Olympics

British Lacrosse announce 2024/25 squads

Tommy Kirkland running with ball for British Lacrosse

British Lacrosse has announced its women’s and men’s squads ahead of the 2024/2025 season, with 59 players, representing some of the best talent in Great Britain, being selected.

Women’s Head Coach Phil Collier and his coaching team has selected 31 players for the upcoming season, including 18 of England’s 2024 European Championship-winning squad.

Emilie Chandler, Ella Cohen, Lucy Devine, Claire Faram, Emily Gray, Cece Green, Minty Loxton-Barnard, Anna Neville, Emma Oakley, Alice Ripper, Anna Saunter, Emma Savage, Tilly Shires, Georgie Southorn, Dylan Whittington, Liv Wimpenny, Julie Wise, and Sofia Wise have been selected for the latest British Lacrosse squad less than a month after lifting the European Championship title with a 12-5 final win over Israel.

Men’s Head Coach Tom Wenham and his team of coaches has picked 28 players to play during the 24/25 season, including 11 athletes who competed for England at the 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship.

William Baxter, Hal Dwobeng, Drew Bickerton, Tom Bracegirdle, Tim Collins, Nick DeCaprio, Danny Hilditch, Tommy Kirkland, Hugo Peel, Mike Pomfret, and Dan Watson all helped England to finish sixth at last year’s World Championship.

53 of the 59 players selected for British lacrosse this season have played in the world’s first Sixes Lacrosse league, The Fly, including The Fly’s all-time top women’s and men’s goal-scorers Alex Russell (60 goals) and Liv Wimpenny (50 goals).

Yesterday (Sunday 11 August) marked the conclusion of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and the Olympic flag was officially handed to actor Tom Cruise to transport back to Los Angeles as the USA gears up for its first Olympic Games since Atlanta 1996.

Lacrosse will make its first Olympic appearance in LA for 80 years since the 1948 London Olympics with Sixes Lacrosse being the format showcased.

Women’s Squad

Torz Anderson
Jenni Aiton
Jordan Carr
Emilie Chandler
Ella Cohen
Lucy Devine
Claire Faram
Emily Gray
Chess Gray
Cece Green
Georgie Greenwood
Lauren Hart
Sarah Hearns
Millie Hughes
Minty Loxton-Barnard
Anna Neville
Emma Oakley
Sienna Parekh
Alice Ripper
Lottie Robertson
Loulou Rowlands
Anna Saunter
Emma Savage
Livy Schellekens
Tilly Shires
Georgie Southorn
Hannah Whiteley
Dylan Whittington
Liv Wimpenny
Julie Wise
Sofia Wise

Men’s Squad

Jack Allen
William Baxter
Hal Dwobeng
Elliott Hurry
Drew Bickerton
Tom Bracegirdle
Lyndon Bunio
Tim Collins
Nick DeCaprio
Danny Hilditch
Ryan Hunns
Dan Jones
Tommy Kirkland
Luke Mills-Doig
Ben Page-Laycock
Hugo Peel
Mike Pomfret
Jamie Powell
Will Prescott
Tom Roper
Tomos Rosser
Alex Russell
Will Shirt
George Shonfeld
Josh Simpson-Pink
Ryan Sweetman
Matt Tatton
Dan Watson

Joint statement from World Lacrosse and Haudenosaunee Nationals

Haudenosaunee Nationals Five Nations flag next to World Lacrosse logo

World Lacrosse and the Haudenosaunee Nationals have released the following statement after an Olympic-related announcement by American President Joe Biden earlier today:

World Lacrosse and Haudenosaunee Nationals Lacrosse express our sincere gratitude to President Biden and the United States government for their expressed support of Haudenosaunee inclusion in the lacrosse competition at the LA28 Olympic Games. Recognition of the cultural significance of lacrosse to the Haudenosaunee people – and the Haudenosaunee people to lacrosse – is an important step in our Olympic journey.  

The Olympic Games are the most powerful platform for promoting understanding and peace among nations. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the International Olympic Committee, LA28, and the U.S. and Canadian Olympic Committees to explore potential pathways for the Haudenosaunee to participate in the Olympics while respecting the Olympic Games framework.   

Haudenosaunee Nationals Player Statements

“Lacrosse holds such a sacred place in Haudenosaunee culture, and its inclusion in the Olympic Games reflects the diversity and unity that are central to the Olympic Movement. This endorsement by the U.S. government reflects a shared commitment to fostering inclusivity, and will help build additional momentum as we continue our journey as Haudenosaunee people with a desire to bring the medicine of lacrosse to the world.” - Fawn Porter

“This marks a positive step forward in the ongoing journey toward a more inclusive and respectful world of sports, and ensuring that indigenous voices and traditions are celebrated on the world stage. We approach this the way we do the game of lacrosse: with open hearts and open minds. We remain very optimistic that an Olympic pathway can be identified that both honors our deep heritage in the sport and respects the existing framework of the Games.” - Randy Staats

From the archives | Great Britain at the 1948 Olympic Games

Top Row (left to right) - Anthony Dennis, Roy Whittaker, John Buckland, Brian Makin, Jack Little, Jack Griffith, John Sizmur

Middle Row (left to right) - Reggie Renshaw, Henry Prime, Jack Whitehead, unknown, Norman Coe, John Foy

Bottom Row (left to right) - Richard Zimmern, Rick Wilson, H. Wyatt, Joe Swindells, Hugh Ginn

As part of our celebrations to mark the announcement that Sixes Lacrosse will be featured in the 2028 Olympic Games in LA, USA, we’re taking a look back at the third and last Great Britain team to compete at an Olympics in 1948.

The Games, held in London, England, were the fifth to feature lacrosse after being a competitive medal sport in 1904 and 1908 and a demonstration sport in 1928 and 1932.

