When researching football players in the dim and distant past I often have to try to find out about their lives outside of football, this can help since it adds more than just puting a players name and clubs into your friendly search engine. When you throw in an adress/spouse's name/employment it just gives more options to explore.
Which is why I was very impressed when I stumbled across the army record of Ebenezer Taylor on one of those stupidly expensive genealogy sites [however I was "researching" on a day when they were giving free access to their military papers last week ;)], and most impressed when I found a letter from his employers Aitken's Brewery to the Army stating that they would re-employ him upon his demobilisation.
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From his papers also came lots of biographical details, including his family, and, interestingly [to me anyway], a paper stating that he had been a P.O.W. towards the end of the War.
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Now this has got me puzzled, it has the date and place of capture 28th March 1918 at Monchy [which I assume is Monchy-le-Preux], and that he was last interned at what looks like "Wallers", and it is this last name that puzzles me, I can find nothing like this name in the list of Prisoner of War centres used during the War....
As a player he seems to have been good enough, if not setting the world ablaze, and dissapeared from the team as quickly and as anonymously as he appeared. All I know about his past was a throw-away remark on his debut match about him being "a Stirling Junior", and as far as I'm aware he never kicked a ball in anger after leaving Falkirk.
He is occasionally mentioned in the Falkirk Herald, living in Penders Lane, usually in connection with the brewery, up until 1934, when he simply dissapears, and then in 1943 he is noted as the Late E.Taylor on the occasion of the marriage of his youngest daughter. But in between I have found nothing. Looks like I'm going to have to look to the Falkirk Mail to save the day [again].
Ebenezer Taylor
b c1882, Stirling, Stirlingshire
Debut – Monday August 4th 1902 v Alloa Athletic (A) Stirlingshire Coronation Cup 1st Rd replay
League Debut – Saturday August 16th 1902 v Clyde (A) Scottish League Division 2
Positions – Inside-Right, Inside-Left, Centre-Forward
Club Honours – Stirlingshire Consolation Cup W 1902/03
Scottish League Div 2 Matches/Goals 12/2
Scottish Qualifying Cup Matches/Goals 1/-
Stirlingshire Cup Matches/Goals 1/1
Stirlingshire Consolation Cup Matches/Goals 2/-
Stirlingshire Coronation Cup Matches/Goals 1/-
Falkirk Hospitals Shield Matches/Goals 1/-
Other Matches/Goals 1/1
Total Matches/Goals 19/4
Known Career – Falkirk [1902/03-1903/04]
Played in Falkirk's first ever Scottish League Match v Clyde (A) Scottish League Division 2, 16th August 1902
Which is why I was very impressed when I stumbled across the army record of Ebenezer Taylor on one of those stupidly expensive genealogy sites [however I was "researching" on a day when they were giving free access to their military papers last week ;)], and most impressed when I found a letter from his employers Aitken's Brewery to the Army stating that they would re-employ him upon his demobilisation.
From his papers also came lots of biographical details, including his family, and, interestingly [to me anyway], a paper stating that he had been a P.O.W. towards the end of the War.
Now this has got me puzzled, it has the date and place of capture 28th March 1918 at Monchy [which I assume is Monchy-le-Preux], and that he was last interned at what looks like "Wallers", and it is this last name that puzzles me, I can find nothing like this name in the list of Prisoner of War centres used during the War....
As a player he seems to have been good enough, if not setting the world ablaze, and dissapeared from the team as quickly and as anonymously as he appeared. All I know about his past was a throw-away remark on his debut match about him being "a Stirling Junior", and as far as I'm aware he never kicked a ball in anger after leaving Falkirk.
He is occasionally mentioned in the Falkirk Herald, living in Penders Lane, usually in connection with the brewery, up until 1934, when he simply dissapears, and then in 1943 he is noted as the Late E.Taylor on the occasion of the marriage of his youngest daughter. But in between I have found nothing. Looks like I'm going to have to look to the Falkirk Mail to save the day [again].
Ebenezer Taylor
b c1882, Stirling, Stirlingshire
Debut – Monday August 4th 1902 v Alloa Athletic (A) Stirlingshire Coronation Cup 1st Rd replay
League Debut – Saturday August 16th 1902 v Clyde (A) Scottish League Division 2
Positions – Inside-Right, Inside-Left, Centre-Forward
Club Honours – Stirlingshire Consolation Cup W 1902/03
Scottish League Div 2 Matches/Goals 12/2
Scottish Qualifying Cup Matches/Goals 1/-
Stirlingshire Cup Matches/Goals 1/1
Stirlingshire Consolation Cup Matches/Goals 2/-
Stirlingshire Coronation Cup Matches/Goals 1/-
Falkirk Hospitals Shield Matches/Goals 1/-
Other Matches/Goals 1/1
Total Matches/Goals 19/4
Known Career – Falkirk [1902/03-1903/04]
Played in Falkirk's first ever Scottish League Match v Clyde (A) Scottish League Division 2, 16th August 1902