Missing 1945/46 Torquay United First names

Jon on this site is the best chap to help you but he doesn't look at the site every day. Keep checking back and I am sure he will come up with some answers. ⚽️

Jon
Any help appreciated

You can send the missing first names by email if its possible
Eastvillegas@live.co.uk

Thanks
Mike

Got some Mike but more questions than answers! Herald Expresses for 1945 and 1946 have just appeared on the BNA - but still some gaps!

29 Aug 1945 v Bristol Rovers

C. BULL (marine stationed at Exmouth, don't know first name just initial)

JAMES WILLIAMS (Paignton amateur, Dartmouth RN petty officer)

JACK HODGE www.greensonscreen.co.uk/gosdb-players2.asp?pid=394

BLAKE GLANVILLE (from Brixham)

J.COLE (from Brixham, don't know first name just initial)

JOHN TIVENDALE www.greensonscreen.co.uk/gosdb-players2.asp?pid=839&scp=1,2,3,4,5,6,7 www.arabarchive.co.uk/player.php?id=921


17 Sept 1945 v Bristol Rovers

This is a tough one. Scraping together eleven players on a Saturday was difficult enough, never mind on a Monday. Monday's Herald said we would play four from Cardiff City (who beat us 7-0 at Plainmoor on Saturday 15th!). Albert Smith in goal, Des Tennant at full back, Jack Pugh and ? Came on the wings. The match report in the Herald said (almost certainly wrongly!) that we did include four from Cardiff, mentions that the guest goalkeeper was called Groves, but gives no other team changes. The Western Morning News gives the full lineup with four changes plus two positional. Groves replaced Smith. Dudley Kernick replaced Harry Fowler with Harold Cothliff dropping back to half-back. Jack Pugh moved from winger to full back in place of Tennant and Raybould and Haycox (both "starved" according to the report) came in on the wings replacing Pugh and Came. No mention at all of where Groves, Raybould and Haycox came from.

During this season, pros were not paid wages, just match fees so some would turn up wherever and whenever they could to earn a match fee.

Raybould is an easy one - from our first choice cap-in-hand destination Cardiff along with Pugh.

Jack Rollin's book listed J. Haycox leading to the obvious conclusion that it must be Jack - a centre forward who was from Cheltenham and played for Bristol City and Torquay before the War and was now aged 35. But further digging in the BNA has him living in Peterborough and retired from football (and having suffered some tragic personal circumstances). I do not now think it would be him. I think it may well have been Freddie Haycock as he also guested for Argyle that season and just about everyone else! His Argyle appearance was at Fulham so he may have never set foot in Devon, just getting a train to London and Bristol to earn a few quid. Not sure I am confident enough to say it was definitely either Freddie or Jack - possibly someone else altogether.

Keeper is an educated guess at Ken Groves who was at Preston during the War, but joined Reading in 1946. WMN report has Groves as "young goalkeeper who is rather small". Ken was 23, 5 feet 9 and a quarter and ten stone eight a half.

KEN GROVES (probably!) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Groves

JACK PUGH Cardiff City, later Merthyr

HAROLD SPENCER en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Spencer

MARSHALL RAYBOULD Cardiff City, later Merthyr and player-manager at Bideford

JACK HAYCOX en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Haycox or FREDDIE HAYCOCK www.greensonscreen.co.uk/gosdb-players2.asp?pid=381&scp=1,2,3,4,5,6,7 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Haycock www.astonvillaplayerdatabase.com/606.html or someone else!

26 Jan 1946 v Bristol Rovers CUP

ALF KNAPMAN Two Football League appearances for Torquay, over eleven years apart! torquayfansforum.co.uk/thread/12769/tale-knapmen

KENWYN GRIFFITHS www.greensonscreen.co.uk/gosdb-players2.asp?pid=350&scp=1,2,3,4,5,6,7

02 Feb 1946 Bristol Rovers CUP

HAROLD SPENCER Burnley, as above

RAYMOND STRANGE stationed near Cheltenham, later signed by Wolves from Bognor Regis