Great Britain didn’t participate in the 1932 Olympics in LA with that event seeing Canada and USA compete; USA won two games out of three and were declared winners of the tournament.

In 1948, just two teams competed once again, Great Britain and USA, with the USA team being made up of players from Rensselaer Polytechnic of Troy and Great Britain sending an All-England Lacrosse team.

Just a single game was played between the sides on 5 August at Wembley Stadium in front of an over 35,000-strong crowd; the game ended in a 5-5 draw.

Great Britain goal scorers | Whittaker (2), Dennis, Little, Wilson

John Buckland

Born | 30 June 1922
Died | 5 October 2000
Town | Barton-upon-Irwell

Like his father and two uncles before him, John Buckland attended William Hulme's Grammar School in Manchester. He also followed their footsteps into the school lacrosse team. One of his uncles was George Frederick Buckland, a 1908 Olympian. John Buckland went on to play for Old Hulmeians in the early post-World War II years, and enjoyed a 20-year career at the highest level of northern lacrosse. During his time at the club, the Old Boys won the league championship virtually every year in the 1950s and early 60s as well as the Iroquois Cup three times in 1949-50 and 1962 when Buckland was nearly 40-years-of-age.

A prolific goalscorer, Buckland won representative honours with England and in 1949 played in the first ever England versus Lord Robinson's XII, and also for England against The Rest. He was also in the Great Britain team that played the visiting Yale University team. However, it was in the coveted North versus South match that Buckland had perhaps his best record. He played in 10 consecutive matches between 1947-56, and was honoured with the captaincy in 1956. He continued playing at the highest level into the mid-1960s. Buckland was honoured with a lifetime achievement award by the Centurions in 1990.

Anthony Dennis

Born | 16 May 1921
Died | 24 May 1996
Town | Manchester

Arthur Dennis played lacrosse for Lancashire at the age of 18. He was educated at William Hulme’s Grammar School in Manchester and then went up to Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he studied mathematics. During his time at university, he gained representative honours for The South in the annual match against The North. One of the finest defenders in Britain after the World War I, he played his club lacrosse for the Old Hulmeians before moving to Truro, where he became clerk of the Cornwall County Council.

John Fletcher

Born | 5 December 1915
Died | 12 May 1977
Town | West Wickham

Fletcher played for the impressive northern team Boardman and Eccles and was a member of their team that won both the 1949 Northern and National titles. He also won county representative honours, and played for The North in the annual match against The South. He was capped by England against Lord Robinson’s XII at Lord’s in 1950.

John Foy

Born | Unknown
Died | Unknown
Town | Unknown

John Foy was an outstanding defender and captain. He played his club lacrosse for the Cheshire club Mellor, joining them as a teenager in 1926, and progressed through the ranks, eventually making the first team in 1934. In the three years from 1935-37, Mellor won both the Northern Senior Flags and England Championships. Foy played continually for Cheshire from 1935-52, and in 1937, scored in the 18-3 win over Middlesex that secured the County Championship. That same year, he played against the visiting American All Stars three times, for Mellor, The North, and England. He also played for England against the United States at the White City, in the first recognised international match in England since 1908. During the War, Foy served in India and on resumption of his lacrosse career after the hostilities, he again both won the Northern Flags and England Championships with Mellor in 1948.

Appointed captain of Cheshire in 1949, Foy captained England v Lord Robinson’s XII at Lord’s in both 1950 and 1951, and also skippered Great Britain, the North of England, and Cheshire three times against Yale University, during the American’s visit to Britain in 1950. Foy continued playing for the Mellor first team in the top division of the North of England, until 1960.

Derek Gleave

Born | 7 August 1922
Died | 28 January 2013
Town | Cheadle

Derek Gleave was educated at Cheadle Hulme School, Cheshire, where he first took up playing lacrosse. However, World War II put his sporting career on hold as he firstly joined the Home Guard before enlisting in the 39th Cheshire Regiment. He transferred to the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1941 and, after training in England and Canada, Gleave was promoted to flight sergeant and the following year went to Gibraltar for his first operational post with the 48 Squadron Coastal Command. He was later involved in the dropping of troops over France for the D-Day landings. However, while on a supply mission over Arnhem in 1944 his plane was shot down and crashed in German-held territory. He was initially reported as missing but was actually in a German military hospital, Gleave was then held as prisoner-of-war at Stalag VIIA. Towards the end of the War, Gleave and two other prisoners escaped Stalag and ended up in Paris on VE Day. He returned to England and was discharged from the RAF in October 1946.

After the hostilities, Gleave resumed his sporting career and played lacrosse for Old Waconians. He made his début for Lancashire in 1947, and for the North in 1950. He also played at cover point for Great Britain at the 1948 London Olympics when he was one of seven Old Waconians in the British squad of 18.

In 1954, Gleave married Jean Heaton, a leading tennis player in the Cheshire area.

Jack Little

Born | Unknown
Died | Unknown
Town | Unknown

Normally playing at 2nd home, Jack Little played for the Manchester team, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, and won representative honours with Lancashire in the Northern Counties Championship. Little also played for The North in the annual match against The South both before and after World War II, and in 1938 scored six goals in The North’s 14-6 win at Kennington Oval.

Brian Makin

Born | March 1918 (exact date unknown)
Died | 15 December 2008
Town | Stockport

Brian Makin was a member of the impressive Old Waconians lacrosse team that was invincible in the years immediately before and after World War II. They won six out of the nine Iroquois Cup finals between 1938-53.

