The Timberscombe Football Team, 1929-1930, by Alfred Vowles
Title
The Timberscombe Football Team, 1929-1930, by Alfred Vowles
Subject
Description
Two photographs of the 1929-1930 Timberscombe Football Team that were obviously taken at the same time, with some rearranging of the participants between shots. The photographs came from different sources. The lower photograph was probably donated, either by Cyril Copp (1918-2009) or a member of his family to the Timberscombe School. A copy of this version is also at the West Somerset Rural Life Museum, with a label identifying some of the men. The top version is an original photograph that was shared in 2019 by Maurice Huxtable, born at Timberscombe in October 1932, whose father and grandfather are depicted in the photograph. He'd had it framed for as long as he could remember, and he loaned it to Tom Sperling for the St. Petrock's History Group Archive in January of 2019. When removing the photograph from the frame (so as to make a copy), it was discovered that on the reverse, it was signed by Alfred Vowles.
In both versions, seated on the ground are five players. In front of them is a football, labeled "1929-30" and a trophy. The first man seated on the left is Dudley Huxtable (1911-1994), the father of Maurice Huxtable. On the top photograph, his father, Frank Huxtable (1889-1962), is seated behind him, wearing a suit. On the bottom photograph, the elder Mr. Huxtable has changed positions and is standing on the right end of the back row (and has donned a cap). Both father and son were carpenters and wheelwrights (1) and both (as well as grandson, Maurice) were lifelong cricket and football players and coaches. Frank can be seen as a young footballer in 1906 at SP-165. Dudley can be seen much later, coaching cricket at SP-178.
Also a lifelong sporting participant was William (Bill) Floyde (1878-1947), who is standing on the left end of the back row in the upper photograph and has taken Frank Huxtable's seat (left end of the middle row) on the lower one. A mason and builder (2), Bill Floyde is obviously a strong and fit man in 1930-- and it is interesting to see him as a slim, moustached younger player in 1909 (holding his two year old daughter) at SP-166.
Standing to the right of Mr. Floyde (and at the right end of the row on the lower photograph) is an unidentified man, although Maurice Huxtable remembered that he was the team's driver. On the left end of the row (and standing second to the right, below), is another suited gentleman, only remembered as "Webber" by Mr. Huxtable and identified as "T. Webber" on the Copp label. He is likely Thomas John Webber (abt. 1885-1971), a Contractor's Labourer, who in 1911 lived at Harwood Cottage and by 1939 had moved into one of the semi-detached cottages known as The Gardens, on Brook Street next door to Frank Huxtable's home (in modern times, respectively the sites of Garden Cottage, Brook Cottage and Tiki Cottage).
Fortunately the players wearing football kit remain in their places for both photographs. Standing from left to right on the back row are Jack Haydon, W. Mason and Bert Passmore. Maurice Huxtable remembered that Mr. Haydon came from Dunster and was a carpenter. He is probably John Elliott Haydon, baptized in Dunster in 1908, the son of John Escott (a carpenter) and Bessie Haydon (4). He died in 1993, living at No. 26 High Street in Dunster (5). Nothing more is yet known about M. Mason except that he was the goalkeeper (6). Bert Passmore (1904-1994) was born in Minehead, worked as a transport driver and in 1930 became the husband of Bessie Prole of Timberscombe, the 5th child (of 10 children) born to Harry and Annie Maria (nee Wilsher) Prole (7). Therefore Bert was the brother-in-law to Robert (Bob) Septimus Prole (1907-1985), seated in front of him. The 7th Prole child, on the 1939 England and Wales Register, Bob worked as a Builder's Labourer. He also was a gardener (8).
