Thomas Cockcroft (15 January 1916 – 19 September 1994) was a 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. He played at club level for Keighley RLFC in the 1930s, and 1940s at .

Personal life

Cockcroft was born in the family home 6 May Street, Lawkholme in Keighley and attended Eastwood Primary School. Tom married Eileen Scott on 5 November 1938 at

Ingrow Ingrow is a suburb of Keighley, West Yorkshire, England that lies on the River Worth. The name Ingrow comes from Old Scandinavian which means 'corner of land in the meadow.' The suburb is located on the A629 road and is south west of Keighley t ...

Church. They had two children, Mollie born 8 June 1936 and future rugby player

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

born 12 May 1946. A keen sportsman, Tommy played local

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

for Sutton United and Ingrow United and he had trials for both Burnley F.C. and Accrington Stanley F.C. before starting his rugby career with Keighley RLFC.

Keighley RLFC

Cockroft made his début for Keighley on 12 February 1938 in the away fixture to Newcastle and marked the occasion by scoring an injury-time try to level the scores in the 6-all drawn game. He later formed a formidable partnership with

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

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 ...

convert Ken Davies who played at Stand-off half.

Military service

Like many sportsmen of this era Cockroft's best years were lost due to military service in

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 ...

. During the war Cockcroft served in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

as a

Lance Bombardier A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier (lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike sim ...

service number 1674971. He was an Anti Aircraft Gunner in the 9th AA Division from 1940 until he was demobbed in 1945. During his service he helped to defend London and Cardiff. He was wounded in action at

Clifton Suspension Bridge The Clifton Suspension Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Avon Gorge and the River Avon, linking Clifton in Bristol to Leigh Woods in North Somerset. Since opening in 1864, it has been a toll bridge, the income from which provides fun ...

during a

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

attack on the

Bristol Aeroplane Company The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aircraft engines. Notable a ...

factory at Filton on the night of 25 September 1940, in which 168 bombs were dropped in 45 seconds, killing 131 people. Later in 1944 he helped defend London again during the

Flying bomb A flying bomb is a manned or unmanned aerial vehicle or aircraft carrying a large explosive warhead, a precursor to contemporary cruise missiles. In contrast to a bomber aircraft, which is intended to release bombs and then return to its base for ...

offensive,

Operation Diver Operation Diver was the British codename for countermeasures against the V-1 flying bomb campaign launched by the German in 1944 against London and other parts of Britain. Diver was the codename for the V-1, against which the defence consisted of ...

; this time from East Anglia, which became known locally as 'Bomb Alley'. The 9th AA Division had some very good rugby union and rugby league players. During the war rugby league players were able to play rugby union. Cockroft played in the winning team in April 1942 at the divisional rugby union final which was played at the home of the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

, the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

, in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Service to Keighley RLFC

Following Cockroft's retirement from playing, he and his wife Eileen ran the public bar at Keighley RLFC's Lawkholme Lane premises for 16 years as Steward and Stewardess respectively.

Genealogical information

Cockcroft is the father of the former Keighley RLFC William Cockcroft. He was father-in-law of the former Rugby Union

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

for North Eastern Counties, Yorkshire and Bradford RFC,

Frank Whitcombe Jr Frank William Whitcombe (21 July 1936 – ) was a rugby union footballer of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s who played Rugby Union (RU) for Bradford RFC, Keighley RUFC Northern Command and Army Rugby Union, playing at Prop, i.e. number 1 or 3, and r ...

He was grandfather to the Rugby Union prop for England 'B' and

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

Martin Whitcombe Martin Alun Whitcombe (born 14 September 1961 in Keighley, West Riding of Yorkshire) is an English former rugby union footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 2000s. He learnt to play rugby at Keighley RUFC and ...

and the great-grandfather rugby union prop 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 ...

(Under-20s) and Leicester Tigers (2019/20 Development Squad); James William Whitcombe (born ).

References

*100 Years of Lawkholme Lane by Trevor Delaney & John Pitchforth *Lawkholme Lane Galleries by Trevor Delaney & John Pitchforth *Whitcombe family archive
"The Anti-Aircraft Defence Of The United Kingdom From 28th July, 1939, To 15th April, 1945"
''London Gazette''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cockcroft, Thomas 1916 births 1994 deaths British Army personnel of World War II English rugby league players Keighley Cougars players Royal Artillery soldiers Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Keighley Rugby league wingers