Ayrshire Scotland -
Robert Paton 'Greig'[P529]
was born on 12th July 1899. Of thirteen children,
he was twelfth, and the first of his
family[F163] to be born in
Darvel. He was my father.
A year before Robert's birth his
family had moved to Darvel from Tarbolton, a weavers
town 15 miles to the southwest. Robert's
father Matthew Paton Gregg[P512]
was a skilled handloom weaver working within
a cottage-industry that encompassed the entire county
of Ayrshire. Tarbolton, had been at the hub of the
Ayrshire weaving industry for 200 years, but circumstances
in Scotland were changing
Darvel Town also had its
share of handloom weavers, the craft having
been introduced there around 1752. John Campbell,
4th Earl of Loudoun, granted 12 feus (a feudal
tenure of land) for house building in that year,
when only a handful of farmer's cottages existed
around Temple Derval. Within 40 years the small
community increased in size to over 400 people,
mostly employed in the production of hand woven
linen and silk. By 1790, the trend had moved
towards manufacturing woven cottons, and the
cloth was later supplied to the army's of the
American Civil War. The population of the town
increased steadily, and the local hand weaving
crafts sustained the population of Darvel for
a further century or more.
By 1848 The Kilmarnock and Troon Railways
had extended their tracks eastwards as far
as Galston, and by 1850 to Newmilns. These
towns, and others along the Irvine Valley
began building their own factories and mills,
providing a new found source of employment
and wealth. This latter stage of the Industrial
Revolution saw the invention and introduction
of power looms, which enabled the fabrics
to be mass-produced at substantially reduced
labour costs. Alas it would also bring about
the demise of the old hand-woven products.
In 1896 The Glasgow and South-Western
Railway Company laid a railway track to Darvel.
This connected the town to other commercial
centres, thus enabling employers and traders
an efficient means of transporting goods to
and from their factories. It also brought about
a faster means of passenger transport, and encouraged
workers to travel from further afield.
During that
period, chenille, madras and lace-weaving mills
had been set up in Darvel, with production greatly
influenced by the introduction of the new steam-driven
mechanical looms. As the 20th Century loomed,
businesses became more profitable, wages improved,
and many rural weavers were attracted to the
modern town of Darvel. While the huge power
machines throbbed away in the work places, manufacturers
and workers prospered well. The new centres
of employment provided a comparatively higher
standard of living than the workers had ever
known before. Unprecedented expansion followed
which procured fresh inspiration into the community.
Darvel acquired an affluence that would have
been unimaginable a few years before. The town's
Latin motto reads'Non sibi
sed cunctis',
which means "Not for ourselves, but for others".
See:
Wikipedia link for Darvel Ayrshire
My Grandfather,
Matthew Paton Gregg[P512]
was resolved to the change, and so joined
the procession of weavers seeking higher
paid employment in the mills of the Irvine
Valley. In 1898 he moved with his family
from Tarbolton to Darvel. Gas lighting was
by now installed in streets and houses.
The old water stand-pumps, having previously
been scattered throughout the town, were
replaced by gravitational piped supplies.
New schools and churches were appearing,
libraries and community centres. A public
square was provided and a new police station
boasting its own jail. A football ground
for the 'Darvel Juniors' football team was
also under construction in the meadowland
off Main Street Darvel. Housing was erected
to accommodate the needs of the expanding
community; and their spiritual and moral
concerns became the business of the
Reverend John W. Jack.
He was the recently appointed Minister of
Darvel, and occupied the huge manse at the
end of East Main Street, on the town perimeter.
1899, the year in which Robert was born,
coincided with the start of the Boer War.
Queen Victoria died in 1901, and Edward
VII became King. Izabella[P568], the last
child of the family, was born on 14th
June 1902 in the same year that the war
ended.
In 1904, the Loudon and
Darvel School Boards implemented the provisions
of the Scottish Education Act of 1872. They
built an impressive new school on Pond Braes.
It proudly overlooked the town, and was a much
welcomed facility for the growing number of
children in the community. Robert, then aged
five, would have been one of its first pupils.
In the summer of 1905,
he would have been amongst those children representing
his school at the 'Grand opening' of Darvel's
new Town Hall. Many public buildings of the
Victorian and Edwardian periods were built from
public subscription, and this being no exception,
was of immense pride to the local citizens.
Fittingly, it marked the end of the rapid change,
and economic advance experienced by the town
in it's recent years.
Robert's
father Matthew died in 1909 aged only 52. The cause
of death was 'Pulmonary Tuberculosis', related to
heart decease and which has taken its toll of deaths
within our wider family group. At 10 years of age,
Robert was among perhaps six children still
living at home, and they would need to be cared
for by his widowed mother
Margaret [Doyle] Gregg [P
513]. Her Doyle family tree can be found in
Chapter 2, and also the data-base related to this
article.
Over the following five years, notable events took
place, such as the crowning of King George V in
1910. In that same year, and with the help of the
newly invented radio transmissions, Dr Crippen was
caught whilst fleeing to Quebec. Rutherford introduced
his theories on the atom in 1911, and it was in
1912, with the loss of over 1500 lives, that the
momentous sinking of the Titanic took place. Scott,
the explorer was found dead in the Antarctic in
1913, and the following year was the beginning of
World War I. The war would ravage Europe and last
for more than four years.
My collection of family 'heirlooms' includes
Robert's original birth certificate, a well-travelled
document showing signs of repair from long ago.
It is interesting to note the stitches of silk threads
woven through the torn folds on the now delicate
paper, and the faded inscriptions of officialdom.
Robert's birth certificate shows his surname wrongly
spelled as 'Greig'
So, from this we know that
on 2 March 1917, aged 17 years and 8 months,
Robert was to be found enlisting at the Army
Recruiting Office in Ayr. He would become 52318
Private Gregg R P of the Royal Scots Regiment.
The coastal town would have been bustling with activity.
There would be military bands playing, and no doubt
frivolous chatter of a final victory against the
Hun. Then excitedly, amid thousands of other brave
but naive young men, Robert would proudly
have been marched off to the Great World War[1914-19].
He would also encounter the horrors, the carnage,
and the genocide of that shameful conflict.
Robert was but one of the many under-aged young
men who volunteered to join the British Armed Forces
during World War I. Somewhere near 250,000 under-aged
men 'apparently deceived ' the recruiting
sergeants, and over half of those never returned
home. Many were killed on the Western Front at Ypres,
on the Belgium-France border, and further south
at the Somme.
From the battlefields of Europe, Robert
probably wondered if he was ever to see
his beloved Scotland again, but with good
fortune he did return.... perhaps now a
wiser and more mature young man. No doubt
he also paid quiet tribute at the war memorial
erected in Hastings Square, commemorating
the many young men from Darvel who lost
their lives in France, and who did not return.
Robert is seen
above as a soldier of the Royal Scots Regiment.
The photo is believed to have been taken in the
Baltic region.
British War Medal. The British War Medal 1914-1920,
authorised in 1919, was awarded to eligible service
personnel and civilians alike. Qualification for
the award varied slightly according to service.
The basic requirement for army personnel and civilians
was that they either entered a theatre of war, or
rendered approved service overseas between 5 August
1914 and 11 November 1918. Service in Russia in
1919 and 1920 also qualified for the award.
Victory Medal. The Victory Medal 1914-1919 was
also authorised in 1919 and was awarded to all eligible
personnel who served on the establishment of a unit
in an operational theatre.
FOOTBALL,
football, fitbaw . . . Captivated by the game since
his early days, Robert represented the town
as a soccer player in both school and youth teams,
and in his teenage years eagerly pursued the sport
in a professional capacity. From 1920, he played
six consecutive seasons in the Scottish League.
The clubs listed include: September 1921 -
Irvine Meadow (Hurlford), August
1923 - Kilmarnock, July 1924 -
Galston, and July 1925 -
Nithsdale Wanderers. One particularly
unmemorable game was in the 1923-24 season for Kilmarnock
Football Club [Scottish League Div.1]. It was his
debut appearance against Dundee,
on 19 January 1924, and one he would perhaps preferred
to forget. Quoting from a report in the 'Who's Who'
book of the Kilmarnock F.C the game was ... 'a
personal disaster for Bob'
... He may well have had other things on his mind
that day, for his brother
William Gregg[P558]
was very sick and died the following week.
By 1925 Robert had moved on to Nithsdale
Wanderers Football Club. Soccer records state that
in April 1926 he then moved back to the
Galston Squad, and it was around this time
that Robert was approached by talent-scouts
who offered alluring opportunities abroad in the
newly formed North American Soccer League. The offer
of around 75 US dollars a-week
wages, free passage out, expenses plus bonuses and
incentives, was no doubt ample inducement. Cup winning
teams like those in the US National Challenge
Cup could expect prize monies of up to
$5,000. With an exchange rate of
4 to 5 dollars to the pound, a top team
player could net the equivalent of well over £40
per-week all in. That was good money in
those days when top British players would
have been earning more like £6 per-week, at a time
when British Soccer players wages were capped!
For the energetic young man it was a dream come
true.
US $ to
British £
Year
Rate
1926
£1.00 = $4.86
1927
£1.00 = $4.86
1928
£1.00 = $4.87
1929
£1.00 = $4.86
1930
£1.00 = $4.86
1931
£1.00 = $4.54
1932
£1.00 = $3.51
1933
£1.00 = $4.24
1934
£1.00 = $5.04
1935
£1.00 = $4.90
On a
day in early May 1926 he left Darvel for North America,
his young sweetheart Nan MacKelvie knew it could
be a long time before she would see her fiancé again
- but with mixed emotions Robert set sail
for the Americas - a land of adventure and great
opportunities.He arrived at the port of
Quebec, Canada on Wednesday, 26 May 1926 at
4am aboard the Steam Ship MONTROSE
of the Canadian Pacific Line. [Read
complete on-line Newspapers of that day ,
Canadian Montreal Gazette - online, or
P390. Graphic Image sample.]
During the 1920's the ASL (American
Soccer League) was the equivalent to the English
or Scottish Football Leagues in Great Britain. The
US Open Cup Finals(which at that
time was called the
US National Challenge Cup)
were equivalent to the British F.A Cup Finals.
[See Source Note:
Colin Jose (Canada) and Dave Litterer (USA)]
During his years in North America Robert appears
to have played both in Canada and the U.S.A. Recorded
statistics show him as playing on both sides of
the border, the first I have on record to date being
in Windsor Ontario Canada in July 1926.
We have record of Robert playing a game against
the Touring English Football Association
on 29 July 1926 in Windsor Ontario, representing
Essex County F.C, Ontario. Robert
also appeared for the Windsor All Stars
team in Ontario, Canada on 4 July 1927,
playing against The Scottish F.A Touring
team. He represented the Windsor
Football Club. Then on 1 June 1931 whilst
playing with Chicago Bricklayers
they played in the series against Scotland's
Glasgow Celtic Touring Squad at Cubs Park,
Chicago, Illinois USA.
Robert's first recorded USA
Soccer League appearances were with
Philadelphia F.C , playing 29 games during the
1926-27 season. It was the start to his new career
in which over the following 10 years he would play
for such clubs as
' New Bedford Whalers ' and 'Providence
in Massachusetts.
'Chicago Carpenters' and 'Chicago
Bricklayers' in Illinois. Then he made
his home with the 'Stix,
Baer and Fuller ' team of St Louis Missouri.
It was the time known as 'The Golden
Years' in American soccer history.
