Category Archives: Featured

Return to Ukraine. (Guest blog by Anna Bevza)

Anna was born and lived in Kyiv, where she was working as head of a sales department. Anna came to London alone from Ukraine in 2022 just after the war started, aged 27, and is working as a barista.

In July 2024 she returned for the first time for a short visit.

This is her story:

Returning to Kyiv, my hometown, was an experience unlike any other. It was not just a trip back to familiar streets and childhood memories; it was a journey into a city that had been irrevocably changed by war. Yet, despite the scars of conflict that now mark its landscape, Kyiv remains vibrant, its people showing a resilience that both humbled and inspired me.

As I arrived, the city felt both familiar and foreign. The Kyiv I knew—a city of bustling markets, lively cafés, and architectural beauty—now carries the weight of conflict. There are buildings with shattered windows, streets that bear the remnants of shelling, and a tension in the air that’s impossible to ignore. But for all the visible signs of war, the spirit of Kyiv and its people remains unbroken.

Kyiv, next to main railway station
Kyiv. next to main railway station.


The primary reason for my visit was to see my family and friends, those who had chosen to stay despite the dangers. Seeing them again was a mixture of joy and heartbreak. My parents greeted me with the same warmth they always had, but there was a new gravity in their eyes, a silent acknowledgment of the reality they face daily. My friends, too, had changed—not in the love and laughter we shared, but in their stoic acceptance of a life that now includes air raid sirens and curfews.

Over coffee in a quiet corner of the city, I spoke with my childhood friend. We had grown up together, playing in the same streets. “It’s strange,” she said, sipping her coffee as if we were discussing the weather. “We’ve had to learn to live with the war. At first, it was terrifying. Now, it’s just part of our routine. We listen for the sirens, we know where the nearest shelter is, but we also keep going. We have to.”

This sense of adaptation was evident everywhere I went. My family’s apartment, once filled with the usual noise and bustle of daily life, now had an emergency kit by the door. My grandmother, ever the caregiver, had stocked enough food and water to last weeks, just in case. But amidst these preparations, she still found time to cook my favorite meals, to sit with me and talk about everything and nothing, just like old times.

The city itself, while quieter, is far from defeated. Schools are open, though with modified schedules to accommodate the unpredictability of the situation. Shops continue to operate, albeit with shorter hours, and the streets, though less crowded, still pulse with life. People have adapted, creating new routines that include both the necessities of wartime and the rituals of daily life that bring comfort and a sense of normalcy.

The war has also brought out a profound sense of community in Kyiv. My family and friends spoke of neighbors who had become like family, of strangers helping each other in ways that would have seemed unimaginable before.

But the war has also left deep wounds. Every person I spoke with had lost someone, whether a relative, a friend, or a colleague. The pain is a constant companion, but it is borne with quiet dignity. Grief has become another part of life in Kyiv, something to be managed as best as possible. Yet, despite this, there is also a fierce determination to continue living, to not let the war strip them of their humanity.

As I spent time with my family and friends, I was struck by their ability to find hope in the smallest of things—a blooming flower in the garden, a sunny day after weeks of rain, a call from a loved one on the frontlines. These moments of beauty and connection have become essential, a reminder that life, even in the midst of war, can still be rich and full of meaning.

Leaving Kyiv was difficult. It was not just the thought of saying goodbye to my family and friends, but the realization that they would continue to live in a place where danger is never far away. But I also left with a deep sense of pride. Kyiv is my home, and its people—my people—are some of the strongest I have ever known. They have faced unimaginable challenges with grace, courage, and an unyielding will to survive.

Kyiv may be a city at war, but it is also a city of hope, resilience, and an unbreakable spirit. My visit reminded me that even in the darkest times, the human spirit can find ways to endure, adapt, and even thrive. And as I look forward to the day when peace returns, I know that Kyiv and its people will emerge stronger, having weathered this storm with unwavering resolve.

Anna Bevza, August 2024. (All photographs by Anna Bevza)

Chernihiv. Postal office in City Centre
Chernihiv
Chernihiv
Chernihiv, neighbour’s house
Chernihiv. Building of security service of Ukraine

Jury: Murder Trial- what verdict on our jury system?

The programme “The Jury: Murder Trial” (https://www.screendog.co.uk/retrial) being broadcast on Channel 4 this week should be fascinating viewing. In the words of the programme makers this drama “will examine the jury system for the first time on British television by recreating an entire, real murder trial from the original transcripts in front of two randomly selected juries, neither of whom are aware of the other” Filmed over ten days, in a former courthouse in Essex, the series claims that it will take a forensic look at the inner workings of justice.

I hope the programme makers show enough for us- the TV jury if you like – to glean a glimmer of insight as to how juries deliberate and reach their verdicts. Currently, research into juries or at least how they reach their verdicts remains generally taboo (see eg s8 Contempt of Court Act, whereby it is an offence for a person to ask for or make public any opinions or arguments put forward by a jury member in the course of making a decision)

Channel 4 have tried a similar programme before-  in 2007 I was one of the legal advisers (and with a cameo role as the solicitor advising at the police station) to “Consent” (Century Films) which filmed a randomly selected jury deliberating on a rape trial, using real lawyers (although victim and accused were both actors)  The Guardian review of the programme concluded “all credit to Channel 4 for airing the issue, which needs a lot more informed public debate, in such a perceptive way”. (https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2007/jan/23/didheordidnthe

Regrettably that was followed soon after by a heavily criticised and lamentable BBC attempt to do the same exercise  with a “celebrity jury”. The less said about that, the better.

The new programme by ScreenDog productions to air on Channel 4 promises an improvement on both in two significant ways. Firstly it uses actual transcripts from a real case, and secondly has the idea of filming two juries both watching the same trial, each jury unaware of the presence of the other. We the viewer can watch the two juries deliberate-will they be persuaded by the same points of evidence, and, of course, will they reach the same verdict? 

This, if the programme is done sensibly and without sensationalism, should genuinely better inform us as to how juries work, but in all likelihood, the programme maker’s claims are unlikely to stand up to scrutiny.

Potential problems?

Firstly, it seems likely that those on the juries have “applied” to participate, rather than picked by random selection, and in any event the programme makers would be likely to favour “characters” to add some spice to the deliberations. 

Furthermore ,the presence of TV cameras means people are more likely to “perform”, or at least be mindful not to display their prejudices which might otherwise come out in the confines of the jury room. 

Finally, the juries will be aware that the person in the dock is an actor- and not in real jeopardy of conviction and an actual sentence.

Even allowing for the obvious flaws, and even if they abandon reality for contrived drama (Love Island in a jury room) it my not be wholly without merit.

Every criminal lawyer has wanted to be a fly on a wall in a jury room, and unless called for jury service, this, sadly, is as good as it gets.

So whilst it is unlikely we will gain real insight into the workings of our jury system, if nothing else it should start a debate, and hopefully lead to some proper meticulous research into jury trial, to see whether still fit for purpose or in need of improvement.

Jury Service

Some citizens of course already have the benefit of first hand experience (I have yet to be selected) and although years ago we lost the right to “jury challenge”, there is still an element of self-selection as some will try to get out of their civic duty citing any number of reasons, but principally employment, as satirised in this apocryphal anecdote:

Judge: “Is there any reason you could not serve as a juror in this case?”

Juror: “I don’t want to be away from my job that long.”

Judge: “Can’t they do without you at work?”

Juror: “Yes, but I don’t want them to know it.”

Jury stories

A citizen without experience in the justice system and yet to be called up as a juror may rely on published literature (I strongly recommend “the Juryman’s tale” by magistrate, journalist and former editor of the Sunday Telegraph Trevor Grove), reading occasional commentary pieces.  or perhaps by having watched a hazy mix of film dramatisations such as “12 Angry Men”.

Here is Lord Devlin’s famous and often cited robust defence of jury trial: 

The first object of any tyrant in Whitehall would be to make parliament utterly subservient to his will; and the next to overthrow or diminish trial by jury, for no tyrant could afford to leave a subject’s freedom in the hands of 12 of his countrymen. So that trial by jury is more than an instrument of justice and more than one wheel of the constitution: it is the lamp that shows that freedom lives … 

Of course that is true only if we have confidence that the 12 of of our Countrymen selected are suitably well equipped to make an informed assessment of the evidence and reach the right verdict in accordance with the law. Maybe we should shine a light onto Lord Devlin’s lamp.

Sometimes we are shaken:

In a late 18th-century case in York, about two hours into the trial, Mr Justice Gould suddenly interrupted counsel and declared: “Here are only eleven jurymen in the box. Where is the twelfth?”

“Please you, my lord,” replied one of the eleven, “he has gone away about some business but he has left his verdict with me.”

Sometimes we are stirred:

A man is on trial for murdering his wife, although a body has not been found. 

His lawyer says there is not enough evidence. “The ex-wife is not even dead, I am going to prove it to you, she is going to walk through the door in about one minute.”

Almost all eyes are focused on the door. A minute passes. Another minute passes. And another.The prosecution says: “she didn’t walk in.”

Defence say “But the fact that you were all staring at the door expectantly proves that there is reasonable doubt.”The jury deliberates. The defendant is found guilty.

“How can you send a man to prison on such flimsy evidence?” The lawyer asks?

One juror says: “In the three minutes that passed, I looked through the courtroom, and I saw that the defendant was the only person who didn’t look at the door even once.”

There is a treasure trove of great jury stories and anecdotes that supporters (and detractors) of the system can deploy – but sometimes, like the statue of justice, we are blindfolded to it’s faults

Juries are nor perfect

The obvious reality is that the jury system is (as with any system of justice) it is imperfect. If the jury system were perfect, we would not have miscarriages of justice.

Of course many miscarriages are not the fault of the jury- they can arise from perjury, police bias, inadequate disclosure, and many more of the failings in our Justice system (increasingly arising from whole scale underfunding by consecutive governments), but as mark Twain once observed there is “probably no remedy for a jury that lacks common sense”

A good system of Justice is one that recognises juries do not always get it right, and looks how best to correct errors with a robust and fair appeal system, whilst also maintaining confidence by allowing an examination of the issues. Because a jury does not give reasons for their verdicts, it affects the way in which an accused person can appeal against their conviction, typically focussing on the adequacy and fairness of the judge’s directions to the jury if challenged, rather than whether the jury understood or followed them.

Limited Jury Research

In 2010 the Ministry of Justice published a report by Professor Cheryl Thomas of University College, London, after 18 months of research in which more than 1000 jurors in England were interviewed anonymously. 

The results of the research were generally positive for the jury system but also confirmed areas where our practice could be improved. 

The report also concluded that juries were efficient, but there were three areas in which the report identified scope for improved performance. They were:

 (i) making sure that the jury fully understood the judge’s legal directions, 

(ii) providing the jury with clear guidance of what to do if a member of the jury appeared to be guilty of misconduct and

(iii) preventing jurors from researching for facts relating to their case on the internet.

