| THE GREGG FAMILY
HISTORY PROJECT - CHAPTER 1 |
|
|
1899 - 1995
ROBERT PATON
GREGG AND MARGARET PERRY [F171]
|
|
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, when
previously 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.
|
P1. Ayrshire weaver at
handloom
late 19th Century |
| 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 |
P1a. Lace making machinery
at Darvel early 20th Century |
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 Gregg[P568] was the last child
of this Gregg family, and was born in
Darvel on 14th
June 1902, the same year that the Boer
War
ended. |
P189. Revd John W
Jack
from Darvel -Early 1900's
|
P192.Loudon Hill
from Darvel Juniors F.C Field
|
P190.The Manse Darvel
in 1997 |
P191.Darvel Juniors
F.C in 1997 |
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. |
P194 Darvel Town Hall
1905
|
P29.Pond Braes School
Darvel 1904
|
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 2/10th 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. He served with The North Russia
Intervention force, at the Arkhangelsk (Archangel) Campaign [1918-1919]. A link for further reading is:
2/10th Bat. Royal Scots in North Russia
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, Darvel, commemorating
the many young men from his home town who lost
their lives in Euope, 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 goal-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 or 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,
and at a time
when British Soccer players wages were capped!
In fact, European Soccer organisations made
official complaints to FIFA that the U.S.A. was
'stealing' all their best talent. For the energetic young man
though, 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 mid 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
7am aboard the Steam Ship MONTROSE
of the Canadian Pacific Line. [Read
complete on-line Newspapers of that day ,
Canadian Montreal Gazette - online, or
section of page 20 (Ships Arrivals)
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] |
1923 August
Age 24 |
Football
Club:
Kilmarnock FC,
Ayrshire, Scotland.
|
1924 July
Age 25 |
Football
Club:
Galston FC,
Ayrshire, Scotland.
|
1925 July
Age 25 |
Football
Club:
Nithsdale Wanderers FC,
Dumfries Scotland. [Scottish
Div III Champions]
|
1926 April
Age 26 |
Football
Club:
Galston FC,
Ayr's, Scotland.
|
1926 May 26
Age 26 |
Date of Robert Gregg's
arrival in Quebec, Canada
from Scotland |
May 1926
Age 26 |
Robert Gregg
starts his North
American Professional Soccer
Career playing for
Windsor Rovers F.C - Windsor
Ontario Canada
|
1926 June 30
Age 26 |
Date of Robert's
1st U.S
Visa(arrival)
|
1926 July 12
Essex County Canada vs. English
F. A Tour
|
English Football Association
Tour,
1926 July
12, 1926(Bob's 27th Birthday),
in Windsor, Ontario. Bob played
for Essex County.
Essex:
Brown – Diffell, Robert
Gregg – Watt, McLaughlin,
Grieve – Wright, Inglis, Stark,
Holt, Mercer.
English:
Sewell – Barkas, Keeping – Magee,
Foxhall, Waugh – Harris, Jack,
Rawlings, Wainscott, Tunstall.
Essex County 2 (Mercer,
McLaughlin), English F.A. 5
(Rawlings, Wainscott 2, Jack,
o.g.) HT: Att: 8000
[Ref 1.
History of Canadian Soccer.Com
] [Ref.2.
Ottawa Citizen Newspaper write-up]
|
|
Note: |
1 August
1926 - Date of
Archie Perry's
arrival in Quebec, Canada
from England
- future Brother-in-Law to Bob
Gregg
|
1926-1927
Age 27.
|
Bob signed
to play in the North
American Soccer League
(ASL). Football Club:
Philadelphia FC,
Pennsylvania,
USA. - [Bob's 1st USA
Soccer Club, playing variously
at
Full Back and Center
Forward positions].
Philadelphia were eliminated
in the
First Round of the
U.S.A National Challenge Cup
by Bethlehem Steel.
See a newspaper write-up 24
December 1926
'Bethlehem Globe-Times - Pennsylvania
- Christmas Day Match'
See a newspaper write-up 28
March 1927
'Bethlehem Globe-Times - Pennsylvania'
NOTE: Philadelphia F.C Were
later
suspended from the American
Soccer League. The suspension
resulted from the illegal playing
of nine unregistered amateurs
against the J & P Coats team
in a league game at Pawtucket,
R. I., April 23 1927. The club
was also assessed the "maximum
fine allowed by league bylaw."
|
1927
|
Bob returns to
Canada playing
again for Windsor
Rovers F.C Windsor Ontario.
Many
players at this time played
both the Canadian and the
American soccer seasons as
the seasons ran
consecutively, and the
players would move to teams
on both sides of the border,
thus playing all year round.
Often Canadian border teams
would be found playing in
the American leagues and
competitions, and
vice-versa.
|
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.A 4 (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.
|
1927-1928
Age 28
|
Football Club(2):
Providence FC Massachusetts
USA. By at least January 1928,
Bob was playing for this club
which was
eliminated from the U.S.A National
Challenge Cup in the 2nd
Round on 28 January 1928 by
J&P Coats at Pawtucket .
