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1899 - 1995
ROBERT PATON GREGG AND MARGARET PERRY
[F171]
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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...
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Darvel Town also had its share of handloom weavers, the craft having
been introduced there around 1752. John, 4th Earl of Loudoun, granted 12 fues 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 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.
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By 1848 The Kilmarnock and
Troon Railways had extended their tracks eastwards as far as Galston, and by
1850 to Newmilns. These towns too, and others along the Irvine Valley were monopolising on the newly found source of wealth by building their own factories and mills. The
Industrial Revolution, and the invention of the power loom had enabled the fabrics to be mass-produced at substantially reduced labour costs,
and alas it would bring about a corresponding
demise of the old hand-woven
products.
In 1896 The Glasgow and
SouthWestern Railway Company laid a railway track to Darvel. This
connected the town to other commercial centres, thus enabling employers
and traders an efficient means to transporting goods to and from their
factories. It also meant a faster method of passenger transport and
which encouraged workers to travel from further afield. |
P1. Ayrshire weaver at handloom
late 19th Century |
During that period, chenille,
madras and lace-weaving mills were had been set up in Darvel, with production greatly influenced by the introduction of the 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.
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As the huge power
machines
throbbed away in the work place, 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. |
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[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. |
P29.Pond Braes School Darvel 1904
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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. It 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.
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Details from the above original Medal Card
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P18.
1920's young WWI ex-servicemen at Dykes Hole near Glen Water Darvel. The young man on the top of the pyramid is believed to be Robert Paton Gregg |
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 as a professional player. 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 25 dollars a-week wages plus bonuses and expenses was no doubt an additional inducement, and with an exchange rate of about 4 dollars to the pound that was good money
in those days! For the energetic young man it was a dream come true.
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 26 May 1926 aboard the Steam Ship MONTROSE of
the Canadian Pacific Line.
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 were
equivalent to the British F.A Cup Finals.
[See Source Note: Colin Jose (Canada) and Dave Litterer (USA)]
Robert's
first American
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
FC'
in Massachusetts. 'Chicago Carpenters' and 'Chicago Bricklayers'
in Illinois. Then 'Holley Carburetor's'
in
Detroit Michigan and
' Stix, Baer and Fuller' in St Louis Missouri.
Notable occasions for Bob in the American Soccer Leagues include Runners-up
medals whist playing for Chicago Bricklayers in the 1931 US Open Cup Final. Runners-up
again in 1932 with Stix, Baer and Fuller of St Louis ,and eventually Open Cup Winners Medals in
1933, 1934 and 1935 with the same team.
SLSL League Champions 1933 and 1934. Many more medals were won from other competitions during this
period.
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1921-1936
Robert Paton Gregg - Soccer Career - Resume
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| 1899 14 July |
Born Darvel
Ayrshire Scotland |
| 1917 March 2 |
Enlisted Royal
Scots Regiment at Ayr Ayrshire 52318 Pt Robert P Gregg (WW I) Age 17 |
| 1921 Sept |
Football Club:
Irvine Meadow FC, Hurlford, Ayr's, Scotland. Age 22 |
| 1923 August |
Football Club:
Kilmarnock FC, Ayr's, Scotland. Age 24 |
| 1924 July |
Football Club:
Galston FC, Ayr's, Scotland. Age 25 |
| 1925 July |
Football Club:
Nithsdale Wanderers FC, Scotland. [Scottish Div III Champions] Age 26 |
| 1926 April |
Football Club:
Galston FC, Ayr's, Scotland. Age 26 |
|
( During the
1926 season Bob joined the ASL-American Soccer League ) |
| 1926-1927 |
Football Club:
Philadelphia FC, USA. Age 27 |
| 1927-1928 |
Football Club:
New Bedford Whalers FC Massachusetts, USA. Age 28 |
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1927-1928
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Football
Club(2): Providence FC Massachusetts, USA. Age 28
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1929 June 5
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( Married to
Margaret Perry in Windsor Ontario Canada ). Age 29
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1928-1929 |
Football Club: Chicago Carpenters
Soccer Club,
Age 29 |
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1929-1930
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Football Club:
Holley Carburettors
of Detroit. [Ref offer letter
on file] Age 30
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1930-1931
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Football
Club: Bricklayers FC,
Chicago, Ill., USA (Open Cup Runners-up). Age 31
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1931-1932
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Football Club:
Stix, Baer and Fuller FC, St Louis, Missouri, USA (Open Cup. Runners-up).
Age 32
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1932-1933
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Football Club:
Stix, Baer and Fuller FC, St Louis, Missouri, USA (Open Cup Winners).(SLSL
League
Champions). Age 33.
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1933-1934
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Football Club:
Stix, Baer and Fuller FC, St Louis, Missouri, USA (Open Cup Winners).
(SLSL League
Champions). Age 34.
( Injuries sustained - on sick list most of season ).
