserves Galgate Galgate Caton United Caton United Mr W A Till writes: Records are meant to be broken; at all events they are continually being broken. First Class football has been no exception this season and neither, I think, has junior football. The feat of Caton United Football Club in playing no fewer than 45 consecutive games without defeat is surely a record. Their long run of successes came to an end on Boxing Day morning when they were beaten 3-1 away at Galgate, after having won by the same score at Caton the previous Saturday. Up to that day Caton had won 17 matches and drawn 1 this season whilst their last defeat was Boxing Day 1948, precisely a year ago. It would be interesting to know whether any of your readers can quote a better record. Yours Faithfully Arthur Till

2 This was of course the decade that was torn apart by World War II and it is worth looking at the environment that people fought, worked and played in. At the outbreak of war on September 3rd 1939 the government installed a system of wartime conscription between 1939 and 1948 called Military Service. Men between years were conscripted, subject to medicals, whilst others in essential services, the pits, farm work and the merchant navy would be spared conscription by playing their part in helping the country by supplying fuel and food. In the midst of war in 1942 the government increased the age of enrolment to 51 years of age. After the war those already in the armed forces were given a release classification determined by length of service and age. In practice, releases began in 1945 with the last of the war time conscripts not being discharged until From January 1949 healthy males between 18 and 21 years of age were expected to serve in the armed forces for eighteen months and remain listed for four years. Once again men were exempt from National Service if they worked in one of three essential services; Farming, the Merchant Navy and Coal Mining. As in wartime the impression that young men could choose which branch of the forces to serve in proved to be an illusion as 72 out of every 100 ended up in army khaki. During the 13 years that national service lasted as many as 2.3 million young men served king or queen and country for little more than pocket money. They were paid 1 8s 0d a week - in 1950 the average wage was 8 8s 6d - which rose to 1 18s 0d for the last batch called up (but deferred) in 1962 when the average wage had surged to 15 7s 0d. Conscripts first faced a medical which was something of a lottery, flat feet might mean rejection or acceptance depending on the attitude of the doctor involved. For those who passed, the vast majority, a brown OHMS envelope would arrive a couple of weeks later containing a third-class rail warrant and a postal order for the first day s pay - 4 shillings until 1950 and then 5 shillings and sixpence. Life in the army was harsh for those who had never left home before, reveille was at 6.15am but some masochistic NCO s would start bellowing as early as 5 o clock. The uniform was itchy and uncomfortable and rarely fitted well while wearing hobnail boots for hours on the parade ground blistered the rookies tender feet. Days consisted of square bashing, marching back and forth and presenting arms along with polishing boots and brass buttons, cleaning billets and washrooms and standing for bedside inspections with all possessions neatly folded while an eagle-eyed officer checked that everything was in order. This time-consuming procedure was relaxed in the mid 1950 s. Food was usually stodgy but adequate as rationing remained in force until 1954 in Britain. Worse still the haircuts administered by barbers who would have done a good job shearing sheep were deeply mortifying for young men who had so carefully cultivated their quiffs in civilian life. In 1956 an army survey found that 15% liked the life, 10% hated it and the remaining 75% did their best and longed for the day when it would be over which finally came in 1962.

Lest we forget these were the rations for one person for a week: - Bacon & Ham = 4oz, Sugar = 8oz, Butter = 2oz.

3 National Service soldiers on their way to camp, remaining cheerful through everything the army could throw at them Life was incredibly hard in this decade and even after the war rationing was to stay in place for many years. Lest we forget these were the rations for one person for a week: - Bacon & Ham = 4oz, Sugar = 8oz, Butter = 2oz. Cooking fat = 6oz, Tea = 2oz, Cheese = 1oz, Jam = 2oz, Meat (rationed by price) = 1 shilling Enduring all sorts of hardships these women cheerily queuing for food in 1947

4 In the first week of 1948 one of the longest running programmes on British radio began with the introduction of Sports Report. It was aired during the football season from 5pm to 6pm on Saturday evenings and was compulsive listening for all football fans particularly the young ones. It was originally produced by Angus Mackay on the BBC Light Programme where it stayed until 1964 before moving to the BBC Third Programme for six short years before being moved back to what had become BBC Radio 2. Presenters have included Raymond Glendenning ( ), Eamonn Andrews ( ), Robin Marlar ( ) and Peter Jones ( ). The football results were originally read out by John Webster with James Alexander Gordon taking over in 1974 for the next 40 years. The programme, almost uniquely, has used the same theme music since its inception - Out of the Blue written by Hubert Bath. This already sounded old-fashioned in the early 1970 s and it is said that Des Lynam ( ) prevented it from being dropped. Now the theme has the status of a charming anachronism, a very British institution, amid the faster pace of modern life.

