Actually I mailed them in advance of the semi-final and suggested such an idea ...

IIRC, the shirts in the early years were just plain and I think that the shirt Leeds wore back in 1910 might just have been a plain white jersey.

It was argued that because of the three week lead-time between the Semi and the Final, there wasn't enough time to produce and distribute them. Also, this year has seen the most number of jerseys ever knocked out by the club : The Diskin Testimonial, the Home shirt, the Away shirt and the John Holmes pink one ... Not to mention the independant / unofficial ones

I wouldn't be surprised if some offering is issued after we've won the final!

I know that some mildly annoying posters wont appreciate this but I found it interesting to see that the 1910 side contained a Goldthorpe.

I wonder if he was any relation to Albert?

The Goldthorpe at Leeds in 1910, who played a big role in their first Northern Union Cup triumph, was Walter the ex-Hunslet stalwart.

I expect marcel will be along shortly to fill in the family tree.

Nah, that would be history and we all know he doesn't 'do' history ....

1996 ha ha ha ,get some time in

Billy, I've been having a quick look through some of my books and whilst my collection of data can't rivial that of Tvoc, there is the odd snippet that might be of some use.

Certainly, of the Leeds team that played that day, several players certainly survived the First World War .... Billy Ward, who was mentioned earlier, was the first Loiner to win two different medals for Leeds (Challenge Cup + Yorkshire Cup) and was actually still in the squad in the early 20s, when Leeds next reached the Challenge Cup Final, althought I understand he didn't play.

Fred Webster is / was second only to John Holmes in the all time appearance list with 543 and he played prop in the 1910 final.

Given you mentioned about Loiners in the First World War and carnage that embraced Europe between 1914 and 1918. Over 1400 Northern Union players signed up for the forces in the first eight months of the conflict. One of those was Leeds' own Billy Jarman. A recognised forward, he played hooker in both teams in the 1910 final and in a time when it was possible to play a front row of basically three of the biggest guys you could get. One of his vital contributions in the 1910 cup run was the winning try in a close game against Keighley in the quarter final. He also played in the 102 - 0 game against Coventry, which is unique in rugby history, as it is still the only game where every player on the team sheet scored. Billy got 2 tries.

Jarman was also a tourist for Great Britain on the 1914 tour Down Under, but at the outbreak of the conflict, he was also a Territorial Reserve Soldier and obviously, one of the first to be called up at the outbreak of war. Sadly, of the 1914 touring party down under, three NU players were subsequently killed in the ensuing conflict, one of which was Billy Jarman. Sadly, I don't have many more details of where and when he died. I guess he might not have been the only Leeds rugby player to perish during the conflict and I certainly know that there were several players also killed in the Second World War too.

Billy went off to war probably in his mid-20s, perhaps approaching the peak of his rugby career as a forward in those times. Who can speculate what would have happend to his career and what further glories he would have acheived in blue & amber ?

thats another great peice Admiral .
Can you give us what you know about Oliver Morris ?I know he was killed in ww11

Oh sorry, old timer. I'll go back in time, change my date of birth to 20 years earlier and start watching them in 1976, that ok?

Lol.

I just won't be ''sparing a thought' for a team from a century ago when I walk towards the arch.

bit further than that, nipper

Maybe you have no thoughts to spare ?

There's something about him in the 100 Leeds Greats book that was published a few years ago and that's what this is based on ...

Before looking, I knew that he signed from Hunslet around the time of World War II breaking out (the start of the 39 / 40 season) and part of the transfer fee included a 'war clause' to ensure that a large sum wasn't paid for a player that wasn't going to be able to take part in the league.

He originally came from Pontypridd RU (Ohhhh, I'm working down there in Mid-September ... Might see what else there is about him when I am down there) and signed for Hunslet.

It's worth remembering that Hunslet weren't the South Leeds footnote we know of today and were a major, if not bigger than Leeds, force in the game. None more so than the 1938 Championship Final between Leeds and Hunslet and played at Elland Road. There were over 54 000 inside that day, I think the second biggest crowd in Elland Road history (after all, it WAS an NU Ground to start with .. Home of Holbeck RL !). Morris came to the fore as a stand-off, blunting Leeds' Australian half-back and all time great, Vic Hey. Morris's performance was integral in Hunslet's 8-2 win and to date, their last ever Championship win.

He scored four times in his first five games for the Loiners, including one against Bramley before the declaration of war in early Sept.1939. With the country under confilct, major sporting occasions were banned and RL reverted to a war time emergency Yorkshire competition. Playing in conjunction with another Welshman, Dia Jenkins, in the half backs , Morris finished the first season with 19 tries and that included a hat-trick against Hull KR.

In the 1940 - 41 season, he bagged four in a game against Batley and finished that season as leading scorer with 14 tries. Also, because of the threat of German air raids during those times, the capacity at Headingley was cut to a maximum of 8 000 for home games, but the consensus of those that saw him play thought he was an asset to the team.

The highlights of Oliver Morris' career at Leeds were the two war time Challenge Cup victories in 1940/41 and 1941/42, both Vs Halifax. Since many men were away at war, many sides disbanded for the duration of the conflict or had their grounds taken by the state, so as well as regular players, there were some 'guest players' from other teams making an appearance. For example, in those war time cup final sides, Leeds boasted several players from Hunslet and even one from Warrington. With Wembley and London off-limits, the ties were decided on a two legged basis. Morris scored in the 1942 final.

It was shortly after that season that he enlisted in the Army and specifically requested a Welsh regiment, as he thought they'd play more rugby (for a brief period, the RFU's anti-league stance relaxed during the war and indeed, there was a famous cross-code game at Headingley played during that time ... Don't worry, the League lads won it !), so I suppose that might have been a possibility.

Sadly, I don't know much more about his military career, other than his regiment was sent to the frontline straight away and he was killed in action in Northern Italy, I think in late '42 or 1943.

His career was :

App. 61 Tries : 44 Total Points : 198


I also recall reading in a programme or somewhere online, that there's at least one other Leeds player from that era, who also is technically still 'Missing In Action' as an RAF crew, somewhere in the Far East .... Anyone care to remind me who that is ?

Data - 1979 to date - all my own work and fairly pleased with what I have collated as a hobby

Data - Prior to 1979 - a few books but that's it and I'm not even much of a bookworm.

The historical (pre '79) story telling is your domain.