Western Wildcats Hockey Club

1.  William Eric Wickham (1879-1927)  Western – and Scotland’s - first international player.  Born in Tetbury, and educated at Reading School where he was known as a prominent sportsman, featuring in the cricket and football 1^st XI’s.  After leaving school in 1897 he came to Glasgow and worked as an ‘East India merchant’.  No details of when he joined Western, but was chosen as goalkeeper for Scotland’s first everinternational against Ireland in Belfast on 8^th March, 1902 – a 0-3 defeat.  No evidence at all that he was a Scot.

(Thanks to Ken Brown, archivist of the Old Readingensians Association for his help in providing bio- graphical details).

4.  H.E.B. Neilson’s intro- duction to inter- national hockey was at right back in the 1908 Olympics in London, in a 4-1 victory over Germany on 29^th August.  The following day he won his second cap against England, but a 6-1 defeat led to Scotland’s elimination.  At that time he was a member of the Rutherglen club.  He later joined Western, and was in the all-conquering team of 1913 which provided five players for the Scottish side that year.  He also represented Scotland at tennis and badminton.

Harry Bacon’s international career began on 29^th March, 1913 against England, and he was a regular until 1928, amassing 25 caps.   Usually selected at inside forward or wing half – a midfield player by modern standards – he contributed the occasional goal.  However his international career was not marked by great success in terms of results, although he was a member of the first Scottish side to beat Ireland in  1923.  He seems to have been an able and enthusiastic administrator both at club and district level.

10.  Hugh Cowan-Douglas gained three caps as a forward in 1922-23.  Reports of the time make reference to a fast, direct style and occasional marksman.  The only other reference found is that he was chairman of the United Turkey Red Company in Alexandria in 1960 (a textile firm) and presumably would have qualified as one of the ‘Vale boys’.

 

13. F.R. Walls was another late call-up, but was unfortunate in his sole appearance against England at Aberdeen on 17^th March, 1923.  The press were less than enthusiastic about his performance, but he suffered from being played out of position in a comprehensive 1-9 defeat.  Interestingly, three years previously he was captain of the Kelvinside Academicals rugby 1^st XV.   Despite not being a hockey school, KA has provide Scotland with a few international players over the years, most notably the great Andrew Sewnauth.

16.  L.N. Cogie was a skilful forward with a good goal-scoring record.  He frequently appeared in selection trials in the early 30’s, but his one international appearance was on the left wing in a 2-3 loss to Wales at Inverness in February 1931. Interestingly (at least it is to me) Martin Kemp’s splendid history of the first 75 years of the club refers to Cogie being called out of the crowd to play in this match due to some player’s late unavailability, but it is clear that he was selected for the fixture in the normal way.

W.A. Renison was capped at left back against Wales in February, 1904 in Scotland’s fourth international match. By all accounts he was a doughty defender who was a first team regular for most of the first decade of the 20th century.

5.  Although D.T. Richard- son won 10 caps between 1910 and 1922, eight of these were when he played for Edinburgh University and Edinburgh Northern between 1910 and 1913.  Having joined Western after World War 1 he was brought back into the national side for two caps in 1922 at a time of miserable results.

11.  C.P. Ker was a late call up for the away match v Ireland on 3^rd March, 1923 at Banbridge when he played at right back in a historic victory (alongside J.G. Stephen, H.E.C. Bacon and H. Cowan-Douglas).   A member of a noted family of chartered accountants, he served as treasurer of the Scottish Hockey Association between 1922 and 1928.  Cynics might say that had some bearing on his selection ….

14.  Alastair C.J.M. Anderson was a Western and Scotland stalwart in the years following World War I.  He was first capped in 1924 at half back, and was a virtual ever-present up to 1932, including the historic first victory over England in 1929.  He retired from international hockey after 21 appearances, five as captain, all while representing Western.  While continuing club hockey he served as an international selector, club president and president of the Scottish Hockey Association between 1938 and 1946.  Alastair Anderson was a major club benefactor, and his premature death from illness in 1950 at the age of 50 was keenly felt.

17.  H.W. Vaughan-Thomas played for Western while he was a master at Keil School in the late 30’s.  He appeared at left back in all three home internationals in 1937.  Brother of the noted broadcaster Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, who is remembered for a live broadcast from a bomber during a raid over Germany during World War II, which can still be heard on archive programmes.

19.  Leslie M. Ross hailed from Brechin (which you may be surprised to know had a healthy hockey pedigree in the early days of the sport, and provided a handful of players to international teams).  Although he only gained one cap at full-back, against Wales in 1949, he is unique in Western annals as the only individual to both play and umpire hockey at international level.  (I think his international umpiring career was also restricted to one match).  A great club man, he served as club president in the 1960’s, and latterly as Honorary President.  He will still be remembered by those d’un certain age for his annual homily at the AGM about the need to maintain standards of on-field discipline.  ‘Modern hockey’ and ‘turning in his grave’ are phrases that come to mind.

 
Hugh S. Walker gained a total of 26 caps for Scotland between 1908 and 1925.  He made his debut against England as an inside forward on 7^th February 1908, whilst at Edinburgh University.  Later that year he represented Scotland in the 1908 Olympics in London, memorable for a 4-1 defeat of Germany (the only time Scotland have defeated Germany).  He was a virtual ever-present for Scotland between 1908-14, while after leaving university he continued club hockey with Carlton, then Western.  When Scotland was going through a fallow period post World War I he was brought back into the team as captain in 1924-25, by which time he had moved to a teaching post in Melrose, and he added four caps to his already impressive total.

     6. G.T. Harvey’s sole cap was against England in 1913, alongside Walker, Neilson and Bacon. 

9.  J.M. Wilson appeared at centre forward in all three home internationals in 1920 when Scotland was struggling to re-establish the sport after the ravages of World War 1.

12.  J.G. Stephen  -  see 8. A.M. Stephen

15.  Ian M. Macewan – another of Western’s seven international goalkeepers.  His early caps between 1930 and 1936 were gained while he played for Imperial College, London, but he joined Western in the late 1930’s and was a Scotland ever-present in 1938-39 with seven caps.  He captained his country in all four 1939 internationals, which included a rare fixture against Holland.  Macewan served as club president in the late 1950’s, overseeing the club’s 60^th Jubilee celebrations in 1958.  His presidency was marred by the unfortunate ‘Maitland Affair’.

18.  William Neil White was a student at Cambridge University in 1939 when war broke out.  He won a Military Cross while serving in Italy.  On leaving the army he joined Western in 1947 and won the first of his 10 caps that year.  He clearly had made a reputation for himself as an outstanding winger, and was selected without going through the conventional trial system of the time, because the horrendous winter that year ruined the planned schedule.  He scored four goals in a 6-1 demolition of Wales on debut.  In 1948 he resumed his studies at Cambridge.  He turned down the opportunity to appear in the hockey final trial that year in order to win a Cambridge Blue for rugby, but was still selected for the Scottish hockey XI.  Later in 1948 he was selected for the GB Olympic squad, one of five Scots, and won a silver medal.  He evidently returned to Glasgow and added a further six caps between 1949-51 as a Western member, before moving to the Borders to a teaching post.  So, to sum up:  Military Cross, double Cambridge Blue, Scottish internationalist and Olympic Silver Medallist – Western’s most notable player?  And, I bet he always stood his round …..

20.  Norman Boyd was first capped in goal in 1950 while serving with the R.A.F. at Kinloss.  He joined Western the following year when he played against Ireland in the final of his four international appearances.