Warren Bradley

Warren Bradley (20 June 1933 – 6 June 2007) was a former professional footballer. 
 
 He was born in Hyde, and educated at Hyde Grammar School, where he played for Bolton Wanderers youth and B teams for eight years. He then attended Hatfield College at the University of Durham, and appeared for Durham City before joining Northern League side Bishop Auckland, one of the leading amateur clubs in the country, in 1955. In February 1958, many of the players and staff of Manchester United were killed or injured in the Munich air crash. In order to fulfil their immediate fixture commitments, they needed to find several good players at short notice, and turned to Bishop Auckland for help. Three England amateur internationals, including Bradley, were loaned to United's reserve team while the club tried to rebuild. After a few months, having recovered from his injuries received in the crash, United's manager Matt Busby returned to work and was impressed by Bradley. He was signed as a part-time professional in November 1958, taking a job as a teacher in Stretford, and made his first-team debut for United against his old club, Bolton Wanderers. In May 1959, Bradley was selected by England manager Walter Winterbottom, and became the first and only player to play for both the professional and amateur England teams in the same season. He played just three games for the full England team, including a tour of Mexico and the United States, and scored twice. However, his career at Manchester United never progressed any further, and he was transferred to Bury in 1962 for £2,500. He left Bury after a couple of seasons, and after brief spells with Northwich Victoria, Macclesfield Town and Bangor City, he retired in 1966. After his retirement from football he had a long career as a headteacher, and worked with the Manchester United ex-players association.

  Honours
England: 3 caps,
2 goals England Amateurs:
11 caps Bishop Auckland:
FA Amateur Cup winners 1956, 1957.
   
Thanks to Wikipedia.

EDIT 
 According to 'The Website of Dreams' Warren Bradley played in 63 league games for Manchester United, scoring 20 goals, and in 4 FA cup games, scoring once. I was fortunate to see most of the home games in which he played and several of the away games as well.

Thanks Dave, for this information.

Hyde Gas Holder.

We recently received this photo and account from Lee Brown - Whilst I'm on and regarding the blog about the Hyde gas holder. It was demolished in 1985 and I was in charge of emptying it of gas and then purging it with nitrogen. When it was operational the gas in the holder was sealed underneath a floating piston by tar and it was filled automatically overnight monitored by the control centre at Gaythorn, Manchester. The tar seals inside had to be dipped every day to ensure the tar pressure was always greater than the gas pressure and as part of my apprenticeship I spent a month with the holder maintenance team, whose job this was. To get onto the piston you had to walk all the way to the top of the holder by the outside staircase then cross to the centre where there was a door accessing the inside. A collapsible ladder hung from the gantry and you climbed down this onto the piston. When the holder was full it was a mere nine or ten feet drop but one morning I was greeted by an empty holder, there had been a fault overnight and it hadn't filled. As it happened that morning, the chap that normally went up with me had phoned in sick, I was on my own. Oh well, I thought, here goes and I began the precarious descent to the piston almost 100 feet below. I made it down without any mishaps and dipped the tar at north, south, east and west, noted the results in the log and then started the climb back. I must have got over confident because at about twenty feet up I slipped and if it wasn't for the fact that I was wearing big toe-tector boots, which jammed in the rung of the ladder, I would have been lying spreadeagled on the piston. As it was, I was hanging upside down and it took all my strength to get upright again. I then had to go all the way down again because when I was upside down all the gear needed to do the dips had fallen out of my pockets. I finally emerged into the fresh air some half hour later and made my way down. When I phoned the results in to control and related my adventure, the controller said. You needn't 'ave bothered lad, missing one day wouldn't have mattered. Thanks very much ! I enclose a photo of the holder with scaffolding in place just prior to demolition.


Many thanks for sharing , Lee !! Great story :)

Glove Workers

Here are a couple of photos that were sent to us a while ago.
I believe that they show the workers in a Gee Cross Glove Factor.

If anyone has any information about them please get in contact.

St George's Church Tower Views

I was lucky enough to get permission last week to ascend the bell tower of St George's Church in Hyde. It was a wee bit hairy in parts , but was well worth the effort. I managed to take a number of photo's both inside and out. I have posted about 14 below, I will let the viewers guess where they are, because some of them I'm not sure myself.