Makin was one of eight children, five of whom excelled at sport, and two of his brothers, like Brian, played lacrosse at Cheadle Hulme School. Makin served with the Royal Corps of Signals during World War II and, after the hostilities, resumed his career with the Post Office, for whom he worked most of his life. Despite being from the Lancashire-side of the Pennines, it was after a posting to the Post Office in Leeds in 1936 that he played his club lacrosse for Parkside, and won county honours, for Yorkshire. He later went on to captain Lancashire, however, and also skippered the Old Waconians, and in 1952 had the honour of captaining The Rest in the annual match against England at Lord’s. Makin also played in the prestigious North versus South match on several occasions, and played for England against Lord Robinson’s XI in 1951.

Henry Prime

Born | 9 March 1918
Died | 29 March 1990
Town | Waltham Forest

Educated at Manchester Grammar School, Henry Prime played lacrosse for the Old Mancunians after his schooldays. Prime was a member of the Lancashire team that beat Cheshire at Cheadle Hulme to win the County Championship in 1949, and in 1951 played for The North in the annual match against The South at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

Reggie Renshaw

Born | 25 January 1915
Died | 17 March 1987
Town | Cheltenham

Reggie Renshaw started playing lacrosse during his time at Cheadle Hulme school, and later played for their old boys’ team, Old Waconians, of whom he was also an honorary secretary. A fine attacking player, and prolific scorer, he was four times a member of the Waconians Iroquois Cup-winning team in 1937-38, 1947 and 1951. He also played for The North in the prestigious annual match against The South at Lord’s both before and after World War II. He also won representative honours for Lancashire and England.

John Sizmur

Born | 22 December 1921
Died | 10 December 1996
Town | Hillingdon

John Sizmur attended St. Dunstan’s College in Catford, London, and played most of his senior lacrosse for the Old Dunstonians. An England international, he was also a Middlesex county player, and represented The South in the prestigious annual match against The North. In 1952 he moved to the Kenton club, and in 1953 was appointed treasurer of the South of England Lacrosse Association. Sizmur served with the RAF during World War II, and was promoted from flying officer to flight lieutenant in 1944, when he was involved in the Normandy landing, and was, that year, awarded the Air Force Cross (AFC).

Jack Whitehead

Born | 12 October 1910
Died | 7 November 1994
Town | Flixton

Jack Whitehead was captain of the 1948 Great Britain Olympic team. A member of the Old Waconians (Cheadle Hulme School old boys), he was one of seven "Old Wacs" in the squad. Whitehead, who played for Lancashire and the North of England, also captained his club side to five northern senior flags between 1947-55, going on to win the Iroquois Cup on each occasion.

Whitehead served in the Royal Navy during World War II, and his involvement in the raid on Dieppe in 1942 won him the Distinguished Service Cross, to which a bar was added following his involvement in the Normandy Landings. Whitehead spent all his working life at Barclays Bank, and after his retirement, was a non-executive director of Morland Brewery for 12 years. Later he was a general commissioner for the Inland Revenue taxation department, looking into complaints.

Roy Whittaker

Born | 21 October 1918
Died | 15 April 1998
Town | Chesterfield

Roy Whittaker attended Cheadle Hulme School, and first played lacrosse in 1928 at the age of 10. He also played cricket for the school first XI and was later a member of the Sale Cricket Club. After leaving school, he played lacrosse for the Old Waconians, and scored five goals on his debut as a 17-year-old. At the outbreak of World War II, Whittaker joined the Manchester Regiment. During his time in the Army he played football, rugby and hockey for his regiment, before his demobilisation in 1946. Whittaker played for Lancashire and The North, and was a member of the highly successful Old Waconians team in the immediate post-war years.

Rick Wilson

Born | 23 July 1922
Died | 4 June 2017
Town | Great Barton

Rick Wilson of the Old Waconians played against the touring Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (USA) lacrosse team three times in 1948. A prolific goalscorer, he played for both the North of England and Lancashire against them, and then at Wembley Stadium in the Olympics. In 1951, Wilson played for England in the prestigious match against Lord Robinson's XII. Later that year, Wilson moved south and joined Purley, and in 1952, after many years as the regular choice as first home for The North, he played for The South in the annual fixture. He also helped Purley win the Senior Flags for the first time, although they were beaten in the Iroquois Cup by Wilson's old team, Old Waconians.

Wilson was born in Cheetham Hill, Manchester and acquired the nickname “Rick” or “Ricky” in his youth during his time in Scouts. In addition to lacrosse, he also played cricket during his six years at Cheadle Hulme School from 1933 to 1939. He later attended Manchester University from 1939 to 1942 where he earned a Bachelor of Science in engineering. He was a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (MICE) and spent most of his career working for the government in the capacity of a civil engineer, also spending time in Germany and Cyprus in his profession. He also served with the Royal Engineers during World War II. Upon his retirement in 1982 he moved to Great Barton, Suffolk where he remained until his death in 2017.

H. Wyatt

Born | Unkown
Died | Unknown
Town | Unknown

H. Wyatt played in goal for the All-England lacrosse team in the 1948 Olympic match against the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (USA). Three weeks earlier, he played against them as a member of the Lancashire team at the Manchester rugby union ground at Kersal. Wyatt played his club lacrosse with the top northern side Boardman and Eccles.

Norman Coe

Born | 23 July 1905
Died | 17 January 1959
Town | Stretford

During his time at William Hulme’s Grammar School in Manchester, Norman Coe developed his lacrosse skills. After joining the Old Hulmeians, he went on to gain representative honours for Lancashire, and was also a regular member in The North side in the annual fixture against The South throughout the 1930s, and again after World War II. He also had the honour of being vice-captain of The North against the touring USA side at Headingley, Leeds, in 1937.