Notable occasions for Bob in the American
Soccer Leagues include
National Challenge Cup(Later known as the
US Open Cup) Runners-up
medal whist playing for Chicago Bricklayers in the
1931 US National Challenge Cup Final. Runners-up
again in 1932 with Stix, Baer and Fuller of St Louis,
and eventually National Challenge Cup Winners
Medals in 1935 with the same team.
St Louis Soccer League(SLS) Champions
1933,1934 and 1935, and many more medals
won from other competitions and International
Medals during this period.
Robert Paton Gregg
- Soccer Career - Resume
1899 14 July
Born Darvel
Ayrshire Scotland
1917 March 2 Age 17
Enlisted Royal Scots Regiment
at Ayr Ayrshire 52318 Pt Robert
P Gregg (WW I)
1921 Sept Age 22
Football
Club:
Irvine Meadow FC,
Hurlford, Ayrshire, Scotland.
[Ayrshire First Division
winners 1921-22]
1927 July 4, Windsor
All Stars Canada vs. Scottish
F.A Tour
The Touring Scottish
FA
played the Windsor All-Stars
at Kelsey Park, Ontario (CANADA).
Bob Gregg (listed as Bob Greig)
represented the Windsor Football
Club. Among other locals were
Canadian National Railroad and
Canadian Club. These all-stars
included Maurice Honeyman and
Tommy McGowen(soon
to be Walkerville FC players).Result, Windsor All Stars
2,(Mercer, Visser) Scottish
F.A4 (Muirhead
2, Cunningham, Cook). HT: Att:
4000. Scottish F.A: Hamilton
– W. McStay, Blair – Morrison,
Swallow, Craig – Archibald,
Muirhead, Munro, Cunningham,
Cook. Windsor:
Orr (Canadian) – Robert
Greig (Windsor), Maurice
Fairhurst (Canadian) – Inglis
(Canadian), Tommy McGowan (Windsor),
Joe Spence (CNR) – Ponic (Windsor),
Maurice Honeyman (CNR), Gerrit
Visser (CNR), Jackson (CNR),
Bobby Mercer (Windsor). Referee:
Dave Evans (Detroit).
This was likely was an
off-season (summer) appearance
for Robert with Windsor before
moving back to the ASL to perform
with New Bedford and Providence
respectively. [Ref 1.Chuck
Zsolnai, International Soccer
Archives [Ref 2.
History of Canadian Soccer.Com
] [Ref.3.
Ottawa Citizen Newspaper write-up]
1927-1928 Age 28
Football Club(1):Bob joined
New Bedford
(Whalers) FC Massachusetts,
USA. [League Champions
Runners-Up]
New Bedford also reached the
First Round
of The National Challenger Cup
conceding to J&P Coats 2-1 on
28 March 1927 at Tiverton.
Football Club: Chicago Carpenters
Soccer Club,
[Ref offer letter on file 20
Jan 1930] . Carpenters went
as far as the First
Round of the National Challenge
Cup, being eliminated
3-0 by Sparta on 16 December
1929.
Note:
21 November 1929 (Margaret
Gregg Junior. Born Chicago,
Illinois.)
1930-1932 Age 31
Archie Perry - Brother-in-Law
to Bob Gregg also played in
this team
Football
Club: Bricklayers
FC, Chicago, Illinois. USA [National
Challenge Cup Runners-Up].
(Bob was often listed
as [Bob GREIG] in sports reports
as can be seen in the
'1931
US National Challenge Cup Finals'
. Bob scored from a 57th minute
penalty in the 1931 National
Challenge Cup Final 2nd game
against Fall River(New York
Yankees) at Mills Stadium, Chicago,
IL., saving his team from a
shut-out in a 1-1 draw. However,
In the 2nd game replay-match
at Sparta Field on 19 April
1931, Bricklayers lost 2-0 finishing
as
National Challenge Cup Runners-Up.
The Bricklayers also were
Runners-Up to Sparta SC in the
Peel Cup on 14 June 1931. Bob
left Bricklayers early in the
1932 season to move to St Louis,
Stix Baer & Fuller. Note: re Archie Perry:
Bob's Brother-in-law
Archie Perry also played
for The Bricklayers F.C from
about October 1930.
Chicago Tribune Newspaper
Report: Nov 2, 1930. BRICKLAYERS
SOCCER TEAM TO MEET OLYMPIAS.'The
Bricklayers line-up will Include
Bob Gregg and
Archie Perry,
the latter being a center half-back
recently arrived from Canada.
...'
Note:
30 March 1931 (Robert Gregg
Junior. born Chicago, Illinois.)
1931
June 21
Chicago Bricklayers vs. Glasgow
Celtic Tour
Glasgow Celtic’s 1931
North American tour :On June
21, 1931 at Cubs Park in Chicago,
Illinois. Attendance 11,000.
Half Time score 3-0. Attendance:
11,000. Celtic 6 (R. Thomson,
Wilson 2, Napier, Hughes, McGhee).
Chicago Bricklayers 3 (Imrie,
Cuthbert).
The teams were: Celtic:J. Thomson
– Cook, McGonigle – Wilson,
McStay, Scarfe – R. Thomson,
A. Thomson, Hughes, Napier,
McGhee.
Chicago Bricklayers:Neate
– Bob Gregg,
Hugh Davidson – Bob Thompson,
Tom Scott, Billy Ogilvie – Greenless,
Baba Vicek, Imrie, Clem Cuthbert,
Willie McLean.
[Ref 1.
The Celtic Wiki]
[Ref 2.
Celtic Programmes On Line]
1931-1932 Age 32
Football
Club:
Stix, Baer and Fuller FC,
St Louis, Missouri, USA [National
Challenge Cup Runners-up]
and [SLSL League
3rd Place].
Bob moved to St Louis from Chicago
Bricklayer to join Stix,
Baer & Fuller. His new club
faced the previous Chicago club
in the
Semi-Final winning from
a 3 match series. Stix,
Baer & Fuller then
faced New Bedford in
the National Challenge Cup Final
on 2 April 1932 at Sportsman’s
Park - St. Louis. Bob's team
were again runners-up.
This was a 2nd National Challenge
Cup Runners-Up medal for
Bob in 2 seasons. Stix,
Baer & Fuller went on to be
National Challenge Cup Winners
for the next 3 seasons
1932-1933 Age 33
Football
Club:
Stix, Baer and Fuller FC,
St Louis, Missouri, USA [National
Challenge Cup Winners].[SLSL
League Champions]. Bob missed the Semi-Finals & Finals of the National Challenge Cup due to injuries
received in the Quarter Finals
replay-match on 12 March 1933
1933-1934 Age 34
Football
Club:
Stix, Baer and Fuller FC,
St Louis, Missouri, USA [National
Challenge Cup Winners].[SLSL
League Champions (On-going
serious injuries kept Bob on
the sick list most of this season)
Note:
26 January 1934 (Roberts
mother Margaret Gregg dies in
Darvel Ayrshire Scotland)
1934-1935 Age 35
Football Club:
Stix, Baer and Fuller FC,
St Louis, Missouri, USA [National
Challenge Cup Winners].[SLSL
League Champions].
(Stix, Baer and Fuller were
renamed the
St Louis Central Breweries team
mid-season 1934-35). Bob returned
to the field of play following
a long period of injuries, and
was available for the Semi-Finals
and Finals of the 1935 National
Challenge Cup. He replaced Maurice
Kramer as substitute
at right back in the
Final game on 12 May 1935
at Newark Stadium New Jersey,
to finish up with his
first National Challenge Cup
WinnersMedal.
This was to be the finale of
Bob's lengthy soccer career
and his years in the U.S.A.
[Ref:
Colin Jose Soccer Historian]. (The following
season 1935-36
the team
changed name once again to St
Louis Shamrocks wwinning
the SLSL league and runners-up
in the National Challenge Cup)
C. 1935/1955
Returned to
Scotland UK Age 36/37
[No exact date yet]
Died: Ipswich Suffolk
England 1955 4 Nov. Age 56
Additional References
1.
See
FULL STATS for Bob Gregg's appearance
in the U.S National Challenge Cup
from 1927 - 1935. Courtesy of Aldo
Benni
[Source
Note: I am grateful to Colin Jose who is the leading
soccer historian in Canada, and in addition to many
papers written about the American Soccer Leagues,
is author of "The Complete Guide to the North American
Soccer League" and 'The American Soccer League 1921-1931
: The Golden Years of American Soccer (American
Sports History Series)'.
Also to Dave Litterer who maintains the website:
http://www.sover.net/~spectrum/The USA Soccer History Archives
are maintained by Dave Litterer.(spectrum@sover.net)
These two gentlemen have supplied a great deal of
information regarding Robert Gregg's whereabouts
and Soccer Club details during his time in the USA.]
Review by Dave Litterer: The American Soccer League
1921-1931 : The Golden Years of American Soccer
- Colin Jose. Comprehensive statistical history
of a long-forgotten league. (1998)
'This book fills a critical gap in the historic
literature of American Soccer, by providing a comprehensive
statistical history of the first true major soccer
league in this country. The ASL was as powerful
as the NAFL during the 1920's, but later folded
and faded into complete obscurity for decades, existing
as little more than rumour. Colin has single handedly
reconstructed their entire history from box scores
and news articles culled from newspaper microfilms.
His reconstruction of a significant part of American
soccer history comes at an important time as the
professional game enjoys unprecedented growth and
new fans are beginning to rediscover the game's
long heritage in the United States.
The statistical summaries are thorough, from player
stats to linescores, and team histories. The news
items and description of league activity is fairly
basic but adequate. Most interesting are essays
illustrating how the league fits in with the rest
of the American soccer landscape of the era, and
the extensive records of European stars who were
attracted to the league by its generous salaries.
There is a nice selection of rarely seen photographs
of early players and teams, including Archie Stark,
the Boston Wonder Workers and the New York Hakoah
All-Stars'.
This is a good follow-up to Colin's earlier 1989
statistical survey; "A Complete record of the North
American Soccer League".
Also: published 2001 by Colin Jose, Roger Allaway
and David Litterer: The Encyclopaedia of
American Soccer History
Published 2003 by Colin Jose. NAFL-A North American
Soccer League Encyclopaedia.
From: "Colin Jose"
To: "Alec Gregg"
Cc: "David A. Litterer"
Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2000 4:14 AM
Subject: Your father - Robert Gregg
Hi Alec,
One of the problems with tracing players in
North America is that no one seemed to keep
any records, and therefore we don't know as
much as we would like. However, I can
add to what Dave Litterer has told you about
your father.
After he left New Bedford he
seems to have moved to Chicago
where he played for a team called the "Bricklayers".
This was one of the best teams in the U.S. at
the time and in 1931 they reached the
U.S. Open Cup final, the championship
of the United States. You can equate it
to the Scottish or English F.A. Cup Finals.
In the final they played the Fall River
F.C. It was supposed to be a
home and away series. In the first game
played on April 5, 1931 at the Polo Grounds
in New York (attendance 12,000), Fall River
won 6-2, with Bert Patenaude of Fall River (a
member of the U.S. World Cup team in 1930) scoring
five goals. The second game played April
12, 1931 at Mills Stadium in Chicago (attendance
8,000) ended in a 1-1 tie, with your
father scoring the Bricklayers goal.
Even though Fall River had won one game and
lost one game for some reason a third game was
played. This took place on April 19, 1931 at
Sparta Field in Chicago (attendance 4,500) with
Fall River winning 2-0. But there is an odd
twist to this story, because part way through
this season the Fall River franchise had been
transferred to New York City and renamed "New
York Yankees". However, because the team
had entered as Fall River it appears as Fall
River in the records, even though they played
in jerseys that said New York Yankees.