Galgate champions in 1946-47 Back Row (L-R Players): Front Row (L-R Players): Bob Bowker, Maurice Illingworth, Alan Eccles (GK), Ronnie Leek, Ted Helm Barnes,

accident when his garage door came down on his head.

5 Galgate champions in Back Row (L-R Players): Front Row (L-R Players): Bob Bowker, Maurice Illingworth, Alan Eccles (GK), Ronnie Leek, Ted Helm Barnes, Tommy Bowker, Ron Brierley, Norman Blondell (captain), Arthur Moss 1, Eric Quick 1 Arthur Moss, inside left, was killed the following year in a tragic accident when his garage door came down on his head. Galgate winners of Senior Challenge Cup and Parkinson Cup Back Row (L-R): Front Row (L-R): J M Bigrigg, W Cornthwaite, R Singleton, J Moore, B Wallace, K Tennant, E Walkden, H T Bowl, A Newton (trainer) Bobby Ball, K Ormerod, C Burgess, John Glaister, Tommy Bowker

Caton United league champions in 1948-49 on Jowett s Field, Caton, with the Senior Challenge Cup and the Parkinson Cup Back Row (L-R): Middle Row (L-R): Front Row (L-R): In Front (L-R): Dick

6 Caton United league champions in on Jowett s Field, Caton, with the Senior Challenge Cup and the Parkinson Cup Back Row (L-R): Middle Row (L-R): Front Row (L-R): In Front (L-R): Dick Woolcock, George Wilson, Stanley Walker, Bill Dainty, George Robinson Tom Eglin, Bill Hodgson, Jimmy Till 1, Jimmy Clarkson, Bert Cartmel, Albert Robinson, Johnny Bowker, Ritson Stockdale, Sid Southward Fred Robinson, Joe Easterby, Jock Kerr, Ted Fairclough, Cyril Gardner Jimmy Mason, Frank Woodhouse 1 The shirts had been made by Gladys Till, wife of Jimmy, out of linen and they were blue and white quarters. She also made about twenty five pairs of shorts for both teams. Gladys at 98 years of age is still alive and well and living in Caton (2014)

Caton United champions 1949-50 Back Row (L-R): Front Row (L-R): Sid Southward (trainer), Ritson Stockdale, Jimmy Till, Bill Hodgson, John Thomas Jonty

7 Caton United champions Back Row (L-R): Front Row (L-R): Sid Southward (trainer), Ritson Stockdale, Jimmy Till, Bill Hodgson, John Thomas Jonty Hinde, Percy Capstick, Dougie Procter, Fred Robinson, Ephraim Nixon Jimmy Mason, John Edward Ted Fairclough, Harry Jock Kerr, AN Other, Cyril Gardner, Owen Sharp

