Cross Country Photos

  •  1953 
  •  1959 U16 
  •  1961 
  •  1962 
  •  1962 
  •  1965 U16 
  •  1967 
  •  1967 Champions 

1953

 

Photo published in the Liverpool Echo

Northern Schools' Champions Under 16 Team, 1959

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Cups: Memorial Cup - Edwardian Trophy - Booth Cup - Northern Schools' Cup

 

A. Jones - J. R. Owens
S. C. Healy - W. J. Stinson - N. R. K. Quinn - E. R. Burfitt

1st Team, 1961

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Photo provided by John Hughes (L.I. 1956 - 1963)

L. Edwards - Johnny Owens - Bobby Lyon - John H. Gaukroger - John Hughes
Nick Garland - Nick Garland

1st Team, 1962

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Photo provided by John Hughes (L.I. 1956 - 1963)

Malcolm Smith, Headmaster - Johnny Owens - J. Cooper - L. Edwards - Percy Rowell
Brian Jones - Bobby Lyon - John Hughes

Bob Lyon writes:

This photo was was taken at Otterspool, just after we'd won the Inter-Schools Senior Road Relay.

1st Team, 1962

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Photo provided by John Hughes (L.I. 1956 - 1963)

L. Edwards - J. Cooper - John Hughes
Brian Jones - Bobby Lyon - Johnny Owens

Bob Lyon writes:

This photo was in the upper yard just before a speed training session. The cups are Northern Schools Champions (held at Lyme Park Disley), Inter-schools Senior Road Relay, Sandiford Road Relay, Waterloo Cup (not the greyhounds or the crown green bowling - the other one). That was a clean sweep of all the cups available to schools in the area at that time.

Under 16 Team, 1965

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Photo provided by Tony Collingwood (L.I. 1964 - 1968)

Tony Collingwood - Robin Limmack - Tony Forrest - Rob Pickthorn
F. John Ellison - J. Ken Thomas - Dave Smith

Senior Team, 1967

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Photo provided by Tony Collingwood (L.I. 1964 - 1968)

Robin Limmack - Mr. Mike Kingman (Teacher) - Sid Hort
F. John Ellison - Dave Smith - Tony Forrest - Tony Collingwood

Placed 2nd, Northern School Senior Championship. 1967

Photo provided by Tony Collingwood (L.I. 1964 - 1968)

Tony Collingwood - Dave Smith - John Ellison - Tony Forrest - Sid Hort

Fred Crane (L.I. 1953-1958) writes:

During my time (1953-1958) I recall at least one occasion when the cross country was from Mersey Road to Jerico Lane and back along Otterspool Prom. The 19th City (school scout group) used semaphore to relay the leaders at the half way point (where Jerico Lane meets Otterspool Prom) back to Mersey Road. I don't remember how many semaphore stations we had but I do know I was at the first one as runners approached the Prom. I believe it was an interschool race. Anyone with better recall than me?

Andrew Wallard (L.I. 1957-1964) writes:

I was very much involved in cross country - a way of escaping being a regular member of the "left overs" football teams on a Wednesday afternoon! These days you'd claim to suffer PTSD or some lack of confidence syndrome from such treatment but we were of sterner stuff back then.

I remember seening Tony Forrest's name associated with cross country and that the responsible teacher was Percy Rowell (madrigals, fives, whistling teeth) was the leader, ably supported by Ray Davies who was quite the athlete and rugger player who tried to persuade us to drink OXO (or was it Bovril?) after the practices/training sessions at the Mersey Road pavillion on Wednesdays. He pioneered the Swedish(?) training technique called "Fartlek" in the lower yard on Mondays. You can imagine the jeering! It involved a couple of teams of 4 or 6 split into two groups - you sprinted from one end to the other then someone from the other group at the other end reversed the run. This went on for about 20 minutes until we had all done about a dozen runs and were exhausted but it built up strength.

The course was, as you said, Fred but I don't recall semaphore stations in my time. I DO remember the killing hill that was in Otterspool Park and I think we did it up on the first leg and then down on the second leg for the longer of the two regular courses. Training sessions involved doing about ten or a dozen hills! No trainers, no spikes just some ghastly black things from Jack Sharps that had raised rubber pads on the bottom. Heavy as anything and when they became clogged with mud , we just skidded around. What were they called?

The interschool competitions were fiercely contested and I came off the worse from an encounter with a guy from St Edwards in the final home run sprint up Mersey Road. I got "the elbow" and still bear the scars of the gravel cuts on my arm. I never got my own back. Many of us joined the Liverpool Harriers and started training at the University ground at Wyncote and, I have to say, we were pretty successful - I still have a Liverpool Schools CC medal amongst my prized possessions...alongside the Lucky Twoshoes Club from Clarkes! CC training morphed into summer athletics where I did 880 yards as my "speciality". Two of us were trained by (the Rev.) Tom Farrell who was an Olympic 400 metre runner. I met him again in later life in London where he was chaplain to a couple of Livery Companies.

All looked good for a future University racing career but we scientists were too much bound up with intensive lectures and lab practicals to make the Wednesday afternoon training, so I had to abandon my aspirations and settle back to CC runs around the St Andrews golf courses. Evening solo training round the roads - Menlove and Mather Avenues accompanied by ribald commets from the local youf - a far cry from todays popularity of jogging etc.

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Half Colours

Half colours were awarded at the end of the season. To be awarded half colours, you had to have played for the first team for the majority of the season's fixtures.

Full Colours

Full colours were only awarded after consistently good performance as judged by the captain and the relevant master in charge.