History of Hyde Cricket Club part 2

2^nd.xi.1953 High Peak League Champions Div.2

Back row:P.H.Crabtree(cttee), G.Jones, H.Kerr, H.Oldham, H.Rowcroft, A.Hill, E.Warden, Fred Pritchard(c’ttee)

Front row, D.Bradbury, K.Sidebottom, J.F.Richardson-capt, Eric Pritchard, N.Pickup, J.Bradley.

Some of the most keenly contested matches pre WW2,were with Flowery Field and one in particular stands out.

The game was a quarter final of the Rhodes Knock Out Cup and took place on the Tuesday and Wednesday evenings of June

22nd and 23rd, 1925, at Flowery Field. A substantial crowd were on the ground and chairs were rented out for the evening by residents of the adjoining terraced houses. As far as I am aware this was the first game in which Hyde CC employed a professional, the Little Hulton pro. J.H.Hampson turning out for the Pole Bank side. On a perfect wicket Flowery Field, curtesy of 43 from Gosling, 37 from Stapely, 36 from Williamson and 20 from the home pro Handford, scored 210 on the Tuesday and in the few minutes left took two Hyde wickets for only two runs. When play resumed on the Wednesday evening Hyde were immediately in trouble and quickly lost two more wickets and were precariously placed at 15 for four.

Ernest Bardsley then joined Hampson and looked distinctly uneasy against the accuracy of Wilkinson and Conroy.He gradually grew in confidence though and kept his end up whilst Hampson cut and drove his way to a marvellous century.

The partnership realised 200 and with the match won Hyde declared. Hampson had struck twenty two fours and Bardsley eight in his 72*. Their efforts were rewarded with collections from the crowd of £4-4-7d for Hampson and £2-16-7d. for Bardsley.

And so in 1939 the pavilions at Pole Bank were dismantled and transported to Werneth Low but the only activity on the ground for the next few years came from the Aircraft Spotters and the Home Guard.

The new ground, which at 800 feet above sea level, is one of the highest in the country, took three years to finish as the levelling of the field was a gigantic task and to provide a flat table, 9 feet had to be taken out of a hillside and levelled off. The opening ceremony was performed by J.C.Fallowes, vice president of the High Peak League and Treasurer of Lancashire County Cricket Club and a former player with Hyde CC. The president of Hyde CC, Councillor E.C.Byle presidied, assisted by Mr.L.Wilson of Birch Vale and chairman of the High Peak League, Mr T.Middleton,chairman of Hyde CC, Councillor A.J.Oldham,vice-president of Hyde CC and other officials.

When cricket finally commenced on the Low in 1948 the captains were C.Rickson (1st.xi.) and Donald Blackwell (2nd.xi.).

 

The fifties and sixties passed and no titles came the first team's way, although the seconds won their division in 53, 54, 55 and 61. Mention must be made of Howard Kerr, who is still Hyde's treasurer after some fifty two years. In 1955 he became the only Hyde CC bowler to take 100 wickets in a season. A feat he acomplished in only 25 matches. A new pavilion was opened in 1968 and the old ones began new lives as ground huts. In the early fifties a certain Geoff Oldham had joined the Club, as had many Oldhams before him but Geoff had big plans for Hyde CC and when the new pavilion opened the first of them was realised. He then got wind of a proposed expansion plan by the Lancashire and Cheshire League, put the idea of Hyde applying to the general cttee and in 1973 Hyde became members of the L & C. His next idea was to add a pair of squash courts and in 1975 they too were opened. All the while he had been busy landscaping the ground as well as preparing the wickets with Nev Groom. By 1973 over 1,000 trees had been planted around the ground. On the field many players from the High Peak era had finished playing, Alan Hopwood, Ken Parsons, Peter Ginger, Dennis Keating, Jim Mottram, Roger Hirst, Eric Pritchard, Peter Shaw, Howard Bentley, Derek Oldham, Jack Gregory, Roy Anderson, George Pollard, Bill Thompson, Ernie Clough, Harry Parkin, Geoff Marsden, Pete Winchester, Peter Wagstaffe, Jim Yates, Harvey Taylor, John Barry, Mike Horsefield, Ken Waller, Derek Stafford and many more. Hyde were now attracting a new breed of cricketer, now that declaration cricket and eight ball overs had been left behind and the likes of Peter Hardman, Dave Shaw,Tony Ghilks, Alan Sigley, Joe Tinsley, John Miller, Stan O'Brien, Peter Bolger and Tony Stallard had joined the stalwarts such as Mike Greaves, Lee Brown, Steve Bennett, Phil Rowbotham, Harry Bracegirdle, Eddie Pomphrey, Barry Wilson, Brian Hargreaves, Brian Wagstaffe, Peter Barry and Alec Crossland. There were also promising juniors coming through and names such as Nick Brown, Gary Looker, Neil Anderson, Stephen Whittingslow, Russ Hamer and Chris Leigh were all forcing their way into the senior teams.