8 Two other teams in this decade certainly left their mark, the Royal Air Force in and the RECCE Regiment in and winning North Lancs League titles. Their results were obviously helped greatly by the inclusion in their ranks of two international footballers in Peter Doherty (RAF) and Raich Carter (RECCE Regiment). Peter Doherty was born in Magherafelt, County Londonderry and began his career with Glentoran before joining Blackpool at the age of 19 in He joined Manchester City in February 1936 for a then club record fee of 10,000. Blackpool needed the money urgently and Doherty was summoned from his lunch to report to Bloomfield Road. The Irishman vainly tried to persuade the Blackpool directors not to sell him as he was due to marry a local girl and had just bought a new house in the town. The fee was exceptionally high for the times and came within 1,000 of the British record which was David Jack moving from Bolton Wanderers to Arsenal for 10,890 in October Peter s debut against Preston North End was not a happy one as he was tightly man-marked by Bill Shankly throughout the game and failed to make his mark. One cynic in the crowd shouted Ten thousand pounds? More like ten thousand cigarette cards. Season saw Peter make a huge impact at the club being top scorer with 30 goals and leading Manchester City to the championship of the First Division. He scored 81 goals in 133 league appearances during his time at Maine Road. During the war he remained registered as a Manchester City player scoring 60 goals in 89 wartime games so it is little wonder that the RAF won the North Lancs League with 98 goals in 18 games. He also guested for numerous other clubs across the country: Port Vale, Blackburn Rovers, Derby County, Birmingham, Brentford, Grimsby Town, Lincoln City, Liverpool, Manchester United, West Bromwich Albion and Walsall. During a guest appearance with Port Vale in 1945 he famously went to take a penalty but instead of shooting he laid the ball off to a team mate who scored. At the end of the war he transferred to Derby County and won the 1946 FA Cup scoring a goal in the 4-1 victory over Charlton Athletic after extra time at Wembley. The interesting thing to me about this cup final was the fact the Raich Carter at inside right was also in the Derby County side, two former North Lancs League players playing at Wembley and winning the FA Cup. Peter had an extraordinary talent as a scorer of goals as well hitting the back of the net 205 times in 423 games. For the only time in the history of the competition, all matches from the First Round Proper up to and including the Sixth Round Proper were played over two legs, the first leg being played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. In the first and second rounds proper, the second leg was played on the following Saturday; from the third round onwards, it was played during the week following the first leg. If aggregate scores were level after 90 minutes of the second leg had been played, a replay would take place at a neutral venue. These changes were made in order to give clubs additional revenue, as the Football League would not resume normal play until the autumn of 1946.

9 The game was goalless until the 85th minute, when Jackie Stamps and a Charlton defender jumped up to head a centre from the right. As the ball was nodded out it went straight to Dally Duncan, who shot goalwards. Bert Turner tried to clear the ball but only managed to turn the ball into his own net. In the next minute Turner scored for his own side when he took a free-kick from the edge of the Rams penalty area, and although goalkeeper Vic Woodley appeared to have the shot well covered, the ball struck a Derby player and was deflected past Woodley into the opposite corner of the net. The match finished level after 90 minutes, but in extra time Derby County scored three goals to win the match 4-1. When Jackie Stamps shot for goal in the closing minutes of normal time, the ball burst in flight. Stamps went on to score twice with the new ball as Derby beat Charlton Athletic 4-1. A week earlier, when the same sides had met in the League, the match ball had also burst. The players in the 1946 Cup final were awarded two medals each. Due to a shortage of gold following the Second World War, the two teams were initially presented with bronze medals (winners and runners-up) on the day, and subsequently awarded the proper gold versions when gold became more readily available later that year. In his autobiography, Len Shackleton wrote of Doherty: "Peter Doherty was surely the genius among geniuses. Possessor of the most baffling body swerve in football, able to perform all the tricks with the ball, owning a shot like the kick of a mule, and, with all this, having such tremendous enthusiasm for the game that he would work like a horse for ninety minutes. That was pipe-smoking Peter Doherty, the Irish redhead who, I am convinced, had enough football skill to stroll through a game smoking that pipe-and still make the other twenty-one players appear second-raters. But of course Peter never strolled through anything. His energy had to be seen to be appreciated." Horatio Stratton "Raich" Carter ( ) was born at Hendon, Sunderland and was an English sportsman who played association football for Sunderland from 1931 to 1939, for Derby County from 1945 to 1948 and for Hull City from 1948 to He also played first class cricket for Derbyshire in Later he became a football manager. Carter captained Sunderland to the Football League title in 1936, at that time the youngest man ever to have captained a First Division title-winning side. He followed that up with victory in the FA Cup final a year later, scoring the second Sunderland goal in a 3-1 victory over Preston North End. The Second World War left him bereft of many of his peak years, like many great players of his age. Afterwards he picked up another Cup winners medal with Derby County in 1946, becoming the only player to win Cup winners medals both before and