Then in the deciding game Fall River only had
11 available players, one of whom, the captain,
former Scottish international Alex McNab had
a broken arm. McNab could not play but
he did dress and go out for the coin toss.
Then he retired and Fall River played with 10
men.
The Bricklayers team contained the following
players in playing order with the first names
where known. Neate -
Bob Gregg, Hugh
Davidson – Bob Thompson, Tom Scott, Billy Ogilvie
- Greenlees, Jimmy Munro, Davie Coutts, Clem
Cuthbert, Willie McLean. Others who played
were Martin, Hugh Hill and Tommy Hill.
The only one I know a little more about is Willie
McLean, who seems to have played for Clydebank
and later played for the U.S. in the World Cup
of 1934. Friends in St. Louis tell me
that Willie McLean Disappeared sometime around
1946 and was never seen again.
One year later your father was playing
in St. Louis for a team called
Stix, Baer and Fuller.
Willie McLean moved to St. Louis with him.
This team was owned and operated by a large
department store, and many of the players worked
in the store as salesmen. Stix,
Baer and Fuller reached the U.S. Open Cup final
in 1932 (so that's two finals in a
row for your father) and played New Bedford
Whalers. Unfortunately his team lost again.
Both games were played in St. Louis and on March
27, the teams played to a 3-3 tie. On
April 3, New Bedford won 5-2. The Stix,
Baer and Fuller team was, Charles La Barge
- Bob Gregg, Tom
Erbe - Harry Hebberger, Bill Lehman, Elmer Benoist
- Willie McLean, Eddie Hart, Jack O'Reilly,
Lou Ahrens, Frankie Pastor. Others who
played were Jimmy Roe, Joe McCarthy and Rudge.
I met Jimmy Roe about three years ago, but he
has since passed on.
Stix, Baer and Fuller reached the
U.S. Open Cup Final again in 1933 and
1934, but your father was not in the
line up in either years, although it seems that
he was with the club. Sometime after the
1934 season ended the department store stopped
sponsoring the team and ownership passed to
St. Louis Central Breweries. The team,
now known as St. Louis Central Breweries,
reached the final again in 1935
and won for the third year in a row. They
played Pawtucket Rangers and the final went
to three games. In the first game played
in St. Louis the Breweries won 5-2, in the second
played in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the teams
tied 1-1. In the deciding game played
in Newark, New Jersey Pawtucket won 3-1.
So each team had won a game and one was tied.
The aggregate score was St. Louis 7, Pawtucket
6. The cup went to St. Louis.
Your father played in
one game, the final game in Newark
as a substitute for Maurice Kramer at right
back. The Breweries team was Johnny Hamm
- Maurice Kramer(Bob Gregg), Jimmy Nolan - Eddie
Kane, Bill Lehman, Harry Hebberger - Alex McNab,
Billy Gonsalves, Bert Patenaude, Jimmy Roe and
Willie McLean. Others were Frankie Pastor
and Ollie Bohlman. And yes that is the same
Alex McNab and Bert Patenaude who played for
Fall River back in 1931. Another notable
player with St. Louis then was the great Billy
Gonsalves, perhaps the finest American born
player of all time.
I don't know anything about your father playing
in Detroit for Holley Carburettors, but that
doesn't mean that he didn't. As I say
very few records were ever kept. Most
of what I know I have had to research myself
and when teams won the U.S. national championship
in those days it was always easy to find more
information. Sorry I cannot add anything
about Canada either.
There were at least two daily newspapers in
St. Louis in those days, the Globe-Democrat
and the Post-Dispatch. One of them published
short bios of the players with Stix, Baer and
Fuller on September 15, 1934.
Your father's bio reads.
"Bob
Gregg, fullback. Gregg has been on the
sick list all season, but is expected to be
of some assistance in the remaining games.
He and McLean came here together after starring
with the Bricklayers. The 30 year old
full-back, who is one of the longest kickers
in the game, was born in Ayrshire, Scotland
and made an international reputation while with
Kilmarnock. From this you
could come to the conclusion that he missed
some finals through injury. There was good coverage of soccer
in the St. Louis papers in those days with lots
of photographs. St. Louis has, along with
Fall River, always been one of the centres of
soccer in the U.S.
As a result of all this
your father ought to have had at least one U.S.
Open Cup winners medal and two losers medals,
along with many more from other competitions.
Colin Jose
Email from Colin Jose
to Alec Gregg 11 March 2001
----- Original Message -----
From: "Colin Jose "
To: "Alec D Gregg "
Sent: 11 March 2001 22:25
Subject: Walkerville Soccer Club - Windsor
Alec,
It has been some time since I was in touch.
However, just recently I have come across some
information that I think will be of interest
to you.
First of all on your website you mention
Walkerville F.C., who were
Western Inter-City Football League Champions
in 1927-28. At the time you contacted
me you may remember that this puzzled me, because
the only Walkerville I could find at the time
was nowhere near Windsor, where your relatives
lived, but on the western side of the lower
peninsula of Michigan.
Now I have discovered that the reason I could
not find Walkerville on a map of Ontario, is
because it is a district of Windsor,
and not a separate town or village. The only
place I could find it was on a street map of
Windsor. Walkerville did in fact have
a soccer team at least as far back as 1920
playing in the Detroit and District
league, and at that time they were
members of the Michigan State Football
Association and not, as one might expect,
the Ontario Football Association.
At various times teams from Windsor have played
in a cross-border league with teams from Michigan,
because Windsor is a long way from the other
large cities of Ontario and much closer to the
cities in Michigan across the river. Such a
league still exists today.
The fact that Walkerville were in effect registered
with the United States Football Association
and not with the Dominion of Canada Football
Association allowed them to enter the United
States Open Cup competition. So far I have been
able to find that they entered in 1920, 1921
and 1922 at least. In 1922 Walkerville won its
first three games before being defeated in Pennsylvania
by a team from Jeanette, which is near Pittsburgh.
The players who played for Walkerville in that
competition were: Wighton, Mullen, Clacker,
Stevenson, Blackburn, Ramsey, McGrain, Biggar,
Spence, Steele, Lyons, Miller, Hughes and Buckley.
In looking at your Walkerville picture of some
years later I can find a G. Steel (without the
e) and that makes me wonder if it is the same
player as the one who played in 1922.
Also in that picture I can find a M.W. Honeyman,
who is probably Maurice Honeyman, who later
became a part of the Ontario Soccer Commission
from 1948 to 1951.
In that same year, 1922, a second team from
Windsor, Windsor Rovers also entered the competition,
they won one game and lost the second, but included
in their line up are two players named Gregg.
They are listed as E. Gregg and C. Gregg. The
other players on this team were Roberts, Ridley,
Hornsby, A. Robinson, Reeves, Kincaid, J. Robinson
and Mercer.
I will be looking into this a lot more in the
weeks to come and I will also be in touch with
the soccer people in Windsor who are currently
doing some research of their own. I am sorry
but I haven't been able to get to Cornell University
in well over
a year, otherwise I would have made a photo-copy
of the game in which your father scored.
I see you have re-organized your website. It
looks great.
One final thought. Would it be possible for
you to have a copy made of the Walkerville picture.
If you would make a copy I would be happy to
pay for the cost.
Sincerely,
Colin Jose
Email from Chuck Zsolnai
to Alec Gregg 14 July 2009
- Original Message -----
From: chuck zsolnai To: alec gregg
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 4:57 PM
Subject: Attn Alec - Bob Gregg Footballer
Hello Alec,
In updating the information in Colin Jose's
book (American Soccer League) I have found additional
data that was omitted in the original publication.
In the biographies section, Bob Gregg was not
included even though he is acknowledged to have
played in the ASL.
He also participated in two significant non-ASL
matches:
On 4 July, 1927 - The Touring Scottish
FA played the Windsor All-Stars
at Kelsey Park, Ontario (CANADA).
Bob Gregg (listed as Bob Greig)
represented the Windsor Football Club among
other locals - Canadian National Railroad and
Canadian Club. These all-stars included Maurice
Honeyman and Tommy McGowen (soon to be Walkerville
FC players)
Although this may have been an off-season (summer)
appearance with Windsor, it was at least a stop
before moving back to the ASL in the 1928-1929
season to perform with New Bedford and Providence
respectively.
I'm sure this will lead to more findings. Your
Gregg Family website was the key to new research.
Many thanks.
Chuck
International Soccer Archives
Letters and contracts in my
collection indicate that Bob achieved
a long and successful career in the sport he loved
so much. He played
his final four years in soccer at the top
Stix, Baer and Fuller' Soccer Club of St Louis. They won
the National Challenge Cup for three consecutive
years - 1933 -1934 and 1935, but he had sustained
severe leg injuries which led to him missing games
in part of the 1933, and most of the 1934 seasons.
There were two newspapers in St Louis in those days
- the Globe-Democratic and the Post Dispatch. One
of them published short biographies of the players
in the Stix-Baer-Fuller team. On 15 September 1934
the one pertaining to Robert reads.... "
Bob Gregg, fullback. Gregg
has been on the sick list all season, but is expected
to be of assistance in the remaining games. He and
Willie McLean came here together after starring
with the Bricklayers. The 30 year
old fullback who is one of the longest kickers
in the game, was born in Ayrshire, Scotland
and made an international reputation while with
Kilmarnock." [Note:
Robert was actually aged 35 not 30]
And,
Robert did return to the field of play, and
continued through to received a further
Winners Medal for the 1935 Open
Cup Championship.
In nine consecutive years from 1926 to 1935, of
playing in North America, his prized trophies would
included various League Medals,
Open Cup Medals, International
Medals, Championship Medals, and
Exhibition Trophies. His Professional
Soccer Career spanned 15 years, starting at
Irvine Meadow F.C, Ayrshire Scotland
in 1921, to his last game for Stix, Baer
and Fuller of St Louis, U.S.A in 1935.
That year was to be the proud 'finale' to his British,
Canadian and American Soccer dream.
For a while
Robert lived in Chicago, a city said to have
been almost entirely under the control of the Mafioso.
It was the era of prohibition, the gangster mobs,
the Speak-easies and the Charleston. The 1920s brought
international notoriety to Chicago as gangsters
battled each other and the law during the Prohibition
era. In later years Robert would tell many a captivating
tale of the likes of Al' Capone and his gangster
accomplices. Of gang warfare, the shoot-outs between
the 'cops' and the 'mob' - and the rows of dead
'villains' laid out on the side-walks for all to
see.
However,
circumstances were also to change in his personal
life, and his planned intentions to return to Darvel.
I am told from some old-time Darvel residents of
the day that poor Nan MacKelvie
was left far behind and jilted!
A sporting colleague, and great friend to
my father
was a young man who later became our uncle. He was
Archie Perry[P902],
also from Britain, namely Sunderland County Durham,
England.
Archie played for Walkerville Soccer Club,
Windsor in Ontario, Canada, and stands proud in
the photograph from 1928 taken when they were Western
Inter-City Football League Champions (1927-1928).
He also played in USA soccer Leagues, often for
the same clubs as Bob Gregg. Archie arrived in Canada
aboard the Steamship ATHENIA (Anchor Donaldson)
from Liverpool England on 1 August 1926. Port of
arrival: Quebec, Quebec. Aged 23
Archie's older sisters,
Marion Fletcher
Perry[P901] and
Charlotte 'Sissy'
Perry[P900]
were married to William (Billy) Lawrence
and Conrad (Pat) Knudsen, respectively.