The three players seated to the left of Bob Prole were (almost) lifelong residents of Timberscombe. Next to Bob is Reginald (Reg) Thomas Yeandle (1904-1970), an Electrical and Motor Engineer, originally born in Selworthy (9) but whose family soon moved to Timberscombe (10). In 1925 he had married Stella Hurley, originally from Nether Stowey (11). By the time of the 1939 England and Wales Register, Reg and Stella Yeandle are living in Cowbridge at the West Lodge, a former gatehouse to the Knowle Manor. They shared the house with Bob Prole. To left of Reg is Harry Cane (1895-1963). He was born in Dunster as Henry Thomas Cane, but went by the name of Harry, a mason who married Ada Maud Mary Yeandle in 1918 (12), an older sister of Reg. Mr. and Mrs. Cane lived at The Gardens, next to Thomas Webber (13). Next is Frederick (Fred) James Clatworthy (1905-1991), also a mason, who in 1946 will marry Dorothy (Dot) A. Meatyard, originally from Battersea, London (14). All three young men are buried with their wives at St. Petrocks Church in Timberscombe (15).
Seated, second to the right on the ground, is Ivan Henry Bircham (1894-1968), originally from Norfolk (16). During World War I, he had served with Royal Army Service Corps and had married Rose Charlotte Agate in May 1919 (17). By 2 December 1919, Mr. Bircham's discharge date, he and his wife were at Cowbridge (18). Ivan worked as a groom and later lived at No. 6 Council Cottages (19), a cluster of newer homes on the northeastern edge of Timberscombe, partly built by Frank Huxtable, which later became known as Meadow View (20). The Bircham's were neighbours with Dudley Huxtable and his wife, Grace (nee Cook) Huxtable, who lived at No. 3 (21).
Seated behind the trophy and the football is R. Mason. Unfortunately not much is known about him except that he and the goal keeper, W. Mason, were not related (22). To his right is Arthur Edward Yeandle (1902-1957), the brother of Reg. In 1931, he will marry Grace A . Flockton (23). They lived at Rosslynn, in Cowbridge, for a while running it as a Boarding House (24). Later they moved to Jubilee Terrace in the centre of Timberscombe, where in the mid 1950's, Grace Yeandle had a shop, remembered only as "Mrs. Yeandle's" (25).
Ending the row on the right is L. Bailey. His identity is not clear except that Maurice Huxtable remembers that he came over from Carhampton.
It is safe to write that Alfred Vowles is West Somerset's most renowned photograther. Born in 1882 in Stone Allerton, Somerset, at the age of fourteen Vowles had gone to London to attend the Royal Navy College at Greenwich. He left after a few months, working at various offices in London, Berlin and Russia, before returning to Somerset in 1904. In 1905 he became an assistant photographer in Watchet, learning his craft before going into business on his own in 1910, at first in Porlock. During World War I, he worked as a military photographer. Afterwards, back in West Somerset, traveling by bicycle, then a horse-drawn caravan and by 1923 a Morris Cowley two-seated automobile, he photographed all of West Somerset. At the time of this photograph of the Timberscombe Football Team, Alfred Vowles lived and had his studio on The Avenue in Minehead. He continued photographing (and writing) and was a founding member of the West Somerset Archaeological Society (26). In 1947 he married Dorothy Una (nee Clough, then Ratcliffe) Phillips, a poetess and author, assuming "Phillips" as his surname (27). They settled on Anne Street in Edinburgh, Scotland, where Alfred died on 22 February 1965 (28)
In both versions, seated on the ground are five players. In front of them is a football, labeled "1929-30" and a trophy. The first man seated on the left is Dudley Huxtable (1911-1994), the father of Maurice Huxtable. On the top photograph, his father, Frank Huxtable (1889-1962), is seated behind him, wearing a suit. On the bottom photograph, the elder Mr. Huxtable has changed positions and is standing on the right end of the back row (and has donned a cap). Both father and son were carpenters and wheelwrights (1) and both (as well as grandson, Maurice) were lifelong cricket and football players and coaches. Frank can be seen as a young footballer in 1906 at SP-165. Dudley can be seen much later, coaching cricket at SP-178.
Also a lifelong sporting participant was William (Bill) Floyde (1878-1947), who is standing on the left end of the back row in the upper photograph and has taken Frank Huxtable's seat (left end of the middle row) on the lower one. A mason and builder (2), Bill Floyde is obviously a strong and fit man in 1930-- and it is interesting to see him as a slim, moustached younger player in 1909 (holding his two year old daughter) at SP-166.
