At Historycal Roots we are currently looking at pioneering Black footballers. One such was Eddie Parris, the first Black player to get a Welsh cap. In the course of his investigation, Bill Hern, our ace researcher, came across the story of Eddie’s father, also called Eddie Parris. It was too good a tale just to sit on Bill’s hard drive so here is the story of Eddie Parris senior, a man who fought for his country in World War One, a man whose contribution has hitherto been overlooked.
It was September 1921 and John Edward Parris (known as Eddie) had just received his British War Medal and his Victory Medal through the post. For the likes of Eddie there was no grand ceremony with brass bands and cheering crowds, simply a thump as the medals hit the floor as they were dropped through his letter box.
Eddie was asked to acknowledge receipt of the medals by signing and returning a postcard. He might have felt a tinge of bitterness in that the War had ended almost 3 years previously, he might have wondered why had it taken so long to recognise him and others, he may even have wondered what would happen if he didn’t return the acknowledgement, but he obediently signed and returned the card, pushing it into a Post Box on 21st September 1921. The card had graciously pointed out that “No stamp is required.”
The medals were a reflection of his bravery but he had paid a heavy price. He had been away from home for almost 3 years. He missed watching his young children growing up and had to leave his wife Annie to care for and protect three small children, the youngest of whom was only 20 days old when he left home. In addition, Eddie had contracted malaria and suffered 2nd degree burns to his face and right hand while serving in Greece. He received no compensation for either. His only recognition was those two medals but at least he lived to receive them, unlike so many of his colleagues who perished as a result of the War.
Eddie was born in Barbados on 3 October 1874 but throughout his life he used different dates of birth. We know 3 October 1874 is correct as it is recorded in the baptismal register of the Chapel of St Stephen in the parish of St Michael. His father was a cooper (a person who made barrels) but he had passed away while his mother Rebecca Parris nee Aboah was pregnant.
We don’t know when, how or why Eddie left Barbados but we do know that on 2nd October 1909 he married Annie Alford (nee Clarke) and that he was living in Tutshill, Tidenham, near Chepstow. There can’t have been many Black men living in the area at the time and there were probably even fewer Black women – Annie Alford was White.
Annie was only 23 but had already lived an eventful life. At 16 she had had an illegitimate child, Reginald Scott Clarke, born on 27th October 1902. The birth took place at Weobley Cross, Mathon, Herefordshire, where Annie was employed as a domestic servant; immediately prior to that she had worked as a kitchen maid at St Olave’s Lodging House near Mathon. Reginald’s father is not named on the birth certificate.
Annie had then married James Alford in Ledbury on 22nd October 1904. James was a 69-year-old widower (his first wife, Harriet, had died in 1900) and he was 48 years older than his bride. The marriage lasted a little over three years but this was long enough to produce a daughter, Mabel, born in Worcester on 3rd April 1908. Mabel’s father, James Alford, had died a few weeks earlier so Annie was again left to bring up her child alone.[i]
Annie must have been used to society’s disapproval but, even so, marrying a Black man was a brave thing to do, mixed marriages were frowned upon. Annie’s father had been a witness to her marriage to the 69 year old James Alford but, possibly significantly, he did not undertake the same role when she married Eddie less than 5 years later although he was still alive. We will never know, but it is quite possible that he didn’t approve of Annie’s marriage to a Black man.
However it seems to have been a case of ‘third time lucky’ for Annie as she and Eddie were to stay together for 35 years.
By the time of the 1911 census Eddie was living at Ivy Cottage, Chepstow with Annie, his step-daughter, Mabel Alford, and his son John Edward (Eddie junior) who had been born in January of that year. ‘Ivy Cottage’ may sound idyllic but in reality it had only 4 rooms so conditions must have been cramped. Ivy Cottage today:
Eddie worked for the Post Office in a role variously described as ‘skilled labourer (telegraph)’ and ‘wireman’ but he was clearly a skilled tradesman. Might he have picked up these skills as a mariner perhaps? We know that he didn’t serve in the Navy but could he have been a merchant seaman? We simply don’t know but the most likely route for a Bajan to end up in Britain in the early 20th century was as a seafarer.