While there is always room for improvement, public attitude surveys have shown continuing strong support for the jury system, trust that a jury would come to the right decision, and a belief that a criminal trial by jury is fairer than such a trial by a judge. Whether or not that belief is correct, the jury system involves citizens in the process of criminal justice. The facts of the case are decided upon not by the administration or professional judges but by a group of randomly selected citizens.

I generally share the public’s confidence that juries usually reach the correct decision on the evidence which they have heard in criminal trials.

But I don’t think we should be complacent.

I hope this programme doesn’t prove me wrong. 

Verdict?

I look forward to giving my own verdict after the programme has finished- and hearing other views too. Majority support (10/12) following the programme would be great- but if the jurors filmed show bias, ignorance or naivety leaving the viewer with negative views (or even mixed opinions – a “hung jury”) it could be increasingly awkward for defenders of the flame.

Sylvia Foxsmith (nee Cook) Obituary

Sylvia was born in Plymouth on 22 February 1939, the only child of William “Clifford” Cook and Phyllis (nee Pawlby) (1)

Sylvia with parents

As an only child, Sylvia was very bonded to her cousins on the Pawlby side who lived in Cornwall (Wendy, Penny, and Ian)

The Cook family left  Plymouth sometime after the onset of WW2, but not to escape the blitz- as they moved to Coventry which was equally hard hit by the Luftwaffe. Rather, the move was to facilitate the electronics work that Clifford was engaged in, as a consequence whilst doing important work for the war effort, he avoided armed conflict but did volunteer as an air-raid warden.

SCHOOL: The family stayed on in Coventry, with Sylvia attending St Joseph’s primary and later Barrs Hill girls school, until “O” levels. (2)

Her best friend at school was Sylvia Baker (3)-two Sylvias in the same class, one a Baker, the other a Cook!  In 1948 Sylvia had rheumatic fever.

One of Sylvia’s favourite memories was a 1951 trip to london for the festival of Britain. 

After Sylvia finished secondary school the Cook family returned to Plymouth. It appears Sylvia left at least one broken hearted suitor behind- subsequently making his way to Devon in a desperate but unsuccessful bid to win her back

In 1955 they were living at 5 Duke St, Plymouth, then by 1959 before eventually settling in a bungalow at 26 Gower Ridge Rd,  Plymstock.  The family ran a shop on Saltash street, near Plymouth’s dockyard, then Clifford opened an electronics shop “RadioParts”-  from where the first television set in Plymouth was sold (4)

Sylvia worked at RadioParts  and enjoyed a lively social life, in the good company of friends (5)

Sylvia passed her driving test (June 1960) 20, Saltash St, and this gave her freedom to roam.

There was also lots of dancing, a string of suitors, and after an earlier engagement that was “broken off”,  it was at the Prince Regent club, Union St in July 1964 that she first met William (Bill) Foxsmith who was in the Merchant Navy.  The initial romance lasted only weeks before Bill was back at sea heading to New York -Sylvia drove to Falmouth to wave him off, and they corresponded during his absence- the letters show that both were very much smitten with each other.

The relationship developed on Bill’s return, despite opposition from Sylvia’s parents, and Sylvia and Bill were married at St Werburgh’s church, Wembury, on 05 October 1966. 

They bought and lived in a bungalow at 77 Staddiscombe Rd (6), where in due course the first two children arrived- Greg (1967) and M. (1971)

Sylvia with two boys, Staddiscombe

In 1977 they moved to Alfred St in Plymouth, and soon after came the arrival of her third and final child, Naomi.

Sylvia Bill and the 3 children

In later years Sylvia was to become a grandmother too (from 2003)

Children and grand-children would often visit Plymouth, especially at Christmas

Health: Sylvia had a terrible bout of Scarlet Fever as a child, missing 3 weeks from school (may 1947) In adult life Sylvia had twice successfully battled cancer- in 1981, and then again in 2016.

Family business: William established himself as a leading antiquarian map and print-dealer at Foxsmith Galleries, Southside St. where Sylvia was a supportive helper.

The shop “Foxsmith Galleries” was open for 20 years, and eventually closed in 2006.

4D520682-4EB2-46E1-8C0E-90B5BD88E792

Shortly after William’s retirement, he was diagnosed with Alzheimers, and Sylvia cared for him until his needs were such that he required nursing care. Sylvia visited until William passed away, living independently and maintaining a busy social life. 

Sylvia had many interests, including theatre and literature, being a keen member of a reading club which often convened at her address as well as residential trips, often contributing poetry of her own.

The Government lock-down and restrictions during the pandemic took a big toll, as it did for so many elderly people living alone who were deprived of the social interactions necessary for a meaningful quality of life. 

Sylvia moved to supported accommodation in Yelverton, but after a fall was hospitalised in Derriford during the later stages of Covid. She was there for months, with no visitors allowed. After an attempted return to the supported accommodation, Devon Social Services intervened and moved her for a “temporary assessment” to an abysmal “care” home called Hart Care. There after a period of neglect, her physical and mental health rapidly deteriorated, family were unable to visit, but after an SOS call she was taken by ambulance to hospital, severely dehydrated. 

Thankfully after months of being nursed back to health at the wonderful Tavistock Community hospital, Sylvia with the support of family moved to a decent care home, where she saw out her final days before passing away peacefully in her sleep in February 2023. 

Her funeral was well attended and a celebration of her early life. Appropriately, the service was beautifully conducted by John Sims, a family friend (son of Ann) acting as celebrant.

There were drinks after the service at Ford Park Cemetery visitor centre, where Sylvia had previously volunteered.

Sylvia is greatly missed by friends and family alike. In addition to the three children, she is missed by her grandchildren. 

Sylvia Foxsmith, RIP, 1939-2023

1 William Clifford Cook 20/11/1911-29/12/1987,  Phyliss Joan Pawlby 26/10/1913-29/02/2001

2 St Joseph’s now known as Crackley Hall https://www.crackleyhall.co.uk/history-crackley. Barrs Hill pictured below:

3 Sylvia B. married Alan to become Sylvia Sakne, stayed in Coventry, had two children Russell and Sita, who the Foxsmith children knew through childhood. I would love to hear from there but cannot trace- any ideas? GF 

Sylvia F with Greg and Sylvia S with Russell

4. RadioParts- Originally at 63 Old Town St, later Market Way. 

5. These lifelong friends included Frances, whose daughter Tracey was Sylvias god-daughter, Gerry and Malcolm (also godparents), Vanessa, and Ann (both godmothers to Naomi). Also, through William, friends such as John Pickles (god-father to M.)

6. When they first bought, the address was still “Staddon Close”, later renamed to Staddiscombe Rd. The phone number was Plymouth 43563!

7. M. not named in this obituary and no photos, at their request.

In Memoriam: Sylvia is remembered at St Werburghs, and also at Mount Edgecumbe Park (her mother Phyllis Cook is also remembered at Mount Edgecumbe, where her ashes were scattered in 2004) 

Eulogy: Sylvia’s funeral service was held in Plymouth, and well attended by friends and family. The eulogy was written and read by her son M. , an edited version of which appears here:-

My grandparents had a big influence on my mother, their only child,  even for the time.

After ‘O’ levels my mother wanted to carry on studying. But at the same time my grandfather unfortunately injured himself falling off a ladder when setting up a new business. They needed her in Plymouth so she moved to down to help them.

I can still remember her in the shop with shelfs of doorbells and light bulbs batteries, different ‘Radio Parts’.  

It seems that she had a good times in her teens and twenties going out to dances and still retained the friendship of many of those lovely friends until the end.

My mum met my dad at a dance at the ‘Prince Regent’.  My mums friend thought he was a good prospect because he had a Jaguar car, this didn’t impress mum, but he did.

At first there was some resistance to them dating and poor dad wasn’t allowed in the house, but my mum had decided that he was “the one” and he was going to stay, so they got engaged.  My mum told me that when she went to tell my grandparents the good news, her knees were shaking with fear.  At this point my grandfather stood up and said ‘that this silliness has to stop’ my dad was let into the house and their strong influence over her was changed.  Mum and Dad wed at a small but lovely, sweet wedding in Wembury, in 1966.

After the honeymoon their first home was a bungalow in Staddiscombe, they had curtains and carpets but no furniture.  Together they built up a home, and eventually the family moved to the heart of Plymouth.

Alfred St was massive in comparison and a lot or work needed doing to get it fixed up.  It was a busy time with her balancing working in th shop with bringing us up and doing up the house.  For months the hall and front rooms had scaffolding inside so she could reach the cornicing and with painstaking effort scrape years of excess paint off to restore the patterns around the edges of the ceiling.  We didn’t have any hot water for months and my mum managed with a kettle that went up and down 3 flights of the stairs.  It took years to get the house finished but during that busy time she didn’t take her eyes off being a mum, home cooked meals were on the table and although the house wasn’t finished it was clean.  

She was always doing stuff for us.  Greg and I got much better “action man” accessories than most , albeit it home-made – action man clothing and even sleeping bags and pillows! Naomi’s room was equally well set up and mum sorted out ballet and piano lessons for her.As my own friends have confirmed, Alfred St was a “fun” place to be.

One by one we three children left the family home I remember when I left for Canada her falling to her knees holding onto the kitchen bin for support.

I’m proud of my mums forward thinking – she was years ahead of the curve with issues such as the dangers of excess additives in food, re-use and recycling.

Mum ventured into all sorts of hobbies, and enjoyed an active social life, with games evenings and dinner parties, albeit she lacked the ruthless competitive edge required in monopoly, preferring to set everyone up with a Monopoly set than win herself. By contrast, she showed no mercy in scrabble! She read widely, and wrote poems. She tried to help people when she could.  She was very much into family and loved a family reunion.

When her own mother got ill with age, my mum spent a huge effort caring for her.  After her mum died, she only had a short break before my father started to decline and we watched her rearrange life trying to do her best in an impossible situation that became increasingly difficult through alzheimers.

When her husband died, so did a part of her.  An old cancer returned that she dealt with very stoicly, but this with lockdown and other health issues meant she started to decline, until she couldn’t look after herself and moved into residential care. At the last home she was always still pleased to see people and her face would light up when they visited. She passed away peacefully, and is now at peace, re-united with my dad, and looking down with love on her three children, and grand-children -Adam, Nina, Daniel, Darcey and Juno.  

She was very much loved, and is greatly missed.

In memory of Lorraine Constantinou

I am sorry to hear the sad news of the passing of my good friend and former Islington Councillor Lorraine Constantinou. 

Lorraine Constantinou

It was a pleasure to stand for election to Islington Council with Lorraine Constantinou in 2010, and a privilege to serve with her in elected office for the next four years, representing the people of Hillrise ward.

Although I was standing for re-election and Lorraine was a “new” candidate, it was no surprise to me that she secured more votes- an astonishing  2073 votes!