  1^st.xi. 1975 Div 2 Champions, Lancs and Cheshire League.

Back row: A.Hill (hon sec), G.Gorman, P.Hardman, M.Greaves, T.Ghilks, D.Shaw, A.Berry, G.Oldham (chairman)

Front row: J.Eyre(pro) A.Sigley(wk) M.S.Riley(capt) P.Rowbotham, Lee Brown, Brenda Brown (scorer).

For the first season in the Lancs & Cheshire League Neville Groom was captain and he had the luxury of a professional, Mervyn Riley, an off spin bowler from Alderley Edge, who also played regularly with Cheshire. The first two years were difficult as the Club adjusted to playing league cricket and it wasn't until Riley became captain in 1975 and John Eyre, the ex Derbyshire all rounder, became pro, that the Club became champions of Div 2. In 1977 Hyde's most famous player made his debut. Jim Allen was recommended to the Club by the 1977 pro Guy Yearwood, who was a minister for sport in Antigua and regularly saw Allen play in Shell Shield matches. Yearwood was a good friend of Hyde's secretary, Albert Hill and between them they managed to get Jim over to Hyde. Needless to say Jim was a sensation and his big hitting packed grounds wherever he played. He scored almost 4,000 runs for Hyde with eleven centuries and still holds the record for the highest score in a match, 170 v Glossop, at North Road in 1978. This was also the year that the Club won the Walkden Cup, beating Denton St.Lawrence by just eight runs at Werneth Low. The icing on the cake came the following year though when the Club were champions of the 1st.Division. Pete Hardman had replaced Riley as captain in 1977 and with players of the calibre of Jim Allen, Anura Ranasinghe, Lockhart Sebastien, Keth Fredericks, Martin Mather, Alan Berry, Mike Greaves, Annersley De Silva, Dave Thomason, Tony Ghilks, Alan Sigley, Russ Hamer and Lee Brown, he couldn't really fail. As well as winning the league in 1979, the firsts also won the Parliamentary Cup and the Thompson Trophy, beating a very strong Bramhall side at Bramhall. Things went somewhat downhill in 1980. Jim Allen had been poached by Werneth and in one of his first games for the CLL side, he blasted 176 off just 80 deliveries ! Hyde's pro for 1980 was ex. Lancs all rounder John Sullivan and it was evident from his first game at Unsworth that all was not well when he was ill on the pitch and had to leave the ground. The glory days returned in 1981 when after joining the Central Lancashire League, Peter Hardman led the team to the championship at the first attempt. Hyde had engaged the New Zealand opening batsman Bruce Edgar and it was a masterstroke. In 31 innings Edgar scored 1658 runs at an average of 72.09 and also as a bonus, took 35 wickets at 19 apiece. His compatriot, Peter Holland, scored 510 runs and took 66 wkts and Alan Berry took 62 wkts. Australian Errol Harris scored 710 runs. Gary Wilkinson, the young Hyde fast bowler, had a weekend to remember in August, when he took 9/27 v Oldham on the Saturday and 9/28 v Heywood on the Sunday. He still dines out on the feat today ! Other members of the championship winning side were Mike Greaves, Andy Swain (wk), Ray Wilde, Paul Marshall, Nick Brown and Russ Hamer. That was as good as it got in the CLL. Season after season professionals were engaged who were just not good enough to compete with the likes of Joel Garner, Vanburn Holder, Franklyn Stephenson, Carl Rackeman, Gus Logie, Carl Hooper and Ezra Moseley. Hyde had a succession of pros such as Ray Berry, Trevor Barsby, Errol Harris, Radi Patel, Mike Rindel, Scott Hookey, Vibert Greene, Peter Smith and Craig Ingram. All decent cricketers but not in the same league as the Logies and Garners. 

