We figured that although this photo is slightly blurred we had no doubt the vast majority of our ExPo members would immediately know what sport they played, but we needed to know where they were, what were they doing there,  when was the photo taken, and why on earth is Ron Wallace  in this photo?!

Phil Taylor was quickly able to identify most of the players in this Police Rugby Team who went on tour to Boston in 1972 where they played against Boston Rugby Club and Beacon Hill Rugby Club, with the Police Team winning one match and losing the other. Maybe it's because of the passage of time but there's a minor query about which match was won and which was lost.  Several members think the team lost to Boston Rugby Club and won against Beacon Hill,  but Dave Garland remembers it the other way around.   "Moby" Pett and Davie Kerr have both assisted in identifying those that Phil wasn't sure about and I believe we now have just about everyone identified.

We now have Dave Garland, Jeff Baker and "Moby" Pett all confirming that our Police team won their first match against Boston Rugby Club which was considered to be the best team in the Boston area, but the boys lost their second match after several of our players were out of action due to injuries.

Dave Garland (bottom left of the photo) was Secretary and Treasurer of the Rugby Club at that time and he recalls going to the airline in Hamilton to book 21 seats, and being advised that if the party was 22 they could have a special deal with two free tickets.  Ron Wallace who was not a rugby player at all, had enquired about joining the guys on the trip so he was told he was in,  and the cost of the tickets was divided between all 22 minus the cost of the two free tickets.  Dave also remembers getting a great deal on hotel accommodation and that all in all, it cost $240 per person.

Moby pointed out that four players are missing from the photo  - John Price, Colin MacKenzie, Dai Thomas and John Dale, although that would mean there was 23 guys on the tour.  Our collective memories can fade after almost 50 years.

We would be happy to post any more photos of the tour here on this page, plus any recollections from the players from almost 50 years ago.

One final note,  we were kindly provided with this photo by Ken Van Thal who recently reported to us that he gave Ron Wallace's wife a call to see how he is doing in these uncertain times. Ken reports the following:- "Ron is in a care home a short distance from his wife's house in Scotland. He is keeping very well apparently but she and Ron are both on "lock down" until this (pandemic) is over. She is able occasionally to speak to him on the phone so I asked her to give him Very Best wishes from his former colleagues in the Bermuda Police which she is going to do."

Bermuda Police Rugby Team Tour to Boston  -  April 1972
Back row, L-R John Williams, Tom Gallagher, Maurice "Moby" Pett, Ron "Casper" Beech,
Brian Hanney, Dave Lunn, Pat McBride, Paul Field, Bill Butterworth, Ronald 'Percy' Wallace.
Front L-R Dave Garland, Howard D'Olivera,  John Arlott, Jeff Baker, William J Buchanan,
Colin MacDonald, Norman Rennie, Pat O'Riordan and Les Tomlinson
Missing from Photo -  John Price, Colin MacKenzie, Dai Thomas and John Dale
 
 

5th June 2020

Editors note -  We have received the following from Jeff Baker who was a stalwart on the team and is now living in Canada:-

We played two games. We won the first game against Boston Rugby Club, but suffered a number of key injuries in vital places and although we fielded a good side against the second team we played Beacon Hill, a number of players were playing out of position.

Boston were the top team in the area at the time and were annoyed that we beat them and lost to Beacon Hill, who although a very old Massachusetts rugby team were not in the same league as Boston at the time.

Hope you and family are coping under these terrible times.

Please pass my regards on to all who may have known me. Thanks for all your efforts in keeping us old fogies united in our memories.

With grateful thanks,
Jeff

 