However, although they may not have realised it at the time, the young family’s world was destined to change when, on 4th August 1914, Great Britain declared war with Germany.
On 6th September 1916 a third child, Annie Rebecca Parris was born. The family had moved to 36, Dock Street, Newport by this point. But by now conscription had been introduced and, since May 1916, married men could be called upon to serve. on 26th September 1916, Eddie enlisted, probably as a conscript rather than as a volunteer. His youngest daughter was less than 3 weeks old and of course Mabel and Eddie junior were only 8 and 5 respectively.
Things became even harder for Annie when Annie Rebecca was diagnosed with infantile paralysis (polio) and required regular hospital treatment.
Black soldiers would have been a rarity and at 35 years and 11 months Eddie would have been older than many of his fellow recruits. His attestation papers show that he was 5 feet 3 inches tall and had a scar under his left eye. His occupation was a wireman (telegraphs) with the Post Office, as such he was ideal for the Signals and he was duly appointed to the Royal Engineers (Signals) as a Pioneer. His service number was 127133. His papers confirm that he had never served in the Forces previously.
Eddie’s first posting was to Fenny Stratford (near Milton Keynes) to undertake ‘proficiency training’. Given that he was an experienced wireman one would have expected him to shine. Yet his Certificate of Proficiency dated 27th September 1916 said he had “been tested in the Workshops of Signal School at Fenny Stratford and proved himself as indifferent.”
The rating may have been a fair reflection of Eddie’s performance or the assessment officer may just have been expressing conscious or sub-conscious prejudice but Eddie retained his position and later events proved that he was indeed proficient in his duties. On 13th January 1919, he was reassigned “as a Sapper Trade-Permanent Lineman Proficient with effect from 12th December 1918.”
Three months after enlisting, Eddie was assigned to duties in Salonica, Greece. He set sail from Southampton on 10th January 1917 so perhaps he was able to spend Christmas 1916 with his young family. It would be three more years before he would see them again at Christmas time. After arriving in Salonica on 29th January 1917 he joined the Signal Depot on 2nd February.
At that time, the Allied Forces of some 500,000 troops led by French General Maurice Sarrail went on the offensive against the 300,000 men of the Bulgarian Army and German, Austro-Hungarian and Turkish Units. The front line stretched from Albania to the mouth of the River Struma in Greece.
Eddie’s role as a Pioneer and Sapper was to provide support to the troops, possibly by utilising his skills as a wireman.
Although there was some success, the offensive ultimately failed leading to static trench warfare until well into 1918. A final offensive on 15th September 1918 led to the retreat and eventual surrender of the Bulgarian troops.
Living conditions were harsh. Winter and summer brought extremes of climate and disease – especially malaria – caused many more casualties than the fighting.
On 7th October 1917 Eddie was diagnosed with malaria. All too often this proved fatal but Eddie was fortunate and was able to rejoin his unit on 25th October 1917.
Although the War technically ended on Armistice Day, 11th November 1918, it took a while for soldiers to be discharged and some proved more essential than others. That was the case with Eddie. Despite his ‘indifferent’ assessment in 1916, on 29th March 1919 an authorisation was made that Eddie should be “temporarily retained for Military Duties in accordance with Demobilisation Regulations.”
This may not have gone down well with Eddie as there is evidence that his behaviour thereafter displayed some form of dissent. He was disciplined on at least two occasions including on 12th May 1919 when he ‘failed to comply with a verbal command.’ His punishment was to be confined to camp for 3 days.
On 20th June 1919 Eddie was in an accident in Salonica. A witness said he saw Eddie carrying a can of petrol but didn’t see what happened next. The petrol had obviously ignited and Eddie suffered 2nd degree burns to his face and right hand. It was confirmed that this was an accident with Eddie in no way to blame as sometimes disillusioned soldiers injured themselves in order to be discharged on ill-health grounds.