Lorraine was already a popular and respected figure in Hillrise, where she worked for a Tenants Management Organisation (TMO) on the Elthorne estate where she lived and raised her family for 40 years- from it’s inception in fact. 

Born in Dublin, a proud Irish-woman married to her beloved husband from Cyprus , and already a grandmother by the time of her election, it was no surprise that Lorraine was a no-nonsense figure, a community champion who was not afraid to speak her mind, and who got things done. 

PUTTING ON THE HEAT

I first met Lorraine in 2009 when she fought for residents who had been left without heating on the estate. 

She organised a petition, and joined me in taking the fight directly to the contractors (EPS Energy) who felt the full heat from Lorraine that their incompetence was denying residents.

Needless to say the matter was quickly resolved. 

BOXING

Lorraine stepped up to fight for Islington Boxing club, securing funding to help them install showers and changing rooms for females- the launch-pad for what grew into the impressive and successful facilities for women and girls at the club. http://www.thecnj.com/camden_review/news/2010/feb/red-corner-–-women-step-ring-islington-boxing-club

IBC Club CEO Lennie Hagland said “the club send our condolences to Lorraine’s family. As local councillor, she helped support this club when we were on the ropes financially. Everyone knew Lorraine as a fighter, but always punching up, and never below the belt. May she rest in peace

INDEPENDENT MINDED

Lorraine always spoke her mind, and as Peter Gruner (Islington Tribune) reported after he interviewed Lorraine after her election, she was willing to publicly criticise her “own side” (Liberal democrats) as well as opposing Labour.

 “She is currently battling with her own party at Coalition government level over increased tuition fees and the lack of security of tenure which new council tenants will have. But she is also fighting Labour-controlled Islington Council over the lack of improvements on the Elthorne estate, in Archway, where she lives and works” 

Full interview here: http://www.thecnj.com/camden_review/comment/reply/7704

ELTHORNE CHAMPION

Lorraine was fiercely proud of the tight-knit  community on the estate where she both lived and worked. She was outraged when the Labour Islington council dismissed the estate by running it down in 2012. Lorraine  said: “I have lived and worked on the Elthorne over 33 years and cannot believe that we have been described effectively as a ‘sink estate’. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s offensive. The council press release is misleading and unfortunate considering the already outstanding resident participation on the Elthornehttps://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/crime/21243130.tenants-archway-furious-sink-estate-slur-council/

SAVE THE SLIDE! AND OTHER CAMPAIGNS

Lorraine was a supporter of Elthorne Park, funded a project on the New Orleans Estate, and backed a campaign  to save a popular children’s slide on the Miranda estate that Islington Labour wanted to rip out. ( http://gregfoxsmith.co.uk/guest-blog-by-adam-foxsmith/ ) She said “It has got so much character, and it’s the thing that I see kids using and enjoying most when they come to the park. If it goes, the park will lose some of that character” https://islingtonnow.co.uk/save-the-archway-slide-campaign/ 

SUNNYSIDE GARDENS 

Lorraine was a supporter of Sunnyside Community Gardens, and assisted the trustees

Sunnyside Gardens trustees and volunteers, Lorraine centre with red scarf

 She helped secure them a grant of £1500, and after their original building was destroyed in a fire, and was supportive in fundraising for a replacement.

SAVE THE WHITTINGTON 

Lorraine passed away peacefully in the Whittington hospital, surrounded by her loving family.

That venue seems appropriate as I remember Lorraine campaigning to save the hospital back in 2013, when it was under threat of closure.

I was fortunate to be able to visit Lorraine at the hospital, where she still had a twinkle in her eye.

A fighter to the very end, Lorraine will be greatly missed. 

My condolences to her family.

Lorraine will not be forgotten.

Lorraine Constantinou, 1945-2023.

RIP

Fulham U21 extend Arsenal U21 misery with 2-1 victory at Motspur Park

Guest blog by Adam Smith


The Fulham U21s are back to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over London rivals Arsenal, showing a confident performance rounded off by goals from Oliver Sanderson and Luke Harris. 

Arsenal are now winless in 9 in PL2 Division One following defeat at Motspur Park on April 7th, where yet again they struggled in front of goal- aided only by an equalising strike  Amario Cozier-Duberry early in the second half shortly after his introduction following the break. Fulham regained the lead minutes later, and were by far the better side overall, recording more shots, shots on target, corners and slightly edging ahead in possession. 

Fulham quickly set about causing problems for Arsenal’s defence and continued to test goalkeeper Hubert Graczyk in the first half, until one of his parried shots fell to the feet of Sanderson who found the back of the net with a simple finish. Fulham striker Terry Ablade was also a consistent threat to the Arsenal goal,  stinging the palms of Graczyk multiple times, but will be disappointed with some of his wayward finishes.

If Arsenal U21 manager Mehmet Ali would like to take consolation from any individual performances, he should look to his midfield and give praise to team captain Matt Smith, who seems to always be at the heart of their build up play and leads by example with his performances every week, or perhaps Mauro Bandeira who showed flashes of his quality over the course of the game, notably the big chance he created for winger Sagoe Jr early on in the first half. Manager Mehmet Ali has come under fire from some fans who are unhappy with his team’s continued poor run of form. They were outperformed in most departments by a seemingly more united Fulham team, and nothing should take away from the Cottager’s collective performance. It was Fulham’s team cohesion that made them the better side, although midfielder Oliver Sanderson was perhaps the standout performer. Aside from opening the scoring with his close range finish, Sanderson was an orchestrator in the middle of the park and played with a composed temperament; always the sign of a player with with maturity beyond his years.

Arsenal would have overtaken Fulham with a win, but instead now sit in 7th place, behind Brighton on goal difference, who they will play at home in their next outing. Meanwhile, Fulham will be delighted with the 3 points, now 5 ahead of Arsenal and only 2 points behind Liverpool in 4th spot. Similarly to Fulham’s senior team, their U21 players are showing that they can challenge and compete with with some of the biggest clubs in England, as both squads look to continue their impressive league campaigns this season.

Football Legends support Jack Leslie’s England cap (guest blog by student journalist Adam Smith)

The Football Association has awarded Jack Leslie a posthumous honorary England cap in recognition of the call up he received in 1925, only for his name to be removed from the team sheet due to the colour of his skin shortly after. The FA offered no explanation at the time for why the trailblazing forward was taken out of the team, instead Jack was wrongly deprived of the opportunity to play for his country at the highest level.

The awarding of the cap (by current FA chair Debbie Hewitt) was overdue but nonetheless very welcome, and was applauded by a sold out Wembley stadium (prior to the European qualifying game against Ukraine on 26th March)

Many important football figures were present to show their support, and I set out to ask them what was the significance of this symbolic gesture by the FA.

The family display the England cap with Carlton Cole, Ronnie Mauge, and Sir Trevor Brooking

Viv Anderson, accompanied by members of Jack’s family, was on the pitch prior to England’s 2-0 victory over Ukraine. Having learned of Jack’s story, Viv Anderson MBE described himself as ‘honoured and privileged’ to present the cap to Jack’s granddaughters Lyn and Gill. ‘I didn’t know about Jack Leslie prior to lockdown, and it’s important that people know about the history of Jack Leslie and others, like Arthur Wharton’. As a footballing pioneer himself, Viv appreciated the significance of Jack’s story, emphasising the importance of ‘making his history known’. Viv represented England himself, making his debut in 1978- he was the first black footballer to win a full England cap.

Interviewing Viv Anderson

Former West Ham and Chelsea striker, and supporter of the campaign, Carlton Cole was also in attendance. As a former England international, he touched on what it felt like to put on the shirt, stating ‘When you get called up for your country it’s an overwhelming feeling, an unbelievable feeling of completion to have made it to the top. And when you see someone like Jack Leslie told that he can’t reach that top tier, it makes you wonder what you’re in football for’. The ’unbelievable feeling of completion’ that Cole mentioned was an achievement most players dreamt of, yet Jack’s ceiling of career success was limited by discriminatory forces beyond his control.

Carlton Cole

Paul Elliott, former chair of the F.A inclusion advisory board (IAB) was also present and spoke before the game, stating ‘In the modern game, diversity, equality and inclusion must be the golden thread that connects people, and not just in football but wider society as well’. ‘In the case of Jack it’s also about long overdue recognition’ he added, and went on to say ‘as much as we must focus on the present and future, today is about celebrating the past’.

Interviewing Paul Elliott

Jack Leslie’s compelling story was forgotten, and only now is he receiving the ‘long overdue recognition’ that Paul Elliott described, thanks to the work of the Jack Leslie Campaign and Jack’s family, who will continue with legacy work following the unveiling of Jack’s statue outside Plymouth Argyle’s Home Park. The battle for equality of opportunity is still ongoing, which is why it is crucial that these stories are brought to attention and that these pieces of history are celebrated.

Adam Smith 29/03/2023

Jack Leslie Campaign- an update

Three years ago Matt Tiller and I set up the Jack Leslie Campaign, and I posted my first blog about in May 2020 (see here)

A lot has happened since then!

1 We unveiled a statue! https://jackleslie.co.uk/news/the-unveiling/

2 We have told Jack’s story in schools, to companies and at football clubs https://jackleslie.co.uk/news/jack-leslie-campaign-reaches-out-to-other-efl-league-one-clubs/

3 Jack Leslie has been inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame at a presentation at West Ham’s stadium

4 Jack Leslie has been posthumously awarded an honorary England cap (presented to his granddaughters at a full England International at Wembley) 

Future plans?

We will continue our outreach work, using Jack’s story to combat racism, challenge discrimination and fight prejudice. Find out more from the campaign website (and hit ”subscribe” for updates) or follow on social media (eg twitter @jacklesliecamp)

Arsenal Women 1-0 Man City Women 08/02/23 Match Report by Adam Smith

Arsenal Women have booked their ticket to the Conti Cup final courtesy of a strike from late substitute Stina Blackstenius, sealing victory for the gunners in the semi-final and sinking holders Manchester City who battled valiantly for 120 minutes as the game was forced to extra time. The goal and the win will be seen as well earned by Arsenal who had a larger share of the big chances but failed to make them count after 90 minutes, whilst City were frustrated in the attack and only managed to take control of the game after conceding.


The tie was fiercely fought, with nothing to separate the two teams after a first half of high intensity but precious few chances- star striker Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw failed to spring into action and on numerous occasions Arsenal looked as if they sorely missed the threat of attacking talents Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema (both currently injured).
The second half saw Arsenal begin to gain momentum, receiving constant encouragement from the buoyant North Bank at Boreham Wood. The tide of the game certainly felt as if it was turning in Arsenal’s favour, though statistically there was little to separate the elite WSL sides who shared possession equally and both registered 7 shots on target. Manchester City increasingly relied on counter attacks in their search for a goal, and at the other end Arsenal were left wondering how they had failed to break the deadlock as attacking substitutes squandered chances, in particular a header from Lina Hurtig glanced narrowly wide.
Player of the Match Katie McCabe looked like Arsenal’s best hope of finding the back of the net in normal time, creating chances with dangerous crosses from the left flank and keeping City forward Chloe Kelly quiet all night. McCabe catalysed the crowd whenever enthusiasm dwindled, encapsulating all of the determination and desire required in a cup tie of such high stakes.

