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Forever we remember those who died during the World Wars and played for Abbey United       It’s a sad aspect of this series of articles describing the lives of pre-World War I Abbey United players that many of the men featured died young. Ernest Hancock was one. Ernest was only 33, working as a labourer, married with three children and living in Cheddars Lane, when he died in 1931. His may have been a short life, but it was a notable one. Born in 1897, Ernest passed his early years in the Earl of Durham pub, between Godesdone Road and River Lane on Newmarket Road. His publican father Albert also turned his hand to ‘general dealing’, but the family faced financial hardship when he died in 1905. His widow, Eliza, struggled to run the pub in the face of a torrent of debts, and was declared bankrupt a couple of years later. The family, living at 235 Newmarket Road by 1911, faced further trials when Eliza died at the age of 42 and Ernest’s brothers Arthur and Harry departed this life the following year. Playing for Abbey United in the 1913-14 season must have provided Ernest with a welcome distraction from those sorrows. He played in at least three games, at centre half and left half, and appeared on the scoresheet a minimum of three times. In June 1916, Ernest gave up his work as a clock repairer to join the Royal Garrison Artillery and a mere five weeks later was posted to the killing fields of the Mesopotamian Campaign. He was far from alone in suffering the effects of dysentery and fever during that campaign – nearly 17,000 UK forces died of disease (compared to 11,000 killed in action) and more than 150,000 were evacuated due to sickness. Ernest was discharged from the RGA in 1920 and, while boarding at 235 Newmarket Road, found work as a labourer on a government scheme in Cherry Hinton Road. His brother Sidney died that same year. In 1922 he married neighbour Ethel who, like many Cambridge people of the time, worked at Chivers’ jam factory in Histon. The first two of their children were boy and girl twins, born in 1925, and another son followed in 1929. Ethel died in 1951. The Abbey team is imagined here by ChatGPT – that’s possibly why the players look suspiciously similar; none of them should be mistaken for real people. If you believe you are or know of a descendant of Ernest’s family, please get in touch: [email protected]. If you have any further information concerning the article above or related to the Cook family please contact [email protected]
Read more about the Royal Garrison Artillery Read more about the Earl of Durham pub Read more about the Mesopotamian Campaign Read more about the Chivers’ jam factory Read more about the 1911 census If you would like a copy of the programme Bromley programme which included the article above contact CFU via www.slocamutd.org/programmes.html or www.curtis-sport.com/cambridge-united  'The biggest night in the Coconuts calendar is upon us again. CUFC Legends will gather to induct nine more of their own. Come and join us. The date for your diary is Thursday 20th November. This year's inductees will be Mark Bonner (Mr Cambridge Utd and EFL L2 promotion manager 2020/21 Phil Chapple (solid central defender during the back to back promotion years of 1989/90 and 1990/1991), Ian Ashbee (dynamic midfielder, promotion winner 1998/99 and FL Trophy finalist 2001/02), Dave Doggett (club Chairman during 2013/14 return to the league promotion and FA Trophy winners) Bryan Boggis (247 appearances between 1961 & 1966) Len Saward (player, volunteer, fundraiser and club employee), Tom Youngs (youth team 1989-1997 then 151 goal striker 1997 to 2003) Richard Caborn (Sports Minister whose intervention saved the club from folding) Jamie Murray (Cambridge Evening News described him as 'one of the greatest left backs ever to play for Utd' 1976-1984). Come along and rub shoulders with United greats, listen to eloquently presented citations of their exploits. Whoop, cheer, get selfies and congratulate them as they enter the Hall of Fame, to be eternally remembered as one of the all-time club greats. Would you like to host your favourite Legend or any other former player for the evening? Sit with them and look after them. Contact Coconuts for further details. Check out the 100 Years of Coconuts website for previous inductees (plus so much more)' Ticket price: £35 per head. Tickets can be purchased via tinyurl.com/4rnwe23u or click here The event this year has been sponsored by THAXTED STOVES & FIREPLACES 2 Wrights Yard, Top Road, Wimbish, Saffron Walden, Essex CB10 2XJ Thaxted Stoves & Fireplaces can be contacted via 01799599333 [email protected] www.thaxtedstoves.com
 Research is being carried out into the men who played for Abbey United during World War Two, and we need your help to identify them.