Hugh Ginn

Born | 1 December 1916
Died | 29 December 1979
Town | Wilmslow

Hugh Ginn attended Cheadle Hulme School, and was head boy in 1934. He later went to Manchester University where he played lacrosse, normally as a right attack. He also played for the Willoughby club, and appeared in his first North v South match in 1939, representing The South. That same season, he was in the Willoughby side beaten by Hampstead in the final of the Southern Flags. After World War II, he played for the Old Waconians (ex Cheadle Hulme students), and in 1947 appeared in his second North v South match, this time representing The North. That year, he also helped the Wacs to retain the Iroqouis Cup, which they had last won in 1939, with a 17-5 victory over Hampstead. He was appointed the honorary secretary of the Old Waconians, and in 1950, Ginn had the honour of playing for Lord Robinson’s XII, in what was to be the first annual match against an England XII at Lord’s. Ginn was still playing for the Old Waconians in 1961 aged 45, and during his time at the club they won the Iroquois Cup five times. After his playing days, Ginn became a referee and officiated at the 1968 Varsity Match.

Jack Griffith

Born | 9 January 1923
Died | 28 April 1994
Town | Stockport

Jack Griffith of Stockport was the best goalkeeper in English lacrosse in the 1940s and 50s. He won representative honours with The North, Cheshire and England.

Joe Swindells

Born | 20 April 1913
Died | 20 April 2005
Town | Glossop

Although educated at New Mills Grammar School in north Derbyshire, close to the lacrosse “hot-spot” of Stockport, Joe Swindells’ job as a construction engineer took him around the country, and consequently he played for lacrosse teams in both the Northern and Southern Leagues. Before World War II, he played for London side Willoughby, and in 1937, made the first of several appearances in the annual South versus North match. That same year he was in the Middlesex side beaten by Cheshire in the County Championship final. The following year, Swindells scored six goals for Willoughby as they beat Surbiton 19-3 in the Southern Flags final. Unfortunately, Willoughby lost 12-2 to Old Waconians in the Iroquois Cup.

After the War, Swindells played for Hampstead, and was again on the losing side in the Iroquois Cup, after his new team lost, again, to Old Waconians. In 1949 he played for The South against The North. The game ended 9-9, and was the first time since 1908 that The North had failed to win. Later that year, after moving to Birmingham to work, Swindells played for both the Birmingham and Leicester lacrosse clubs. He ended his career with the Yorkshire side Old Grovians, in the third division of the North of England Lacrosse Association, leaving them midway through the 1954/55 season to work and live abroad.

A one-time assistant secretary of the South of England Lacrosse Association, Swindells, whilst serving as a lieutenant with the Royal Engineers in October 1945, became one of a small handful of mountaineers to have climbed the 18,500 ft Mount Damavand in Tehran. He made the climb accompanied by two other men.

Swindells later retired to Cyprus in 1974 where he lived in Kyrenia with his wife.

Richard Zimmern

Born | 18 December 1925
Died | March 2014
Town | Hitchin

Educated at Manchester Grammar School, before going to St. John’s College, Cambridge, Richard Zimmern played both lacrosse and ice hockey in the annual matches against Oxford. He won a lacrosse Half-Blue in 1948 and 1949, when he was team captain, but Blues were not awarded when he made his ice hockey appearance in 1949. Zimmern also skippered the University side to the final of the 1948 University Lacrosse Championship when they were beaten, ironically, by Manchester in the final. During his time at University, Zimmern appeared for The South in the annual match against The North in 1947. He moved back to the north of England late in 1949, and played his club hockey with Old Mancunians. Having been a reserve for the All-England team at the 1948 Olympics, Zimmern got a chance to play for Great Britain at Inverleith in 1950, when they played the visiting Yale University team. In 1961 he managed a combined Oxford/Cambridge University team on a tour of the United States. Shortly after World War II, Zimmern served in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps.

Our records on the 1948 Great Britain Olympic team are currently incomplete. If anyone has any more information about the 1948 Games and the players involved, please contact us via email on j.naylor@englandlacrosse.co.uk.

From the archives | Great Britain at the 1928 Olympic Games

As part of our celebrations to mark the announcement that Sixes Lacrosse will be featured in the 2028 Olympic Games in LA, USA, we’re taking a look back at the second Great Britain team to compete at an Olympics in 1928.

The Games, held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, were the third to feature lacrosse and the first with lacrosse as a demonstration sport after previously being a competitive sport in 1904 and 1908.

Great Britain, Canada, and USA competed in the 1928 Olympic Games between 5 and 7 August in a round robin format with each team playing the other teams once.

After the round robin, all three teams ended with a record of one win and one loss with Great Britain claiming a 7-6 victory over USA before succumbing to a 9-5 defeat to Canada in what was a replay of the Olympic final from 20 years earlier.

With all three teams also scoring 12 goals, a three-way tie was declared; USA suggested a three-way play-off to decide a single victor. Canada agreed but Great Britain refused and the Olympic Committee declared all three teams gold medal winners.

Percy Astle

Born | 21 January 1900
Died | 27 November 1974
Town | Stockport

Astle was the son of a newspaper editor and a leading goalscorer in the Stockport team that dominated Cheshire lacrosse in the 1920s, winning the Iroquois Cup four times in the first eight finals after World War I. 

Astle won representative honours with Cheshire and The North on many occasions in the annual match against The South. He also served on the committee of Stockport Lacrosse Club. In 1930, Astle toured the United States with a team made up mostly of Oxford University players and they returned home having deprived Syracuse University of the Flannery Cup, which they had held for the previous seven years.

Leonard Clayton

Born | 20 April 1899
Died | 6 December 1942
Town | Stourbridge

A former Manchester Grammar School student, he played club lacrosse with Second Division Monton before joining Albert Park in the First Division in September 1924. At the end of the season, he helped them win their first ever Senior Northern Flags before going on to beat Brockhurst Hill and win the Iroquois Cup for the first and only time.

Clayton won county honours with Lancashire and regularly played for The North in the annual match against The South. In 1926, he was in goal when Lancashire beat Middlesex 15-5 in the County Championship Final.