They were the first of the Perry family[F170]
to settle in Ontario Canada, some time between
1919 - 1923. Back home in England the men
had worked in a new and advancing technology
of the time. They were 'electricians' employed
as technicians in electric lighting and
cinema projection, and their skills would
be much in demand in this new land. Post
World War business was booming in Canada
and the USA, and with the introduction of
assembly-line production in the motor industry,
they soon found work as auto-electricians
at the new Ford and Chrysler motor plants.
They did well and prospered.
By 1925,
the Perry sisters and their husbands had
established homes in Windsor, Ontario, and
sent word for their younger sister Margaret
to join them. Margaret Perry[P528] was my mother.
She was born at 7 Sussex Street in Sunderland
County Durham England on 10 April 1906,
and was sixth in issue to a family of eight
surviving children. Her parents traded in
the town as fresh fish dealers, and her
elder brothers worked in the steel and ship
building industries located on the busy
rivers Tyne and Wear. Margaret set
off unaccompanied from her then address
at 19 Peel St Sunderland, and embarked upon
the long sea voyage from Liverpool England
to Canada - a brave venture for a girl who
was barely 19 years old. She would see neither
her parents nor brothers again for 10 long
years.
From the Canadian Immigration Records (1925-1935)
we know that Margaret sailed from
Liverpool England on 26 June 1925, and arrived
in Quebec, Canada on Friday, 3rd July 1925
at 4a.m. She sailed from Liverpool
England on the Steam Ship 'Montrose'
of the
Canadian Pacific Railway Company, which
arrived with 220 Cabin Class and 301 Third
Class passengers.[Read on-line Newspaper
of that day -
The Montreal Gazette Page 18 Column 2
or see
Edited Graphics Image Example P392 : Ships
arrivals Quebec and Montreal Page 18 Column
2.
The Montrose was just
5 years old, having made its maiden voyage
from Liverpool to Quebec in 1920. Towards the end of her long
Atlantic sea voyage, Margaret would first
catch sight of land again as the ship steamed
up the Cabot Straits between Newfoundland
and Nova Scotia, then into the Great Gulf
of St Lawrence. Some would disembark at
Prince Edward Island whist Margaret's journey
continued inland along the Great St Lawrence
River as far as Quebec City. Then overland
by train - to Windsor Ontario, through Toronto
and Montreal . Finally to arrive at
Windsor, south of the Great Lakes. Lake
Erie lay to the east and Lake Huron to the
north. Across the border were the northern
states of the USA - Michigan, Pennsylvania
and Missouri. Only 15 years earlier in 1910,
and on this same route from England, the
infamous Dr Hawley Crippen and Ethel Le
Neve were arrested for the murder of his
wife Cora, on board the previous SS Montrose.
Ethel Le Neve was disguised as a boy for
the journey from England to Canada. Captain
Henry Kendall became suspicious of their
true relationship and contacted London by
radio. This was the first time that radio
played a part in an arrest. Chief Inspector
Walter Drew came aboard disguised as the
pilot when the ship entered the St Lawrence
River, and arrested them.[Note:
In the year 2010 forensic genetics tests
would declare that the remains of the
body in the Crippen case could not have
been those of his wife, for which he was
tried for murdering].
Canadian Immigration Records (1925-1935) Margaret
Perry
Surname: Perry. Given name:Margt. Age:19.
Sex:F.
Nationality:Br Date of arrival: 3 July 1925.
Port of arrival: Quebec, Quebec Ship:MONTROSE, Canadian Pacific.
Reference: RG76 - IMMIGRATION,
series C-1-a. Volume: 1925 volume 7 . Page: 16.
Microfilm reel: T-14716
'Montrose' UK -
Canada(1922-1940 -16,402 gt) in 1939 was converted
to an Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Forfar, and in
1939 torpedoed and sunk off Ireland.
One-way fares West would have been between 50-150
Canadian Dollars depending on cabin class.
Canadian Immigration Records (1925-1935) Robert Gregg Surname: Gregg. Given name:Robert. Age:26.
Sex:M.
Nationality:Sco Date of arrival: 26 May
1926..
Port of arrival: Quebec, Quebec Ship:MONTROSE, Canadian Pacific.
Reference: RG76 - IMMIGRATION,
series C-1-a. Volume: 1925 volume 7 . Page: 16.
Microfilm reel: T-14716
'Montrose' UK -
Canada(1922-1940 -16,402 gt) in 1939 was converted
to an Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Forfar, and in
1939 torpedoed and sunk off Ireland.
Canadian Immigration
Records (1925-1935) Archibald Perry
Surname:Perry.
Given name:Archibald.
Age:23.
Sex: M. Nationality:En Date of arrival:1 August 1926.
Port of arrival: Quebec, Quebec Ship:ATHENIA, Anchor Donaldson .
Reference: RG76 - IMMIGRATION,
series C-1-a. Volume: 1926 volume 12. Page: 28.
Microfilm reel: T-14725
Athenia (1) 1903-1917 also torpedoed
and sunk off Inishtrahull, Ireland on 16th Aug.1917
loss of 15 lives. Athenia (2)
1922-1939 torpedoed and sunk off Inishtrahull, Ireland;
loss of 128 lives. (First ship to be sunk in WWII
3rd Sep.1939)
Athenia
(1) 1904 1917 torpedoed and sunk off Inishtrahull,
Ireland; loss of 15 lives. Athenia (2) 1923
1939 torpedoed and sunk off Inishtrahull,
Ireland; loss of 128 lives. (First ship
to be sunk in WWII 3rd Sep.1939) ATHENIA 1903(1)
7,835 gross tons, length 478ft x beam 56ft,
one funnel, four masts, twin screw, speed
14 knots, accommodation for 12-1st class
passengers. Launched on 20th Oct.1903 by
Vickers. Sons & Maxim for Donaldson Bros,
Glasgow, she started her maiden voyage from
Glasgow to Montreal on 21st May 1904. In
1905 she was fitted with additional passenger
accommodation for 50-2nd and 450-3rd class
passengers and her tonnage increased to
8,668 g.t. Her first voyage as a passenger
ship started 25th Mar.1905 when she left
Glasgow for St. John. N.B and continued
sailings to St. John and Quebec / Montreal.
In 1913 she transferred to Donaldson Line
Ltd and in 1916 went to Anchor-Donaldson
Line. On 16th Aug.1917 she was torpedoed
and sunk while 7 miles north of Inistrahull
Island, Northern Ireland by the U.53 while
on passage Montreal to Glasgow with the
loss of 15 lives. [North Atlantic Seaway
vol.3 by N.R.P.Bonsor] [Donaldson Line by
P.J. Telford]
ATHENIA 1922
(2)
The ATHENIA was built in 1922 by Fairfield
Co Ltd, Glasgow for the Donaldson Line of
Glasgow. She was a 13,465 gross ton ship,
length 526.3ft x beam 66.4ft, one funnel,
two masts, twin screw and a service speed
of 15 knots. There was accommodation for
516-cabin and 1,000-3rd class passengers.
Launched on 28/1/1922, she sailed from Glasgow
on her maiden voyage to Liverpool, Quebec
and Montreal on 19/4/1923. She was used
on the Cunard-Donaldson Line joint service.
In March 1927 she was refitted to carry
314-cabin, 310-tourist and 928-3rd class
passengers. She had the unfortunate distinction
of being the first ship sunk in the war,
on the day that war was declared. Torpedoed
by the German submarine U.30 when 250 miles
West of Inishtrahull, Northern Ireland on
3/9/1939 and sank with the loss of 128 lives.
[North Atlantic Seaway by N.R.P. Bonsor,
vol.3, p.1014] - [Posted to The ShipsList
by Ted Finch -8 April 1998]
My father took that
same voyage in 1926 from Liverpool to Quebec.
From Canadian Immigration Records (1925-1935)
it can be seen that he too travelled on
the Steam Ship Montrose, his journey
being nearly a year after Margaret's,
arriving on 26 May 1926. We have records
from the American Soccer League(ASL-USA)
of him playing for Philadelphia Football
Club in 1926 aged 27. He obtained his American
work visa, on 30 June 1927, port of arrival
being Detroit. He arrived on the 'D&W' Ferry,
which I presume to be 'Detroit and Windsor',
and would confirm that he arrived via Canada.
Presumably before this Robert had
commuted across the border to play in the
North American League.
Ships travelling directly
from Europe to locations in the USA would
have taken a southerly direction from Nova
Scotia, heading down to the Gulf of Maine
on the eastern seaboard of America. Passengers
would disembark probably at Boston Massachusetts,
or steam on through Long Island Main to
New York.
Windsor, in the Canadian Province of Ontario,
lies to the east of the St Clair River which
links the Great Lakes' Erie and Huron. Detroit
Michigan in the United States of America
is situated to the west, and it is this
waterway which provides a natural border.
As it is today, the crossing was even then
an extremely busy place, with thousands
of people busily to-ing and fro-ing to their
work places, on pleasure trips and shopping
expeditions. American citizens would quietly
smuggle home the occasional bottles of prohibited
liquor, yet unbeknown to many of them -
this was where the Mafia illegally imported
it by the truckload.
Robert Gregg
and Archie Perry would often have used that
crossing by local ferry. Today the River
is spanned by a huge bridge, and underneath
by the Windsor Tunnel. They travelled to
football league venues that spanned the
northern states of America and into Canada.
It was through introduction by Archie, that
Robert
and Margaret
met. They subsequently married in 1929,
just one month after the great Wall Street
Crash.
As early as May that year, much official
communication traversed between Canada and
Robert's
hometown of Darvel in Scotland. Although
Robert's
birth certificate clearly showed his surname
to be spelled 'Greig',
his young sister Isabella Greig[P568]
informed Margaret,
his wife to be, that the spelling was incorrect.
For a now unexplained reason, 11 of his
brothers and sisters were registered in
the name of 'Gregg',
yet Robert
and Isabella, the youngest two, were
registered as 'Greig'.
Because Robert
and Isabella were born in a different location
to their brothers and sisters, it is reasonable
to assume that this was a simple case of
the local Church Minister or Registry Clerks
spelling the name as they thought fit, a
not un-common occurrence by officialdom
in those days.
Finally, a letter
sent from the Registrar General in Edinburgh,
Ref. No. M.54/14/ 26 May 1929 was received.
Having been directed through Reverent John
Jack, Minister of Darvel, it stated ...
'on reference being
made to the Entry of Death of the father
of the young man in question, it is found
that his surname is recorded therein as
Greig and that
registration in that spelling was made on
the information of a son who clearly adhibited
his signature in the Register as WILLIAM
GREIG.' .... 'at registration of the birth
of ROBERT the father
clearly signed his name in column (5) as
MATTHEW GREIG and is no longer alive to
depone the facts of the case or to adhibit
his signature afresh in what is alleged
to be the correct spelling of his name'....
'as Mrs Gregg is alive, she might consult
a Law Agent as to the expediency of having
an Affidavit made touching the spelling
of the name, which if desired could be recorded
in the Books of Council and Sessions in
the General Register House here'.
Both Robert's brother William Gregg[P558]
and his father were registered at birth
as Gregg. The surname spelling on Matthew's
marriage certificate is also the same. Why
Grandfather used the spelling is not known,
and if the affidavit was ever made, we will
not know without further involved research.
Clearly all documents relating to Robert
after that time, with the exception of his
American Work Visa [No. 62,217 July 17 1929],
appeared as Robert Paton Gregg. .
I suspect the surname spelling of Greig
on his visa related to his possession of
his birth certificate naming him as Greig,
and it was this which was offered to the
authorities as his source of identification.
