A Greater Game

Remembering is just the beginning...

The Remembrance Weekend just passed carried extra poignancy due to 2014 being the centenary of the start of the Great War.
For as long as I can remember, and certainly for all the time I've been involved with Easington United, the club has marked Remembrance Weekend by observing two minutes' silence prior to the start of that Saturday's fixture. 
It is a custom that I feel passionate about and I'm glad to say, so do many fellow committee members, management and players. For 2014 we decided to go one step further by attaching special commemorative poppies to our shirts. These came courtesy of the Poppies4Kits scheme and with the permission of the relevant league competitions and the East Riding County FA. 

The poppies proved a massive hit, not only because they looked good but because they have helped raise over £18,000 towards the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal.

The scheme was well supported throughout Holderness. Hedon Rangers equipped all their teams at both open-age and junior level, some 270 poppies in total. Withernsea, Olympic SSC and Roos all followed suit and there were probably many others, allowing grassroots players to emulate their professional counterparts and show their gratitude to those who had made the ultimate sacrifice.

In addition to the special shirts (worn by our First Team at home to Harworth and the Stiffs in their cup-tie at Flamborough) and the traditional pre-match silence, there was a third part to our commemoration this year. 

This came via the match programme and it was here that I began a task that I fear may start to become something of an obsession over the next two years. For therein I decided to list those members of the village who had made the ultimate sacrifice in the two world wars. But having listed them I decided to find out more about them. You can possibly see now where this is going...

This "roll call" of local heroes included the twelve names listed on the village war memorial and two who are not but are interned in the local cemetery.

Just listing names in the programme didn't seem to do these individuals justice so I decided to add as many details as I could find on the various sites I have access to (Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Forces War Records etc). 

It was now that a growing list of questions started to form in my head...

Why is that man not considered worthy of inclusion on the memorial?

Why is that man on there when I can find no reference to Easington in any information relating to him?

How did that man from Easington find himself in a regiment recruited almost exclusively from another part of the country?

How did that man die?

What strand of the (insert surname) "clan" is that man from?
Where did that man live, who were his parents, what was his background?

There is only one way to find out.

2016 will mark the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme, the first day of which is generally regarded as the blackest day in the history of the British Army. I had already planned on visiting the battlefield in two years time, partly to mark this special occasion, partly as a 50th birthday "thing" and partly because I and the lads I'm planning on going with never got round to doing such a trip this year as originally suggested!

As part of the trip I've already decided I would like to visit: 

1) Contalmaison Cairn (the monument erected in 2003 in honour of McCrae's Battalion, the famous "Sporting Battalion" which included members of several prominent (and not so prominent) Scottish football teams including the full first team of Heart of Midlothian FC) - Hearts are my Scottish team

2) The East Yorkshire Regiment Memorial at Oppy

3) The Arras Memorial on which Sapper Austin Lusmore (Welsh branch of the family) is remembered

4) Vlamertinghe Military Cemetery where Douglas Morgan, the only serving Hull City player to be killed in action during the Great War is buried

To these four I now added a fifth target: the graves and memorials of all the Easington lads listed on the roll of honour. To me it suddenly appeared important that their final resting places are visited and marked by someone from the "home" they never got to return to. 

Of the fourteen names listed, ten died in the First World War. Of these, Lieutenant Francis W. Jennings is the one not remembered on the village memorial. I can guess why. He wasn't a local lad, hailing (it would appear) from the Isle of Wight. He was serving in the 3rd Battalion, The Leicestershire Regiment, a training unit that from May 1915 formed part of the Humber Garrison. He was killed on the 26th March 1916 - I've been told in a training accident on Easington beach - thus becoming the first of these ten remembered men to die. He is buried in Easington village cemetery.

In chronological order, the others fell as follows:

19287, Private John Richardson Longhorn (8th Bn., East Yorkshire Regiment), died 26th April 1916, aged 26

13/904, Private Arthur Carrick ('A' Coy., 13th Bn., East Yorkshire Regiment), died 13th November 1916, aged 22

201393, Private George W. Tennison (1st/4th Bn., East Yorkshire Regiment), died 23rd April 1917, aged 22

204764, Gunner Lewis Abraham Clubley (B/102nd Brigade, Royal Field Artillery), died 10th August 1917

64054, Gunner John Alfred Webster ('B' Battery, 174th Bde., Royal Field Artillery) died 11th September 1917, aged 24

202914, Private Louis Carrick (1st/4th Bn., Northumberland Fusiliers), died 26th October 1917, aged 34

11027, Private Clarence Edwin Sculpher (10th Bn., West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own)), died 18th November 1917, aged 21

203070, Private G. W. Marritt (12th/13th Bn., Northumberland Fusiliers), died 29th September 1918, aged 39

756176, Gunner Thomas William Coupland Docherty (251st Northumberland Bde., Royal Field Artillery), died 11th November 1918, aged 27.

The last of the list is the most poignant, Thomas Docherty ("son of Thomas W. C. and Mary J. Docherty of Easington") having died of his wounds on the day the war ended.

Along with our small efforts on the Saturday, Remembrance Sunday saw villagers come together for the traditional service at the war memorial. This year's was attended by the largest gathering I can yet recall and the playing of the 'Last Post' by a lone saxophonist made things even more moving. The service was concluded by the planting of wooden crosses by villagers of all ages: "We will remember them".