Alexander Baird Craig

Born | 12 June 1901
Died | 4 October 1989
Town | Didsbury

A former Manchester Grammar School student, Craig played attack for Old Mancunians before joining Mellor for the 1927/28 season. In his final season at Old Mancunians, however, he helped them reach their first Senior Northern Flags final. Unfortunately, the Old Boys were beaten 12-6 by Heaton Mersey.

Craig, who won representative honours with Lancashire and The North, retired after just one season with Mellor, but came out of retirement when he got the call to join the Great Britain squad for the Amsterdam Olympics.

Henry Crofts

Born | 8 September 1895
Died | 24 December 1961
Town | Rutherglen

Henry Crofts played his club lacrosse as a defence-wing with Eccles and was a regular member of the Lancashire side that dominated the County Championship in the 1920s. He was part of the team that enjoyed big wins over Middlesex in the 1925 and 1926 finals, winning 21-3 and 15-5, respectively. He was also in the team that beat London Counties 18-3 in the 1929 final.

Crofts was a regular member of The North team in the annual fixture against The South throughout the 1920s, and in 1930 played in The North’s 22nd consecutive game without defeat, stretching back to 1902.

Maurice Stanley Fleeson

Born | 14 September 1847
Died | 4 May 1964
Town | Northenden

Stan and two of his siblings, Wallace and Marcus, all played lacrosse for South Manchester. Stan started playing during his school holidays before World War I, helped by some coaching from his brothers. He progressed to the South Manchester juniors but was a first team regular from just after the War until the mid-1930s and he maintained the continuity of the Fleeson name in South Manchester lacrosse circles for more than 30 years.

Fleeson first played for Lancashire in 1922 and held his place continuously in attack until 1932, when he was captain. He also played for The North in the annual match against The South on several occasions.

Stan rounded off a long career with victory over Stockport in the final of the Senior Northern Flags in 1933, and followed that by scoring a hat-trick in the 10-0 victory over Oxford University to bring the Iroquois Cup back to South Manchester for the first time in 24 years. 

By profession, Stan Fleeson was an estate agent, valuer, and auctioneer in the family business of Richard Fleeson and Sons.

Geoffrey Higson

Born | 26 May 1899
Died | 27 May 1984
Town | Stockport

Geoffrey Higson was a member of the brilliant Stockport team of the 1920s. A county player, he played for Cheshire from 1923 and eventually became the team captain. He also represented The North in the annual match against The South. A leading goalscorer, Higson was still playing up to the mid-1930s and in 1933 helped Cheshire win the County Championship. The following year he scored in Stockport’s 25-5 triumph over Cambridge University in the Iroquois Cup.

Frederick Johnson

Born | 9 May 1905
Died | 1960s (exact date unknown)
Town | Liverpool

Ex-Manchester Grammar School student Frederick Johnson played for Old Mancunians and was selected to represent The North in the annual match against The South several times in the 1920s. An attacker, he also played for Lancashire, and was in their County Championship-winning teams of 1925 and 1926 when they beat Kent 21-3 and Middlesex 15-5 respectively. He was also a member of their winning team in 1929 when they enjoyed another big win, by 18 goals to three over a combined team from the London Counties.

Herbert Carleton Johnson

Born | 10 May 1899
Died | 19 December 1967
Town | Stockport

Herbert Carleton Johnson was a defender with Stockport, one of the most successful lacrosse cubs of the 1920s. He was a member of their Iroquois Cup team that enjoyed a 20-8 win over Hampstead in 1924, and an even bigger 24-2 win against Buckhurst Hill in 1926. When Stockport won the Cup for a record 14th time in 1928, however, it was a closer affair, beating Oxford University by a single goal, 7-6. Johnson had the unwanted distinction of captaining Stockport when they were beaten by Oxford University in the 1931 Iroquois Cup match, because it was only the second time since the Cup was inaugurated in 1887 that a Northern team had failed to win it. In addition to his club triumphs, Johnson also played for The North and won the County Championship with Cheshire.

Orric Knudsen

Born | 21 January 1892
Died | 18 August 1974
Town | Withington

Orric Knudsen attended Manchester Grammar School and then played for their Old Boys team, Old Mancunians, from 1911 until the early 1930s. After leaving school, he was an assistant agent with his father at the United Steamship Company of Denmark. During World War I he served with the 22nd Manchester Regiment and saw action in France. He was awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre and in 1919 was made a temporary captain. After the War he was based in Cologne as a Railway Training Officer with responsibility for the movement of troops. For his work in this role he was awarded the OBE.

After his demobilisation from the Army in 1922, Knudsen resumed his lacrosse career and won Lancashire county honours and also played for The North in their annual match against the South. In 1930, Old Mancunians beat Oxford University 4-3 with a last-minute goal to win the Iroquois Cup for the first time. Knudsen was still playing for Lancashire in 1931 at the age of 39.

Knudsen was also a fine athlete, and in 1914 ran the 800 metres in 2:09.6 in a meeting dubbed “Olympic Trials” at Fallowfield, Manchester. In 1933 Knudsen was granted a Royal Licence to wear the Insignia of Chevalier of the Order of the Dannebrog, conferred by the King of Denmark and Iceland, in recognition of his services as Denmark’s Honorary Vice-consul in Manchester. In 1937 Knudsen was appointed Honorary Consul of Roumania (now Romania) in Manchester, and held the post until 1940.

Eric Parsons

Born | Unknown
Died | Unknown
Town | Disley

At the time of his Olympic selection, Eric Parsons was the only member of the Great Britain squad not to have played in the annual North versus South match. He was, however, a county player and represented Cheshire for more than 10 years. Leading club honours were not forthcoming for Parsons because most of his league lacrosse was spent in the second division with Disley.