Robert and Margaret's marriage certificate
clearly names them as GREGG, and this was
the name used on Margaret's American Immigration
visa.[No.62,408 July 10 1929.
1929 was the year of the big
American stock market crash, followed by the
Great Depression. Margaret
and Robert married
on Wednesday 5 June 1929 in Windsor Ontario Canada.
Witnesses were Archie Perry and
Betty Kerr. Back in Great Britain,
on that same day, and following the result of the
recent General Election, Prime Minister Stanley
Baldwin would tender his resignation to King George
VI. Ramsay MacDonald would be summoned to Windsor
Castle on the following day where he would be asked
by the King to form the next Government as
Labour Prime Minister. [View
Ontario Gazette Graphic] or [Ontario
Gazette - Interactive Online].
On 9 August 1929, Margaret and Robert migrated across
the border to live in the USA. Port of Arrival was
Detroit Michigan. They lived in Chicago Illinois,
where their first two children, also named
Margaret[P532]
and Robert[P534]
were born.
Letters and offers of contracts
dated over the next few years showed addresses
for other locations in Illinois and St Louis,
Missouri. In early February 1934, a letter arriving
from Scotland was received at the Cote Brilliant
Avenue, St Louis address - using the present
spelling of the name -
'Mr. R. Gregg'.
The letter refers to the children's Grandmother
Margaret Gregg[P513-Doyle]. Having been widowed
in 1909 she was now in her seventies. With her
youngest son away in America, she longed often
to see him before she died. She would ask her
daughter Isabella to write to him and say
'tell Bobby it's
time to come home - tell him and I know he will
come'. Sadly, she was never to see her son
again for this particular letter also contained
a card of remembrance and the details of her
last days.
Elinor Smith. I remember
my mother once telling me about
her windy and noisy experience
of flying in an early two seater
bi-plane in St Louis Illinois,
USA. How she was dressed in
flying jacket and helmet with
goggles. She also mentioned
a female pilot, 'The Flying
Flapper', of the time, who was
well known for her dare devil
flying antics and stunts. I
was able to trace the following
information to one Elinor Smith
online at
Cruiseline.com, and a superb
video at YouTube which also
portrays the lifestyle, music,
and the environment of the 1920's
and 30's in USA. Elinor Smith was born
in 1911. She knew she
was born to fly at the age of
6 when she took her first airplane
ride. She started taking lessons
at the age of 8. She was fortunate
at that time to have parents
who supported her in what she
wanted to do. Her mother didn’t
want to deny her daughter opportunities
just because of her gender and
her father had always had a
passion for planes. These things
helped her in her quest to fly.
Elinor set many aviation records.
Most of these records came because
of her age. She was youngest
woman to fly solo at the age
of 15. At the age of 16, she
became the youngest person to
earn a pilot’s license in the
U.S. On October 21, 1928 at
the age of 17, Elinor flew under
four East River Bridges in New
York City. The bridges she flew
under were the Queensboro, the
Williamsburg, the Manhattan,
and the Brooklyn Bridges. She
is the only person ever to accomplish
that feat. Her first world record
was the endurance record she
set on January 31, 1929 of 13
hours, 16 minutes, and 45 seconds.
During that flight was the first
time she had ever landed at
night. In April of 1929, Elinor
again broke the endurance record
making it now 26 hours, 23 minutes,
and 16 seconds. Later that year,
she teamed up with Bobbi Trout
and set a joint record endurance
flight of over 42 hours and
became the first women to refuel
a plane in midair. She also
became the first person, male
or female, to receive a transport
pilot’s license at the age of
18. While she was still 18,
she became the first woman to
pilot a military aircraft. In
1929, she became the first female
executive pilot of the Irving
Chute Co., for a nationwide
tour to demonstrate parachute
drops . In 1930, she became
the first woman to test pilot
for Long Island’s Fairchild
Aviation Corp. In 1931, she
became the first woman to fly
over 30,000 feet, but she wanted
to beat that record. So, a week
later, she went up again and
set a new women’s altitude record
of 34, 500 feet. Her proudest
moment though was in 1930 when
all the licensed fliers of the
U.S. were asked to name the
best female and male pilots
in the United States. Elinor
won. She said, “It was such
an honor to know that my peers
considered me the best.” Elinor
then married a year or two later
and had two children. While
she was pregnant with her third
child, she thought maybe she
shouldn’t be flying; that she
should be home taking care of
the children. So, she quit flying.
Almost 25 years past before
she piloted a plane again. Elinor
loved to fly; Flying was meant
for her. She is such a great
example to the aviatrix of today.
Elinor Smith (Sullivan) died
24 Mar 2010.
By 1936-37
season, the St. Louis League, and
USA Soccer Leagues in general, were
in decline. Familiar teams of years
past had long gone. It would take
many years and many attempts before
USA soccer would rise to anything
like it's former glory.
At age 36,
my father was beginning to
suffer from the inevitable sports
injuries associated with the game,
and after fifteen years of
playing professional football, 10
of them in USA, it was prudent for
Robert to hang
up his boots, and the next move
for the family was 'home' to Great
Britain. I am told that he distributed
the Football Medals he won
in those years in America to family
members in U.K, but sadly I have
been unable to locate any to this
date.
For a while they lived in
Ayrshire, Scotland and then Sunderland,
England.
Robert's ambition to open
a golf range in Darvel, Ayrshire
met with local opposition and that
idea was eventually laid to rest.
In 1938, the family moved south
to rural East Anglia living and
working on a smallholding at Newborn
in Suffolk. The properties were
owned by the 'Land Settlement Association'.
The holdings were sited on uncultivated
land and leased to the occupants
as tenant 'farmers' - somewhat reminiscent
of the old crofters system in Scotland.
The land needed to be cleared, cultivated
and planted, and the work was hard;
the collective produce from cattle
and poultry and vegetables being
sent daily to local markets. Part
of the project entailed the construction
of enormous glass greenhouses in
which lettuces, tomatoes and fruit
was grown for the London markets.
During that period Uncle Archie
Perry also returned from America
and came to live with the family
securing employment on the construction
and maintenance of the greenhouses.
Soon the outbreak
of World War II [1939-45] began.
Conscription was introduced and
many British Servicemen were mobilised
to foreign lands. Uncle Archie Perry
being one. Shortages of every kind
soon became evident and the produce
from the settlements was commandeered
for the war effort. My brother[P536]
Archibald Perry GREGG
was born at Newborn Suffolk on the
17 May 1940. Air bases and army
barracks sprung up throughout East
Anglia and by 1943 many thousands
of conscripted GI's from the USA
were posted here.
By 1941
the Gregg family moved to
the nearby town of Ipswich,
a semi-industrialised port
town, where for a further
four years they lived through
the harrowing years of that
wretched war. Britain was
besieged by the might of
the German war machine,
and the area was under constant
attack from bomber planes
directing their aim at the
factories and gas supply
tanks near the Ipswich Docks.
Sirens sounded to warn of
the daily air raids, and
many cold nights were spent
in the Anderson air raid
shelters hastily dug into
back yards.
Gas masks were issued
to civilians who were advised
to carry them at all times.
From 1940 food and clothes
rationing became the order
of the day, and it was almost
fourteen years later, and
nine years after the end
of the War, that rationing
in Britain finally ended
on 9 July 1954.
See external article about
Eating during the Second
World War
In spring of 1943 my
mother
was expecting her fourth
child. With the war still
raging, and the dangers
of the nightly bombing In
Ipswich, she decided to
travel north to her home
town of Sunderland to stay
with her brother
Alexander Perry[P889]
and his wife
Elizabeth (Lizzy) Skelton[P1599]
for the birth. They, and
their son Alexander became
the godparents to the child
born on 29 January 1944
in Sunderland. This was
to be the last born of my
parents four children
- and none other than myself,
Alexander Doyle Gregg[P539].
World War II
eventually ended in 1945, leaving
Europe and many other parts of the
world in ruins. The family remained
in Ipswich where Dad died suddenly
on November 4 1955, a relatively
young man aged only 56 years. A
post-mortem was carried out because
of the suddenness of death. The
report revealed the cause of death
to be Coronary Thrombosis and Artheroma.
Mother aged 49, was entitled
to a State Widows Pension - all
of 10 shillings a week. That equates
to 50 new-pence in present day
British
decimal
currency.
Consequently, she needed to work
hard to maintain a reasonable standard
of living.
During the 1950's, women's wages
were usually less than 50% of that
earned by men, and Mum went
out to three regular jobs. Early
mornings she worked as a school
cleaner, and in the daytime she
worked in the bottle sterilising
plant of a local dairy. Her evenings
were taken up in restaurants where
she worked late hours to further
supplement her income.
By the 1960's Mum, with my sister
Margaret, had established a successful
company, catering for outside functions
such as weddings and banquets. They
made a reasonable living from this
for a number years, and from time
to time we all chipped in with our
sleeves rolled-up.
Having achieved a good and long
life Margaret finally passed away
from 'Old
age and Bronchopneumonia'
at Crabbe Street Nursing Home, Ipswich
on 10July
1995. She was in her 89th year,
and to date (2010), has been the
longest surviving member of my direct
family, other than
Agnes Currie[P440]
who survived to be 90 years
old; and lived from 1766 to 1855.
Robert and Margaret Gregg are laid
to rest at Ipswich Lawn Cemetery,
plot numbered 'UB 210' in the register
of purchased graves, and on the
plan of the said cemetery.
At the latest update of
this publication [January2012]
:
Children of Robert Paton Gregg
and Margaret Perry:
Margaret, Robert, Archibald
and Alexander.
Grandchildren: Lesley, Susan and
Deborah Oliver. Lisa and
Mark Gregg. Robert and Donna
Gregg. Teresa, Robert and Alexandra
Gregg.
Great-Grandchildren: Harrison
and Rhianna Jones.Catriona
Stoodley. Charlotte Swann. Spencer
and Jessica Gregg. Michael, David
and Daniel Pollard.
Hollie, Connor, Ellie and Harry
Gregg. (Harryis
currently [2012] the youngest
male Gregg in his family line).
Imogen, Lewis and Kira Fletcher.
Bradley and Tayler Smith. Connie
and James Gregg.
James[P1867]
is currently [2012] the youngest
male Gregg my family line.
See: His Ancestral Tree Great-Great-Grandchildren:
Baby Isobelle born 28 Feb 2008
to Harrison Jones & Michelle.
P19. This picture of the Darvel Juniors
Football Team, a semi-professional club
and was taken in 1967.On the
far right is the Club Secretary. He
is Matthew Gregg[P564]
son to Matthew Gregg and Margaret Doyle,
and elder brother to Robert Paton Gregg.
Robert had played for this Club some
50 years earlier. Football involvement
was obviously popular in the Gregg family.