The injuries were serious because one month later on 19th July 1919 Eddie was invalided back to England via Salonica and Marseilles. He was admitted to the Wharncliffe War Hospital in Sheffield on 5th August for treatment and a medical assessment.
He was discharged from hospital on 23rd August when a Medical Board comprising a chair and two members decided he had no disability. This meant that the Board could answer subsequent questions such as “How long was the disability likely to last?” as “Not applicable.” Clearly the Board felt the scars would heal.
Perhaps more remarkably, given Eddie had suffered from malaria and burns during his service, Question 27 of the Medical Assessment form asked, “Do the Board find that the soldier has suffered any impairment in health since his entry into the Service?” The Board answered “No” to that question!
It is unlikely that the accident left no scarring but clearly the Board was of the view that it did not constitute a disability. This meant that Eddie received no compensation and could not be invalided out of the Army.
He was however allowed to leave the Forces and was issued with a Protection Certificate and Certificate of Identity on 23rd August 1919 granting him “28 days furlough …after which date [his] uniform will not be worn except upon occasions authorised by Army Orders.”
So, after serving mainly in Greece for approximately 2 years 8 months, Eddie was once again a civilian and could return home to 5, Steep Street, Chepstow and see his youngest daughter Annie Rebecca for the first time since she was 20 days old.
The Britain that Eddie returned to suffered several serious race riots in 1919. White people returning from the War were resentful of what they perceived as Black people taking their jobs, their housing and, in some cases, their women. The biggest riots were restricted to ports such as London, Liverpool and Glasgow. More locally for Eddie, Cardiff, Barry and Newport also saw violence. The Parris family was hopefully shielded from this in Chepstow.
In 1939 Eddie senior was living at Tubular Bridge Cottage, Sedbury, Chepstow. He certainly liked quaint sounding names for his homes! He had changed his year of birth to 1875 and was living with wife Annie and daughter-in-law Agnes.
Annie passed away through a cerebral thrombosis on 10 February 1944, she was 58 years old. The Parris’ were living at 10, Grahamstown Road, Sedbury, Tidenham at that point. Annie Rebecca was with her mother when she died at home. She had lived long enough to see her son, Eddie junior, carve out a successful career as a footballer and become the first Black player to play football for Wales (he was capped on 3rd December 1931).
Eddie’s daughter, Annie Rebecca, married a Black American service man, Lucas Burden junior in Chepstow a month or two after her mother’s death. The couple lived with Eddie at Grahamstown Road, having a daughter Penelope in February 1945.
In March 1946 along with hundreds of returning US service men and their new wives, Annie Rebecca and Penelope set sail from Southampton on the Queen Mary. They were emigrating and docked at New York on 18th March 1946 where a waiting Lucas took them to their new home at 8th Washington Street, Montclair, New Jersey.
Eddie died of stomach cancer in Royal Gwent Hospital on 17th March 1953. He was 79 years old. He was still living at 10, Grahamstown Road, Sedbury. The death was reported by his daughter-in-law Agnes. Agnes and Eddie junior were then living at 38b London Road, Gloucester.
In Eddie’s lifetime, he had been born in Barbados, travelled to Britain, fought in Greece and fathered an international footballer. He is now buried in St John’s Churchyard, Beachley with his beloved wife, Annie.
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[i] Annie’s illegitimate son, Reginald, didn’t live with Annie and his new Black step dad, he seems to have remained in Herefordshire and we don’t know if he kept in touch with his mother. He joined the Navy on 6 November 1918 only ten days after his 16th birthday. He was little more than a child, only 4 feet 10 and a quarter inches tall with a ‘sallow’ complexion. He was invalided out of the Navy in 1920 but went on to live to the age of 74 before he died in Kidderminster in 1976.