Francis Cyril Grenfell Perceval

Born | 15 September 1892
Died | 3 May 1979
Town | Ossington

Francis Cyril Grenfell Percival was one of the leading attack players in the South of England and started playing for Lee before World War I. He also won Kent county honours and played for The South in the annual match against The North. Lee won the Senior Southern Flags in the last year before the War (1914) and the first two after the hostilities, 1920 and 1921. In the 1927/28 season, Percival switched and played for Hampstead Lacrosse Club in North London. He was the treasurer of the South of England Lacrosse Association until 1932, when business commitments forced him to resign the post.

Albert Phillips

Born | 2 February 1896
Died | 8 June 1966
Town | Ashton upon Mersey

Albert Phillips was the son of a Derbyshire farmer and was educated at Manchester University before serving three years in World War I. From 1921 he was a mathematics teacher in schools at Egham in Surrey and Merton, London. He returned to his native North of England in 1932, when he was appointed the headmaster of Colne Grammar School, near Burnley.

Phillips was a keen sportsman and was captain of the school football team. He also played lacrosse for Manchester University and on moving South joined the Willoughby Lacrosse Club in Surrey. He played in defence and was a regular member of The South team in the annual match against The North. He also won county honours with Middlesex and was in their team beaten 15-5 in the final of the 1926 County Championship.

Ernest “Jack” Richards

Born | 25 January 1886
Died | 10 January 1958
Town | Wolverhampton

Along with W. D. Stott and A. B. Craig, defender Ernest Richards came out of retirement to join the Great Britain squad for the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, but did not get to play. He played for South Manchester and also had the honour of captaining both The North and Lancashire, and in 1923 was in the side that beat Middlesex to retain the County Championship. Richards was appointed chairman of the North of England Lacrosse Association in 1924, and that same year he enjoyed his finest moment in club lacrosse when he helped South Manchester beat the invincible Stockport side 7-4 to win the Senior Northern Flags.

George Seed

Born | 18 February 1891
Died | 3 September 1976
Town | Manchester

Although he did not play in Amsterdam, defender George Seed of South Manchester was the Great Britain team captain at the 1928 Olympics. He had enjoyed a long playing career going into the Amsterdam Games, and had been playing for his club, The North and for Lancashire since before World War I, and played in the 1913 County Championship final against Middlesex. Ten years later, he was captain of the Lancashire team that beat Middlesex, again to win the Championship. Also in 1923, Seed played for Lancashire against the visiting Syracuse University team, and helped his side to a 10-5 win.

Walter Stott

Born | 11 February 1899
Died | 21 July 1989
Town | Barton

Walter Stott came out of retirement to join the Great Britain squad for the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, but did not get to play. Stott played his league lacrosse with the Manchester-based Monton club and, because he spent most of his career in the second division, Monton never appeared in a Senior Northern Flags final. Stott did, however, win representative honours with The North and also with Lancashire, and scored in the 18-3 win over Yorkshire in 1922. He scored four goals in Lancashire’s 11-6 win over Cheshire in 1925.

Stott was also active in track and field as well as boxing during this time at Manchester Grammar School. He also saw service in World War I with the Lancashire Fusiliers and was awarded the Military Cross. He later farmed in Southport, Lancashire before retiring to Anglesey, Wales.

Edric Tweedale

Born | 4 June 1895
Died | 18 November 1969
Town | Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Edric Tweedale was one of the great lacrosse goalkeepers in the 1920s. He was captain of Heaton Mersey in the early part of the decade when he also played for Cheshire and represented The North in the annual match against The South. He was in goal for The North in 1926 when they won 26-2 at Lord’s. It remained a record score for this fixture until 1982 when The North won again by the same score.

Sam Wood

Born | 25 September 1906
Died | 18 September 1961
Town | Stockport

Stockport’s Sam Wood was equally at home either in goal or in defence. Originally a goalkeeper, he switched to defence before reverting back to tending the goals towards the latter part of his career.

Along with H. H. Crofts, Wood was one of two late selections for the 1928 Great Britain Olympic squad but, unlike Crofts, he did not play in Amsterdam. Wood played for The North and also won county honours with Cheshire and was their skipper when they won the 1933 County Championship. With Stockport he won the Iroquois Cup in 1926 when they beat Buckhurst Hill 24-2, in 1928 when they beat Oxford University 7-6, and in 1934 with a record 25-5 win over Cambridge University.

John Woollam

Born | 7 March 1900
Died | 8 May 1975
Town | Manchester

John Woollam made his debut for Lancashire juniors as a 15-year-old in 1915, in the first representative lacrosse match after the outbreak of World War I. It was a charity match for the benefit of the wives of soldiers and sailors in the Manchester area who had gone off to fight in the Great War. Woollam himself served in the Air Force. After the hostilities, Woollam played his lacrosse as a defender with Old Hulmeians, the Old Boys team of the William Hulme’s Grammar School in Manchester. He also played for The North and Lancashire. In 1927 he was a member of The North team that beat The South by a record 26 goals to two in the 50th anniversary match at Lord’s.

Woollam played in some other memorable matches during his career. In 1923 he was involved in one of the most remarkable Senior Northern Flags games ever, when the Old Hulmeians went into the match having suffered six league defeats throughout the season, whilst their opponents Stockport were unbeaten. It was the Old Boys, however, who came out on top with a memorable 6-4 win. A chemical engineer, Woollam later went on to captain Lancashire and his finest moment with his club side was in 1932 when they followed up a Norther Flags triumph by beating Oxford University 13-1 to win the Iroquois Cup.

Our records on the 1928 Great Britain Olympic team are currently incomplete. If anyone has any more information about the 1928 Games and the players involved, please contact us via email on j.naylor@englandlacrosse.co.uk.