TIMELINE
1899 to 1995 [and
Additionally to date]
1899 : Invention of first tape recorder
by V Poulsen 1899 : Introduction of aspirin
by Felix Hoffman
Wednesday April 19 1899 : Birth
date of [P1610]
Agnes Paton DUNLOP
Wednesday July 12 1899 : Birth date
of [P529] ROBERT
PATON GREGG October 1899 : Start of Boer
War 1900
: Invention of rigid airship by
von Zeppelin 1900 : Invention of agricultural
tractor by B Holt August 1900 : Boxer rebellion
in Peking
1901 : Birth date of [P899] Alexander
Frederick PERRY 1901 : First successful safety
razor sold by K Gillette Tuesday January 22 1901 : End
of reign of Queen Victoria Wednesday January 23 1901 : Start
of reign of Edward VII
1902 : Birth date of [P902] Archibald
PERRY
ABT 1902 : Birth date of [P1614]
Terence DUNLOP
EST 1902 : Marriage date of [F162]
- [P510] Alan
CARSWELL = [P509] Mary
Thompson GREGG
EST 1902 : Marriage date of [F168]
- [P522] John(2)
DOYLE[DALE] = [P523] Emily
Rosina RICKETTS Saturday April 5 1902 : 20 killed
as terracing collapses at Ibrox
Park
Monday April 14 1902 : Birth date
of [P568] Isabella
GREIG Sunday June 1 1902 : End of Boer
War
1903 : Birth date of [P897] Jessie
WHITELAW
EST 1903 : Marriage date of [F311]
- [P1032]
William WILSON = [P559] Agnes
GREGG
1903 : Birth date of [P847] Evelyn
DALE
1903 : Birth date of [P891] Matthew
RICHMOND
Monday October 5 1903 : Death date
of [P495] AGNES
PATON
EST 1904 : Birth date of [P1033]
Robert WILSON
Friday November 18 1904 : Death
date of [P514] THOMAS
DOYLE
Tuesday December 27 1904 : Death
date of [P508] Jane
HOPKINS
1905 : Birth date of [P848] James
DALE
January 1905 : Burial date of
[P508]
Jane HOPKINS Wednesday October 4 1905 : Convicted
Suffragettes choose to go to prison
Sunday December 10 1905 : Christening
date of [P529] ROBERT
PATON GREGG 1906 : Wassermann test for syphilis
developed
EST 1906 : Marriage date of [F312]
- [P560] Thomas
GREGG
= [P1041]
Mrs Elizabeth [F312] GREGG
EST 1906 : Birth date of [P1034]
Matthew WILSON
Tuesday April 10 1906 : Birth date
of [P528] MARGARET
PERRY
1907 : Birth date of [P849] Gladys
DALE 1907 : Albert Einstein postulates
"E=mc²" theory
EST 1908 : Birth date of [P1035]
William WILSON
1909 : Birth date of [P850] Elsie
DALE
Thursday November 25 1909 : Death
date of [P511] Catherine
Seaton GREGG
Wednesday December 22 1909 : Death
date of [P512] MATTHEW
PATON GREGG 1910 : Invention of first synthetic
plastic, Bakelite
EST 1910 : Birth date of [P1042]
Matthew GREGG
EST 1910 : Birth date of [P1036]
Robert(2) WILSON Friday May 6 1910 : End of reign
of Edward VII Saturday May 7 1910 : Start of
reign of George V Sunday July 31 1910 : Radio used
to arrest Dr Crippen fleeing to
Quebec
Sunday August 14 1910 : Marriage
date of [F481] - [P903] Charles
PERRY
= [P1609]
Elizabeth Jane GODFREY 1911 : E. Rutherford puts forward
nuclear model of the atom
1911 : Birth date of [P525] James
Ralph PERRY Tuesday January 3 1911 : Three
policemen die in the Seige of Sidney
Street
Tuesday March 7 1911 : Birth date
of [P1009]
Harold George ALEN Thursday August 31 1911 : Troops
clash with strikers in north of
England
EST 1912 : Birth date of [P1037]
Thomas WILSON
EST 1912 : Birth date of [P1043]
Thomas GREGG Monday April 15 1912 : SS Titanic
sinks with loss of 1513 lives
Thursday May 2 1912 : Birth date
of [P1010]
Ileen Mary THOMPSON Monday February 10 1913 : Capt.
Scott found dead in Antarctica
Sunday April 20 1913 : Birth date
of [P524] Gertrude
DALE June 1913 : Suffragette dies
under King's horse at Epsom
EST 1914 : Birth date of [P1044]
George GREGG 1914 : Invention of military
tank by E Swinton Sunday June 28 1914 : Austrian
Archduke Ferdinand assassinated
in Sarajevo Tuesday July 28 1914 : Austria
declares war on Serbia Tuesday July 28 1914 : Start
of World War I Saturday August 1 1914 : Germany
declares war on Russia August 1914 : Battle of Tannenberg Monday August 3 1914 : Germany
declares war on France Tuesday August 4 1914 : Britain
declares war on Germany Tuesday August 4 1914 : Germany
invades Belgium September 1914 : First Battle
of the Marne Sunday October 4 1914 : First
bombs fall on London
1915 : Birth date of [P851] John
DALE
EST 1915 : Birth date of [P1038]
Margaret WILSON February 1915 : Start of German
submarine blockade of Britain Thursday April 22 1915 : Germans
first use of mustard gas at Ypres Monday April 26 1915 : British
land in Turkey Friday May 7 1915 : SS Lusitania
sunk by German submarine Saturday May 22 1915 : 200 soldiers
killed in train crash at Quintinshill Monday September 6 1915 : Poland
and Lithuania overrun by Germany Thursday October 14 1915 : Britain
and France declare war on Bulgaria Monday December 20 1915 : British
withdraw from Gallipoli
Friday December 31 1915 : Marriage
date of [F280] - [P564] Matthew
Paton GREGG = [P898] Susan
Muir SPIERS
EST 1916 : Birth date of [P1045]
William GREGG
ABT 1916 : Birth date of [P1031]
Matthew Paton GREGG February 1916 : Battle of Verdun Monday April 24 1916 : 450 die
in Easter Rising in Dublin Wednesday May 31 1916 : Battle
of Jutland Saturday July 1 1916 : Start
of Battle of the Somme Sunday August 27 1916 : Romainia
declares war on Austria-Hungary Wednesday November 15 1916 :
End of Battle of the Somme
1917 : Birth date of [P852] Kathleen
DALE
Friday January 12 1917 : Marriage
date of [F267] - [P561] John
GREGG
= [P828] Elizabeth
Campbell WILSON Friday April 6 1917 : USA declares
war on Germany October 1917 : Start of Battle
of Caporetto
Wednesday October 31 1917 : Birth
date of [P829] Leah
Mitchell GREIG December 1917 : End of Battle
of Caporetto Friday December 7 1917 : USA
declares war on Austria-Hungary Saturday December 15 1917 : Russian
Bolsheviks now allies with Germany
1918 : Death date of [P852] Kathleen
DALE
Saturday March 9 1918 : Death date
of [P862] Jane
Drennan WIGHTMAN Thursday March 21 1918 : Start
of German offensive Monday April 1 1918 : Royal Air
Force created Saturday May 18 1918 : Sinn Féin
banned and leaders arrested July 1918 : Second Battle of
the Marne Thursday August 8 1918 : End
of German offensive Friday October 4 1918 : Germany
offers surrender Monday November 11 1918 : End
of World War I Monday November 11 1918 : Hostilities
cease on Western Front Saturday December 28 1918 : Women
allowed to vote for the first time
1919 : Birth date of [P853] Francis
DALE
EST 1919 : Birth date of [P1046]
Margaret GREGG March 1919 : Spanish flu kills
150,000 throughout Britain
Tuesday March 18 1919 : Death date
of [P523] Emily
Rosina RICKETTS Sunday December 28 1919 : Lloyd
George becomes Prime Minister
EST 1920 : Birth date of [P1039]
Mary WILSON
January 1920 : Marriage date of
[F424] - [P867] William
Wightman DOYLE = [P1368]
Martha Jane MORRISON
Monday March 8 1920 : Birth date
of [P830] Margaret
Dale(Doyle) GREIG
Thursday August 26 1920 : Birth
date of [P1369]
Jane(Jeanie) DOYLE Monday October 18 1920 : State
of emergency declared as miners
strike Sunday November 21 1920 : "Bloody
Sunday" - 12 Irish killed by the
Black and Tans
EST 1921 : Birth date of [P1047]
Elizabeth GREGG
1921 : Death date of [P843] Asey
DOYLE Tuesday December 6 1921 : Irish
Free State created 1922 : Banting and MacLeod isolate
human insulin
Sunday February 26 1922 : Death
date of [P522] John(2)
DOYLE[DALE]
BEF 1923 : Death date of [P845] Catherine
DOYLE
EST 1923 : Birth date of [P576] Cyril
PAGE
EST 1923 : Birth date of [P1048]
Nancy GREGG
1923 : Birth date of [P817] Gladys
MARDLE
Saturday January 6 1923 : Death
date of [P860] Esther
DOYLE
Thursday February 1 1923 : Death
date of [P854] Peter
DOYLE
Friday September 14 1923 : Marriage
date of [F430] - [P1747]
David Bell FLEMING = [P1750]
Catherine Doyle WHITING
Monday October 15 1923 : Birth date
of [P833] Matthew
Paton GREIG
EST 1924 : Birth date of [P575] Violet
MILLER
1924 : Birth date of [P816] Frederick
W KEELING
Sunday January 27 1924 : Death date
of [P558] William
GREGG Wednesday April 23 1924 : First
royal transmission by wireless
1925 : Birth date of [P1748]
MARGARET KNOX FLEMING
EST 1925 : Birth date of [P1049]
Anne GREGG
EST 1925 : Birth date of [P1040]
Agnes WILSON 1926 : Invention of the liquid-fuelled
rocket by R Goddard 1926 : First demonstration of
television by J L Baird Monday May 10 1926 : TUC calls
first General Strike
Monday October 4 1926 : Birth date
of [P831] Helen
Wilson GREIG
Tuesday October 4 1927 : Birth date
of [P533] Leslie
Harold OLIVER
1928 : Birth date of [P894] Matthew
Paton Gregg MCPHEELY Saturday January 7 1928 : River
Thames floods killing 14 Sunday September 30 1928 : Penicillin
discovered by Alexander Fleming
Sunday January 6 1929 : Birth date
of [P832] Mary
GREIG
Monday January 7 1929 : Death date
of [P832] Mary
GREIG
Thursday January 10 1929 : Death
date of [P828] Elizabeth
Campbell WILSON
Wednesday June 5 1929 : Marriage
date of [F171] - [P529] ROBERT
PATON GREGG = [P528] MARGARET
PERRY
Thursday November 21 1929 : Birth
date of [P532] Margaret
GREGG
EST 1930 : Birth date of [P834] Mary
M WILSON Saturday May 24 1930 : Amy Johnson
flies solo to Australia Sunday October 5 1930 : Airship
R101 crashes in France killing 48
Monday March 30 1931 : Birth date
of [P534] Robert
GREGG
Monday October 19 1931 : Marriage
date of [F297] - [P1009]
Harold George ALEN = [P1010]
Ileen Mary THOMPSON Friday February 12 1932 : Whipping
of children under 14 is banned
Thursday April 21 1932 : Birth date
of [P535] Daphne
ALEN Friday September 30 1932 : Unemployment
reaches 25% 1934 : Invention of first practical
radar by Watson-Watt
1934 : Birth date of [P892] Margaret
Doyle RICHMOND
Friday January 26 1934 : Death date
of [P513] MARGARET
DOYLE
Monday January 29 1934 : Burial
date of [P513] MARGARET
DOYLE Friday September 21 1934 : 262
killed in blast at Gresford colliery Monday March 18 1935 : Thousands
protest in Wales at "means test" 1936 : Sir Frank Whittle invents
the jet engine 1936 : Invention of helicopter
by H Focke Monday January 20 1936 : End
of reign of George V Tuesday January 21 1936 : Start
of reign of Edward VIII Wednesday November 11 1936 :
Jarrow Crusade reaches London Thursday December 10 1936 : Edward