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1934-1935
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Football Club:
Stix, Baer and Fuller FC, St Louis, Missouri, USA (Open Cup Winners). Age
35
(Stix, Baer and Fuller were renamed the St Louis Central Breweries team
mid-season 1934-35)
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C. 1936
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Returned to
Scotland UK Age 36/37
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1955 4 Nov.
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Died: Ipswich
Suffolk England Aged 56
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Letters and contracts in my collection indicate that he achieved
a long and successful career in the sport he loved so much.
However, circumstances were also to change in his personal life with 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!
 |
U.S. Open Cup 1926 - 1935 |
| |
Winners |
Runners-Up |
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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 |
|
For a while Robert lived in Chicago, a city said to have been
in virtual control of the Mafioso 'mobsters'. It was the era of prohibition, the gangsters, 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.
[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 rumor. 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, 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 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 play for the
cost.
Sincerely,
Colin Jose |
P7. Archie
Perry. Walkerville Soccer Club 1927-28 |
A sporting colleague, and great friend to my
father at that time, was a young man who later became our uncle.
He was
Archie Perry[P902], also a British immigrant, and a
'Geordie lad' from Sunderland England.
Archie played for Walkerville Soccer Club and stands proud in the
photograph from 1928 taken when they were Western Inter-City Football
League Champions (1927-1928). He arrived in Canada aboard the Steamship
ATHENIA (Anchor Donaldson)
from Liverpool England on 1 August 1926. Port of arrival: Quebec,
Quebec.
|
Archie's older sisters,
Marion 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 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, Marion, Charlotte 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 arrived in Canada on 3rd July 1925. She sailed
from Liverpool England on the Steam Ship 'Montrose' of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company.
The Montrose was just 5 years old, having made its maiden voyage from Liverpool to
Quebec in 1920. |
P113. Margaret Perry C1926-27 Canada |
Towards the end of her long Atlantic
sea voyage, she 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 - through Ontario, by train to Montreal and Toronto.
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 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.
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
View
Records at Canadian Libraries and Archives |
P100. The 1920s Steam Ship Athenia on which Archie Perry travelled to Canada in 1926 |
Athenia (2) 1923 1939 torpedoed and sunk off Inishtrahull,
Ireland; loss of 128 lives. (First
ship to be sunk in WWII 3rd Sep.1939).
Note:Athenia (1) 1904 1917 also torpedoed and sunk off Inishtrahull, Ireland on
16th Aug.1917 loss of 15 lives. 7,835 |
Athenia (1) 1904 1917 torpedoed and sunk off Inishtrahull,
Ireland; loss of 15 lives. 7,835
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 1904
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
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 indicate 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 |
Margaret and
Robert married on 5 June 1929
in Windsor Ontario Canada, and on 9 Aug that year they migrated across the river 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
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. |
![Margaret [Doyle] Gregg](images/tP16memorMDoyle.jpg)
P16. In Memorium Card.
Margaret Gregg (Doyle) 1934
|
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.
Robert played his final four years in soccer at the top
'Stix, Baer and Fuller'
Soccer Club
of St Louis. They won the Open Cup for three consecutive years - 1933 -1934 and 1935, but he had
sustained severe leg injuries which led to him missing a large part of the
1933 and 1934
seasons games. 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]
However, Robert did return to the field of play,
and received Winners Cup Medals in the Open Championship for the 1933, 1934 and
1935 seasons. That would be 3 Championship Winners Medals and 2 Runners-up
medals in 5 consecutive years from 1931 to 1935. This was to be the proud 'finale'
of his American Soccer League career.
|
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 it's former glory.
At age 36, my father was
beginning to suffer from the inevitable sports injuries associated with the
game, and after seventeen 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
Scotland and then Sunderland. Robert's ambition to open a golf range in Darvel,
Ayrshire met with local opposition and that idea was 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 work 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. Air bases and army barracks suddenly sprung up throughout East Anglia and by
1943 many thousands of conscripted GI's from the USA were posted here. 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.
By 1941 the Gregg family moved to the nearby town of Ipswich, a semi-industrialised
port town, where for five more 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 the nightly 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.
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.
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]
ffor 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].span class="style12">
![Margaret [Perry] Gregg 1956](images/tP50MG17081956.jpg)
P50. Margaret [Perry] Gregg 1956 |
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 as Coronary
Thrombosis and Artheroma.
Mother aged 49, was entitled to a State Widows Pension - all of 10 shillings
a week. That amounts to 50 new-pence in present day decimal currency.
|
P104. Robert Paton Gregg Death Cert 1955
|
|
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. |
![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.
During the early 1990s mother's normally sharp mind and active persona began slowly to deteriorate due to the
effects of Alzheimer's Disease. Having achieved a good and long life, she finally passed away
from
old age at the Crabbe
Street Nursing Home Ipswich, on 10
July 1995. She lived to the age of 89 years, and to date (2007), 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. |
P105. Margaret Gregg Death Cert 1995
|
FOR MORE PHOTO'S GO TO
CHAPTER 10
|
