What was A R Walkley’s Name

[ianathompson]

On 15/01/2022 at 15:49, Ian Holmes said:

That reminds me of watching test cricket on the TV in the early 70’s it was not unknown for players to be known by their initials then. A.P.E. (Alan)  Knott for example,  even R.G.D. (Bob) Willis slipped in once in a while. I wondered if it was a Gentlemen and Players thing. 
Thanks for all the interesting answers everyone.

 

If I am not mistaken the delineation between pros and amateurs was the positioning of the initials.

Placing the initials before the surname indicated an amateur, eg ABC Bloggs.

Placing them after the surname indicated a "pro" eg Bloggs ABC.

 

As a bit of a joke Iused to ask all the 1st XI players for their full set of initials and then enter them in the scorebook.

I always presented the Aussie or New Zealander "pro" as above.

 

Thread drift maybe but...

 

Ian T

[dunwurken]

P D Hancock was always Mr Hancock to me.  I am told he was known as PD to the members of his club, the Edinburgh & Lothians MRC, but he was also known as PDH or Philip to some and Phil to others the name changing depending on the organisation, work and level of friendship!  The D was for David.

Malcolm

[Wheatley]

On 15/01/2022 at 11:04, Nearholmer said:

In the old days many went by pseudonyms to avoid the stigma which attached to “a grown man playing with toy trains”,

I haven't bought a copy for a while but the letters page of Railway Byelines used to read like a Fairport Convention set list on occasions. 

[JohnR]

On 18/01/2022 at 13:25, ianathompson said:

 

If I am not mistaken the delineation between pros and amateurs was the positioning of the initials.

Placing the initials before the surname indicated an amateur, eg ABC Bloggs.

Placing them after the surname indicated a "pro" eg Bloggs ABC.

 

As a bit of a joke Iused to ask all the 1st XI players for their full set of initials and then enter them in the scorebook.

I always presented the Aussie or New Zealander "pro" as above.

 

Thread drift maybe but...

 

Ian T

 

Both my boys have 3 "first names" to allow for them to play Cricket.... MRL Ruddy and AFD Ruddy....

 

Just have to get them interested in cricket now!

 

[62613]

On 16/01/2022 at 21:50, westerner said:

I think JPR was JPR to distinguish from JJ Williams. They represented Wales at the same time.

Then we get to, in pre - season football matches (no such thing as a friendly, is there?😉) when you might have A.N. Other, or T. R. Ialist, playing for you; the club are on the verge of signing him, and don't want to let others know.

 

[62613]

On 15/01/2022 at 15:20, RichardT said:

Ah yes. On being first introduced - preferably by a third party as it was a bit infra dig to have to introduce yourself - you would call your new acquaintance “Mr Hancock.”  If, after a decent passage of time, your relationship warmed, you might be moved onto “terms of intimacy” and allowed simply to address your friend as “Hancock”, “my dear Hancock” or “I say, Hancock old chap.”  Use of first names was reserved only for extreme, preferably near-death, situations!

 

I remain yours, etc.,

Taylor

In the Merchant Navy, the Chief and Second Engineers might address the lowly Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Engineers as Four - oh, Fiver and Sixer; again first name terms were only really coming in towards the middle to end of the 70s. Formality hadn't extended to calling the Chief and Second by their first names, even in the smoke room!

 

Edited April 17, 2022 by 62613

[westerner]

The A N Other name was I believe used when team lists were published in the local newspaper and said player may have been off work.

[melmerby]

On 15/01/2022 at 10:49, kevinlms said:

 

I'm compiling an index of model railway articles and I like to include the author if I can ('Anon' if I don't know, because I don't like blank spaces).

 

 

I would be inclined to use "Author Unknown". Anon always strikes me as someone who didn't want to be known, which may not be the case.

[melmerby]

On 17/01/2022 at 11:03, Steamport Southport said:

 

Quite common in America.

 

Harry S Truman is the prime example.

 

Also parodied by The Simpsons as Homer J Simpson's middle name is Jay.

Many of the ships that ply the inland waterways of the US are named in such a way e.g. "Arthur M Anderson" an iron ore freighter on the Great Lakes. It is currently travelling between Duluth & Gary.

 

BTW  The Arthur M Anderson was the nearest ship to the Edmund Fitzgerald (No middle name), when that vessel sank in November 1975, and searched in vain for survivors.

 

[kevinlms]

4 hours ago, melmerby said:

I would be inclined to use "Author Unknown". Anon always strikes me as someone who didn't want to be known, which may not be the case.

Thanks for the tip, I'll think about it. It's easily changed because I'm using a relational database, so just one thing to change.

However, I've been doing the database for 25 years, so it's me that needs to change a habit!