Coquetdale Home Guard FC 1944

Featured Image: Coquetdale Home Guard Football Club 1944

See also Howey Family History on this website: https://sconevetdynasty.com.au/the-howey-family-of-hepple/ and https://sconevetdynasty.com.au/supplement-the-howey-family-of-hepple/

This would have been a major event at the time. The players were all from the local district and the selected team made up by those who were exempt from National Service during WWII. Most were from the elder cohort of their generation and involved in essential services which included farming and agricultural pursuits. The provision of adequate home grown food was pivotal to success during the extreme exigencies of the war effort both for serving troops and incarcerated urban civilian populations. They included my late father John Howey of East Hepple Farm who was ‘Manager’ of the team. He was 40 years old and had enlisted at the beginning of WWII before being demobilised after 6 months service and sent back to the farm. Edwin Howey of West Hepple Farm who supplied this reference was in the same category.

I actually do remember many of the players. The three Wood brothers Matt, Jim and Alec were related to Eliza Rogerson who worked at both East Hepple and Warton. Dennis Davy was from Warton or a neighbouring farm nearer Thropton. Archie Scott achieved a measure of enduring fame as the trainer of Waterloo Cup Winning (Live Coursing) Greyhound ‘Holystone Lifelong’ at Aintree in 1953. The winner was owned and bred by Major Gus Renwick of Holystone Grange for whom Archie later worked when living at Holystone. It’s a very ‘Coquetdale’ line-up so redolent of the times.