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Davie Kerr
I don't wish to sound picky-picky, but the caption omits the last 4 names in the front row which I think should be Colin MacDonald, Norman Rennie, Pat O'Riordan and either Pete Counsell or Les Tomlinson, whoever it's eventually deemed to be!Editors note - Thanks for spotting the missing names Davie. Have now added them to the caption.
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Davie Kerr
I must say that the First Aid man looks more like Pete Counsell than Les Tomlinson, but if those who were there say it's Bloodnut that'll do me!Editors note - I was sure it looked just like Pete Counsell but stand corrected. Have just had a closer look at Pete/Les in my copy of the photo which is slightly clearer than what you see on the website, and I now see that it's definitely Les Tomlinson.
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Terry Cabral
Terry Cabral said :
Maurice Pett said :
One of the names is wrong. It is not Peter Counsell but definitely Les Tomlinson who was the first aid man as can be seen by the sponge bag. It is also definitely Ron Beech. We won the first game but Pricey broke his collar bone and Colin Mackenzie was also injured. Percy and Bill Nixon skinned a bunch of guys at the Bull Sounds like a great time was had by all except maybe Pricey and Colin MacKenzie!
Colin MacKenzie?Ok. I am dumb.Editors note - You got me on that one Terry. I have no idea what you mean.
Because in the ORIGINAL post you did not state Ron Wallace.Thank you; you just said 'Ron'.Editors note - Terry, I believe you will find that the title of the Who, When and Where photo was, "Ron played rugby?" But in the body of the article I referred specifically to "Ron Wallace". You need to stop now. I sinply cannot understand what quoting Colin Mackenzie's name had to do with anything. Just so that you and everyone else knows - I will not be publishing any more of your comments on this particular matter. Enough is enough.

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Terry Cabral
Maurice Pett said :
One of the names is wrong. It is not Peter Counsell but definitely Les Tomlinson who was the first aid man as can be seen by the sponge bag. It is also definitely Ron Beech. We won the first game but Pricey broke his collar bone and Colin Mackenzie was also injured. Percy and Bill Nixon skinned a bunch of guys at the Bull Sounds like a great time was had by all except maybe Pricey and Colin MacKenzie!
Colin MacKenzie?Ok. I am dumb.Editors note - You got me on that one Terry. I have no idea what you mean.

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Maurice Pett
One of the names is wrong. It is not Peter Counsell but definitely Les Tomlinson who was the first aid man as can be seen by the sponge bag. It is also definitely Ron Beech. We won the first game but Pricey broke his collar bone and Colin MacKenzie was also injured. Percy and Bill Nixon skinned a bunch of guys at the Bull & Finch on Beacon St. at darts one night. It was the home of the Boston darts League and they were not as sharp as they thought. Tommy and I introduced pints of G & T to the ensemble and we had a cracking sing song. The B & F was the model for the bar in the TV series Cheers I remember it was freezing cold but excellent warm hospitality. A good tour all round !Editors note - Many thanks for the above social details Moby. Sounds like a great time was had by all except maybe Pricey and Colin MacKenzie!
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Terry Cabral
'Casper' did play and was engaged in Rugby.He also was involved in tennis and soccer and played many inter-divisional sports.Sholom .Editors note - If you check the original wording at the top of this photo I referred specifically to Ron Wallace - not Ron Beach. But that does explain why you were insistent that "Ron played rugby". Casper was indeed a fine rugby player who went on this tour to Boston and he was an all-round sportsman and a whiz in General Knowledge quizzes.
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Maurice Pett
Hi Roger, Jeff & I have had a discussion about this photo. Phil has the back row correct, next to Dave on front row is Howard D'Oliviera and next to him is John Arlott. Between Wilson J. and The Raj is Colin MacDonald and on the end in the raincoat is Les "Bloodnut" Tomlinson. Ron was a rugby supporter, I never saw him play. This was the team that lost the second tour game to Beacon Hill RFC. We beat Boston RFC in first game. April 1972, MobyEditors note - Many thanks Moby. Hoping to get a better photo of the group and will publish more info about the trip.
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Davie Kerr
OK, let me see if I can fill in any of the gaps: can't help with the ? in the back row, but I think the first two ?s in the front row are Howard D'Olivera and John Arlott. Can't help with the third one, and I have no idea why Ron is in the pic: he was more renowned for taking pics than being in them!It looks like it was taken on one of the two US bases we had at the time (whenever that time was: I'd guess early '70s).Editors note - Thanks Davie. I bleieve it was taken abroad while the team was playing in Boston.
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Terry Cabral
Terry Cabral said :
Why is Ron in the Photo?Because he is.Editors note - So why do you think I'm asking the question?
Well he did play a lot of Rugby......dah....Editors note - It would appear from later comments from Terry that he thought the reference to "Ron" was referring to Ron "Casper" Beech. He didn't see the specifc mention of "Ron Wallace" at the top of the page

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Terry Cabral
Why is Ron in the Photo?Because he is.Editors note - So why do you think I'm asking the question?

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