10 after the war. Carter was also capped 13 times for England as an inside forward. Amongst his many admirers was the great Sir Stanley Matthews who said about him, "I felt Raich was the ideal partner for me, he was a supreme entertainer who dodged, dribbled, twisted and turned sending bewildered left-halves madly along false trails. Inside the penalty box with the ball at his feet and two or three defenders snapping at his ankles, he'd find the space to get a shot in at goal. Bewilderingly clever, constructive, lethal in front of goal, yet unselfish. Time and again he'd play the ball out wide to me and with such service I was in my element." While at Derby, Carter also played cricket for Derbyshire in He made his debut in June 1946 against Worcestershire. He was a right handed batsman and played 4 innings in three first class matches at an average of 2 and a top score of 7. He was a left-arm slow orthodox bowler and took 2 wickets at an average of and a best performance of 2 for 39. He also played for Durham in the Minor Counties Championship. How fortunate we were to have two supreme talents gracing the playing fields of the North Lancs League with their exceptional skills. Lansil runners-up in Senior Division to Netherfield by one point, would go on to be champions the following year when they won 13 out of 14 games and drew the other Back Row (L-R): Front Row (L-R): Miss Elderton, J Walsh (secretary), Miss Kendal, G Leack (committee), T Curwen, G Clarkson, A Young (committee), N Huntington, G Hardman, N Bleasdale, J Hodgson, P Wilks (committee) A Corless (trainer), Fred Robinson, E Green, J Armistead (captain), J Watson, J Cuthill, W Brown (committee)

Lansil 1949-50 Back Row (L-R): Front Row (L-R): S Pearson (secretary), T Huddlestone, M Baker, J Nicholson, N Huntington, H Gardner, A Shannon, E Gilmore, A Corless

Front Row (L-R Players): Joe Wright, Harry Gorst, Stan King, Jack Bowery, Alan Lawton, Ken Moscrop, Bob Brayshaw Cecil Foxcroft, Ray Catty Wildman, George

11 Lansil Back Row (L-R): Front Row (L-R): S Pearson (secretary), T Huddlestone, M Baker, J Nicholson, N Huntington, H Gardner, A Shannon, E Gilmore, A Corless (trainer) D H Shannon, F Clarke (captain), J Campbell, M Walker, H Simpson Bolton-le-Sands winners of the Lancashire Junior Shield Back Row (L-R Players): Front Row (L-R Players): Joe Wright, Harry Gorst, Stan King, Jack Bowery, Alan Lawton, Ken Moscrop, Bob Brayshaw Cecil Foxcroft, Ray Catty Wildman, George Ollerenshaw, Dick Burrows, Ken Foxcroft, Henry McGaffigan This photograph wasn t taken on the day of the final and Stan King was in goal although the regular goalkeeper was Gren Burrows

12 The photograph of Bolton-le-Sands winning the prestigious Lancashire Junior Shield certainly placed the village side in contention for team of the decade but following promotion to the top division in they finished in 2nd, 4th and 8th place in Division I and didn t win a local cup competition in that period. It is still worth looking at how they progressed to the final and the support they generated showed how much football was part of the community in those days. The Lancaster Guardian reported as follows: Honour was brought to local football in this district by village team Bolton-le- Sands when they won the Lancashire County Junior Shield on Friday by defeating Mosley Common 2-0 in the replayed final. Played at Christie Park, the match provided rousing football for a crowd of 3,200. Gate receipts were 185. The two finalists received one-third each of the net receipts. At the first meeting in the final five weeks ago at Chorley the teams drew 2-2 and there was little to choose between them. Fifteen coaches with almost 500 fans made the trip from Bolton-le-Sands to Chorley to cheer on their heroes. In Friday s replay however, Bolton-le-Sands lasted the pace better although Mosley, a miners team, gave them a tough battle and fought every inch of the way. Round Opponent Result First (H) Dry Dock United 3-0 Second (H) Heysham Harbour 8-1 Third (A) Caton United 4-4 AET Replay (A) Caton United 3-2 AET Fourth (H) Swarthmoor Social 6-0 Fifth (H) Hawkins (Blackpool) 3-2 Oswaldtwistle West End (Oswaldtwistle) 4-2 Chorley Mosley Common (Manchester) 2-2 Christie Park Mosley Common (Manchester) 2-0 The name of Mosley Common who they beat in the final triggered in me the memory of a future English International player (Tommy Banks) of Bolton Wanderers who worked at the pit at the same time and I often wondered if he played against Boltonle-Sands as he was 18 years old at the time but I cannot verify this.

13 Mosley Common pit in 1948 where the lads who played Bolton-le-Sands worked, nothing remains of the pit now, it is all housing estates

Caton United Galgate Lads Club Old Boys Bentham United Corinthians

Caton United Galgate Lads Club Old Boys Bentham United Corinthians Grand Slam winners Grand Slam usually refers to the sports of golf and tennis but it can also be applied to local football. Between 1946 and 1970 four teams in the North Lancashire & District Football