 

 

Jim Allen driving a ball from Dave Farrington v Stalybridge. Werneth Low, July 15^th, 1978.

 

In 1992 the Club made the decision to leave the CLL, join the Cheshire County League and instigate a junior coaching scheme. I think everyone at the Club agrees this was an inspired decision, although it wasn't unanimous, quite a few players wished to remain in the CLL, but the twenty years that have elapsed have, I think, proved it was the right move. Many honours have been won by all the teams and players such as the current Cheshire captain, James Duffy, came through the Hyde coaching scheme. Hyde have still to win the Cheshire County first division but everyone at Hyde thinks 2012 will be the season Danny Berry and his young side will triumph.

 

Postcards From Bygone Years

Here are a few of postcards of local views.
Great Norbury Street


Diamond Row,Gee Cross


The Big Tree, Gee Cross.

History of Hyde Cricket Club part 1

We received this wonderful history of Hyde Cricket Club the other day from Lee Brown and I have decided to print it in full as it is so informative. 
I have done it over two posts...

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did !

Over to you, Lee !

Dear team, my name is Lee Brown and I am the unnofficial historian at Hyde CC. I enclose a brief history of the Club along with a few photos that I think readers of the blog will find interesting. I wrote a book about the history of the Club for the centenary in 2001. It was entitled 'Station Yer Fielders Down By The Shed' and copies are still available from Bill Harrison's paper shop or from the Club.

The Club was formed from the ashes of the Hyde Chapel Cricket Club and was the brainchild of James Hampson. He, along with other members of Hyde Chapel, had long been dissatisfied with the standard of cricket in the Hyde & District League, as well as the restrictions they had to play under with them being a church team. Hampson gathered support for his idea, notably from the Rev H.E.Dowson, His Worship The Mayor, Councillor T.C.Beeley and the local MP, Mr Chapman, who all agreed to attend an inaugral meeting on Dec 15th, 1900. The meeting went ahead and Hyde Cricket Club was formed, with The Rev.H.E. Dowson installed as the first president.

In that first season of 1901, only friendlies were played, the first match being at Strines on May 4th. Strines were dismissed for 27, with W.Sidebotham taking five wickets for five runs and Harry Ainsworth four for seven. Hyde batting second scored 64 for 2. W.E.Hampson 20* and captain George Gledhill 27*.

 

The first and second teams outside the pavilion at Pole Bank on July 18^th, 1914.

In the centre are Ernest Bardsley, Frank Cartwright, W.Radford, vice president John Robinson

and the president The Rev. H.E.Dowson.

 The Club joined the Glossop League in 1902 and were soundly thrashed in their first ever league game, which was played at Glossop St.James. Hyde scored 58 and Glossop replied with 147. Their first game at Pole Bank was on May 24th. when Hadfield were the visitors and with 5/14 from Sam Cheetham, Hadfield were dismissed for 47, replying to Hyde's 85.

After a fall out with the Glossop League over an interpretation of rules, Hyde resigned after just one season and joined the strangely titled North Derbyshire League for the 1903 season. I say strangely titled as there were only two clubs actually in Derbyshire, Birch Vale and New Mills St.Georges. Other clubs were Gorton, Fairfield, Haughton and Staley. In 1904 Hyde joined another league, the North Cheshire and finished as champions, the first honour for the Club. 1905 and guess what, yes another change of league, this time it was back to the Glossop League but only until 1907, when they joined the newly formed High Peak League, where the Club would remain until 1972. They were champions only once, in 1930 but the 2nd's won their division on no less than nine occasions.

