Noel Ernest Jolly (23 December 1908 – 23 April 1969) was a New Zealand lawn bowls player. At the

1950 British Empire Games The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, he won the men's fours bronze medal alongside teammates

Arthur Engebretsen John Arthur Engebretsen (1 March 1892 – 16 October 1956) was a New Zealand lawn bowls player, who won a bronze medal for his country at the New Zealand at the 1950 British Empire Games, 1950 British Empire Games. Early life and family Born on ...

Fred Russell Fred Russell (August 27, 1906 – January 26, 2003) was an American sportswriter from Tennessee who served as sports editor for the ''Nashville Banner'' for 68 years (1930–1998). Beginning in the 1960s he served for nearly three decades as ...

and

Pete Skoglund Thomas Theodorus "Pete" Skoglund (25 July 1905 – 2 October 1968) was a New Zealand lawn bowls player. At the 1950 British Empire Games in Auckland he won the men's fours bronze medal alongside teammates Arthur Engebretsen, Noel Jolly and Fr ...

. The New Zealand, Australian and South African fours each finished the round robin with two wins, but New Zealand then lost an eliminator match against the South Africans and did not progress to the final. Jolly was born in

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

on 23 December 1908, the son of Ernest Jolly, who served as mayor of Cromwell, and Gabrielle Hezlam Jolly (née Dunne). His brothers included Gordon Jolly, who was also a noted lawn bowler, and Ian Jolly, who played representative

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

for . As a young man in

Central Otago Central Otago is located in the inland part of the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The motto for the area is "A World of Difference". The area is dominated by mountain ranges and the upper reaches of the Clutha River and tributa ...

, he was a prominent tennis player, but turned to lawn bowls as a result of injury. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he served in the Middle East, and after his return he joined the St Clair Bowling Club in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, where he won the club championship in consecutive years from 1946 to 1949. A bank manager, Jolly died on 23 April 1969, and was buried at Waikumete Cemetery in Auckland.

References

1908 births 1969 deaths People from Cromwell, New Zealand New Zealand military personnel of World War II New Zealand male bowls players Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Bowls players at the 1950 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games medallists in lawn bowls Burials at Waikumete Cemetery 20th-century New Zealand people Medallists at the 1950 British Empire Games {{NewZealand-bowls-bio-stub