VIII abdicates Thursday December 10 1936 : End
of reign of Edward VIII Friday December 11 1936 : Start
of reign of George VI
Thursday January 28 1937 : Death
date of [P509] Mary
Thompson GREGG Friday May 28 1937 : Chamberlain
becomes Prime Minister
Saturday August 21 1937 : Birth
date of [P1503]
David Reid GREIG 1938 : Discovery of nuclear fission
by Hahn and Strassmann Monday July 11 1938 : Last British
troops leave Eire
Saturday December 31 1938 : Marriage
date of [F169] - [P525] James
Ralph PERRY = [P524] Gertrude
DALE
1939 : Birth date of [P530] Rose
Margaret PERRY
EST 1939 : Birth date of [P1506]
Norah GILMOUR Friday August 25 1939 : IRA bomb
Coventry killing 5 Friday September 1 1939 : Germany
invades Poland September 1939 : Children evacuated
from London and major cities Sunday September 3 1939 : Start
of World War II Sunday September 3 1939 : Britain
and France declare war on Germany
Friday September 22 1939 : Marriage
date of [F426] - [P1370]
Robert SAVAGE = [P1369]
Jane(Jeanie) DOYLE Sunday December 17 1939 : the
Graf Spee scuttled off Montevideo
ABT 1940 : Death date of [P527] JESSIE
FLETCHER Friday May 10 1940 : Churchill
takes over as Prime Minister Friday May 10 1940 : Germany
invades Netherlands, Belgium and
Luxembourg Sunday May 12 1940 : Germany
invades France
Friday May 17 1940 : Birth date
of [P536] Archibald
Perry GREGG Sunday May 26 1940 : Allied evacuation
from Dunkirk begins
Friday May 31 1940 : Christening
date of [P536] Archibald
Perry GREGG Monday June 10 1940 : Italy declares
war on France and Britain Monday June 10 1940 : Italy invades
France Friday June 14 1940 : Germans
enter Paris unopposed Saturday June 22 1940 : France
surrenders to Germany Thursday November 14 1940 : Coventry
bombed
EST 1941 : Birth date of [P1371]
William Wightman Doyle SAVAGE
Thursday April 17 1941 : Yugoslavia
surrenders to Germany Sunday April 27 1941 : British
leave Greece Sunday June 22 1941 : Germany
attacks Russia Thursday August 14 1941 : Britain
and USA 'issue' Atlantic Charter
Monday November 3 1941 : Birth date
of [P585] Terry
Roderick STOODLEY Sunday December 7 1941 : Japan
attack USA at Pearl Harbour Thursday December 11 1941 : Britain
and USA declare war on Japan Thursday December 11 1941 : Germany
and Italy declare war on USA Sunday February 15 1942 : British
surrender Singapore to Japanese Thursday April 9 1942 : USA surrenders
Bataan peninsula to Japanese Wednesday May 6 1942 : USA surrenders
Corregidor Island to Japanese Wednesday June 10 1942 : Lidice,
Czechoslovakia razed by Germans Sunday November 8 1942 : British
and US troops land in North Africa
1943 : Birth date of [P531] Betty
Lynda PERRY Thursday January 14 1943 : Casablanca
conference Monday February 1 1943 : Germans
surrender at Stalingrad
Tuesday February 23 1943 : Birth
date of [P1051]
James Paton GREIG Wednesday May 12 1943 : War in
Africa ends Sunday July 25 1943 : Mussolini
deposed Friday September 3 1943 : Allies
land in Italy Wednesday September 8 1943 :
Italy surrenders Friday September 10 1943 : Germans
take Rome Monday November 22 1943 : Cairo
conference Sunday November 28 1943 : Teheran
Conference Saturday January 22 1944 : British
and US troops land at Anzio
Saturday January 29 1944 : Birth
date of [P539] ALEXANDER
DOYLE GREGG
Sunday February 20 1944 : Christening
date of [P539] ALEXANDER
DOYLE GREGG
Wednesday May 31 1944 : Birth date
of [P540] QUEENIE
DIANE PAGE Sunday June 4 1944 : British
and US troops enter Rome Friday August 25 1944 : Paris
liberated Friday October 13 1944 : Athens
liberated Friday October 20 1944 : USA
invades Philippines Saturday December 16 1944 : Battle
of the Bulge
Friday February 9 1945 : Birth date
of [P1810]
Margaret Jean GREGG Sunday February 11 1945 : Yalta
agreement Saturday April 28 1945 : Mussolini
killed at Lake Como Tuesday May 1 1945 : Hitler's
suicide announced Wednesday May 2 1945 : Berlin
falls Monday May 7 1945 : VE Day. Germany
surrenders Tuesday July 17 1945 : Potsdam
conference Monday August 6 1945 : USA drops
atom bomb on Hiroshima Wednesday August 8 1945 : USSR
declares war on Japan Thursday August 9 1945 : USA
drops atom bomb on Nagasaki Tuesday August 14 1945 : Japan
surrenders Sunday September 2 1945 : VJ
Day. Japanese sign surrender aboard
USS Missouri Sunday September 2 1945 : End
of World War II
Saturday December 29 1945 : Birth
date of [P1689]
Margaret Turner PARKER February 1946 : 50,000 "GI brides"
shipped out to the USA
Monday September 2 1946 : Birth
date of [P1011]
Wendy ALEN December 1946 : Fuel and food
shortages continue
Tuesday April 15 1947 : Birth date
of [P537] Maureen
MACLEOD
Thursday August 14 1947 : Birth
date of [P538] Vera
Eva STANDING Thursday November 20 1947 : Princess
Elizabeth marries the Duke of Edinburgh Thursday January 1 1948 : Railways
nationalised
EST 1948 : Birth date of [P813] Valerie
PAGE Monday June 28 1948 : Troops
break dockers' strike December 1948 : Labour government
constructs "Welfare State" Tuesday March 15 1949 : Clothes
rationing ends Monday April 18 1949 : Eire becomes
Republic of Ireland
Monday August 22 1949 : Death date
of [P867] William
Wightman DOYLE
Saturday October 15 1949 : Death
date of [P844] Isabella(2)
DOYLE
Friday November 4 1949 : Death date
of [P1729]
Charles WHITING ABT 1950 : Albert Einstein puts
forward theories of relativity Wednesday June 28 1950 : Royal
Navy enters Korean War
Saturday August 5 1950 : Marriage
date of [F172] - [P533] Leslie
Harold OLIVER = [P532] Margaret
GREGG Monday December 25 1950 : Stone
of Destiny taken from Westminster
Abbey
1951 : Death date of [P842] Rachael
DOYLE
Thursday May 31 1951 : Death date
of [P526] ALEXANDER
DUNDAS PERRY Thursday June 7 1951 : Soviet
spies Burgess and MacLean disappear
EST 1952 : Birth date of [P814] Rhonda
PAGE Wednesday February 6 1952 : End
of reign of George VI Thursday February 7 1952 : Start
of reign of Elizabeth II
Friday February 8 1952 : Birth date
of [P577] Lesley
Anne OLIVER Monday November 24 1952 : "Mousetrap"
opens in London Thursday December 11 1952 : Derek
Bentley sentenced to hang 1953 : Discovery of measles vaccine
by Enders and Peebles Saturday January 31 1953 : Ferry
Princess Victoria sinks in the Irish
Sea
Sunday February 1 1953 : Birth date
of [P1621]
Christine KEELING
Sunday February 1 1953 : Birth date
of [P544] LORRAINE
SUSAN KEELING Tuesday February 3 1953 : Hundreds
die as East Coast is flooded Saturday May 30 1953 : Edmund
Hillary reaches the top of Mount
Everest
Tuesday July 14 1953 : Birth date
of [P578] Susan
Margaret OLIVER
Sunday July 19 1953 : Birth date
of [P584] Steven
JONES 1954 : Discovery of first polio
vaccine by J E Salk May 1954 : "Teddy Boys" appear Saturday July 3 1954 : Rationing
ends
Friday January 7 1955 : Death date
of [P561] John
GREGG
Friday May 27 1955 : Death date
of [P510] Alan
CARSWELL Wednesday July 13 1955 : Ruth
Ellis is the last woman to be hanged
Saturday August 27 1955 : Marriage
date of [F173] - [P534] Robert
GREGG
= [P535] Daphne
ALEN
Friday November 4 1955 : Death date
of [P529] ROBERT
PATON GREGG
EST 1956 : Marriage date of [F392]
- [P1503]
David Reid GREIG = [P1506]
Norah GILMOUR
EST 1956 : Birth date of [P815] Adrian
PAGE Wednesday October 31 1956 : Britain
invades Suez
Monday January 21 1957 : Birth date
of [P1693]
Thomas GREIG Thursday October 17 1957 : Air
borne radiation leaks from Windscale
nuclear plant November 1957 : First motorway
in Britain, M1 opens
1958 : Birth date of [P586] William
SWAN Thursday February 6 1958 : 7
members of Manchester United die
in plane crash
Friday March 28 1958 : Birth date
of [P1694]
Margaret GREIG
1959 : Death date of [P1747]
David Bell FLEMING
Sunday December 6 1959 : Birth date
of [P587] Richard
POLLARD
1960 : Birth date of [P836] Elizabeth
Ann GREIG
1960 : Birth date of [P889] Neil
HEAD
Monday November 28 1960 : Birth
date of [P579] Deborah
Jayne OLIVER Saturday December 31 1960 : National
Service abolished
Thursday January 26 1961 : Death
date of [P1693]
Thomas GREIG
Thursday October 26 1961 : Birth
date of [P1695]
David GREIG
Tuesday October 2 1962 : Birth date
of [P580] Lisa
Michelle GREGG
1963 : Birth date of [P835] Linda
Helen GREIG Wednesday March 27 1963 : Dr
Beeching proposes cutting 25% of
rail lines Wednesday June 5 1963 : John
Profumo resigns after sex scandal Monday November 4 1963 : The
Beatles appear in the Royal Variety
Show
Wednesday February 12 1964 : Death
date of [P901] Marion
Fletcher PERRY
Saturday February 15 1964 : Burial
date of [P901] Marion
Fletcher PERRY
Thursday March 12 1964 : Birth date
of [P590] Andrea
MARSHALL
Tuesday July 28 1964 : Birth date
of [P1690]
Robert Parker GREIG
Monday November 30 1964 : Death
date of [P898] Susan
Muir SPIERS
Wednesday December 9 1964 : Birth
date of [P1703]
Allison PATON Monday December 21 1964 : Death
penalty abolished in Britain
Sunday April 4 1965 : Birth date
of [P581] Mark
Robert GREGG
Saturday September 18 1965 : Marriage
date of [F176] - [P539] ALEXANDER
DOYLE GREGG = [P540] QUEENIE
DIANE PAGE Thursday October 28 1965 : Brady
and Hindley charged with Moors Murders
Friday January 28 1966 : Birth date
of [P545] TERESA
DIANE GREGG
Friday June 3 1966 : Birth date
of [P1691]
Elaine Paton GREIG
Friday July 22 1966 : Birth date
of [P588] Angela
Louise LAWRENCE Friday October 21 1966 : 144
die in Aberfan as coal bing buries
school
Saturday November 5 1966 : Marriage
date of [F174] - [P536] Archibald
Perry GREGG = [P537] Maureen
MACLEOD 1967 : Emergence of Flower Power
Wednesday January 4 1967 : Birth
date of [P1677]
Kenneth John MCLEAN
Tuesday February 14 1967 : Birth
date of [P1706]
Fiona GILMOUR
Thursday May 18 1967 : Birth date
of [P546] ROBERT
DOYLE GREGG
Saturday September 30 1967 : Birth
date of [P582] Robert
Roderick GREGG
Friday December 1 1967 : Death date
of [P560] Thomas
GREGG
Tuesday November 5 1968 : Birth
date of [P589] Simon
James FLETCHER
Wednesday January 8 1969 : Birth
date of [P554] Cameron
SMITH Wednesday March 5 1969 : London
gangsters the Kray twins sentenced
to life
Saturday March 21 1970 : Birth date