McCabe in action

The deciding goal finally arrived in the 93rd minute following a ruthless Arsenal press which won them the ball high up the pitch and kick-started a sweeping move, culminating in a low cross from Hurtig and the decisive strike by Blackstenius. The finish took an obvious deflection on the way in but made no difference to the roaring home fans now certain of victory. The goal finally forced City’s hand, they chased the game for the remainder of extra-time after a fairly conservative period of play perhaps with thoughts of a penalty shootout already playing on minds.
Arsenal Captain Kim Litthe will be very happy with the result having hinted at City’s quality pre-match. She had also touched upon regrets from their most recent WSL fixture away to West Ham, a goalless draw which she felt merited more points after a dominant performance, but went on to add ‘ultimately we didn’t score, that’s what football is’. Today’s game represented a more difficult contest which arguably presented similar problems for the Gunners, except on this occasion they found an eventual solution. Arsenal will search for similar solutions on Saturday morning when the two teams face off again in the WSL, whilst hosts City no doubt have ideas of their own- both teams have ground to make on current leaders Chelsea, who are also likely to face Arsenal in the Conti Cup final assuming they can overpower underdogs West Ham in the remaining semi-final.


Match Report by Adam Smith, trainee journalist and sports writer @adamsmith29uk

Photos by @groundhopperGr1

LCCSA: Do-gooders united!

This is an edited version of the guest speech given by Matt Foot at the LCCSA AGM 14/11/21

Do-gooders of the world unite! Guest blog by Matt Foot

I am very honoured to be invited to speak at the annual meeting of the British Virgin Islands Lawyers. And thank you for the £700k. Oh Sorry -wrong speech!

I am sorry to raise this after you have just eaten but we need to talk about Priti Patel….

Last year she reached the nadir in front of her Party conference when she attacked the ‘do-gooder lefty lawyers’ trying to defend migrants. Patel said the legal aid ‘activist lawyers’ were ‘defending the indefensible’ (1)

So vitriolic was she that a legal aid lawyer was attacked in his office by someone whipped up by her rhetoric, for which she had no regrets and told us ‘to get back to work’. (2)

It’s difficult to work out where this vitriol comes from, how can someone so lack empathy. I think I’ve finally struck on why it is she is so bitter….

I came to this realisation when we saw her at her happiest with a massive smile wandering around a back alley donning a police jacket on a police raid – she never looked so happy. On her lapel it said “Home Secretary” but she obviously always wanted to be… a copper!

Certainly there is no stopping Patel’s adoration for the police – her police bill would only allow protests that were silent and did not “cause unease

So in love with the police is she that she introduced, as part of the Bill, the idea of a police covenant. As they ‘deserve special recognition’ because ‘they will always have the support of the nation’. Making it ‘a statutory duty to do more to support the police’. This would place a requirement on her to report annually to Parliament on progress with the covenant.

To help her out I’ve written next year’s annual report for her, in recognition of some of the achievements of the police in the last year:

Annual Report on the Police 2020-2021 (as compiled by Matt Foot)

1 Racism

On racism the police are maintaining a higher stop and search rate of black people than was the case at the time of the McPherson report, and particularly so under the covid rules.

This year a former probationary officer has been convicted of being a member of the neo-nazi organisation, National Action.

And in another first, the bodies of two murdered black sisters, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry were photographed by police and passed round a WhatsApp group for their entertainment. 

2 Sexism

Infamously, serving police officer, Wayne Couzens, elevated to the diplomatic corp and assisted by deployment and misuse of Patel’s new covid powers, kidnapped Sarah Everard, and then went on to rape and murder her.

3 Policing Protest

When women came out to peacefully show their respects to Sarah Everard a number of (mainly male) officers handcuffed them and manhandled them to the ground.

4 Policing the police

The police have consistently failed women who make accusations against officers of domestic violence as evidenced by Alexandra Heal’s ground-breaking work for the Bureau for Journalism, which I am proud to say won the Paul Foot award for campaigning journalism. Heal identified 700 reports against police officers for domestic abuse and that those allegations were taken less seriously than other complaints.

5 Police Corruption

This year the Metropolitan Police have been recognised as institutionally corrupt in the Daniel Morgan Panel Report. Finally, after his brother Alastair Morgan has been campaigning for the truth for 34 years.

It’s an annual report that shows that more than ever we need to have strong legal aid lawyers to defend people from an institutionally sexist, racist and corrupt police. 

It’s clear that despite this report Patel will blindly continue to give special favour to the police and in so doing she will be ‘defending the indefensible

LCCSA -defending, Campaigning

However, we in the LCCSA have a strong history of campaigning, including a few years ago against another zealot, Mr Grayling – his affliction when Justice Secretary was asset stripping, privatising anything that he could – legal aid; probation; prisons; -anything he could he would try and sell.

We feared that an underfunded, privatised probation service would be catastrophic. The proved to be true and the probation service has recently been taken back into public hands. 

Let us not forget 8 years ago – individuals, firms and lawyers associations led by the LCCSA joined together, uniting to campaign for Justice, demonstrating outside parliament, (5) and  we successfully stopped competitive tendering, the “two tier” system, and staved off a further proposed cut.  

That was eight years go. I know looking round we are getting older and more grey haired and I was thinking “where can we draw inspiration to defend legal aid again?” I want to look at what the do-gooder lawyers have been up to over the last year. It’s quite a contrast with the police!

I now want to read the Annual report of London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association.  I think its impressive.

Annual Report of LCCSA “do-gooders” 2021 (as compiled by Matt Foot)

I have 5 wonderful examples of ‘do-gooder’ solicitors dealing with injustices over the last year, many of which have been hanging around for years:

1 Firstly, for several years all our clients have had the ignominy of having to state their nationality, before their case even starts, as if that was somehow relevant to their reason for being in court. (3) That was until LCCSA committee member, Rhona Friedman and her new firm Commons Law – got together and planned out an evidence based challenge and got rid of this racist practice forever. (4) Thank you to her and her firm.

2 When it comes to protest for several years it’s been very difficult to protest at all without falling foul of the full force of the law on obstruction of the highway. Last year at the Supreme Court there was the case of Ziegler, taken on by Raj Chada and presented by Henry Blaxland, which confirmed important protest rights that can help to protect the environment and to challenge the wrongs in this society. (6)

3 20 years ago sub post masters working hard in local post offices around the country were suddenly prosecuted and convicted for fraud. They weren’t guilty of fraud at all – it was all based on dodgy expert evidence, around the new accounting system called Horizon.  Last year ex-president of the LCCSA Paul Harris represented several of those who overturned their convictions in what has been called the greatest miscarriage. He rightly said ‘what had happened was evil’. 

4 Nearly 50 years ago – four black people were convicted of an attempted theft and assault at Oval tube station, and they went to prison. Last year they finally had their convictions overturned. Lord Justice Fulford made one of those classic judicial understatements : “It is highly unfortunate that it has taken nearly 50 years to rectify this injustice.

I recommend to you all on iplayer watchingBlack Power the British Story’. There you can see William Trew’s story – it is quite clear he was fitted up for his politics, and as he walks out of the Court of Appeal you can see him with his solicitor Jenny Wiltshire, former LCCSA committee member and vice-president. Steve Bird another LCCSA committee member also represented one of the Oval 4. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-52022925

5 The last and oldest case of injustice I want to highlight goes back a hundred years – let me take you back to the 1920s. I am perhaps just little bit biased in thinking this is the most important. It involves a footballer who played for arguably the best team in the country and more importantly the best team in Devon.  Jack Leslie – a black footballer who played inside left for Plymouth Argyle,  was picked for England – then suddenly he was dropped because they hadn’t realised when they picked him that he was black. Former LCCSA president, Greg Foxsmith got together with his best mate Matt Tiller to set up a brilliant campaign. They raised the money for a statue at the best ground in the country, Home Park, and have gone into schools to use Jack’s story in a positive way against the indefensible racism that existed then, and in different ways today. Thank you to Greg. (7)

Going forward the biggest threat for the do gooders to continue dealing with such injustices is the chronic underfunding of the Criminal Justice System.

The hourly rates for criminal defence work have not increased since 1996. Over 25 years. 1996 was when the spice girls released their first single, and even before Jon Blacks first tweet. No other group of workers I believe have had such a cut by governments of both colour. 

We don’t know what CLAR is going to do – is it going to make good the recommendations of the All Party Parliamentary Group report this month that we be paid in line with inflation by an independent panel. The CLAR report is imminent. If they don’t increase the rates we will have no choice but to campaign and take action alongside the bar. 

I would like to finish on a quote of the Irish socialist Jim Larkin – ‘the great only appear great because we are on our knees. Let us rise’. 

Matt Foot 

NOTES

1 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/priti-patel-immigration-lawyers-migrants-law-society-bar-council-b832856.html

2 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8882165/Priti-Patel-shrugs-attack-lawyers-brands-reaction-criticisms-ridiculous.html

3 The “Nationality Requirement” https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/defendant-nationality-declarations-offensive/5063715.article

4 The end of the Nationality requirement- thanks to Commons https://twitter.com/commonslegal/status/1358732682209996802?s=21

5 Matt too mention to modest, but he was a key figure and final speaker at the 2014 demo

6 Here’s the case ref: Ziegler

7 (Note from Greg:Thanks to Kingsley Napley for backing me and backing the campaign ! ). It’s not too late to get on board- law firms supporting the campaign will get recognition on the statue plinth, and campaign website!

8 Matt also thanked the LCCSA committee in his speech: Firstly we need to thank all the committee for their hard work in keeping this very important association together, particularly Mark Troman and Kerry Hudson who have done so much in a really difficult year when we haven’t even been able to meet together in person. Good luck to nw President Hexham Puri and the committee for the year ahead.

9 How times change… a note on the http://LCCSA AGM dinner from 2015, from 2016, and the Summer Party of 2016

10 And finally….find out more about the LCCSA (and if eligible, how to join) here: https://www.lccsa.org.uk/about/officers/

Guest blog: Jack Leslie-a history (by Bill Hern)

Jack Leslie: the full storyguest blog by Bill Hern

Introduction:- Jack Leslie was a footballer of exceptional talent who played for Plymouth Argyle in the 1920-1930s, and was selected for England in 1925 but denied his place because he was black. In 2020 two Argyle fans launched the JACK LESLIE CAMPAIGN, and authors Bill HERN and David Gleave published FOOTBALL’S BLACK PIONEERS. Jack Leslie features as a chapter in that excellent book, and Bill wrote a longer version of Jack’s story for the Campaign website here. Jack’s story is not just a football story- it is a history story, a family story, and a civil rights story. The full story is published here, as a guest blog by Bill Hern (who retains copyright-see notes below)

The Jack Leslie story – by Bill Hern

If you’ve heard of Plymouth Argyle’s first black player, John (known as Jack) Francis Leslie, it is almost certainly because you are either an Argyle fanatic or possibly vaguely recall Jack as the man who was selected for England in 1925 but then ‘dropped’ when it was discovered he was black.

