Robert Herbert Ayres (11 January 1914 – July 1993) was an English professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played at representative level for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

and

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, and at club level for

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

, as a , or , i.e. 8 or 10, or, 11 or 12, during the era of contested

scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...

Background

Bob Ayres was born in

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

, Lancashire, England, and he died aged 79 in Lancashire.

Playing career

International honours

Bob Ayres represented

while at Barrow in 1937 against France, and won caps for

while at Barrow in 1938 against Wales, and France, and in 1945 against Wales.

County honours

Bob Ayres won cap(s) for

while at Barrow.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Bob Ayres played right-, i.e. number 12, in

's 4–7 defeat by Salford in the

1938 Challenge Cup Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

Ffondon on Saturday 7 May 1938.

County Cup Final appearances

Bob Ayres played right-, i.e. number 12, in

's 4–8 defeat by

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

in the 1937 Lancashire County Cup Final during the 1937–38 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

on Saturday 23 October 1937.

Testimonial match

Bob Ayres' Testimonial matches at

were shared with

Val Cumberbatch Valentine "Val" Cumberbatch (14 February 1911 – 23 January 1973) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played at representative level for England and Lancashire, and at club level for Barrow ...

John Higgin John Higgin was a professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played at club level for Barrow, as a , i.e. number three or four. Playing career Challenge Cup Final appearances John Higgin played right-, i.e. numb ...

, William Little and Dan McKeating, and took place against Swinton on Saturday 27 April 1946, and against

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

on Saturday 27 January 1947.

Contemporaneous article extract

''"The man who always comes up smiling, Club captain during the war years. A product of local football, signed in 1933. Has few equals as a . International and County player."''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayres, Robert 1914 births 1993 deaths Barrow Raiders players British Empire rugby league team players England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Lancashire rugby league team players Rugby league players from Barrow-in-Furness Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows