The Drabbles – Lowerhouse Stalwarts.

We were recently delighted to receive an email from Mr. Joe Drabble Jr., offering to send us some images of his father’s  treasured Lowerhouse cricketing mementoes and press cuttings. He said,” My name is Joe Drabble, and my dad who was also Joe Drabble played for Lowerhouse in the 1920 to 1930 years.  I am in possession of a gold watch that was presented to my dad in 1937 for breaking the amateur batting record and two medals.”

The long Drabble family connection to Lowerhouse was remembered by Stan Heaton, when commenting on the photo of the Lowerhouse CC Ladies Team from 1933/4 which included Grace and Jessie Drabble.

“The Drabbles were synonymous with the club with William Drabble playing at the turn of 1900 and Edward Drabble around the first world war (1900-1926). Joe Drabble (1928-1957) and Leonard Drabble (1940-1963) played after the second world war.  Jessie Drabble married Charlie Lupton who also played. Grace married Billy Wade who also played.  Grace and Billy’s son was Peter Wade who of course was well known as a former player and coach .

(Dates in brackets courtesy of the Lancashire League archive )

The third Drabble sister was Annie who married Steve Coady and their son Edward also played for the club in the 1950s.  All 3 married sisters lived opposite the ground at 165, 171 and 173 Lowerhouse Lane until around the 1970s.  Leonard Drabble lived in the Coal Clough area and followed the team till well into the 1980s.”

These are the images Mr. Drabble sent, plus some background information from the British Newspaper Archive

Lowerhouse record breaker honoured.  Annual General Meeting, held on Tuesday 7th December, 1937 in the Club Room

To mark his feat in breaking the amateur batting record for the club, Mr. J. Drabble was presented with a gold wristlet watch and bracelet suitably inscribed.  In addition he received a beautiful piece of furniture. 

(Mr. Drabble’s image of his Dad’s gold watch)

Photo Caption : Hedley Verity the England and Yorkshire cricketer, (2nd left) presenting a gold wristlet watch to Joe Drabble. Fred Root, Lowerhouse professional for next season is standing between the pair, and behind him are Mr. F. Constantine (League Representative) and Mr. W. Wilson (Treasurer) On the right are Mr. E. Drabble, the club’s secretary and Mr. T. Redman.

Extract from the Local President, Mr. Tom Redman’s remarks at the AGM in the club room. Burnley Express, 11 December 1937:

Mr. Redman said that the name of Drabble had long been associated with the club. First there was the record-breaker’s grandfather, whose photo graced the walls of the club, then there was the record breaker’s father, who was now secretary of the club, and now “young Joe”, was making his presence felt in the West End. Lowerhouse had seldom had the opportunity of boasting of records, but Joe Drabble had had a remarkably good run with the bat, and at one time it appeared as if he would break both the amateur and professional records.  Towards the end of the season, however, he had a bit of bad luck and ill health….nevertheless, he was only 28 runs short of the professional record.  The amateur record had been easy for him, having scored 667 runs against 555 runs the record established by J. Cook 37 years ago. 

In a brief response Mr. Drabble thanked all who had contributed to the testimonial . He would treasure the gifts for the rest of his life. He had enjoyed cricket with Lowerhouse, and throughout his long association with the club it had always been his aim to do the very best he could.”

Gold Medal, 1927 Lancashire Junior League, and presentation box.

Medal won when Joe was part of  the Lowerhouse team which won the Lancashire Junior League in 1927.

Gold Medal, LHCCMC – A. Drew & Sons. 1932

Here there is a slight puzzle with the date.  The Lowerhouse Cricket Club Medal Competition (LHCCMC) for works teams was inaugurated in 1931 season, when A. Drew & Sons, of Lowerhouse, including Joe Drabble, did win the competition beating Walmsley’s in the final.  At the medal ceremony and concert, on September 15th 1931, Tom Redman, (proprietor of the Redman’s grocery business), said that if the competition were carried on, he would donate a trophy, and from 1932 on, the competition was the Redman Cup.  In 1932, Drew’s were a beaten semi-finalist, with the Lancashire Cotton Co. winning the competition. 

Mr. Drabble also sent photos of press cuttings from the family scrapbook, including this

one on the death of Mr. Edward Drabble, which again illustrates the close connection between the Drabble family and Lowerhouse Cricket Club.  We would like to thank Mr. J. Drabble Jr., for sharing his family’s mementoes with us.

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