That was the opening paragraph when I first began writing about Jack Leslie in Autumn 2017. Within three years, thanks almost solely to the efforts of the Jack Leslie Campaign, Jack is now the best known black footballer in Britain. He is about to have a square in Plymouth named in his honour and a statue erected outside Plymouth’s ground, Home Park. 

No longer a hero only in the eyes of Plymouth supporters with a keen and proud sense of history, Jack is now a public figure. 

His place in history is cemented not by the loyal service he gave to Plymouth,playing 400 games and scoring 137 goals over14 seasons, nor the fact that he was for many years the only black player in the Football League or the first to be appointed a club captain, but as the player who was selected for England and then dropped because of the colour of his skin.

The England FA- an amateur affair

The story of Jack’s selection for England began on the afternoon of Monday 5thOctober 1925 at White Hart Lane, venue of that year’s Charity Shield match. The FA decreed that the Shield that year would be contested between the Amateurs and the Professionals. The Amateurs won comfortably, by six goals to one. This was the first time since 1886 that the Amateurs had defeated the Professionals. 

Amongst the crowd of almost 5,000 were the 14 FA Committee members who had selected the Amateurs team. The Professionals comprised players who had taken part in an FA tour of Australia the previous summer. 

This was all very convenient as, that very evening, a dinner was being held at Fracati’s in Oxford Street in honour of the touring squad. The FA Committee men and the Professionals were all, of course, invited and no doubt looking forward to the fine food and wine.

The tourists were each to receive a gold medal and what was described as an ‘England international cap’ although the games in Australia did not attract full international status.

Before the Committee members could leave White Hart Lane and get back to their hotels in order to change and head off to the festivities at Fracati’s they had the task of selecting the FA Amateur team to play the RAF and the full England team to take on Northern Ireland later that month. 

No doubt impressed and influenced by what they had just observed on the White Hart Lane pitch they selected no less than three members of the Amateurs side. Indeed, Claude Ashton, who scored four goals that day, was named as captain. Quite remarkable for a man who was winning his first and, as it transpired, only cap. Ashton was undoubtedly a fine player but his football was played with the famous Corinthians and he never appeared in a single Football League game in his career.

An all-round sportsman, Ashton also played cricket for Cambridge University and Essex. When he played football for Cambridge University along with his brothers Hubert and Gilbert the team were given the title of ‘Ashton Villa.’ Ashton was killed in a flying accident in 1942 while serving with the RAF.

The other amateurs selected for the England side were goalkeeper Howard Baker of Chelsea and Third Division Charlton Athletic’s centre half, George Armitage. 

Baker, another great all-round sportsman, had competed for Great Britain in the high jump and triple jump at the 1912 and 1920 Olympics and was a former team-mate of Ashton’s at Corinthians. 

The third of the amateurs chosen that day, George Armitage, would meet a tragic end in August 1936 when he was found dead on a railway line at Aylesford in Kent. He was only 38 years old and had been a patient at the nearby Preston Hall Sanatorium where he was being treated for Tuberculosis.

The Committee ended its deliberations by naming a squad of 13; 11 starters plus two travelling reserves, one of whom was Jack Leslie of Plymouth Argyle. Jack was on the verge of playing for the country of his birth.

But before we go on to look into the circumstances that followed Jack’s selection let us look at who Jack Leslie was.

Jack Leslie-origins

Jack’s father, also John Francis Leslie, was born in Hope Bay, Jamaica on 17th December 1863. John became a mariner and travelled the world. It seems that one route he commonly took was between London and Sydney, Australia. It was while he was in London that he met Anne Regler a young lady from Islington, London. The pair married on 22nd August 1891 and went on to have two daughters Edithe and Letitia Georgina and, on 17th August 1901, a son, Jack Leslie.

We know that John continued going to sea after his marriage. Indeed, he spent his first Christmas and New Year as a married man on the ship “the Salvera” en route from London to Sydney. However, by April 1901 he had settled in 60, Clifton Road, Canning Town with his wife Anne, their two daughters and Anne’s mother. John had found work as a general labourer and Anne, who was pregnant with Jack, worked as a tailoress. 

By the time of the 1911 census Jack’s sister, Edithe, had died and the family, including the now 83-year-old mother-in-law Catherine Ann Regler, had moved to 12, Gerald Road, Canning Town. This would remain the family home for many years.

John now described himself as a gas fitter’s labourer, Anne was still a tailoress and 18-year-old Letitia was a dressmaker. The house only had 4 rooms for 5 occupants, so conditions would have been cramped but no doubt Jack spent most of his time outdoors playing football. 

After leaving school Jack worked as a boilermaker and joined the United Society of Boilermakers and Iron Shipbuilders Trades Union East Ham Branch on 21st October 1920. It was an occupation he was to return to after his football career was over. 

Barking FC

Jack’s first club was London League side, Barking Town. During his time at Barking the club won the Essex Senior Cup in 1919/20 and the Premier Division of the London League and the London Senior Cup the following season.

Still in his teens, Jack was selected to play for Essex on eight occasions and represented both Essex and the London League in international competitions in Paris.

Jack’s prolific scoring record attracted the attention of Plymouth who had entered the newly created Third Division of the Football League in 1920/21 finishing in mid-table. Jack signed for the Pilgrims on 21st June 1921 in advance of the 1921/22 season when a further change had resulted in the creation of Divisions Three North and South. Plymouth, of course, competed in Division Three (South). Barking Town were left rather depleted as, in addition to Jack, Plymouth signed Frank Richardson and Alf Rowe from the non-league side. At least Jack would have company down in Devon.

Jack Leslie at Argyle-the only black footballer in the English league

Jack made his first appearance on 19th November 1921 in a goalless draw at home to Merthyr Tydfil in front of a crowd of 14,000. Jack kept his place in the first team for the next six games until he was dropped after the home derby with Exeter City on 27th December 1921. 

Jack was the only black player in the Football League at that time. It would not be until Eddie Parris arrived on the scene in 1929 that he was joined by another blackfootballer. The chances of Jack and Eddie meeting up seemed slim as Eddie’s club, Bradford Park Avenue, were a leading Second Division side at the time.

In a strange quirk of fate Bradford Park Avenue were drawn against Plymouth in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup in January 1929. The press regarded this as quite an event and the headline “Coloured Cup-Tie Rivals,” alongside large photographs of Jack and Eddie was carried by several newspapers. In the event Eddie missed the game so the clash of the two ‘coloured’ players was delayed.

It was 19th December 1931 before Jack and Eddie faced one another on the football pitch, Bradford running out 2-0 winners. Ironically only two weeks earlier Eddie had become Wales’ first black player in a 4-0 defeat in Belfast against Northern Ireland. 

Chelsea manager Leslie Knighton’s column in the Daily Mirror of 4th November 1933 reminded readers that there were only “two men of colour” in the Football League – Jack and Eddie. Jack is referred to as “the famous Frank Leslie” and his wing partnership with Plymouth colleague Sam Black was described as “one of the most famous of post-war football.”

Knighton went on to make the prophesy that while “foreigners, Colonials and men from the dominions” add a touch of variety to football he doubts we shall see foreigners imported into the country in the future. Notwithstanding that Jack was born in England and Eddie in Wales, Knighton could not have been more wrong. I wonder what he would think if he walked into the Chelsea dressing room in the modern era when it is not unusual for the entire team to have no home grown players. 

As one of the only two black players in the 1920s, Jack did suffer racist abuse both on and off the pitch. He said “I used to get a lot of abuse in matches. “Here darkie, I’m going to break your leg” they’d shout.” Jack chose to regard it as players just trying to get under his skin. Today such comments would lead to a lengthy ban but in the 1920s it was perfectly common to refer to black people as ‘darkie’ or even worse.  

Plymouth went from strength to strength during the course of the season and going into the last game at Queens Park Rangers they needed only a single point to guarantee promotion to Division Two. They were top of the League, hadn’t lost in the 16 games they had played since 21st January 1922 and had beaten Queens Park Rangers 4-0 the previous week, what could possibly go wrong? Jack regained his place for this crucial fixture after being out of first team action for over four months. Plymouth lost 2-0 and Southampton, who defeated Newport County 5-0, pipped them on goal average. In those days only the winners of Divisions Three North and South were promoted. Jack ended his first season in the Football League with nine appearances and not a single goal.

The following season was again one of disappointment for Jack. He didn’t make a first team appearance until the First Round of the FA Cup at Notts County on 17th January 1923. Plymouth won 1-0 but again Jack didn’t score, nor did he score threedays later in a 1-1 home draw with Norwich City.  

Once again, he lost his place having to wait until 18th April 1923 when he was recalled for a home game against Gillingham. At last Jack broke his scoring duck hitting the second goal in a 2-0 win. This was his 12th appearance for Plymouth and came one day short of 17 months since his debut. 

Of the three players Plymouth recruited from Barking in the summer of 1921, Frank Richardson had far the greatest and speediest impact. He could not have got off to a better start scoring a hat trick on his debut, a 3-1 win at Bristol Rovers on 27th August 1921. This was the first ever hat trick scored by a Plymouth player in the Football League. Richardson ended the season with 31 goals from 41 League appearances. 

He also became the first Plymouth player to hit a hat trick in the FA Cup when he scored four against Bradford Park Avenue in February 1923. He joined Division One side Stoke City the following month.

Like Jack, Alf Rowe got off to a slow start at Plymouth. Over four seasons from and including 1921/22 he played 41 League games for Argyle without finding the net. He then joined Queens Park Rangers and promptly scored on his debut! But he did have the distinction of scoring the only goal of the game as Plymouth beat Argentina on 13th July 1924 during the club’s tour of South America.

Jack hit a further two goals on 2nd May 1923 in a 3-0 home victory against Brentford. Once again Plymouth ended the season in second place but this time they were six points behind champions Bristol City. In seven appearances in 1922/23 Jack scored three goals.

Bob Jack, a Scot, was the manager who had signed Jack for Plymouth. Bob Jack was a Plymouth legend and as well as playing for them, managed the club for 29 years. It is no wonder his ashes were spread on Plymouth’s Home Park ground when he died. He could be forgiven however, if his mind wasn’t 100% on Plymouth when they played at home to Newport County on 28th April 1923. On that same day, 220 miles or so from Plymouth, Bob’s son the famous David Jack was playing for Bolton in the first ever FA Cup Final to be played at what was then the ‘new’ Wembley Stadium. It became known as the White Horse Final as a policeman on a white horse called Billy struggled to contain the 120,000 crowd that had crammedinto the new stadium. 

