Ernest Dawson is my 3rd cousin 2x removed. He was born in Cowling, West Yorkshire on 26 February 1896. Ernest is my only Dawson ancestor I have found so far with a connection to sports activity.
This is a photograph of the Cowling Football Team from 1912-13 and reproduced with permission of Cowling Web. As far as I can tell Ernest is the young man on the left of the middle row.
© / Credited To: Norman R Binns. Scanned by: Moonrakers
Back Row L-R: Maurice Laycock, Laurie Hardy, Arthur Binns
Middle Row L-R: Ernest Dawson, Thomas Percy Smith, Albert Dale
Front Row L-R: Harry Wilkinson, Richard Fort, Willie Hewitt, George Thorp, George Robinson
Team football in Cowling began in 1910 when Cowling United was formed. The team first played at Hallam Hill, then on top of Earl’s Crag and Knowle Hill before moving to their present ground on Keighley Road.
There was a break in playing during the First World War. The team then reformed in 1918 in the Craven League.
One legendary story from those early days suggests that the team had a very unusual cup double – playing and winning two cup finals on the same day.
In 1920 young lads who couldn’t get a game formed another team Cowling Swifts. They first played on the recreation ground and then on the present pitch. The Swift players became the nucleus of the good Cowling sides of the 1920’s and 1930’s.
The club is still going strong after more than 100 years.
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