Many of the Abbey’s matches during the war years took place against teams drawn from local RAF and Army units, and some were reported in the local press, But the names of players and teams were not always revealed: the government wanted Adolf Hitler to know as little as possible about the high number of military units in the Cambridge area. Locally based servicemen sometimes turned out for the Abbey: the Wasps, as they were known at the time, often found themselves short of a player or two, sometimes due to military call-ups, and were grateful for temporary loans. Do you know of a family member or family friend – a Cambridge resident or someone who was based in the area – who played for Abbey United during the war? If so, we would love to hear from you. Please write to [email protected] if are able to help  Ask David Reed which of the many Cooks living in Cambridge at the time played for Abbey United in the 1913-14 season and he has no hesitation in nominating his uncle Wallace. Of all the Cook brothers who lived at 260 Newmarket Road, adjoining the Cambridge Brick Company works and opposite ‘Rock King’ Jim Reynolds’ confectionery shop, Wallace was the one who could turn his hand to any sport and was still occasionally pulling on a football strip in his 60s. It’s Reed family legend that he was an Abbey player, and that he might also have played for a major Midlands club during a sojourn in the Dudley area. The latter theory can’t be confirmed, but David, leading light in the stonemasonry-and-more firm of Ivett & Reed, recalls his uncle’s sporting prowess well. He remembers visiting Wallace’s Lode home one Saturday in the mid-1950s and hearing him report that he’d just turned out in goal for the village club. Wallace, pictured third from the left in the back row in 1905, was one of six brothers who all followed their father Herbert, yard manager at the Cambridge Brick Company, into the brick-making trade. There were also two younger sisters. Born in 1894 in the Bedfordshire brick-making town of Arlesey and having moved with his family to Cambridge by 1905, Wallace was described as a brick maker in the 1911 census. He played at least twice for Abbey United in 1913-14 before enlisting in the army. Little is known of his early military career other than that he played a part in the bloody and disastrous Gallipoli campaign in 1915, but we do know that he trained with the Royal Flying Corps, soon to become the RAF, in 1917 and 1918. When the war was over Wallace moved to the West Midlands, where he embarked on a career in building and married Swaffham Bulbeck woman Fanny. The couple had three daughters. Back in Cambridgeshire by the mid-1920s, he may have been the W Cook who played at least four times for Abbey in the 1925-26 season. By 1930 Wallace was playing for Lode and carrying on his building business locally. His legacy is evident in the streets around the Abbey Stadium: several houses he built within a long throw’s distance of the ground still stand. He was 72 when he died in 1967; he is remembered with affection by David Reed who, nearing his 90s, is to be seen at every U’s home match. If you’re a descendant of Wallace, we’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected].
If you have any further information concerning the article above or related to the Cook family please contact [email protected] Read more about the ‘Rock King’ Jim Reynolds’ Read more about the Cambridge Brick Company here Read more about the 1911 census Read more about the Gallipoli campaign Read more about the Royal Flying Corps If you would like a copy of the Crawley programme which included the article above contact CFU via www.slocamutd.org/programmes.html or www.curtis-sport.com/cambridge-united  The latest in our series on pre-World War I Abbey United players tells of a post-war return to the club Not many Abbey United players who turned out in 1913-14 resumed their amateur careers with the club when football got going again after the Great War. Thomas Bilton was an exception. Tom played at least three times for Abbey – twice at right back, once at left back – in that pre-war season. He then played at right half in at least one friendly in the 1919-20 season as the reformed club took its first post-war steps and prepared for Cambridgeshire League football in 1921. But it was off the pitch that Tom made his biggest impression on the club. He acted as trainer in the 20s – working with the all-conquering team of 1924-25 and as late as 1928-29 – and he also served on the club’s committee until at least 1931. It’s perhaps not surprising that, in common with several of his Abbey United teammates affected by the war, Tom found that his post-war playing activities were limited. We don’t know much about his time in the army, but we do know that he served with the Royal Garrison Artillery and that he was reported wounded on 23 October 1918 – not much more than a fortnight before hostilities ceased. Tom had been born at Bottisham Lode in 