St Helen’s ArchivePreserving the past for the future

OT097

Penknife

CIC

Edgar Wallace

1899-1901

Penknife, White metal, two blades. Inscription on both sides to achievements of Swansea & Welsh international full-back W.J. Bancroft. Inscriptions: "World's record - 33 international - 600 Swansea club matches" on one side and : "W.J. Bancroft Capt. Glamorgan County F.C." on the other. Verdigris damage from sea salt on one corner.

This penknife was discovered 1n the sands of Llanelli beach by Edgar Wallace, a metal detectorist some time after 1992. At the time it was believed that it was a presentation piece to Swansea's Welsh international and six times club captain W.J. "Billy" Bancroft. The inscriptions on the penknife seem to suggest this: "World's record - 33 international - 600 Swansea club matches" on one side and : "W.J. Bancroft Capt. Glamorgan County F.C." on the other. The discovery of a second IDENTICAL penknife in 2018 (see: OT098) indicates that these knives were more likely to have been tourist souvenirs than presentation pieces. Possibly they were sold on beachside stalls. In any case there is certainly more than one in existence. Mr Wallace gave the find to Swansea Cricket & Football Club. The newspaper article announcing the find states that David Price, who accepted the knife on behalf of the club, was a "Life Patron". So we know he had by this time, stood down from the post of Hon. secretary. This (undated) news clip then dates from 1992 or later. The information on the knife regarding Billy Bancroft's games is not entirely accurate. He certainly played 33 (consecutive) matches for Wales between 1890 and 1901, a world record at the time. But he did not play 600 matches for Swansea. No player has made that many appearances. Bancroft played 331 times for Swansea's 1st Xv between 1889 and 1903, also making 2 appearances for the 2nd XV. His appearances for Glamorgan County FC number 14 between 1892 and 1898, captaining the county team many times. So although this appears not to be a memento that belonged to Billy Bancroft, it is certainly a piece of memorabilia contemporary to his wonderful career.

w j bancroft, billy bancroft,