Five members of Wallasey Athletic Club, all National Service men, helped to make Army sporting history on Friday of last week, when the team representing the Depot, The Cheshire Regiment, won the Army cross-country championship - the first time that any Depot team has won an Army championship in any sport.
The individual championship was won, as expected, by the star of the Cheshire team, Pte. Nick Corcoran (Macclesfield Harriers), who is the East Cheshire champion, tha Army steeplechase champion, and an England international. He won comfortably in 31 mins. 31 secs., by 200 yards from Taylor, of the 6th Battalion, R.A.O.C.
Second man home in the Cheshire Depot's team from The Dale, Chester, was Pte. Ron Barlow (Wallasey A.C.) in 4th place. Other team placings were 6th, Pte. Wade Cooper (Cheshire Harriers); 13th, Pte. Tony Townsend (Wallasey); 21st, Pte. Dave Standfast (Wallasey); 24th, L/Cpl. Dave White (Wallasey); 42nd, L/Cpl. Don George (Sale Harriers); 70th, Pte. Tony Curtis (Wallasey).
The total field numbered about 180 runners, including individual entrants. Fourteen teams took part in the race, which was held over two laps of three miles each, at the R.A.M.C. Training Establishment at Crookham, Hampshire, near Aldershot.
All but, three of the winning Cheshires' team - the first eight home out of ten runners - came from the Wallasey Athletic Club.
Although the course was dry and the going easy the unusual heat and lack of humidity, for a February day, made it a gruelling race, and the Cheshires' last four counters were all affected by the heat.
Ron Barlow's 4th place following on Corcoran's win, seemed to assure the Cheshires the team championship, but there was a quarter of an hour's anxious wait while the results were checked before the tension was broken by the announcement that they had won by the very narrow margin of four points:-
1, The Depot, Cheshire Regiment (181 points); 2, Royal Army Pay Corps Training Centre (185 points); 3, 1st Battalion, Duke Of Cornwall's Light Infantry (B.A.O.R.) (222 points).
The cups and medals were presented by General Sir Dudley Ward, G.C.B., K.C.B., D.S.O., president of the Army Athletic Association.
As a result of this history-making success, Nick Corcoran, Wallasey's Ron Barlow, and Wade Cooper will now run in the team to represent the Army for the inter-services title on March 13 at R.A.F. Henlow.
Cheshire Regiment Depot's full team of runners, seen with their championship cup.
Back row; Pte, D. J. Standfast (Wallasey), Pte. A. Curtis (Seacombe), Pte, J. C. Deacon (Stockport), Pte. P. J. Hyden (Rugeley) Pte. W. Cooper (Clayton, Manchester), Front row; L/Cpl. D. J. W. George (Altrincham), Pte. A. W. Townsend (Wallasey), L/Cpl. D. B. White (Wallasey), Pte. M. J. Corcoran (Macclesfield), Pte. J. W. Guest (Chester), L/Cpl. H. E. Griffiths (Neston), Pte. R. W. Barlow (Moreton).
Ends
Source - Wallasey News - Saturday, 07/03/1959
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