That day David Jack scored the first ever goal at Wembley after only two minutes as Bolton overcame Second Division West Ham, a club Jack Leslie would one day be employed by. David Jack had previously played for Plymouth, including appearing in their first ever League game, before moving to Bolton. He went on to become the first player in the world to be transferred for a fee of more than £10,000 when he moved from Bolton to Arsenal in 1928. He played for and captained England, scored the only goal in the 1925/26 FA Cup Final when Bolton beat Manchester City and in 1929/30 became the first player to play for two different FA Cup winning sides at Wembley. 

Meanwhile Jack Leslie could only dream of Wembley and hope that in 1923/24 he could gain a regular place in the Plymouth team. 

It wasn’t to be however. Playing in the inside-left position, Jack scored only two goals in the first 15 games he played that season. Three goals in his last two games bolstered his statistics to five goals in 17 games as Plymouth once again finished runners-up in Division Three (South), four points behind Portsmouth. 

At this stage of his career there were few signs that Jack would go on to become a Plymouth legend let alone be chosen for England. 
Jack Leslie’s Argyle tour South America

In the Summer of 1924 Plymouth went on a five-week tour of Argentina and Uruguay. That was not however, the first time Jack had travelled abroad as he had played representative football in France while he was with Barking. 

The team and officials travelled to South America by boat and played nine games between 22nd June and 20th July beating Argentina twice and Uruguay once. Jack was a regular in the side and scored twice against Uruguay; the first in a 4-0 victory over the South Americans and the second, a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw.

The return journey on the Steam Ship Andes was lengthy and made even longer by stops in Brazil, Uruguay, Portugal and Spain. The players all travelled in Second Class (imagine that happening today!) but manager Bob Jack was housed in the luxury of First Class. There were 226 people on board the ship when it docked at Southampton on 11th August 1924. This was cutting things a bit fine as Argyle’s first League match at Norwich was scheduled for 30th August.

Jack at last became a regular in the Plymouth side in 1924/25 playing in 40 League games and one FA Cup tie. He scored 14 goals including his first ever hat trick in a 7-1 home massacre of Bristol City on 10th April 1925. However, Jack had gone 23 games without a goal prior to the Bristol City game. He needed to start scoring on a more consistent basis. 

There were no obvious signs of long-term fatigue from the South American trip as Plymouth played their 42nd and final League match on 29th April 1925 beating Southend 6-0. Jack was on the score sheet. This victory left Plymouth at the top of the League, three points ahead of Swansea who had two games remaining. Plymouth had a superior goal average so Swansea had to win both their remaining games to pip Argyle to the title and promotion to Division Two.

The following day Swansea scraped a 1-0 win at home to Reading, the winner coming late in the game. 

Everything rested on the Swansea’s final game of the season two days after the Reading game, at home to Plymouth’s Devon rivals Exeter City. The Grecians had nothing to play for but could they do their neighbours a favour? Swansea raced into a two-goal lead by half-time their first goal coming from former Argyle centre-forward Jack Fowler who had made his Plymouth debut just one month after Jack played his first game for the club. Exeter pulled one back in the second half but couldn’t snatch an equaliser. Swansea were promoted and Plymouth for the fourth season in succession finished runners-up.  

In many ways the crunch clash had been Plymouth’s penultimate game of the season on 25th April 1925, when a crowd of 30,000 saw Argyle draw 1-1 at home to their promotion rivals Swansea. A win for Plymouth would have seen them take the title. 

Jack returned to London in the close season to marry East-London girl Lavinia Emma Garland on 27th June 1925. The couple had a daughter, Evelyn, in 1927 and settled in Glendower Road, Plymouth. 

While at Plymouth Jack earned only £8 a week during the football season and £6 a week in the close season. There was a bonus of £2 for a win and £1 for a draw. Fortunately for Jack and his team mates, Plymouth won more games than they lost.

Jack’s family

While Jack’s childhood was not a bed of roses, Lavinia had an even tougher upbringing. Born on 21st November 1899 (although she was not baptised until 3rdNovember 1907) in 1901 she was living at 25, Welstead Road, East Ham along with her father William Alfred and mother Emma plus the couple’s six children; Florence Edith (born 1888-died 1944); William Edward Rockliffe (born 2nd June 1891-died 1957); Sarah Ann (born 20th February 1893-died 23rd October 1950); Frances Lydia (born 20th March 1895-died 1976); Annie (born 14th June 1897-died 1978) and finally baby Lavinia. 

William senior was born in Gravesend and Emma hailed from Bedfordshire. The saddest entry on the 1901 census is the description of Lavinia’s father as a ‘lunatic.’ This is a term repeated on the 1911 census yet only four years later William was cleared as fit to serve in World War 1. It appears, judging from the 1891 census, that far from being a ‘lunatic’ William was simply deaf. 

The Garland family were living at 198, Queen’s Road, Plaistow in 1911. William senior and his son William junior although both recorded as general labourers wereout of work. 

Eleven people were living in the house which had only five rooms. Sarah, now 18 was working as a laundress and Frances was a duty girl. Annie and Lavinia wereboth still at school and the family has been supplemented by two sons -Thomas (born 24th July 1902-died 29th July 1937) and Richard Alfred Rockliffe (born 14thOctober 1907-died 1953).

Making up the 11 inhabitants were Albert and Edward Cross both in their 20s and brothers of Emma. Albert was an unemployed general labourer and Edward a coal hawker.

William states very clearly on the 1911 census form that he and Emma had eight children all of whom were still living. He seems to have overlooked Maud Lily (born 25th June 1904-died 6th October 1958).Maud wasn’t living with her parents when the 1911 census was completed but she is cited, a few years later, as a dependent child on William’s Army records. Maud was in fact living at 34, Landsdown Road, Tidal Basin with her aunt, Annie Maria Cross. 

Despite the poverty, poor conditions and overcrowding, all nine of William and Emma’s children survived childhood.

Remarkably, given his age and classification as a lunatic, William senior enlisted in the Army on 13th April 1915 and served in France with the Army Service Corps for a year before being medically discharged. He was 43 years of age at a time when the upper age limit for new recruits was 41. Recruiting officers often accepted people who, strictly speaking, should not have been taken on, such was the desperation to get men out onto the Western Front. We learn from his attestation form that William was a diminutive figure standing 5 feet 2 and three-quarter inches tall. He had a fresh complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. 

William sailed for Le Havre from Southampton on 24th September 1915. He was very quickly in trouble with the authorities as on 24th October he was punished because of ‘drunkenness on active service.’

As might have been anticipated, William was not suited to the rigours of War and he was discharged as medically unfit on 9th August 1916. His character was described as ‘good.’ This is perhaps surprising given that in addition to his drunken escapade in October 1915, in June 1916 he was deprived of seven days’ pay for being absent from roll call. 

His attestation papers show his address as 111, Queen’s Road, Plaistow, having previously lived at number 198. It wasn’t unusual for families to remain in the same area and move only very short distances when they changed homes. As of August 1916 he had three dependent children. 

Strangely William’s medical records show that his discharge was due to ‘indigestion.’ The Army Medical Board noted that William had suffered from this since 1901 and it was neither caused nor aggravated by his military service. This of course meant William would not get a disability pension or gratuity as he returned to East London with its poor employment prospects, overcrowding and abject poverty.

One wonders if William enlisted because of patriotism or simply the lack of employment at that time. Perhaps he felt by leaving home there would be one less mouth for his wife Emma to feed? We shall never know. 

William junior also served in and survived World War 1 but was clearly not a man with a great deal of respect for authority. His Army records show a whole list of transgressions; not complying with orders (he had dirty boots on parade); neglect of duty; absent for adjutant’s parade; gambling in a tent; not complying with an officer’s orders; absence from parade; and finally, two offences of absence without leave. Despite this his military character was assessed as ‘fair’ and his general character ‘good.’

After marrying Jack, Lavinia must have found the peace and quiet of Plymouth a total change from the hustle and bustle of East London. One hopes she quickly adapted to married life and savoured the changes to her living conditions. It certainly seemed to be a happy marriage and the couple remained together for almost 63 years until Lavinia’s death in 1988.

Jack had left London in the summer of 1921 and it is presumed he had met Lavinia before leaving the East End. Quite why the pair waited four years before marrying is not known. There is however, evidence that Jack spent time in London even after his transfer to Plymouth and he almost certainly returned to London every summer during the close season. Although that would not be the case in 1924 when he spent a large chunk of the summer in South America. 

When Jack returned from South America the passenger list for the Andes records his address as the Leslie family’s home at 12, Gerald Road, Canning Town. The majority of the other team members showed addresses in Plymouth. Alf Rowe lived at 94, Trelawney Road and Frank Sloan and Patrick Corcoran lodged together at 34, Onslow Road. Manager Bob Jack’s home at that time was at 146, Peverell Park Road in Plymouth.  
1925- Jack hit’s peak form

Plymouth started the 1925/26 season like a house on fire winning ten of their first 12 games, scoring 44 goals in the process.  Married life obviously suited Jack who scored eight of those goals. However, he scored only a further nine in the next 29 games. 

This avalanche of goals was probably aided by a change to the offside rule in 1925/26. Only two, rather than three, players were now required to be between the attacking player and the goal. This resulted in almost 30% more goals being scored in the Football League compared to the previous season. 

As of 9th November 1925, Plymouth had three of the top nine goal scorers in Division Three (South). Jack Cock topped the list with 15, Sammy Black had ten, closely followed by Jack with nine goals.

The England selection committee look at Jack

However, rewinding a little, when the FA Committee met after the Charity Shield on 5th October they perhaps unfurled their newspapers and turned to the sports section to see which clubs were doing well and who their best players were. 

They were obviously conscious that the leading sides would not release players for a mid-season international – no international breaks in those days. They were forced to turn to players from the lower divisions and certainly selecting three of the Amateurs team that had performed that day was a good start in filling the 13 places that were available for the upcoming match in Belfast.

Turning to Division Three (South) they will have seen Plymouth Argyle riding high in the League. Their record was an almost perfect one – played 8 won 7 lost one. They had scored 31 goals and conceded only nine. They stood top of the League ahead of Reading on goal average but already with two games in hand of the Berkshire club.  

They had won their first two games of the season by six goals to two against Southend and Crystal Palace. In September they went one better and beat Aberdare Athletic 7-2. The previous week they had hammered Brentford by four goals to nil.

Jack had played a leading role and scored six goals so far that season. The selectors perhaps considered the merits of Jack Cock and Sammy Black but it was Jack they picked for the squad naming him as travelling reserve.

We will probably never know just how much time the Committee spent in considering the squad. Perhaps they were overly keen to get off to Oxford Street and begin the evening’s celebrations? Whatever, Jack was in the squad and the details were passed to the Press Association.

Jack Leslie selected for England!