It was this last part that gave me the final idea for my trip in two years' time. I have now pledged myself to ensuring that when I and my companions make the trip to the "Green Fields of France" (and Flanders) in 2016, I shall plant a cross at the graves or memorials of each of the men listed above. If the people of the village of Arlesey can manage to perform such a task for the 87 fallen listed on its war memorial then I'd be disappointed not to manage our small number (especially so given that two of which are in the village).
Once done, I'll then turn my attention to those names on the Second World War memorial.

So, that's the task. I'll keep you posted as to how things are proceeding courtesy of this blog, Facebook and Twitter (hashtag #EzRemembersYou). And obviously any information that any of you out there may have that could prove of any assistance, I'd be only too willing to receive. Here's to #Operation2016. Lest We Forget.

* Many thanks to Mike Welton for the ongoing help with my research and to Peter Martin for the additional photographs

October 2014

A month of ups...and downs!

Given my sub-heading on the September review, some may feel I was being slightly previous in stating we'd "bottomed out" as far as the season goes. Well, I stand by it - despite two hefty looking defeats in the middle of October. Of the two Newark gave most cause for concern as - for the first time this season - we came close to throwing the towel in. As for the Hessle game, well once again it was a case of a Humber Premier League team getting "up" for a game against a team from a better competition and we failed to match such enthusiasm. Cue the responses... ;-)

Saturday, 4th October

CML North Division 

Easington United 2 Sherwood Colliery 0

Although perhaps a bit early for a "must win" game, this was, well, a must win game. Buoyed by the way we'd finished September, we needed to continue maximising our points yield at home. And especially so given the way we'd escaped from Bentley with a point our overall performance hadn't warranted. We now needed to capitalise on our good fortune of the previous week. And we did.

The official match report can be read here.

Further pictures of the game can also be viewed here.

Saturday, 11th October

East Riding CFA Senior Cup R1  

Easington United 0 Hessle Rangers 5

I know I joked in the introduction about how Humber Premier League sides always appear to "want it more" in games against us but, unfortunately, in recent times I can find no other explanation for the "Indian Sign" that clubs from that competition - and particularly the lower reaches of the HPL - appear to hold over us. I refuse to subscribe to the view that the HPL is better in standard than the CML and certainly the latter's record of moving clubs up to the next level of competition - in particular the Northern Counties East League - undoubtedly makes it a better option for progression.

Anyway, whatever the reasons for our performance, this result was a real body blow given what had gone before. Quite simply,we were awful.

That's to take nothing away from Hessle who thoroughly deserved the win and indeed a win of emphatic proportions. But once again I spent the next few days discussing with AG just what it is about this competition that since 2003 has tended to bring out the absolute worst in us. Still, there's always next year...

Our official match report is here, while the Facebook pictures album is here.

Saturday, 18th October

CML North Division 

Easington United 1 Newark Town 6

Very rarely do I have cause to take issue with referees. In the Central Midlands League I have generally found them, with few exceptions, not only very approachable but also more than competent. If I have had any complaints in the past, it's that they have perhaps appeared a tad unwilling to act decisively when games have required it.

This was one such case. I'm not saying that the dismissal of Newark Town's Ian Hillier in the first half of the game would have had a decisive effect on proceedings thereafter but it may well have - and that's what sticks in the throat.

Hillier's lunge on Adam Jamieson was not only reckless - airborne and two-footed (a fact acknowledged by the Newark supporters stood near me on the touchline) but was also pre-meditated, coming within minutes of Charlie's "robust" tackle on the Newark right winger. The only thing that saved our keeper was the fact he got something on the ball. Hillier didn't. He raked Jam down the back of the knee. Without exaggeration it was the worst "challenge" I have seen in many a season and Jam was very lucky the connection wasn't even truer as that could have been season-ending. Referee McGill obviously saw it differently and showed a yellow. My new-found acquaintances near my dugout agreed he'd got it wrong. 

He also got it wrong after the break when failing to show any card to Ngoni Dongo for another lunge at Jam, this time from the front that raked his shinbone. This time Jam couldn't continue. In Dongo's defence he was over-stretching having had a poor first touch but the studs were high and in today's environment...

All this aside we were still in the game at both these points. We weren't soon afterwards. A second half collapse of the sort seen earlier in the campaign - and indeed just a week earlier - ensured that Newark's impressive start went on.

A red card did eventually come out of the referee's pocket, in the 90th minute, following Arron Martin's reckless jump at Charlie in an increasingly fractious end to the game. Had the same been shown some sixy minutes earlier, things might, just might, have turned out differently.

All in all these incidents detracted from what is a pleasant experience hosting the  players, management, committee and followers of Newark Town. Thankfully, it wasn't allowed to spoil the cordial relations between our clubs when the Blues returned to Low Farm a fortnight later.

Match report here; Facebook picture album here.

The Newark report can be read here.

Saturday, 25th October

CML North Division 

Thorne Colliery 4 Easington United 4

Regular readers of this blog (is there such a thing?) will know that Moorends is one of my favourite venues in the CML. That is mainly on account of the fantastic grandstand that dominates the ground and has done since, I believe, the 1930s.

I wasn't in it today as I was still on dugout duty, where to everyone's pleasure I was joined by Sam Mc. Back from a brief spell at Hedon, the former skipper wasn't quite fit enough to start but was named on the bench and proceeded to offer plenty of wise words from the technical area.

They were needed as for the opening half-hour we brought our recent second half collapses forward 45 minutes! After 18 minutes we were three down and staring down another barrel. At the break we were 4-2 down and still with a mountain to climb.

You won't be surprised to learn therefore that the final scoreline was celebrated almost as much as the recent draw at Bentley. Although, it has to be said, we deserved this point more. 

Match report is here and the Facebook picture album here.