Also see a newspaper write-up
'Bethlehem Globe Times - Pennsylvania'
10 February 1928
regarding a National
League Match against
Bethlehem Steel. Bob
Gregg is in the Providence
line-up as Right Full-Back.
|
1928
Age 28 |
Bob Gregg returns to
Canada. This time
he plays for Border
Scots F.C of Windsor Ontario
placed as captain
|
1928
Age 29 |
He finished the Soccer
Season playing for
Walkerville F.C also of
Windsor Ontario Canada |
Note: re Archie Perry -
future Brother-in-Law to Bob
Gregg.
At this time Archie Perry was
playing for Walkerville F.C
Windsor Ontario Canada |
1926-1927 Walkerville
Soccer Club of Windsor Canada
either won the Western Inter-City
League Champions Cup or were
placed Runners-Up.
We do not have records as yet
for that Cup Final result against
Solvay on 26 June 1927 at Solvay
Park.
See 'The Border Cities Star'
newspaper write-up for 25 June
1927 on the eve of the final
 .
1927-1928 Walkerville
Soccer Club Windsor Canada won
the Western Inter-City League
Champions Cup.
Team photograph
 .
22 January 1928.
Walkerville F.C also
appeared in the USA
National Challenge Cup
being
eliminated by Holley Carburetors
in the First Round.
(During this period Bob
Gregg also plays for
Canadian Soccer clubs. Bob
Gregg and Archie Perry
played together for Border
Scots F,C, Walkerville F.C,
Holley Carburetors F.C
Detroit,
and later Chicago
Bricklayers F.C) |
1929
Age 30 |
Bob Gregg
and Archie Perry
Moved from Walkerville
F.C Windsor Canada, to sign
with
Holley Carburetors F.C.
of Detroit, Michigan, USA
|
|
Note: |
1929 June 5
( Robert
Gregg aged 29 was Married to
Margaret Perry in Windsor
Ontario Canada ). |
1929 Aug 9
|
Returns to U.S.A
(U.S Visa
return details - 9 August 1929)
|
1929 October
Age 30
|
Football Club: Chicago Carpenters
Soccer Club,
[Ref offer letter on file
from Holley Carburettors 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
Age 30
|
Football Club:
Holley Carburettors of Detroit
Michigan.
[Possibly
-
Ref offer letter on file 20
Jan 1930 ].
Holley Carburetors reached the
Finals(Western Division)
of The National Challenge Cup
on 10 March 1930 conceding to
Bruell Insurance. However we
have no confirmation that
Bob accepted this second
offer from
Holley's, and may have moved
directly to Chicago
Bricklayers. . .
|
1930-1931
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. On
21 June that year they also
played an International game
against Glasgow Celtic. Bob
left Bricklayers after that
season moving 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].
(Mid-season 1934-35, Stix,
Baer and Fuller gave up
their sponsorship of the
team which was taken up by
St. Louis Central Breweries.
The team continued their
success playing as 'St.
Louis Centrals F.C' -
St Louis Central Breweries F.C
).
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
Winners Medal.
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 winning 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
|
|
|
|
|
 |
U.S. OPEN CUP(National Challenge Cup) 1926
- 1935 |
|
|
Winners |
Runners-Up |
|
|
1935 |
Central Breweries F.C. (St. Louis) * |
Pawtucket Rangers |
7-6 |
|
1934 |
Stix, Baer and Fuller F.C. (St. Louis) * |
Pawtucket Rangers |
5-0 |
|
1933 |
Stix, Baer and Fuller F.C. (St. Louis) * |
New York Americans |
2-1 |
|
1932 |
New Bedford F.C. (New Bedford, MA) |
Stix, Baer and Fuller F.C. (St. Louis) * |
5-2 |
|
1931 |
Fall River S.C. (Fall River, MA) |
Chicago Bricklayers * |
2-0 |
|
1930 |
Fall River S.C. (Fall River, MA) |
Cleveland Bruell Insurance |
2-1 |
|
1929 |
Hakoah All Star F.C. (New York) |
St. Louis Madison Kennels |
3-0 |
|
1928 |
New York National F.C. |
Chicago Bricklayers |
3-0 |
|
1927 |
Fall River S.C. (Fall River, MA) |
Detroit Holley Carburetor |
7-0 |
|
1926 |
Bethlehem Steel (Bethlehem, PA) |
St. Louis Ben Millers |
7-2 |
|
 [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.
READ AN ARTICLE BY DAVE LITTERER :
USA - An Overview of American
Soccer History |
Email from Colin Jose to Alec Gregg 19 March
2000
----- Original Message -----
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 February 16, 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 26 March 1927 - The famous Bethlehem Steel
FC played Philadelphia FC in the Open Cup 1st
round match. As the expected powerhouse won
3:1, but it was
Bob Gregg who scored the lone goal for the Philadelphia
side.