The following day manager Bob Jack called Jack into his office to tell him he’d been picked for England. Whether Bob Jack specified that Jack was named as travelling reserve is almost irrelevant – Jack Leslie of Plymouth Argyle had been picked for England!

The local and national press that day carried the story of the England squad. All showed Jack as travelling reserve. 

The Western Morning News of 6th October 1925 was one of many newspapers that published the squad, proudly headlining it with “Argyle Player Reserve Against Ireland.”

There was some muted press criticism of the team the selectors had chosen. The choice of three amateur players was questioned in some quarters and ‘Argus Junior’ writing in the Sports Argus of 10th October 1925 pretty much summed things up when he said “I hope England’s eleven will be more convincing on the field than they are on paper.” Argus’ only direct criticism was aimed at the choice of goalkeeper and half backs. Jack’s place in the squad would appear to have been accepted without attracting comment. 

Yet when the squad travelled to the Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle, County Down on Wednesday 21st October Jack was not with them. His place as travelling reserve had been taken by Stan Earle of West Ham United. The first indication we can find of Earle replacing Jack is in an article in the Athletic News dated 19th October. Jack’s name is simply replaced by that of Earle – no explanation is offered. 

Why was Jack “de-selected” for England?

Jack was not injured or suspended. Indeed he played at Home Park on the day of the international, scoring twice as Plymouth hammered Bournemouth 7-2, while England laboured to a goalless draw in Belfast. The only logical conclusion was that Jack had been dropped because he was black. The question is, did the selectors suddenly discover Jack was black and change their minds or were they perhaps overruled by a superior body?

There is no disputing that Plymouth is geographically remote in terms of League football. Given that football at Third Division level was regionalised it is perfectly possible that the majority of the FA Committee members may never have seen Jack or Plymouth Argyle play. 

The 14 were Charles Wreford-Brown (Oxford University), S R B Cowles (Norfolk), Arthur Joshua Dickinson (Sheffield Wednesday), B A Glandell (Amateur Association), Henry J Huband (London FA), Harry Keys (West Bromwich Albion), Arthur Kingscott (Derbyshire FA), John Lewis (Lancashire FA), John McKenna (Liverpool FC), H A Porter (Kent County FA), George Wagstaffe Simmons (Hertfordshire FA), James Alfred Tayler (Gloucestershire FA), Tom Thorne (Millwall FC) and Harry Walker (North Riding County FA). 

Wreford-Brown had played for and captained England as an amateur. He was also a talented cricketer having played for Gloucestershire. He had been on the council of the FA since 1892. He was born in Bristol and still had family there. Indeed his cousin Richard Wreford-Brown had shot and killed his father-in-law (an inhabitant of Bristol) in Ross-on-Wye on 14th August 1925. On 5th November 1925 Wreford-Brown was found guilty of murder but regarded as insane so as not to be responsible for his actions. 

Of all the selectors Charles Wreford-Brown seems one of the most likely to have been familiar with Jack and, of course, the colour of his skin.

However, it seems inconceivable that the Gloucestershire FA representative cannot have seen Jack play. J A Tayler had been elected President of the Gloucestershire FA in 1899 so definitely no ‘new kid on the block.’ Moreover he was President of the Western League, a competition which covered the entire south-west of England. Indeed the League had been won by Plymouth Argyle in 1905 a feat that would be repeated by Argyle’s reserve side in 1928 and 1932. Surely when Jack began to be discussed by the Committee on the early evening of 5th October the other 13 Committee members would turn to Mr Tayler for his thoughts on the Devon-based footballer?

We also know that the previous summer Bert Batten of Plymouth had been selected for the FA tour of Australia. He missed the Charity Shield game because of injury but would have been invited to the celebrations in London as he had a very successful tour, scoring 47 goals. That might seem like an unbelievable amount of goals but the team scored 139 goals in 25 matches and conceded only 13. Bert scored six goals in a single game – a 10-0 victory against South Australia. 

Selection for the tour was very much a double-edged sword. It was a great honour and quite an adventure, but it did suggest that your club was happy for you to exhaust yourself making the arduous journey to and from Australia and playing football from May until August when the English season resumed. Clubs would not allow their most valuable players to take on such a burden. 

In the 1923/24 season leading up to his selection, Batten had scored ten goals in 17 League games for Plymouth. Jack was only marginally more prolific with 14 goals but he was very much a mainstay of the team making 40 appearances. One can only conjecture why Jack wasn’t included in the FA party but it is reasonable to suppose that, even if approached, Plymouth would have argued that they needed to keep their star forward fit for the season ahead. One might also presume that if the FA selectors had watched Batten prior to picking him for the tour, they must have seen Jack play and be aware that he was black.  

Fine player though Batten was there is plenty of evidence that he was very much in the shadow of Jack. His preferred position was inside left but Jack had made that position his own forcing Batten out wide to play on the left wing.

The second question that doubters raise is ‘was Jack, as a Third Division player, good enough?’ We have already seen that three of the team were amateurs, one of whom never played a single League game in his career. One of the amateurs, George Armitage played for Charlton Athletic who would end the season second from bottom of Division Three (South) and be forced to apply for re-election. 

At the time of Jack’s selection he was in his fifth season of League football and had played almost 100 games for Plymouth who were a top notch Division Three (South) side who had only missed out on promotion by the slimmest of margins in the previous four seasons. 

Nor did his selection raise any eye brows at the time. The Westminster Gazette of 7thOctober simply remarked that his selection was “interesting.” This is more likely to relate to his footballing ability than the colour of his skin. The Gazette also referred to Jack as “a man of colour.” If a London newspaper journalist knew that Jack was black, surely at least one of the 14 Committee members must also have known? And if they didn’t know they would do after reading the Westminster Gazette! There was no reason to, as claimed, have one or more of the Committee go to Plymouth’s next game to check on his skin colour. 

Returning to the question of was Jack good enough, of the team that would take the field in Belfast on 24th October, five players were making their debut, four of whom would never play internationally again. Of the starting 11 no fewer than seven never played for England again and two only played once more. Billy Walker of Aston Villa was far and away the star player going on to play for England 18 times, scoring nine goals. None of the other ten players got into double figures in terms of international caps. In short, apart perhaps from Walker, Jack was at least the equal of every member of that, albeit weakened, England squad. 

On the morning of the match, the Northern Whig of 24th October 1925 in providing a pen picture of each member of the squad and totally oblivious of the fact that Jack had been discarded, noted that Jack was a non-playing reserve but said “Leslie who has scored plenty of goals for the Argyle, is an inside forward of great ability and will soon work his way into representative matches.”

There is no evidence whatsoever that Jack was not good enough to represent the country of his birth.

So, the story is true. Jack was selected then dropped and we can think of no other reason than it was due to the colour of his skin. The Daily Herald of 28th October 1925 quoted a letter sent by a ‘London reader’ which asked why Jack had been announced in the squad but Earle of West Ham travelled instead? He went on to plead “Cannot you, in the columns of Labour’s only daily newspaper make a stand against the snobbery which is like a blight on first class football.” He added that it was nonsensical that Ashton of the Corinthians had been named as captain when he patently was not an international class footballer.

There is just a hint here that the reason for Jack’s exclusion was linked to class and perhaps the assumption that a black man must come from a very low class?

The Herald took the matter up with the FA who in a stubborn and illogical stance, denied that Jack had ever been chosen! An early example of fake news perhaps? The Herald then took the matter up with the Press Association, who, if the FA was telling the truth, had misreported Jack’s selection. The Press Association was adamant the FA had indeed announced Jack as a travelling reserve.

I think we have established beyond any doubt that Jack was indeed selected for England on the afternoon of 5th October and also that he was in the squad on merit. What is beyond dispute is that he was not invited to join the England squad that left for Belfast later that month.

Is it really conceivable that Jack was quietly dropped because of the colour of his skin? Was Jack really selected by 14 Committee members none of whom knew he was black, even though the Westminster Gazette, for example, readily recognised him as “a man of colour.”

As we have noted, Jack had played almost 100 League games over five seasons. It is unthinkable that not one of those games had been observed by an FA Committee member. 

We might never know what was discussed at that selection meeting at White Hart Lane on 5th October 1925 but surely someone must have spoken for Jack and put a case forward for his selection? If that was the case one can only suppose Jack’s benefactor(s) did not mention the colour of his skin, perhaps thinking it irrelevant. Nor could we expect the other Committee members to ask whether Jack was white. It was simply a question that did not arise, after all every player in the entire Football League was white…apart from Jack.

Is it really conceivable that a country’s football squad could be chosen by people who had not seen the individual players in action?

One school of thought is that one or more of the selectors went to watch Jack play between 5th October (the date of the selection Committee meeting) and 19th October, when the Athletic News quoted Stan Earle and Harry Nuttall as the travelling reserves and that it was while watching Jack that they became aware that he was black. 

The FA Council met on 19th October 1925 at Russell Square. When the England team for Northern Ireland was discussed it was to check on the fitness of Notts County full-back Horace Cope of Notts County and confirm that Nuttall who was named as a travelling reserve was unfit and his place would be taken by Alf Baker of Arsenal. Unlucky Cope was ruled out through injury and never won an England cap. His place was taken by Frank Hudspeth of Newcastle who aged 35 years 6 months and four days won his first and only  cap. Baker went on to make a solitary England appearance in 1927. No mention is made of Jack.

Plymouth played two games over this period; at home to Watford (a 2-1 victory) on 10th October and away to Reading the following Saturday in a top of the table battle that ended in a 1-1 draw.

This requires us to accept the bizarre theory that England had originally chosen a squad member without ever having seen him play. And why, having chosen the squad, would the selectors then want to take another look at the players they had selected? Did they carry out this ‘check’ on all 13 members of the squad? And if so, why was Jack the only player to then be ‘de-selected?’ The only thing different about Jack was, of course, the colour of his skin.

It seems unlikely the FA would send a Committee member all the way to Devon simply to check on Jack so, if this theory has any credence, Jack’s dark-skin was ‘discovered’ at Reading only a week before the Northern Ireland game and he was dropped that weekend as his name no longer appeared as travelling reserve in an article in the Athletic News the following Monday.

FACT: The FA dropped Jack Leslie because he was black

The facts are that Jack was selected for England on 5th October but by the time of the game he had been quietly de-selected. The only reason can be the colour of his skin. What changed between 5th and 19th October when his name disappeared from the squad? We don’t know what degree of consideration the FA Committee put in to selecting the 13-man squad but they selected Jack and were confident enough in their choice to hand the squad names to the Press Association. It seems highly unlikely they could be unaware of Jack’s heritage. So, were they over-ruled by an external body? 

The FA President Charles Clegg was at White Hart Lane when the selection Committee met so the squad effectively had the seal of approval of the most senior official in the FA. Clegg was a deeply religious and devout man but liberal minded. He was a straight talking northerner and a solicitor who didn’t always get along with some, what he considered ‘snobby’ solicitors from the south. 