1893 and by 1901 he was living at Stourbridge Terrace, Newmarket Road with his father John (a labourer in a nearby brickyard), mother Annie, two brothers and a sister. By 1911 he was himself labouring in a brickyard. The 1921 census return described Tom as a kiln worker at the Cambridge Brick Company, and he was living with new wife Gladys, formerly a resident of Willow Place, at 417 Newmarket Road – opposite the brickworks (pictured) and just two doors away from his parents. By 1939 the couple had moved to Willow Place and Tom had changed trades: he was working as a lengthman for the London & North Eastern Railway. Since you ask: a lengthman’s job involved looking after a length of track, dealing with minor problems and, if a major issue arose, getting trains stopped. Tom had seen out one world war, but he was not to survive another. After a long illness, he died aged just 51 in September 1944, and was interred in the Borough Cemetery, Newmarket Road. If you’re a descendant of Tom’s, we’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected]. If you have any further information concerning the article above or related to the Bilton family please contact [email protected]
Read more about the Royal Garrison Artillery Read more about the Cambridge Brick Company here Read more about the London & North Eastern Railway here If you would like a copy of the programme Oldham programme which included the article above contact CFU via www.slocamutd.org/programmes.html or www.curtis-sport.com/cambridge-united  We continue our series about lads who played for Abbey United in 1913-14 with the tale of an enigma It took days of research and furrowed brows to find Danny Pollendine. A newspaper cutting revealed that D Pollendine played at left half for Abbey United against Swifts on 19 February 1914 – a game won 4-3 by Abbey. There were a few Pollendines living around Cambridge at that time, but searches failed to turn up any with the initial D. Then an ‘in memoriam’ notice from 1977 came to light – and it referred to Bert (Danny). This had to be him. His grandson, Chris Pollendine, has no idea where the sobriquet ‘Danny’ came from or why it was preferred to his baptismal name of Bertie, but he confirms that it was what friends and family called him. Thanks go to Chris for the photo. Research revealed that Bertie/Danny was born in 1896, son of laundress Elizabeth and Frederick, a stoker at the Newmarket Road gas works, whose site is now occupied by Tesco. He was baptised in the nearby Abbey Church, birthplace of our club, the following year. We also found that the family, including six boys and one girl, lived at 10 Coldham Lane – an “insanitary cottage” provided rent-free in return for Frederick closing the gate to Coldham Common. By 1911, 14-year-old Danny was working at the Pitt Press, home of Cambridge University Press, in Trumpington Street. Like many Abbey players, he enlisted in the Cambridgeshire Regiment when war broke out, and we learn from a 1915 medical report that at the age of 19 he stood five feet two inches – not as unusual among men of the time as it is today. Danny had an eventful war: posted to France in 1916, he was hospitalised following a mustard gas attack the following year and, after switching units several times and by now enduring foot problems, ended up in the Labour Corps before being demobilised in 1919. Small wonder, given his physical tribulations, that he never played football again. He married Hilda Faben in 1922 and the couple lived in Cambridge Place, off Hills Road, before moving with their three children to the newly built Ditton Fields in 1939. He was working as a coal porter at the time. Later employment included work as a fireman at Marshall’s flying school and, after the Second World War, as a stoker at the gas works, just like his dad. Danny died in 1975. If you have any further information concerning the article above or related to the Pollendine family please contact [email protected]
Read more about the Cambridgeshire Regiment here Read more about the Newmarket Road Gasometer Gas Works here Read more about the Pitt Building Read more about the Labour Corps If you would like a copy of the programme Newport programme which included the article above contact CFU via www.slocamutd.org/programmes.html or www.curtis-sport.com/cambridge-united  The first in our series about the young men who played for Abbey United in 1913-14 explores a link with the present day It has often been suspected but now it can be confirmed – Josh Coulson, stalwart U’s player for 11 seasons, was not the first one of his family to play for the club. Josh is related to Arthur Coulson, who played at least seven times for Abbey United in the 1913-14 season. Josh’s great-grandfather George was the brother of Arthur’s father. According to our calculations, that means that Josh’s father Dave is Arthur’s first cousin once removed and Josh is the Abbey pioneer’s first cousin twice removed. While Josh is a commanding centre