Warrington RLFC players in the Great War.

[JPC]

Hello everybody. This is my first post and I'm looking for help with something of a long shot.
Warrington RLFC (then Northern Union) lost 11 players in the Great War. Unfortunately in the early eighties the Main Stand at the club burnt down and the Roll of Honour and a huge amount of archive material was lost.
The club have traced the details and grave locations and/or memorials of 8 of the players, however 3 of them remain a mystery. One of these players was called Alex (or Alec) Brown and was from the Salford area. He had a brother, John, who also played for the Warrington club. Both Alex and John only played one game for the senior side, that being at the start of the 1914-15 season, both being injured on debut. Alex played in a game at Hull when some of the senior players were on strike. His reward was losing pay and a broken collar bone.
In a letter to the Warrington Guardian from Mr Harry Ashton, Chairman of the club, there are descriptions of where of 90 players/ex-players of the club were posted and what they were doing. this is followed by details of the deaths of several players, one of whom was Alex Brown. Mr Ashton states in the letter that Alex had joined the Manchesters.. This letter was sent and published in mid July 1917. A scan of the Warrington Guardian archive for the entire war period has revealed nothing and I am stuck as to where to go next.
Can anyone please give me some help? As I say this is a very long shot.

[tonyrod]

HI JPS,       Welcome to the forum,  lets hope we can help you out. nothing shows up in the manchester regiment for Alex Brown  on the CWGC,  84 are listed in other regiments,

[JPC]

Here's a little more information. The Warrington Guardian of 24.1.14 has a headline which reads, 'Alec Brown's injury.' It goes on to refer to him as Alex Brown, but states that he sustained a broken collar bone playing against Hull (away) on the previous Saturday. It refers to him as a 'Salford lad' and also states that some three weeks before his brother John had sustained a dislocated shoulder playing, strangely enough, against Salford. Even more strange is that both brothers were injured after about 15 minutes of their respective games.
The next mention of him comes in a letter to the Warrington Guardian dated July 1917, from Mr W Ashton, club chairman, who firstly gives details of players/ex-players serving, and then gives details of those known to have died, including Brown.
I am aware that this was his only game for Warrington.

Just out of interest I have another Warrington player who was in the Manchesters. Private 303170  Stanley Young died on 18.4.18 and is buried in Philosophe Military Cemetery, at Mazingarbe, in the Pas de Calais. Stanley was from Cinderford in Gloucestershire. He had joined Warrington in 1913 from Abertillery (marrying in the same week), making his first team debut against Leeds on 29th November. He made 60 appearances as a halfback, scoring 2 tries.
Whilst in Wales he worked as a collier, but once in Warrington he became a grocer at Stockton Heath, also coaching St Thomas' C of E primary School in his spare time (my old primary school).
Stanley was in the 11th Manchesters, attached to the 127th Light Trench Mortar Battery, having joined up in 1917. His death was reported in the Warrington Guardian in the issue dated 4.5.18.