Major Cyril James Hastings Tolley MC (14 September 1895 – 18 May 1978) was a British amateur golf champion and briefly a

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politician. He died in Eastbourne.

Background

Tolley was the son of James T. Tolley and Christiana Mary Pascall. He was educated at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

. He won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

at Ypres during the First World War. In the Second World War, he commanded a company of the

Royal Sussex Regiment The Royal Sussex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that was in existence from 1881 to 1966. The regiment was formed in 1881 as part of the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot a ...

and was a liaison officer with the United States Army.The Times House of Commons, 1950

Professional career

Tolley was connected with the

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. He lived for a time in New York.

Golfing career

Tolley twice won

The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

, in 1920 and 1929. In the 4th round in 1930 at St Andrews he lost to Bobby Jones on the 19th hole after Jones had laid a "horrid

stymie A stymie is an obsolete rule in the sport of golf. It legislated for the situation where a player's ball lay behind or blocked by another player's ball; the blocked player was not afforded relief. In the modern game, the blocking ball is temporar ...

" with Tolley within 4 feet of the hole. Jones eventually won the tournament. He won the French Open in 1924 and 1928 and was the Welsh Open Amateur Championship in 1921 and 1923. Tolley played in the first

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

in 1922 and again in 1923, 1924, 1926, 1930, and 1934. He captained the team in 1924. He was captain of the R&A in 1948, being one of the few captains to play in the Amateur Championship during their year of office, losing in the third round to defending champion Willie Turnesa. In 1928, Tolley launched a libel action against J. S. Fry & Sons of Bristol, chocolate manufacturers. Frys had produced an advert in which Tolley was caricatured and which contained a

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, published in two newspapers in June 1928. Tolley claimed that the advert suggested that he had made some financial gain and had been guilty of conduct unworthy of his status as an amateur golfer. In 1929, Tolley won £1,000 damages although this decision was set aside by the Court of Appeal. Tolley then took the case to the

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where he was successful but it was decided that the damages were excessive. Eventually, in July 1931, he received £500 damages and costs.

Tournament wins

*1920

*1921 Welsh Open Amateur *1923

Golf Illustrated Gold Vase The Golf Illustrated Gold Vase was a prestigious amateur golf tournament in England. It was a 36-hole scratch stroke play Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in which the total number of strokes is co ...

, Welsh Open Amateur *1924 French Open *1926

(tie with Tony Torrance) *1928 French Open,

*1929

Major championships

Amateur wins (2)

Results timeline

''Note: Tolley only played in The Open Championship, the U.S. Amateur, and The Amateur Championship.''
LA = Low amateur
NT = No tournament
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1922,

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

, 1924 (playing captain), 1926,

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

* Great Britain vs USA (representing Great Britain): 1921 *

England–Scotland Amateur Match The England–Scotland Amateur Match was an annual men's amateur golf competition between teams representing England and Scotland. It was played from 1902 to 1931, although the match lapsed between 1913 and 1921. The match continued after 1931 but ...

(representing England): 1922, 1923, 1924 (winners), 1925 (winners), 1926 (winners), 1927 (tie), 1928 (winners), 1929 (tie), 1930 (winners)

Political career

On 3 December 1949, Tolley was adopted as the North Devon Liberal Association's prospective parliamentary candidate. North Devon was a winnable seat, however, by 11 January 1950, he had been replaced as prospective candidate. Instead he became Liberal candidate for the less winnable Hendon South division of Middlesex for the 1950 General Election; He did not stand for parliament again.British parliamentary election results 1950–1973, Craig, F.W.S. He continued his activity in the Liberal Party, serving as Honorary Treasurer of the London Liberal Party from 1950 to 1951. By the end of the decade he had left the Liberals and joined the Conservative Party. He was elected to Eastbourne Borough Council in 1958 and served for one 4-year term.

References

External links

Cyril Tolley about American golf
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolley, Cyril English male golfers Amateur golfers Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Alumni of University College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Royal Sussex Regiment officers 1895 births 1978 deaths