back, Arthur was a free-scoring inside left who notched at least ten goals in that first Abbey United season and captained the side at least once. Five of those goals came in one friendly match, when Abbey walloped Blossom Rovers 13-1. Pre-war Abbey United players were very young – a youth team by today’s classification – but Arthur was particularly youthful. Born in 1898, he lived first in Priory Road, tucked away behind the Abbey Church off Newmarket Road, with mother Lois, originally from Comberton, and Cambridge native William, a stationary engine driver at a laundry. By 1911, the Coulsons had moved round the corner to Godesdone Road. Abbey United was formed the following year, and the year after that played the first matches that we know about. Hundreds of young Cambridge men enlisted in the armed forces when war broke out in 1914, and Arthur, by now working as a painter, signed up for the Cambridgeshire Regiment the following year and shipped out to France. Sadly, his military career was short. Private Harry Cash, Arthur’s Abbey teammate and brother in arms, told William and Lois of their 18-year-old son’s death on 13 November 1916, as the Cambridgeshires attacked German-held positions during the Battle of the Ancre. “He met his death in the most gallant manner,” wrote Harry of “the best chum one could have”. “We were attacking from a strong position and Arthur was in charge of his gun section. He went in front of his men to see who was holding the trench in front of him, when the Huns opened rapid fire on him, and hit him about eight times.” Private Arthur Coulson, who has no known grave, is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, dedicated to those who died in the Battles of the Somme. If you have any further information concerning the article above or related to the Coulson family please contact [email protected] Read more about the Cambridgeshire Regiment here Find out more about The Commonwealth War Graves Commission If you would like a copy of the programme Harrogate programme which included the article above contact CFU via www.slocamutd.org/programmes.html or www.curtis-sport.com/cambridge-united   The news of the death of former manager Steve Thompson, on August 29 at the age of 70, was received with sadness at the Cledara Abbey Stadium...
Steve’s time at United was brief: he was appointed manager in December 2004, when the club was in financial turmoil and was facing the distinct prospect of relegation from the Football League after 35 years. He recognised the seriousness of the situation, telling the press: ‘It’s probably the biggest challenge that I’ve been given in football, but I’ve never shirked a challenge.’ His beleaguered team turned in some battling performances but were unable to avoid the drop from League Two to the Conference, finishing bottom of the division and 14 points from safety. United then filed for administration and, as part of cost-cutting measures, Steve was made redundant in early May 2005. Born in Sheffield, Steve enjoyed a 15-year career as a popular centre half, notably with Lincoln City and Charlton Athletic. A second spell at Sincil Bank in 1989-90 turned into his first managerial appointment, and he succeeded in pulling the Imps away from a threatened second relegation to the Conference. He had spells as manager at Southend United and Sheffield United, and his time at the Abbey was followed by a year at Notts County. Steve died after a protracted battle with cancer. He is survived by partner Julie and sons Alex and Jack. Kirk Corbin 1955-2025 It was with sadness that the news of the death of former Cambridge United right back Kirk Corbin, on July 21 at the age of 70, was received. Kirk, born in 1955 in Barbados, was signed from Wokingham Town in January 1978, with manager Ron Atkinson declaring: ‘Kirk is very fast – rapid!’ United were then in Football League Division Three but, although Atkinson left for West Bromwich Albion shortly after Kirk joined, they were on their way to Division Two. It was a big step up from the Isthmian League, but Kirk made his first-team debut on 25 November 1978 in a 2-2 home draw against Burnley. Supporters were pleased to observe that, as Atkinson had noted, Kirk was indeed blessed with rare speed, and he was capable of terrorising defences with his attacking forays. He played in two further League games – a 2-0 win at Sunderland and a 3-3 home draw with Oldham Athletic – before leaving at the end of the 1978-79 season to rejoin Wokingham. He joined Wycombe Wanderers, at that point in non-League football, in 1986. While at Loakes Park he made 80 appearances and featured in the Chairboys team that lifted the Isthmian League title in 1986-87. RIP Kirk. Kirk is third from left in the middle row in the photo below  |
Happy Harry's blogI'm the living embodiment of the spirit of the U's, and I'll be blogging whenever I've got news for you, as long as I don't miss my tea. Archives
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