of [P583] Donna
Michelle GREGG
Thursday May 7 1970 : Birth date
of [P1625]
Deborah Jane FLINT
Tuesday December 15 1970 : Death
date of [P568] Isabella
GREIG
1971 : Death date of [P902] Archibald
PERRY Saturday January 2 1971 : 66
die when barriers collapse at Ibrox
Park Monday February 15 1971 : British
currency goes decimal
Tuesday May 18 1971 : Birth date
of [P1643]
Gillian GREIG Saturday January 22 1972 : Britain
joins the EEC Sunday January 30 1972 : 13 shot
in another Bloody Sunday in Derry February 1972 : Miners strike
leads to power cuts
Friday May 26 1972 : Death date
of [P1609]
Elizabeth Jane GODFREY
Friday December 8 1972 : Death date
of [P564] Matthew
Paton GREGG Thursday March 8 1973 : IRA begins
mainland bombing Monday December 17 1973 : Three
day week introduced
1974 : Death date of [P899] Alexander
Frederick PERRY
Sunday January 20 1974 : Death date
of [P565] James
GREGG Tuesday November 12 1974 : Lord
Lucan escapes and disappears
ABT 1975 : Death date of [P1610]
Agnes Paton DUNLOP Friday July 11 1975 : Inflation
reaches 25%
Saturday November 8 1975 : Birth
date of [P1692]
James Paton GREIG
1976 : Divorce date of [F174] -
[P536]
Archibald Perry GREGG = [P537] Maureen
MACLEOD
Wednesday March 24 1976 : Divorce
date of [F176] - [P539] ALEXANDER
DOYLE GREGG = [P540] QUEENIE
DIANE PAGE
Tuesday March 30 1976 : Death date
of [P1368]
Martha Jane MORRISON August 1976 : Drought causes
water shortages
1977 : Death date of [P1750]
Catherine Doyle WHITING Saturday April 2 1977 : Red Rum
wins the Grand National for the
third time
May 1978 : Death date of [P525] James
Ralph PERRY
Saturday May 13 1978 : Marriage
date of [F175] - [P536] Archibald
Perry GREGG = [P538] Vera
Eva STANDING
Saturday May 27 1978 : Marriage
date of [F499] - [P1699]
William LAW = [P1694]
Margaret GREIG Wednesday December 13 1978 :
Jeremy Thorpe, MP charged with incitement
to murder January 1979 : "Winter of Discontent"
causes chaos Friday May 4 1979 : Margaret
Thatcher becomes first woman Prime
Minister Sunday September 2 1979 : Yorkshire
Ripper claims 12th victim Monday May 5 1980 : SAS storms
Iranian embassy in London July 1981 : Riots break out in
8 inner city areas
1982 : Death date of [P847] Evelyn
DALE
Sunday March 28 1982 : Death date
of [P891] Matthew
RICHMOND Friday April 2 1982 : Argentina
invades Falkland Islands Monday June 14 1982 : British
troops regain control of Falklands
1983 : Death date of [P850] Elsie
DALE
Friday April 8 1983 : Death date
of [P897] Jessie
WHITELAW
Saturday June 11 1983 : Marriage
date of [F189] - [P587] Richard
POLLARD = [P580] Lisa
Michelle GREGG
Tuesday August 30 1983 : Birth date
of [P1700]
Michael Adam LAW Sunday September 25 1983 : 134
IRA prisoners escape from the Maze
prison
1984 : Death date of [P848] James
DALE
Thursday February 16 1984 : Birth
date of [P543] ALEXANDRA
VICTORIA GREGG May 1984 : Coal strikes crushed
by riot police Friday October 12 1984 : IRA
bombs Tory conference in Brighton
Sunday November 4 1984 : Christening
date of [P543] ALEXANDRA
VICTORIA GREGG Saturday May 11 1985 : 40 killed
as fire destroys Bradford City stand
Tuesday October 8 1985 : Birth date
of [P1701]
Suzanne Louise LAW
Thursday January 16 1986 : Death
date of [P533] Leslie
Harold OLIVER
Thursday September 4 1986 : Death
date of [P1050]
Nellie SPROAT
Friday September 12 1986 : Birth
date of [P1702]
Steven LAW
Monday July 20 1987 : Birth date
of [P883] Harrison
JONES Friday October 16 1987 : Hurricane
hits southern England Wednesday November 18 1987 :
30 die in King's Cross Underground
fire Wednesday July 6 1988 : North
sea oil rig Piper Alpha explodes
Thursday August 4 1988 : Birth date
of [P879] Michael
John POLLARD Thursday December 22 1988 : Pan
Am jumbo jet explodes over Lockerbie
killing 270
Friday February 3 1989 : Birth date
of [P884] Rhianna
JONES
Sunday March 26 1989 : Birth date
of [P878] David
Jones POLLARD Saturday April 15 1989 : 94 football
fans crushed to death at Hillsborough
Sunday May 7 1989 : Marriage date
of [F500] - [P1695]
David GREIG = [P1703]
Allison PATON
Monday May 22 1989 : Birth date
of [P553] BRADLEY
JAMES SMITH September 1989 : Thousands of
Scots elect not to pay new Poll
Tax Thursday October 19 1989 : "Guildford
Four" released from prison
1990 : Birth date of [P890] Sarah
HEAD
Saturday March 10 1990 : Birth date
of [P1698]
Paul William SURGEON
Saturday June 2 1990 : Marriage
date of [F461] - [P1710]
James Nimmo PATON = [P1691]
Elaine Paton GREIG
August 1990 : Death date of
[P524]
Gertrude DALE Thursday August 23 1990 : British
and US troop build-up in Persian
Gulf Thursday January 17 1991 : Operation
"Desert Storm" defeats Iraq Thursday February 7 1991 : Downing
Street hit by IRA mortar bomb Thursday March 14 1991 : "Birmingham
Six" released from prison
Saturday May 25 1991 : Birth date
of [P880] Daniel
Robert POLLARD
Thursday June 20 1991 : Birth date
of [P882] Catriona
Margaret Bridie STOODLEY
Saturday August 17 1991 : Marriage
date of [F188] - [P586] William
SWAN =
[P579]
Deborah Jayne OLIVER
Thursday October 17 1991 : Birth
date of [P591] Spencer
Ryan GREGG
Friday December 27 1991 : Birth
date of [P555] TAYLER
FAYE SMITH
Thursday February 27 1992 : Birth
date of [P1704]
David Abraham GREIG
Friday June 5 1992 : Marriage date
of [F492] - [P1690]
Robert Parker GREIG = [P1706]
Fiona GILMOUR
1993 : Death date of [P817] Gladys
MARDLE
Saturday June 12 1993 : Marriage
date of [F191] - [P589] Simon
James FLETCHER = [P583] Donna
Michelle GREGG
Monday August 9 1993 : Birth date
of [P1711]
Charles PATON
Wednesday January 26 1994 : Birth
date of [P881] Charlotte
SWAN
Thursday October 6 1994 : Birth
date of [P1712]
Kimberley PATON
Friday October 7 1994 : Birth date
of [P1705]
Devlin Ann GREIG
Monday July 10 1995 : Death date
of [P528] MARGARET
PERRY
Wednesday July 19 1995 : Burial
date of [P528] MARGARET
PERRY
Friday July 21 1995 : Birth date
of [P592] Jessica
GREGG September
1995 : Britain hit by worst drought
for over 250 years
FOOTBALL,
football, fitbaw . . . Captivated by the game since
his early days, Robert represented the town
as a soccer player in both school and youth teams,
and in his teenage years eagerly pursued the sport
in a professional capacity. From 1920, he played
six consecutive seasons in the Scottish League.
The clubs listed include: September 1921 -
Irvine Meadow (Hurlford), August
1923 - Kilmarnock, July 1924 -
Galston, and July 1925 -
Nithsdale Wanderers. One particularly
unmemorable game was in the 1923-24 season for Kilmarnock
Football Club [Scottish League Div.1]. It was his
debut appearance against Dundee,
on 19 January 1924, and one he would perhaps preferred
to forget. Quoting from a report in the 'Who's Who'
book of the Kilmarnock F.C the game was ... 'a
personal disaster for Bob'
... He may well have had other things on his mind
that day, for his brother
P1100. Chicago Tribune News Paper match
report
P1101. Chicago Tribune News Paper match
report
[Source
Note: I am grateful to Colin Jose who is the leading
soccer historian in Canada, and in addition to many
papers written about the American Soccer Leagues,
is author of "The Complete Guide to the North American
Soccer League" and 'The American Soccer League 1921-1931
: The Golden Years of American Soccer (American
Sports History Series)'. 
And,
Robert did return to the field of play, and
continued through to received a further
Winners Medal for the 1935 Open
Cup Championship. 
Elinor Smith was born
in 1911. She knew she
was born to fly at the age of
6 when she took her first airplane
ride. She started taking lessons
at the age of 8. She was fortunate
at that time to have parents
who supported her in what she
wanted to do. Her mother didn’t
want to deny her daughter opportunities
just because of her gender and
her father had always had a
passion for planes. These things
helped her in her quest to fly.
Elinor set many aviation records.
Most of these records came because
of her age. She was youngest
woman to fly solo at the age
of 15. At the age of 16, she
became the youngest person to
earn a pilot’s license in the
U.S. On October 21, 1928 at
the age of 17, Elinor flew under
four East River Bridges in New
York City. The bridges she flew
under were the Queensboro, the
Williamsburg, the Manhattan,
and the Brooklyn Bridges. She
is the only person ever to accomplish
that feat. Her first world record
was the endurance record she
set on January 31, 1929 of 13
hours, 16 minutes, and 45 seconds.
During that flight was the first
time she had ever landed at
night. In April of 1929, Elinor
again broke the endurance record
making it now 26 hours, 23 minutes,
and 16 seconds. Later that year,
she teamed up with Bobbi Trout
and set a joint record endurance
flight of over 42 hours and
became the first women to refuel
a plane in midair. She also
became the first person, male
or female, to receive a transport
pilot’s license at the age of
18. While she was still 18,
she became the first woman to
pilot a military aircraft. In
1929, she became the first female
executive pilot of the Irving
Chute Co., for a nationwide
tour to demonstrate parachute
drops . In 1930, she became
the first woman to test pilot
for Long Island’s Fairchild
Aviation Corp. In 1931, she
became the first woman to fly
over 30,000 feet, but she wanted
to beat that record. So, a week
later, she went up again and
set a new women’s altitude record
of 34, 500 feet. Her proudest
moment though was in 1930 when
all the licensed fliers of the
U.S. were asked to name the
best female and male pilots
in the United States. Elinor
won. She said, “It was such
an honor to know that my peers
considered me the best.” Elinor
then married a year or two later
and had two children. While
she was pregnant with her third
child, she thought maybe she
shouldn’t be flying; that she
should be home taking care of
the children. So, she quit flying.
Almost 25 years past before
she piloted a plane again. Elinor
loved to fly; Flying was meant
for her. She is such a great
example to the aviatrix of today.
Elinor Smith (Sullivan) died
24 Mar 2010.
