Liverpool Football Club and my (great-grandfather’s) part in its victory

If I was a British politician, I would probably be claiming some connection with Liverpool Football Club, who were crowned champions of the English Premier League last night.

I have such a connection, though thankfully I’m not a politician. In order to gain a bit of cred with my business partner, who is a lifelong Liverpool supporter, I did a bit of poking around to define that connection a little more accurately.

I’ve long known that my great-grandfather, the Reverend William Clark Hudson (below), was the vicar of a parish in the district of Everton.

My mother was born at the vicarage, which she claimed was a stone’s throw from Liverpool’s stadium, known to the world as Anfield.

In little more than an hour I discovered that she was right. The modern address of the stadium is 69-71 Anfield Road.

The good Reverend’s address was 69 Anfield Road. The same address! I know this because of a death notice for his son Cuthbert, my great uncle, who was killed in 1917 in the First World War, which listed his address. Since the parish of which he was vicar was St Cuthbert’s, I presume this was why he named his son after one of England’s most revered saints.

So then I looked at a street map from 1910, and found several large houses directly opposite the ground. One of them was most likely the vicarage.

While I was digging around, I also happened upon a register of baptisms at St Cuthberts from the time when the Reverend Hudson was the vicar. That was an interesting bit of social history in itself.

The register lists occupations of the fathers, which would have been typical of a working-class area in a big city like Liverpool: shipwright, cooper, barman, railwayman, harness-maker, grocer’s assistant, dock labourer, bleacher, deck hand, time keeper, warehouseman, boot maker, meter fitter and waiter. I doubt if there are many boot makers and meter fitters in Liverpool today. But the list reflects a vibrant port city yet to suffer the decline that later afflicted it

The vicar’s baptisms included one that caught the eye. Margaret Bowyer was the daughter of Samuel Bowyer, who was listed as a professional footballer.

Baptism: 9 Jul 1911 St Cuthbert, Everton, Lancashire, England
Margaret Bowyer – Child of Samuel Bowyer & Alice
    Born: 18 Jun 1911
    Abode: 14 Bagnall Street
    Occupation: Professional Footballer
    Baptised by: W. Clark Hudson M. A. Vicar
    Register: Baptisms 1899 – 1924, Page 273, Entry 2

So I did a search on Sam Bowyer, to see if he played for Liverpool. It turns out that there’s a Wikipedia entry for him, which shows that he did indeed play ninety times for for the Reds.

Unlike the current club stars, who live in posh mansions outside the city, Sam lived locally. In those days footballers were paid peanuts, so he probably lived in a small terraced house within the local community. Close enough to walk to work, so no need for a Bentley or a Range Rover, even if he could afford one.

I also took a look at the history of Anfield football ground. It turns out that it started life as the home of Everton Football Club, Liverpool’s great rivals. They then moved a few miles down the road, and the ground was taken over by the newly formed Liverpool F.C.

So most likely my great-grandfather ministered to the faithful of both clubs, and probably saw both Everton and Liverpool in action at Anfield as their home ground.

I have nothing to gain from these little nuggets of family history, except the satisfaction of knowing that one of my ancestors played a tiny part in the history of a great institution.

And how much more fun was the discovery than my usual morning trek through our diseased and turgid present!