When the Club was formed in 1900 they took over the old Hyde Chapel ground at Pole Bank, behind the Smith, Knight and Fay garage. Entry to the ground was through Bagshaw's farmyard and the field today is still there, as it was when it was a cricket ground. The Club's last game at Pole Bank was against Christy's on Sep 10th,1938. A new site on Werneth Low had been aquired but it would not be ready for the 1939 season and Walter Bagshaw, the owner of Pole Bank, kindly agreed to let the Club play another season there but as it happened they played all their games away. Preparation of the new ground on Werneth Low was halted when the machinery was requisitioned for the war effort and the first match on the Low was not until April 24th,1948 when Bredbury were the visitors and winners. Hyde 51 -Bredbury 82.

 

After posing for the previous photograph the 2^nd.xi. piled into this wagonette, the MAY FLOWER, for the trip to play Compstall. I have been able to identify the following. On the driver’s seat, L to R J.Mansfield (scorer), driver, C.Pike, Joe Higginbottom. Standing L to R, Harry Wild, J.Horsefield, W.Hampson, ? Seated L to R, A.Howarth, V.Davenport, A.Schoolden, F.Baddeley, Percy Oldham, Joe Ingleson. C’ttee member Mr J.Higginbottom is standing by the rear of the wagonette. The picture is taken on Stockport Road, outside Bagshaws Farm, facing the Woodley direction.

Some interesting facts from the Pole Bank era. Herbert Andrew scored the first century for Hyde CC 1st.xi, when he hit exactly 100 v New Mills, at Pole Bank, on Sep 16th, 1911. In 1913, against Mellor's 1st.xi., William Radford achieved what is still today, the best all round performance by a Hyde player, when he scored 108* and took 6/14. Newton lad Len Hopwood, of Lancashire and England fame, joined the Club in 1920 and despite taking 78 wickets and scoring 375 runs for the seconds, he didn't play one first team game and left after one season to join arch rivals Flowery Field. The new tea pavilion was opened in 1928. The Mayor, Councillor Tom Middleton, becomes the Club's sixth president in 1930. In 1932, all rounder Joe Higginbottom is made the Club's first Honoury Life Member. Two years later, Mrs Betsy Emery, landlady of The Cheshire Cheese, Gee Cross, becomes the second Honoury Life Member. Frank Schofield becomes the only player to take ten wickets in a match when he bowls all Christy's 2nd.xi.batsmen for five runs in 1937.

 

 

In the thirty five years of league cricket at Pole Bank, Ernest Bardsley scored approx.4,500 runs and took 175 wickets, Herbert Andrew scored approx. 3,464 runs and took 200 wickets and Joe Higginbottom took 720 wickets and scored over 2,000 runs. Other notable names from this period were the six feet three inches all-rounder George Minister, James.Hampson, Frank Hampson, George Gledhill, Harry Ainsworth, Frank Cartwright, Alec Lingard, J.H.Oldham, Percy Oldham, H.Ratcliffe, H.C.Fallowes, J.Atkinson, William Radford, A.Schoolden, F.Bradbury, R.Hill, J.Hadfield, Frank Baddeley, Robert Wilkinson, Charles and Cyril Walmsley, C.Burton, S.Richardson, F.Seddon, Joe.Ingleson, Frank Stafford, A.Cookson, P Newton, E.Newton, T.Newton, H.Newton, Isaac Pickering, W.Emery, H.Fallowes, T.L.Sidebotham, Eric Barlow, H.Oldham, Donald Blackwell, Tom Saxton, Ian Allen, H.Kinder, George Pollard, G.Hepplestone and Stephen Wright.

 

Hyde Grammar 1958/9

 We recently received the following photograph and message off Brian Ainsough...

"Seeing an old friend, Derek Booth, on the photo entitled "St. Mary's 1957" 

reminded me that I had one taken during my first year at Hyde Grammar 

(1958/9) by our form teacher Mr Hooley. I can't remember many of my 

classmates' names now but I'm sitting at the far right on the front row..."

 

Thanks very much for sending it to us, Brian :)

London Olympics 1948

HYDE'S LAST OLYMPIAN

In the early 1900s we had Hyde swimmers representing Great Britain in the Olympic Games but many people will remember the town's last Olympian, Lillian Preece.
Born on April 1st, 1928, Lillian learnt to swim when she was 11.  Her progress was so rapid that in the same year she won three titles at the Hyde Seal annual gala. The war stopped all competitions but by the time she was 19 she was setting ASA records and winning Cheshire County and Northern Counties championships. In 1947 she was selected to represent Britain in the European championships in Monte Carlo. Money was scarce after the war so because the ASA was unable to provide the swimmers with lightweight costumes an appeal was made to the newspapers, and Lillian had to compete in Monte Carlo wearing a man's waterpolo swim suit. She took part in the 4 x 100m relay team which was placed third.

