The Ryburgh and District Junior Village League Cup.
Revd. F.H.Tatham writing in the Parish Magazine in October 1921:
A new League has been started called the “Ryburgh and District Junior Village League”and a Silver Cup has been presented to be competed for and our Reserve Team has entered this League, while the first team has entered for the Raynham and District and the Fakenham Cup, as usual I shall be fully occupied every Saturday afternoon refereeing, so shall stand little chance of seeing either of our teams. We shall miss our splendid Captain Mr. Alec Savory, but we are glad to have as his Successor, Mr. Guy Savory, also we shall miss, and are very sorry for the cause (his old wound has broken out again), Charles Wilkin, who has been a champion centre forward for Ryburgh and served us well as Vice Captain.
Although the significance of this trophy had been all but forgotten it has recently come to light having been preserved by the Howard family who had a long association with the Football Club and Parish Council in the 20th.Century.
When seen here without its base it looks remarkably like a Communion Chalice and a quick check on the Hallmark says that it is older than 1921, in fact it bears the marks for Chester 1887:
Thus the second incarnation of the chalice is to be put on a base and presented as a football trophy to be competed for locally and with Ryburgh Reserves in mind. It is first seen in the Ryburgh Swifts F.C. 1926-27 Season team photograph:
Back Row: 1. A Curson, 2. H. Grimson 3. B. Wright, 4. Revd F.H.Tatham, 5. K.Galer, 6.Percy Fox, 7.Herbert Howard Fox, 8. R. Colman 9. M. Ainger
Middle Row: 1. Ernest Abbs, 2. V. Nelson, 3. L. Margetson 4. B. Fox, 5. C Medler 6. Ernest "Trinnie" Nelson, 7. C. Comer.
Front Row: 1. F. [ ]orter 2. W. Grimson, 3. A. Wade, 4. Alfred Nelson.
Our trophy is clearly that on the left and as yet the identity of the other trophy is not known unless it is the same as in the photo below of the team the previous season. This photo was kindly donated to the archive by Norman Leeder whose father Horace Leeder was in the team.(Back row 3rd from left) On the back of the photo it says "Winners of the Raynham and District League":
Back Row: 1. Paddy Tatham, 2. Alec Stark, 3. Horace Leeder, 4. B[ertie] "Knock" Platten, 5. R[obert] Barker. 6. A. More, 7. Guy Savory
Front Row: 1. L[aurence] Tatham, 2. Charles Wilkin, 3. Alec Savory, 4. F.Claxton, 5. B. Fox.
Paddy Tatham not wearing kit due to a broken leg.
Ten years later and the proud team photo shows what is probably the Mid-Norfolk Shield and with no sign of the chalice. However 1930 was the year that the six engraveable shields appear on the base.
Back Row: 1.Jack Nelson, 2.Jack Green, 3.G Rawlings, 4.C Sizeland, 5. Revd F.H.Tatham,
Middle Row: 1. H Moyes, 2.Sid Medlar, 3.Herbert Howe, 4. Frank Howe, 5. B Wright, 6. Ernest Abbs, 7. Matt Fenn,
Front Row: 1.Vic Nelson, 2.H Coates, 3.A Barnes, 4. Ernest Nelson. 5. Percy Fox.
A further very battered team photo survives from David Howe's collection no date , but Ernest Nelson ("Trinnie"), Ernest Abbs and Percy Fox are all on the photo: Front row right.
It turns out, on closer inspection of the chalice, that there is a further inscription above the main one and which says "The School Cup"
This explains the series of shields around the base of the cup. There are six of these all hallmarked Chester 1930 and four of these have been engraved with local schools and dates.
This photogenic trophy turns up again,this time with the Ryburgh School Athletics Team in 1934. The two staff members are believed to be Miss Florence E Plummer later to be Mrs. Florrie Barnes and Mr Ronald Skipper the Headteacher. If we are to believe in the veracity of the above shields, this must have been taken on the return of the trophy from Gt Snoring to the Ryburgh before it was lost to Walsingham . Perhaps these are all the trophies being competed for that year:
These two consecutive entries in the School Log Book only relate to 1933 and show no sign of the nature of the competiton for which the cup was awarded:
There was an outbreak of Measles in June and July of 1935 and the log book is extremely sparsely filled in over this period and from the school's point of view the trail goes cold until it turns up in Andrew Howard's garage 80 years later! Can you add to this story? Please contact us if you can.
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Fortuitously something new to the “Ryburgh Archive” turns up on a regular basis and it all started with a phone call from Paul Watson the son of former churchwarden Jack Watson of Winter’s Farm Gateley. Going through things, he found and polished up a trophy that had been presented annually from 1953 to the most successful bowler of the Boar’s bowls team and is inscribed with names right through to 1973. There is a photograph in circulation of the Boar’s bowlers showing the cup and many of the men named on the cup. Paul wanted it to come back to Ryburgh, and so it joins the football/school sports trophy that turned up last year.
The Boar Bowls Team
Back Row Left to Right:
George Bird, Stuart Neale, Denny Fuller, Ernie Scott, Stanley Tann, Cyril (Bonus) Rawling, Charlie Clarke, Ben Nunn, Jack (Jocky) Rawling, Alfred( Hoofy) Harris, Ben Riches.
Middle Row Left to Right:
Ernest Abbs, Frank Myhill, Fred Whiteside, Ronnie Riches, Jack Watson, George (Rollocky) Rawling, Joe Hamblin, Albert (Shinbag) Rawling,
Front Row Left to Right:
Fred Vertigan, Frank Howe, Ernest (Trinny) Nelson, Ted Baldwin (with cup), Arthur (Puddin) Vertigan, Hector Middleton and Billy Hall.
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