All of this raises the question of whether the FA was told by another body to quietly drop Jack from the squad. But who was more powerful and influential than the FA? The Government perhaps? The recently elected Conservative Government under the leadership of Stanley Baldwin may have had in mind the 1919 Race Riots which took place in ports across the country where white men fought in protest against the perception that black men had taken their jobs and, in some cases, their women, while they were away fighting in the Great War.

Jack was never named in an England squad again despite hitting even higher levels of form later in his career. 

This must rank as one of the most shameful incidents in the long and far from blemish-free history of the FA. We may never know the truth. There are a number of possible scenarios the most unlikely of which by a distance is that put forward by the FA that they never selected Jack at any point despite what the Press Association was told. 

Jack expressed no bitterness. His version of events was that he “did hear, roundabout like, that the FA had come to have another look at me. Not at me football but at me face. They asked and found they’d made a ricket. Found out about me daddy and that was it.” 

“There was a bit of an uproar in the papers. Folks in the town were very upset. No one ever told me official like but that had to be the reason; me mum was English but me daddy was black as the ace of spades. There wasn’t any other reason for taking my cap away.”

What is strange is that, despite what Jack said, there seems to have been no comment in the press. Was the news and the reasons for Jack’s exclusion supressed? Certainly one local reporter claimed his “pen is under a ban in this matter.” What sort of body had such a hold over the press?

Apart from the ill-informed article in the Northern Whig on the morning of the Ireland match, the only known reference to Jack after 6th October is in the Western Daily Press on 12th October 1925 where it is suggested that “Leslie, the darkie forward of Plymouth Argyle” was likely to take the place of Sam Wadsworth of Huddersfield in the England team. Wadsworth had been named in the original starting eleven. This seems a remarkably ill-advised claim as Wadsworth was a full-back, a position Jack had never filled. But note that the Northern Whig was another paper that, albeit somewhat disrespectfully, recognised Jack as non-white. If they knew, then surely the selectors must also have known.

The press followed and reported on the battles Cope and Nuttall were having to get fit for the match. The latter was a ‘mere’ reserve, just like Jack. Yet Jack disappeared from the squad and his omission attracted no press coverage.  

Jack’s continuing success at Plymouth Argyle

But life went on and Plymouth continued to ride high in the League table vying with Reading for the coveted promotion slot.

On 24th April 1926 the Jack family had plenty to celebrate. David Jack had just scored the only goal of the game to win the FA Cup for Arsenal and dad Bob Jack had watched his Plymouth team beat Charlton at home by 1-0 while arch promotion rivals Reading had lost 3-0 at Crystal Palace. Plymouth stood top of the League on goal average ahead of Reading. Plymouth had two games to play whereas Reading only had one to go. Surely nothing would go wrong this time?

On Monday 26th April 1926 Plymouth played their game in hand and got a point in a 2-2 draw at Brentford. The last games of the season on 2nd May 1926 saw Plymouth travel to Gillingham and Reading host Brentford. A point would probably be enough to see Plymouth take the title but they succumbed 2-0 to Gillingham while Reading hammered Brentford 7-1. Yet again, Plymouth were runners-up. 

The following season Plymouth abandoned their habit of finishing the season badly and won their last six games only to finish second again, two points behind Bristol City who they had beaten 4-2 in the penultimate game of the season. In 33 League games and one FA Cup game Jack scored 14 goals including the second hat trick of his career in a 7-1 home victory over Crystal Palace on 12th February 1927.  

There was to be no near miss for Plymouth in 1927/28 as they slipped to third place,12 points behind champions Millwall. Jack scored 15 goals in 41 League games and didn’t score in his only FA Cup appearance.

The highlight of the 1928/29 season was a 3-0 Third Round FA Cup victory over Division Two side Blackpool thanks to a Sammy Black hat trick. Black and Jack formed a renowned left-wing partnership for Plymouth over several seasons playing together 327 times. 

Plymouth were knocked out at home to Bradford Park Avenue in the next round on 26th January 1929. This was the game the Leeds Mercury of 25th January 1929 tagged “Coloured Cup Tie Rivals” and under large photographs of Jack and Eddie Parris of Bradford commented “Bradford and Plymouth meet in tomorrow’s cup ties. Each club possesses a coloured player.” As stated earlier Eddie Parris did not play in this game. 

Plymouth didn’t win any of the next eight League games after beating Blackpool. A late surge, winning each of their last four League games, only took them from eighthto fourth place although a mere two points behind champions Charlton. Jack had his best season so far and scored 22 goals in 41 League games as well as scoring once in four FA Cup ties.

Promotion– and Jack Leslie as club captain!

Plymouth finally clinched the title in 1929/30 winning the League by seven points after amassing what was then a record for Division Three (South) of 68 points. They lost only four League games all season. 

Jack had a relatively disappointing season. He scored eight goals in 32 League games and once in four FA Cup matches but didn’t find the net in any of his last 14 games. Plymouth scored 98 League goals and Jack was only their fifth highest scorer.

Plymouth played their first ever Division Two game at home to Everton on 30th August 1930. Everton had just been relegated and were to win the League that season by seven points. Jack had a good start scoring in a 3-2 loss in front of a bumper crowd of 34,236. Plymouth lost the return game to Everton 9-1 in December 1929 with the great Dixie Dean scoring four of the goals. Dean scored 48 League and Cup goals that season but nowhere near the 63 he scored in 1927/28! 

Plymouth finished the season in 18th place six points clear of relegation. Jack scored eight goals in 39 League and FA Cup appearances making him the club’s fourth top scorer that season.

1931/32 was Jack and Plymouth’s best season to date. Plymouth finished fourth in Division Two and Jack, who was now club captain, scored 21 goals in 43 League and FA Cup games. This included a hat trick in a 3-3 home draw with Bradford City on 12th September 1931 and four goals in a 5-1 home rout of Nottingham Forest on 17th October 1931.

The significance of Jack being appointed club captain should not be under estimated. He was certainly the first black footballer to achieve that feat in the Football League, it would be 1969 before another such occurrence when Stan Horne was made captain of Fulham. Put bluntly white people were not used to taking orders from black men, there was also a perception amongst some, that black people were not natural leaders. 

Jack flying high

Jack’s status as captain did result in him making his first journey by air. In October 1932 Plymouth experimented with flying to away games. The first such venture was a trip to Stoke. The journey took only just over two hours by air compared to over ten hours by rail. Players were excluded from the outward journey which was limited to club officials and their friends. As captain, Jack was the only player allowed to join the return flight which included Bob Jack, his wife and their 31-year-old son Rollo. It was Jack’s first flight as it was for Mr and Mrs Jack. 

Sadly, Jack now in his 30s, never again showed the form he had in 1931/32. The following season he scored only five times in 33 appearances as Plymouth finished 14th in Division Two. 

His last two seasons were blighted by an injury he suffered when the lace on a ball went into his eye. He played 11 games in 1933/34 before the injury, which took place at Lincoln during a 1-1 draw. The damage was so serious it was thought he would not play again. 

When Plymouth announced their list of retained players at the end of the 1933/34 season Jack’s name was absent. Showing no sentiment whatsoever the club were unwilling to offer Jack a further contract until it could be shown that he had fully recovered from the injury that was now affecting both eyes. This must have been an incredibly worrying time for Jack and Lavinia not only in respect to the danger to his sight but also financially. Jack was in his early 30s, nearing the end of his football career and daughter Evelyn had recently started going to school in Plymouth.  

Fortunately Plymouth rather belatedly offered him a new contract in June 1934 when the specialist treating him gave an optimistic report about his recovery.

1933/34 was also Jack’s benefit year and at the end of the season he was presented in person with a cheque for 10 guineas on behalf of the club at the annual supper and social of the grandly named Ladies Auxiliary Committee of the Plymouth Argyle Supporters’ Club.  

Jack never regained his previous form and played only once in 1934/35. His last game was on 29th December 1934 when, wearing the number nine shirt, he scored the first goal in a 3-1 victory at home to Fulham. He was given a free transfer at the end of the season. 

Retirement-and return to London

Jack and Lavinia moved to Truro where they ran a pub. Jack even played a few games at centre half for Truro in the Plymouth and District League. By 1938 the Leslie family had returned to London and were living at 132, Wakefield Street, East Ham not far from Jack’s father who by then was a widower. Jack returned to his employment of boilermaker and Lavinia worked as a cardboard box maker. 

John Francis senior was still living at the old family home at 12, Gerald Road in Canning Town. With him was Jack’s sister Letitia and her second husband George Gillick and the couple’s children. Also in the household were Letitia’s children from her first marriage to Walter Henry Oxley who died age 43 on 4th August 1934.

In August 1938 Jack was appointed as Barking Town FC’s trainer. In reporting this, the Western News of 4th August 1938 described Jack as “one of the finest players ever to wear an Argyle jersey. He played at inside-left and was a tactician of outstanding quality.”

West Ham

Jack also worked as boot-boy for West Ham until he was 80 years of age. His retirement was celebrated on London Weekend Television’s ‘The Big Match’ which showed West Ham manager John Lyall giving a speech and thanking Jack for all his service.

Final Years

Jack and Lavinia lived their later years in Gravesend where Lavinia died on 10th April 1988 followed seven months later on 25th November by Jack at the age of 88. Jack’s death certificate shows him not as an ex-professional footballer but rather a “retired boilermaker.” He was a modest, unassuming man right up to the very end.

Bill Hern, December 2020

NOTES (Greg Foxsmith)

1 I am very grateful to Bill, for this article and allowing me to publish it on this site, and for the extensive research that underpins this endeavour. When I first corresponded with Bill, the Jack Leslie Campaign had launched (we had a website and twitter account) but the crowdfunder appeal had not, and his book (jointly written with David Gleave) had not yet gone to print. Bill was generous with his time and in sharing his research as we all learned more about Jack Leslie. He has become a friend, and I look forward to meeting him in person when circumstances allow.

2 “In 2020 two Argyle fans launched the JACK LESLIE CAMPAIGN,….” those two fans were myself and Matt Tiller, and like Bill we had only vague knowledge of Jack Leslie (and none of the England selection story) until a year ago. Matt’s journey of enlightenment is recounted here, and mine on an earlier blog here. The catalyst for all this was Matt meeting Tony, who became one of the Campaign Committee along with these great people (one of whom, cartoonist Rob Bullen, created the lead illustration for this blog)

3 Buy Bill and David’s book here: https://www.conkereditions.co.uk/product/footballs-black-pioneers-subscriber-copies-for-pre-order/

4 Support the Jack Leslie Campaign! https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/jack-leslie-campaign

5 About the author- Bill Hern is a life-long supporter of Sunderland FC. He is on twitter as @HernBill

6 COPYRIGHT- this article was researched and written by Bill, who retains copyright and IP rights over this material. That said, he is usually very amenable to agreeing reproduction of his work if properly credited to him, so do go ahead and give him a shout if you would like to publish all or some of this article, and he is very likely to grant permission.