 Lillian at Monte Carlo in a waterpolo swimsuit.

 The following year she was selected to represent Great Britain at the Olympics in London. She stayed at the Eccleston Square Domestic Science College along with swimmers from Belgium, France, Switzerland Australia, Ireland and New Zealand. There were no proper training facilities at the Empire Pool where everyone was trying to train at the same time and arrangements had to be made at other pools in the area.

 

Olympic Games opening ceremony, 1948

 

 

 

 After the Olympics there was a reception at Buckingham Palace.

More success and more championships followed and in 1952 Lillian was chosen to captain the women's Olympic team in Helsinki where she reached the semi-final of the 100 metres and was the fastest British competitor.
During her swimming career she went to New Zealand, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Paris, Nice, Monaco, Turin, Curacao, Dutch West Indies and Panama and captained International teams on three occasions.
In 1953 Lillian was awarded the ASA Yeadon Trophy as Swimmer of the Year.
Unfortunately, in 1958 nine of her medals were stolen, including commemorative medals from the 1948 and 1952 Olympics, and one for the 1950 Empire games, all bearing her name.


She left Hyde to live in Wallasey with her husband, himself a former backstroke champion and captain of the Cheshire Waterpolo team, but never lost contact with Hyde Seal and was an inspiration to many younger swimmers.
Many people will remember this picture of Lillian which hung in Hyde Baths for many years.

 

Lillian Preece

.

 Lillian eventually emigrated to Zimbabwe where she died in 2004.
 Preece Close in Newton is named after her.


Many thanks to Marjorie Robinson for this fabulous account and all the photographs of a very talented lady, all of which are new to me !





                                

Pole Bank - Past and Present

 Two views of Stockport Road as it passes Pole Bank.

Pole Bank was once the family home of the Ashton Family. 
The Ashtons were among the earliest cotton pioneers in Hyde. From 1800 they worked as a family business with mills at Gerrards Wood and Wilson Brook at Godley. Six brothers were involved in the business which, as well as coal and cotton, also established the calico printing works at Newton Bank

Thanks to Elsie D. for sharing the top photo with us.


circa 1910


Circa 2010
Thanks to Google Maps.

A postcard from home.

A postcard of Market Street.



Postcard published by Grenville of Stockport and postally used in 1919.

It hasn't changed an awful lot in almost 100 years. It's still instantly recognisable.
Anyone any ideas what the large sign is on the side of the building on Croft Street?

Perhaps Paul can shed some light on the premises? It looks a bit like a pub on the Market Street side.

Church Inn

Yesterday we lamented the demise of the Cheshire Cheese public house which stood on Market Street and was one of Hydes great pubs for atmosphere and characters, especially on friday nights and at weekends.

Today is the turn of the Church Inn. 
This was another extremely busy pub.



 


 The Church Inn closed its doors around 2006 then became Tylers after it reopened and from then went on to be Route 66. Neither of them were ever as popular as the Church Inn was in its prime.

Another pub sadly missed.

The Cheshire Cheese.

The Cheshire Cheese which stood on Market Street circa 2006

Used to be one of the great pubs of the 1970s for characters and atmosphere , along with the Church Inn which also stood on Market Street.

Now both,sadly, no more.

Otto Monsted & the Birth of The British Margarine Industry.

The following letter, article and photographs were recently sent to us by Anthony Broomer.I have printed it in full as it is very informative indeed. 

Anthony is the Grandson of John Broomer who we have mentioned previously  on this blog.

I hope you can read the family trees - I'm afraid I can't make them any bigger to show on here. If you have trouble,click the image which should make it bigger,fingers crossed. 

I'm sure you'll find it as interesting as we did !

Thanks so much for sharing it with us, Anthony. 
It's wonderful to get some proper history behind one of Hydes' long disappeared firms. :)