This article was originally published in the December 2005 edition of Soul Search, the journal of The Sole Society

From Philip E Lloyd - Re Shooting Stars, Soul Search August 2005

Although not a football fan, I was interested in Tony Storey’s article and I think I can help with one of the ‘unfamiliar names’ he mentions in the Football League; Newton Heath.

Sometime in the 19th Century the railwaymen at Newton Heath decided to form a football team which became known as ‘Newton Heath Loco’. Later, as they became better known and more successful they moved their ground to Old Trafford and changed their name to one now known the world over – Manchester United.

As one who sometimes has to arrange his timetable according to football crowds coming and going, I sometimes wish those railwaymen had decided not to start a team, or at least had stayed over on the other side of the city!

But then I am biased!! 

From Lynne Burlingham

Does anyone have a Harry Solly in their family, who flew with the RAF during the Second World War? If so, you may be interested in a book, which my husband read recently in which, to his surprise, he came across the name Solly – in this case Harry Solly. His name first appears on p121 in a list of members of 822 Squadron in January 1944, where Harry Solly is listed as one of the Observers. Further mentions follow in connection with various “escapades”. At one point he is referred to as Harry Solley not Solly – nothing new here as variations in the spelling of the surname, even within a single document, have been going on for hundreds of years!

The following description from Chapter 12, p129 may be enlightening to anyone claiming kinship, who doesn’t know much about Harry’s time with the RAF:-

“To Harry Solly lunch in Coimbatore seemed a good idea. Solly was a clever chap but when he wasn’t actually navigating an aircraft he usually got his head down for a nap, or even while he was flying if there wasn’t much to do. He could do a very good imitation of Nellie Wallace singing ‘My old man said follow the van’. He eventually became my regular observer”.

The book in question is as follows:-

HADLEY, Dunstan: Barracuda Pilot, Airlife Pub. Ltd., 1992

According to the index, references to Harry Solly  S/LE (A) RNVR appear on pages 129, 137, 138, 140, 147, 148, 160 and 167

From Ian Saul - Re: Mr Saul S Silver

Noticed in the Sole Society journal for August that Trevor Saul posed the question (page 20) if there was a Saul surname connection for the above person.

The answer may well be yes as funnily enough my ancestors had a similar Silver connection, using it as a middle name - hence great Grandfather was John Silver Saul born 1864 in Priors Marston.

In the 1861 Census there were two families of Sauls living next door to each other in Priors Marston and next door to them were the Silver family.

Putting 2 and 2 together, that is probably where we picked up the Silver and where Mr Silver picked up his Saul.