From the archives | Great Britain at the 1908 Olympic Games

Canada celebrating after their win in the 1908 Olympic Games

As part of our celebrations to mark the announcement that Sixes Lacrosse will be featured in the 2028 Olympic Games in LA, USA, we’re taking a look back at the first ever Great Britain team to compete at an Olympics in 1908.

The Games, held in London, England, were the second to feature lacrosse after its debut in 1904; at that 1904 event, held in St Louis, USA, the lacrosse tournament featured three teams, Canada, USA, and a Native Canadian team with Canada coming out on top winning the gold medal.

In 1908, Great Britain entered a team and played a single game against Canada at the White City Stadium on 24 October after South Africa dropped out just before the tournament.

England eventually claimed an Olympic silver medal after a 14-10 loss despite the scores being tied at 9-9 midway through the fourth quarter.

England goal scorers | Buckland (4), Jones (4), unknown (2)

George Alexander

Born | 1886 (exact date unknown)
Died | 14 November 1929
Town | Eccles

George Alexander was the son of a wealthy Scottish-born varnish manufacturer, and worked for the family company as a salesman. He played lacrosse for his home-town team, Eccles, and also won representative honours with Lancashire, the North of England, and was a full England international. He won a silver medal with the Great Britain team at the 1908 Olympics. The following year, Alexander was in the first Eccles team to contest the final of the Northern Senior Flags, and despite Alexander opening the scoring less than a minute after the start, their opponents South Manchester ran out 11-4 winners. Alexander’s brother James was in the same Eccles team that day, and was also one of the Great Britain reserves at the London Olympics.

George Buckland

Born | 13 April 1883
Died | 28 January 1937
Town | Didsbury

George Buckland played for Old Hulmeians, one of England’s finest lacrosse teams at the start of the 20th century. They won the Iroquois Cup four times between 1907 and 1914 as well as the league championship virtually every year in the 1950s and early 1960s. Buckland was a free-scoring forward and scored many goals for his club, and also for The North, Lancashire and England. He was on the Lancashire County Championship winning sides of 1906-07, against Kent both times, and 1913-14, against Middlesex on both occasions. Buckland was honoured with a lifetime achievement award by the Centurions in 1990.

Eric Dutton

Born | 26 July 1883
Died | 29 March 1968
Town | Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Eric Dutton started his lacrosse career as a third home (attacker), but later played at third man (defender). In addition to playing in the 1908 Olympics, he won representative honours with Lancashire, England and the North, in the annual match against the South, which was regarded a one of the leading lacrosse fixtures at the time. He also represented Lancashire against the touring Canadians in 1907. Dutton served on the executive committee of the North of England Lacrosse Association.

Sydney Hayes

Born | 19 July 1891
Died | 11 December 1944
Town | Stockport

An attack wing, Hayes made his England debut against the Duke of Argyll’s team in 1908, and then played for England against the Rest in the final trial before the London Olympics. Good performances from Hayes in both matches put him into the reckoning for a place on the Great Britain team for the Olympics, where he finished on the losing side. A member of one of England’s top teams of the day, Stockport, Hayes had another outstanding game in helping Cheshire beat Kent 14-2 to win the County Championship at Leicester in 1909. He also scored two goals in the North’s 9-4 win over the South at Lord’s that same year.

Wilfrid Johnson

Born | 15 October 1885
Died | 21 June 1960
Town | Islington

After being educated at St. Paul’s School, London, Wilfrid Johnson went to Balliol College, Oxford, where he became a two-time lacrosse Blue in 1905 and 1906 when he captained the Oxford team. He later became president of the Oxford University Lacrosse Club. As a defender, Johnson also played for the Combined Universities, and represented the South several times in the annual match against the North. An accountant by profession, Johnson was also later a lacrosse referee, and took charge of the 1911 Varsity match, and in 1937, officiated in the match between England and the United States at the White City in the first officially recognised international in Great Britain since 1908 when Johnson played in the Olympics. Between 1915 and 1918 Johnson served with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Service.

Edward Jones

Born | 12 July 1881
Died | 17 November 1951
Town | Greenwich

A second home (attacker), Edward Jones was probably the most dangerous attack player in the south of England in the early part of the 20th century. He was ambidextrous as a lacrosse player, and this gave him a big advantage, and made him a prolific goalscorer. He learnt his lacrosse during his time at Ley’s School, Cambridge, and after leaving in 1898, joined the West London Lacrosse Club, and the following year Jones played in the final of the English Club Championship for the Iroquois Cup against Stockport at Fallowfield, but was on the losing side. In 1900 he was first selected for the South in the annual match against the North, and that same year, made his international debut for England against Ireland, and also represented Kent in the County Championship. He won many further county and international honours, and continued playing until the outbreak of World War I.

Reginald Martin

Born | 25 June 1887
Died | 29 January 1981
Town | Greenwich

A second home (attacker), Reginald Martin played for Catford, and did his selection for the Great Britain team no harm with a brilliant performance in a trial match against the Duke of Argyll’s team at Lord’s in April 1908, in which he scored four goals. He subsequently went to the Olympics and won a silver medal, and was involved in one of those great Olympic sporting moments when Canada’s Angus Dillon broke his stick, and was having difficulty finding a replacement. Martin generously agreed to leave the field of play until Dillon returned. In 1909 and 1910, Martin helped Catford win the Southern Flags, but was beaten in the National Club Championship at Lord’s both times. Firstly, 15-3 by South Manchester in 1909, and then resoundingly by Old Hulmeians 20-6 the following year.

Gerald Mason

Born | 12 August 1877
Died | 30 September 1951
Town | Ashton upon Mersey

Gerald Mason was the youngest of seven lacrosse-playing brothers who all played for England at one time or another. Gerald started playing for Stockport at the age of 15 in 1892 and worked his way through the ranks to the senior team, eventually becoming club captain. He started as a home and wing attack and went on to win representative honours for Cheshire, the North, England and of course, Great Britain at the 1908 Olympics. Playing in defence as a point in the latter part of his career, Mason helped Cheshire win their first County Championship in 1909. Two years earlier, Mason had the honour of captaining Stockport against the touring Canadian champions, Ottawa Capitals, in the last match of their UK tour. The Canadians had a 100% record going into the match, but that ended when Gerald and his team held on for a memorable draw.