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 three newspapers in St Louis in those days
- the St. Louis Globe-Democratic, the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the St. Louis
Star-Times who all gave good coverage of soccer. On the 16 February 1934,
the Star-Times published a full squad photo and short biographies of the Stix-Baer-Fuller
players. 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 (by then renamed St. Louis
Centrals) of St Louis, U.S.A., in the 1935 Open Cup Final.
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 |
P131. Archie Perry. Walkerville
Soccer Club 1927-28 |
|
Archie's older sisters,
Marion Fletcher
Perry[P901] and
Charlotte 'Sissy'
Perry[P900] were
married to William (Billy) Lawrence and
Conrad (Pat) Knudson, respectively. They
were the first of the
Perry family[F170]
to settle in Ontario Canada, in
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. |
P395. 'Bon Voyage'
1920's
|
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 3 Back Sussex Street, 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.
1 View Canadian Pacific Travel
Banner 1920's)
2 Read on-line Newspaper
of that day - The Montreal Gazette Page 18 Column 2
3
See sample graphics of the same The Montreal Gazette
- Montrose Departure and Arrival. |
P37. Margaret Perry
C1926-27 Canada |
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 finally to arrive at
Windsor, south of the Great Lakes. To
the east lay Lake Erie 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, on board
the previous SS Montrose, 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. 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 Cora, for whom he was
tried for murdering].
|
|
One-way fares West would
have been between 50-150 Canadian Dollars depending
on cabin class.
|
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. Item Number:489293
View Records at Canadian Libraries and Archives
|
P100. The 1920s Steam Ship
Athenia (2) on which Archie Perry travelled to Canada
in 1926 |
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 Glasgow via 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.
|
Note the differing spelling of the surname on
the two Identification Cards - Greig and Gregg
|
![Margaret [Doyle] Gregg](images/tP15Mdoyle1932.jpg)
P15. Margaret [Doyle] Gregg
Scotland C.1932 |
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 Montreal Gazette Graphic.] or
[Montreal
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 first at 2953
Warren Boulevard, and then 3004 Madison
Street Chicago Illinois
[See 1930 Census], with a Monthly Rent of $40
US at the latter address. Their first two children, named
Margaret[P532]
and Robert[P534]
were born there within the next 2 years. The
Fifteenth United States Census in April 1930 shows
the family surname mis-spelling - this time as 'Grege'
! The enumerator also wrote the wrong details
for 'Father' of both Margaret and daughter
Margaret |
![Margaret [Doyle] Gregg](images/tP16memorMDoyle.jpg)
P16. In Memoriam Card.
Margaret Gregg (Doyle) 1934
|
Letters and offers of
contracts dated over the next few years
showed addresses for various locations in
Illinois and St Louis, Missouri. In mid
March 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.
Watch
this great version on this site
Click here to watch our version - 40 Mbytes
|
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.
|
P17. Robert
Paton Gregg - golfer 1930's |
P94. Archie
Perry outside a glass house
at Newborn Suffolk UK 1938 |
P95. Archie
Perry
British Army |
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.
P.1300
World War II Ration Book
|
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. |
P.1304
1940' Anderson Shelter
|
P.1304
1930's Gas Mask
|
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].
|
|
![Margaret [Perry] Gregg 1956](images/tP50MG17081956.jpg)
P. Margaret
Gregg (Perry) 1956 |
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. |
![Margaret [Perry] Gregg 1956](images/tP104RPGdCert.jpg)
P104. Robert
Paton Gregg Death Cert 1955
|
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. |
![Margaret [Perry] Gregg 1980's](images/tP22MG1980s.jpg)
P22. Margaret
Gregg (Perry) 1980's
|
|
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 (2020), 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. |
P99. Margaret
Gregg Death Cert 1995 |
P101.
1984 Margaret Gregg and Grand-daughter
Alexandra Victoria Gregg |
At the latest update of this publication [October 2020]
:
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, Alexandra, Matthew, and WIlliam 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. Imogen, Lewis and Kira Fletcher. Bradley and
Tayler Smith. Connie and James, and Queenie Gregg (Queenie is currently
[2020] the youngest female Gregg in her generation).
James[P1867]
is currently [2012] the youngest
male Gregg in his generation.
See: His Ancestral Tree
Great-Great-Grandchildren:
Isobelle born 28 Feb 2008
to Harrison Jones & Michelle. |
![P129. 1991 Margaret Gregg 85th Birthday. [P534]](images/P117MargaretPerry[Gregg]10Apr1991_small.jpg)
P117.
1991 Margaret Gregg 85th Birthday
[P534]
|
![P129. 1991 Margaret Gregg 85th Birthday. [P534]](images/tP93%20Alec%20&%20Mum%201994%20Xmas%20Crabbe%20Street.jpg)
P93.
Margaret Gregg(Perry) Christmas
1994. Crabbe Street with son
Alec [P534] |
P116.
Robert Paton Gregg and Margaret
Gregg grave. |
|
P19. Matthew
Gregg[P564] 1964 - Far right |
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. |
|
|
|
P1100. Chicago Tribune News Paper match
report
P1101. Chicago Tribune News Paper match
report
