Reminiscences of Rotherham
by G. Gummer, J.P.
« « prevThe players rarely received more than 7s. 6d. per match, and yet the quality of their play was such that on one occasion seven of the team were selected by the Sheffield Association to play for them against London. In other inter-association matches such as Berks and Bucks, Northumberland, Cheshire, and Glasgow, some of our players were always requisitioned.
In recognition of the small services I had rendered as chairman and treasurer I was presented with an Algerian onyx timepiece in 1892, and as a slight acknowledgement of Mr. Arthur Wordsworth’s arduous and valuable services a benefit match was played on his behalf.
I could continue to follow the struggles of the club which was at the time the premier club in the town and relate some of the doings of the other clubs but I feel it unnecessary as many of my readers are more fully acquainted with the football of the present century than I am.
A ROYAL PATIENT
A National sensation I remember quite vividly, and one which has never surely faded from public memory, was when England awoke to the fact that the life of Edward, Prince of Wales, the Heir Apparent, was in imminent danger. The greatest anxiety became manifest everywhere, and to appease this, bulletins were issued and posted in many public places. Locally, these were exhibited in the window of the old Post Office, which then stood in West gate, on the site now occupied by the Co-operative Stores. Here crowds waited for each issue which announced the critical condition of the Prince, the news being received with feelings of regret by all classes. Each day the latest news from Sandringham was anxiously looked for.'Hopeless' seemed the only word to describe the royal patient’s condition, and his death seemed to be regarded as absolutely certain.During this tense period, the busy tongue of scandal which had previously been rampant was hushed, and political adversaries were silent before the gaunt figure of death. Happily the weight lifted, and the nation’s anxiety was gradually removed. Then the people, as one man, entered into a national thanksgiving.
I had an excellent view of the Prince and Princess when they visited Sheffield in 1874, for the purpose of opening Firth Park, and also. eighteen years later, when the Prince, whilst on a visit to Wentworth, visited Rotherham to open Clifton Park.
Although I absented myself from the public ceremony as a protest against the unnecessary and wasteful expenditure of public money, I had an excellent view of the Royal visitor and the procession from the Liberal Club windows.
In 1901 it became my duty as Mayor of the Borough, to read the document proclaiming the Prince, King of England. After two years of strenuous work, official and private. increased by the duties caused by the South African War, my wife and I decided to escape the Coronation festivities and take a holiday in Norway.
Fourteen days later, when crossing the snow- covered mountains, we were informed by the Norwegians of the serious condition of the King’s health, owing to a serious operation he had undergone. The Coronation was postponed and the nation was again thrown into great anxiety.
When the Coronation, which I had endeavoured to escape, took place, the Mayor (AId. Winter), attended the ceremony in London, and, as deputy Mayor, it became my duty to officiate at home in his absence. Forbidden by his Worship to have any alcoholic » next
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