Standing to the right of Mr. Floyde (and at the right end of the row on the lower photograph) is an unidentified man, although Maurice Huxtable remembered that he was the team's driver. On the left end of the row (and standing second to the right, below), is another suited gentleman, only remembered as "Webber" by Mr. Huxtable and identified as "T. Webber" on the Copp label. He is likely Thomas John Webber (abt. 1885-1971), a Contractor's Labourer, who in 1911 lived at Harwood Cottage and by 1939 had moved into one of the semi-detached cottages known as The Gardens, on Brook Street next door to Frank Huxtable's home (in modern times, respectively the sites of Garden Cottage, Brook Cottage and Tiki Cottage).
Fortunately the players wearing football kit remain in their places for both photographs. Standing from left to right on the back row are Jack Haydon, W. Mason and Bert Passmore. Maurice Huxtable remembered that Mr. Haydon came from Dunster and was a carpenter. He is probably John Elliott Haydon, baptized in Dunster in 1908, the son of John Escott (a carpenter) and Bessie Haydon (4). He died in 1993, living at No. 26 High Street in Dunster (5). Nothing more is yet known about M. Mason except that he was the goalkeeper (6). Bert Passmore (1904-1994) was born in Minehead, worked as a transport driver and in 1930 became the husband of Bessie Prole of Timberscombe, the 5th child (of 10 children) born to Harry and Annie Maria (nee Wilsher) Prole (7). Therefore Bert was the brother-in-law to Robert (Bob) Septimus Prole (1907-1985), seated in front of him. The 7th Prole child, on the 1939 England and Wales Register, Bob worked as a Builder's Labourer. He also was a gardener (8).
The three players seated to the left of Bob Prole were (almost) lifelong residents of Timberscombe. Next to Bob is Reginald (Reg) Thomas Yeandle (1904-1970), an Electrical and Motor Engineer, originally born in Selworthy (9) but whose family soon moved to Timberscombe (10). In 1925 he had married Stella Hurley, originally from Nether Stowey (11). By the time of the 1939 England and Wales Register, Reg and Stella Yeandle are living in Cowbridge at the West Lodge, a former gatehouse to the Knowle Manor. They shared the house with Bob Prole. To left of Reg is Harry Cane (1895-1963). He was born in Dunster as Henry Thomas Cane, but went by the name of Harry, a mason who married Ada Maud Mary Yeandle in 1918 (12), an older sister of Reg. Mr. and Mrs. Cane lived at The Gardens, next to Thomas Webber (13). Next is Frederick (Fred) James Clatworthy (1905-1991), also a mason, who in 1946 will marry Dorothy (Dot) A. Meatyard, originally from Battersea, London (14). All three young men are buried with their wives at St. Petrocks Church in Timberscombe (15).
Seated, second to the right on the ground, is Ivan Henry Bircham (1894-1968), originally from Norfolk (16). During World War I, he had served with Royal Army Service Corps and had married Rose Charlotte Agate in May 1919 (17). By 2 December 1919, Mr. Bircham's discharge date, he and his wife were at Cowbridge (18). Ivan worked as a groom and later lived at No. 6 Council Cottages (19), a cluster of newer homes on the northeastern edge of Timberscombe, partly built by Frank Huxtable, which later became known as Meadow View (20). The Bircham's were neighbours with Dudley Huxtable and his wife, Grace (nee Cook) Huxtable, who lived at No. 3 (21).
Seated behind the trophy and the football is R. Mason. Unfortunately not much is known about him except that he and the goal keeper, W. Mason, were not related (22). To his right is Arthur Edward Yeandle (1902-1957), the brother of Reg. In 1931, he will marry Grace A . Flockton (23). They lived at Rosslynn, in Cowbridge, for a while running it as a Boarding House (24). Later they moved to Jubilee Terrace in the centre of Timberscombe, where in the mid 1950's, Grace Yeandle had a shop, remembered only as "Mrs. Yeandle's" (25).
Ending the row on the right is L. Bailey. His identity is not clear except that Maurice Huxtable remembers that he came over from Carhampton.
