Died
13 December 1959 -
aged 56 yrs
Sources
Barrow News
Frank Cassidy
wikipedia.org
NWEM
Place
Walks
Walney 1 point 21
Themes
Charles Carr
Rugby League player
My friend Frank Cassidy insisted that I should include one of his family’s heroes, the rugby league centre Charlie Carr, of whom I’d never heard, being the wrong age and not from Barrow.
Frank, who once worked for the esteemed local organ, the North West Evening Mail, told me:
‘When I was a nipper there was this Friday night ritual that took place by the fireside at our house in Stanley Road.
Uncle Wilf and my dad would talk about the finest rugby league players they had ever seen.
It was generally agreed that Willie Horne was in a class by himself, but uncle Wilf said there was another player – a centre – who played for Barrow in the late 20s and early 30s who was widely revered. His name is Charlie Carr.
Carr lived on Walney and – for a time – worked in the shipyard.
In the early 1990s I interviewed Craven Park old timer Billy Little who was 79 back then. He knew Carr and (I think) played alongside him in the pre-war era.
I remember his quote: “Carr was the best Barrow centre, ever. You can forget the rest.”
We used it as a pull-out quote in a double-page spread and it caused a minor hoo-haa from some fans and ex-players who said it was tantamount to heresy to put him above Phil Jackson and Dennis Goodwin, etc, etc.
After the piece was published I received a lovely letter from members of Carr’s family who lived at that time in Cornwall.’
Wikipedia tells us: Charles "Charlie" William Carr (birth registered July→September 1903 — death registered October→December 1959 (aged 55–56)[2]) birth registered in Sculcoates district, Hull, was an English professional rugby league footballer of the 1920s, and 1930s, playing at representative level for Great Britain, England, and Lancashire (despite having been born in the East Riding of Yorkshire, he was playing his rugby in Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire), and at club level for Askam ARLFC, and Barrow, as a Wing, or Centre, i.e. number 2 or 5, or, 3 or 4.
Charlie Carr won caps for England while at Barrow in 1924 against Other Nationalities, in 1925 against Wales (2 matches), in 1926 against Wales, and Other Nationalities, in 1927 against Wales, in 1928 against Wales, and won caps for Great Britain while at Barrow in 1924 against Australia (2 matches), and New Zealand (2 matches), in 1926-27 against New Zealand (3 matches).
Notice of his death appeared in the NWEM 14 Dec 1959. The same edition carried a picture, accompanied by the following:
NWEM, 14 Dec 1959FAMOUS RL PLAYER
Death of Charlie Carr
CHARLIE CARR, one of the most famous Rugby League players ever to don a Barrow jersey died
yesterday.Charles William Carr, died at his home 25 Mikasa Street, Walney Island, Barrow, yesterday, after being ill for six weeks. He was 56 and leaves a widow, a son and a daughter.
He had been a patient in North Lonsdale Hospital, Barrow, Preston Royal Infirmary and a Lancaster Clinic.
International
He played centre-threequarter for Barrow RL Club for 12 years from 1921 to 1933, and his skill and speed soon earned him county and then international honours.
He celebrated his 21st birthday in Australia with the Great Britain touring team in 1924. He was a regular international centre for eight years.
He retired from the game at the fairly young age of 30. He said at the time that it was his intention to retire while he was still good and at the top.
Popular golfer
When his Rugby playing days were over he took a keen interest in golf and was one of the most popular members of the Furness Club. He was captain in 1952.
He worked at Vickers-Armstrongs as an electrical rate-fixer. He was secretary of the firm’s Foremen and Staff Mutual Benefit Society, and a commentator for the Barrow RL matches.
The funeral will take place on Thursday, cremation at Blackpool (The crematorium at Barrow not being open in 1956 – author) following a service at St. Mary’s Church, Walney, at 8.45 a.m.
The report of the funeral in the NWEM 17 Dec 1959 repeated much of the above, naming the coffin bearers as: Messrs. W. Burgess, J. Lewthwaite, K. Hargreaves, J. Kellett and J. Hudson, and listing the chief mourners.
