Archive Matters – Continued!

Archive Matters – Continued!

Help for Laurence

A few weeks ago, we were contacted by a Laurence Mesropians who, having a ‘tidy up’, came across a signed rugby ball that he had bought a few years ago in a charity auction. Laurence said it was reference a team that at the time was still called “The Penzance Pirates!” – he of course meant Penzance & Newlyn RFC, and hey, it was sacrilege in decades past not to include the Newlyn name!

Anyway, attaching pictures of each panel, Laurence wondered if we could help him date the ball and the list of players who signed it? Well, I have to say that positively identifying such autographs (scribbles!!) are anything but easy, however I was able to confirm seven names from what was the 2003-04 season.

A Pirates team photograph taken in 2003-04

Note the following:

Panel 1 – Reasonably easy to identify on the image below were the signatures of Mark Scrivener and Josh Lord.

Panel 2 – Dan Seal

Panel 3 – Martin Morgan (top right could be one of the Fatialofa brothers)

Image 4 – Ricky Pellow, Joe Bearman & good old Lakalaka Waqanivere! (what looks like ‘Bully’ top left could be Stuart Turnbull)

So, can you name more? There are several more that one could have a guess at. However, if readers can positively identify certain signatures then please email me at [email protected] (I can then let Laurence know).

And Peter Played for Devon and Cornwall

In a recent weekly ‘Pirates Log’ of mine, I mentioned my involvement with Madron History Group, where our Chairman is Peter Scrase. A lifelong supporter of the Pirates, Peter (brother of our first CEO, the late Martin Scrase) kindly sent me an image of our 1952/53 Mounts Bay youth team, coached by the legendary Ben Perrin and including players such as Peter, John Stirling, Victor Cowan-Dickie, Harvey Jose, Rex Sincock, and Brian Harvey.

Peter Scrase

Although a Madron ‘boy’, Peter was educated at St. Boniface’s College in Plymouth, where he not only played for Devon Schools against Cornwall at Redruth at 15 group level, but also rightly later for the Cornwall 18 group team against Devon! Indeed, he is listed in a Devon versus Cornwall Public & Grammar Schools match that was played at the Sports Stadium, Pennycross, Plymouth, on New Year’s Day in 1955.

Coached at school by teacher and then Plymouth Albion’s player Leighton Williams, who was later a successful coach at Wasps, St. Boniface’s College had a very strong team, and there were many gifted players in both the Cornwall and Devon teams.

St. Boniface’s College pictured in the 1950s near Beacon Park – the then home of Plymouth Albion.

Peter propped for Cornwall against Devon, in a county side that also included a star Pirate-to-be in Jimmy Glover (Penzance CGS), whilst playing at scrum-half was the slightly built Richard Sharp (Blundell’s School), who would later play for England and the British Lions – at fly-half, of course!

Jimmy Glover is pictured in the middle of this picture with Peter Scrase lending support to his left.

Peter is pictured jumping in the line-out with the fair-haired Richard Sharp at scrum half.