It is safe to write that Alfred Vowles is West Somerset's most renowned photograther. Born in 1882 in Stone Allerton, Somerset, at the age of fourteen Vowles had gone to London to attend the Royal Navy College at Greenwich. He left after a few months, working at various offices in London, Berlin and Russia, before returning to Somerset in 1904. In 1905 he became an assistant photographer in Watchet, learning his craft before going into business on his own in 1910, at first in Porlock. During World War I, he worked as a military photographer. Afterwards, back in West Somerset, traveling by bicycle, then a horse-drawn caravan and by 1923 a Morris Cowley two-seated automobile, he photographed all of West Somerset. At the time of this photograph of the Timberscombe Football Team, Alfred Vowles lived and had his studio on The Avenue in Minehead. He continued photographing (and writing) and was a founding member of the West Somerset Archaeological Society (26). In 1947 he married Dorothy Una (nee Clough, then Ratcliffe) Phillips, a poetess and author, assuming "Phillips" as his surname (27). They settled on Anne Street in Edinburgh, Scotland, where Alfred died on 22 February 1965 (28)
Creator
Alfred Vowles
Date
c. 1930
c. 1930
c. 1930
Contributor
Format
Language
English
Identifier
The Timberscombe Football Team of 1929-1930 / Timberscombe
Acquisition Date
2019
Acquisition Method
Gift
Category
SPORTS / Timberscombe
PEOPLE: Named / Timberscombe
PEOPLE: Named / Timberscombe
Condition
Good
Condition Notes
Entered by Tom Sperling
Condition Date
2020
Dimension Type
W X L
Dimension Units
cm
Dimension Value
14 X 20
11 X 17
11 X 17
Institution Name
St. Petrock's History Group
Notes
(1) Kelly's Directories of Somerset, 1919, 1923, 1931 and 1935 and 1939 England and Wales Register (2) 1901 England Census and 1911 England Census (3) 1911 England Census, 1939 England and Wales Register and England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 (4) Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914 (5) England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations) 1858-1995 (6) as recalled by Maurice Huxtable in 2019 (7) 1939 England and Wales Register, England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 and England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index , 1916-2005 (8) 1939 England and Wales Register and "AWAY & HOME-WORLD WAR II, Somerset and Essex 1939-1945" by Pat Herniman, Papermill Books, Little Baddow, in association with The Little Baddow History Centre, 2016 (9) 1939 England and Wales Register and Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914 (10) by the 1911 England Census, the Yeandle family was living at Allers, (also called Allderes and Alders, Historic Environment Record, Exmoor National Park, MSO8331) a farmstead on the northwestern edge of Timberscombe (11) 1911 England Census (12) Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914 and England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 (13) 1939 England and Wales Register (14) England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 (15) UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300's-Current and St. Petrock's Church Records, Grave Stone Leveling, 1971 (16) Norfolk, England, Church of England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1919 (17) England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 (18) UK, World War I Pensions, Ledgers and Index Cards, 1914-1923 (19) 1939 England and Wales Register (20) as recalled in 2020 by Archie Dyer, a longtime resident at No. 2 Meadow View (21) 1939 England and Wales Register (22) as recalled in 2019 by Maurice Huxtable (23) England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2007 (24) Kelly's Directory of Somerset, 1939 (25) as recalled in 2019 by Mary Holcombe who opened a shop on Jubilee Terrace in 1966 at the same location as Mrs. Yeandle's shop (26) "Secure the shadow: Somerset Photographers 1839-1939, by Robin Ansell, Allan Collier and Phil Nichols, The Somerset & Dorset Family History Society, 2018 and "AROUND MINEHEAD From Old Photographs", by Joan Astell, Amberley Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, 2010 (27) artisan-harmony.com and "Secure the shadow: Somerset Photographers 1839-1939" (28) Web UK, Burial and Cremations, Index, 1776-2014
Storage Location
St. Petrock's History Group Archive
Storage Date
2020
Storage Notes
St. Petrock's History Group PHOTOGRAPHS
Item Reference
SP-168
Technique
Copies
Citation
Alfred Vowles, “The Timberscombe Football Team, 1929-1930, by Alfred Vowles,” St. Petrock's History Group, accessed May 2, 2024, https://stpetrockshistorygroup.omeka.net/items/show/3227.
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