Johnson Parker-Smith

Born | 14 January 1882
Died | 13 July 1926
Town | Chelford

The son of a wealthy Lancashire wool trader and merchant, Johnson Parker-Smith was a chartered accountant and excellent lacrosse player. A cover point, or defence point, he played for England against Ireland at Belfast when only 19 years of age. He also won representative honours in the annual North versus South match, and in 1906 scored for South Manchester against Southgate in the final of the Club Championship of England to win the Iroquois Cup. Parker-Smith was in the Great Britain squad that won the silver medal at the 1908 London Olympics. His two older brothers, Henry and Robert, also played for South Manchester.

Hubert Ramsey

Born | 3 October 1874
Died | 8 January 1968
Town | Tottenham

One of England’s most talented players, Hubert Ramsey was regarded as the best cover point in England before World War I. He could also play as defence wing, and went on to win representative honours for London, Essex, the South, England and Great Britain. He played his club lacrosse with Woodford and was, in 1903, elected vice-captain of the Essex County Lacrosse Club. Ramsey spent most of his working life on the floor of the London Stock Exchange.

Charles Scott

Born | 27 October 1883
Died | 7 November 1954
Town | Dedham

The son of a publisher, Charles Scott was a lacrosse goalkeeper of the highest quality, and at the age of just 18 was chosen to play for the Duke of Argyll’s Team against the touring Canadians in 1902. The following year he made the first of many appearances for the South in the annual contest against the North, and in 1904, his heroic goalkeeping helped Middlesex beat Surrey to win the Southern Counties Championship. Scott originally played for the West London Lacrosse Club before joining the top English side, Stockport, shortly before the 1908 Olympics. An oil merchant by profession, Scott also played cricket and rugby for the Old Leysian’s.

Sir Norman Whitley

Born | 29 June 1883
Died | 12 April 1957
Town | Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Sir Norman Whitley was born and educated in the lacrosse stronghold of Manchester, and it was obvious that, upon going to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, he would play the sport and in 1903 he had the honour of taking part in the first Varsity Match, which Cambridge won 19-6. Whitley won a second Blue in 1904, when he was captain, and a third in 1905. A centre, he played regularly in the annual North versus South match, and also won representative honours with Lancashire and England. He also helped South Manchester win the English Club Championship for the Iroquois Cup.

After University Whitley was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1907, and practiced on the Northern Circuit until the outbreak of World War I when he joined the Manchester Regiment as a private before receiving a commission and rose to the rank of major. He spent many years on service in the Far East,and was awarded the Military Cross for his gallant service. He left the Army in 1920, and then held several important judiciary posts in the East, before taking up the post of Chief Justice of Uganda from 1937 until his retirement in 1947. Whitley was knighted in 1941.

L Blockey

J Caldwell Alexander

V G Gilbey

F S Johnson

C J Mason

H Shorrocks

Our records on the 1908 Great Britain Olympic team are currently incomplete. If anyone has any more information about the 1908 Games and the players involved, please contact us via email on j.naylor@englandlacrosse.co.uk.

Could lacrosse become an Olympic sport?

Lacrosse is one of five additional sports being proposed for inclusion at the LA 2028 Olympic Games with the final decision to be announced on Monday at the 141st IOC session in Mumbai, India.

Having been included as a contested sport at the 1904 and 1908 Olympic Games and appearing as a demonstration event at the 1928, 1932, and 1948 Games, Lacrosse has a long association with the Olympic Games that stretches back over 100 years.

It hopes to make its return in 2028 with a new format of the game: Sixes Lacrosse.

What is Sixes Lacrosse?

Sixes Lacrosse is a small-sided version of lacrosse that sees traditional teams of 10 reduced to six and a traditional 100m field reduced to 60m.

There are fewer pitch markings and the rules for the contact men’s and non-contact women’s formats have been evened out a little bit so they’re more similar.

A shot-clock has been introduced, like that used in basketball, allowing attacking teams just 30 seconds to take a shot on the opposition goal and instead of four 15-minute quarters, there are four eight-minute quarters.

All of this has the intention of keeping the game fast paced and flowing.

This Sixes version of lacrosse really strips the game bare meaning it is more accessible to new-comers and, with the reduction in the number of players needed in a team, allows smaller communities to get involved in the sport.

Lacrosse: The Global Picture

Lacrosse is only played at a top, professional level in the US and Canada with the creators of the game, the indigenous peoples of North America, competing as a separate nation in international competition but there are several teams vastly improving their standard and aiming to reach those heights.

Teams such as England, Japan, Australia as well as a few of the other European nations have pushed the traditional big players in recent years with England claiming a second consecutive bronze medal at the women’s world championship in 2022 and Japan finishing fifth for the first time at the most recent men’s world championship earlier this year.

In fact, World Lacrosse, the world governing body for lacrosse, now has 86 member countries, including 10 in Africa and 13 in Asia cementing its position as a fast growing and global sport.

Sixes Lacrosse is a great way for World Lacrosse to broadcast the sport to a wider as it lends itself nicely to a television audience. The shortened version of the game means there’s less of a commitment from the viewer and, a shot-clock ensures there are plenty of goals and lots of play which keeps the game exciting.

With the likes of Rugby Sevens at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games and Futsal at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games proving that these smaller, slightly different versions of sports can captivate an audience at international tournaments and inspire the next generation of players to try the sport, Sixes Lacrosse is hoping to add its name to the list of Olympic team sports in 2028.