From Railway Station to Resting Place: The Hunt for a Rugby Legend's Grave!

You know those moments when you're just… waiting? Like, really waiting? That was me, recently, at the Sowerby Bridge Railway Station. My usual tactic of staring blankly into the middle distance wasn't cutting it, so I turned my attention to the notice boards adorning the platform. And boy, am I glad I did!

Amidst the usual train timetables and local events, a short biography caught my eye – that of a Halifax Rugby League Footballer named Joe Riley (Gledhill). As I delved into the words, a little nugget of information jumped out at me: he was buried right here in Sowerby Bridge at the nearby Cemetery.

Now, I don't know about you, but there's something about a local hero and a nearby resting place that just sparks my inner detective. The mission was set: find Joe's grave!

Fast forward a few weeks to today, May 18th, 2025. Serendipity struck! I found myself near Sowerby Bridge Cemetery, and the opportunity to embark on my grave-hunting quest presented itself. Armed with my newfound knowledge, I ventured forth.

The Gledhill family, it turns out, has two plots side-by-side. My research, a quick dive into the digital archives (because who doesn't love a bit of pre-hunt internet sleuthing?), led me to believe that Joe's remains were interred with his mother and father in plot b312, to the right of his brothers' plot.

Here’s the thing, though: the headstone itself bears no mention of Joe. So, I'm crossing my fingers and toes that my information is spot on. But even if it’s not emblazoned on stone, the journey to find him was a brilliant little adventure, and it sparked a deeper dive into the life of this remarkable sportsman.

So, who was Joe Riley Gledhill? Let me tell you, this wasn't just any rugby player.

Joe Riley, Taken from the Halifax Panthers RLFC website, all rights and credits to the owner of the image. Click the image to be taken to the clubs Hall of Fame site.

Joe Riley Gledhill: A True Titan of the Turf (and Beyond!)

Born on June 16, 1882, right here in Sowerby Bridge, Joe was a force to be reckoned with. He played professional rugby league through the 1890s, 1900s, and 1910s, and even dipped his toes into coaching rugby union in the 1910s and 20s.

Imagine this: Joe represented Great Britain, England, and Yorkshire! He tore up the field for Sowerby Bridge and Halifax, a versatile player who could dominate as a centre, stand-off, or scrum-half. After his playing days, he even coached the newly established Halifax RUFC, alongside fellow Halifax Hall of Famer, Archie Rigg. Talk about a dynamic duo!

When he wasn't busy being a rugby legend, Joe worked for Smith, Bulmer & Co., a textile business in Holmfield. He passed away on February 28, 1950, at the age of 67, and his funeral fittingly took place in Sowerby Bridge Cemetery – bringing this story full circle.

A Career Bursting with Glory:

• International Caps: Joe earned caps for England against Wales in 1910 and Australia in 1911 while playing for Halifax. And get this – he even toured Australia and New Zealand with the 1910 Great Britain Lions, earning caps against Australia and Australasia!
• County King: He also proudly wore the Yorkshire cap while at Halifax.
• Challenge Cup Conqueror: Joe was no stranger to silverware! He played scrum-half in Halifax's 7-0 victory over Salford in the 1902–03 Challenge Cup Final. The next year, in the 1903–04 Challenge Cup Final, he was at centre and even scored a try in their 8-3 triumph over Warrington. What a legacy!
• Club Hero: Joe made his debut for Halifax on September 7, 1901. His playing career, sadly, was cut short by a badly broken leg sustained in a match against Bradford Northern in January 1915.
• A Well-Deserved Farewell: In 1920, a testimonial match was held for Joe and Asa Robinson at Thrum Hall, Halifax. A whopping 20,000 people showed up, and Joe received a cheque for £400 – a princely sum back then!
• Halifax Hall of Famer: It's no surprise that Joe Riley is a proud inductee into the Halifax Hall of Fame. His contributions to the sport are etched into the town's history.

So, while the headstone may be silent on Joe's individual triumphs, his story echoes through the history books and, thanks to a serendipitous moment at a railway station, now through the peaceful pathways of Sowerby Bridge Cemetery. It just goes to show, you never know what fascinating discoveries await when you keep your eyes (and your mind) open!

The pictures below were taken when I hopefully found his resting place. Clicking any of them should open a link in another window to my Colin Green Photography store on Zazzle.

The entrance to Sowerby Bridge Cemetery.

Joe Riley Gledhill parents grave and from my research also the final resting place of Joe.

The Gledhill family graves side by side.

A look across the un-consecrated section B at Sowerby Bridge cemetery.

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All the images remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Belle Vue Stadium, Wakefield Artwork

Belle Vue is a sports stadium in Wakefield, West Yorkshire. It first opened in 1895 and is currently home to Wakefield Trinity RLFC and, since 2023, Wakefield AFC. The picture shows the East (main) Stand and the Benidorm Stand, so named due to It's resemblance to the hotels found in the Spanish resort.

The main stand has been demolished since I took the original picture and is currently in the process of being rebuilt. The club, having struggled for many years to move grounds, has finally proceeded with a scheme to redevelop Belle Vue.

The artwork can be seen un-watermarked and full size on Clickasnap, it can also be purchased on various items from my Zazzle Store.

Clicking the image should open a link to the un-watermarked, higher resolution version on Clickasnap. The image is also listed for sale in my Colins Picture This Zazzle Store, link below, it can be purchased as a number of items including mugs, poster, bags and many other formats.

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The picture remains the copyright of Colin Green.

Valley Parade, Bradford.

 The following pictures were the result of my car having repairs done in a garage and me having more time than I expected to pass. I wasn't expecting to be in Bradford more than a couple of hours but my car proved more stubborn than expected and luckily I had my camera and the day wasn't too bad to pass time on.

Valley Parade is a sports stadium in the Manningham district of Bradford, West Yorkshire. Home of Bradford City since 1903 the stadium was originally the home ground of Manningham FC, the first champions of the then Northern Union(rugby league) who opened it on the site of a quarry in 1886. The ground has also been home to Bradford (Park Avenue) and Bradford Bulls RLFC during it's history.

The stadium was largely unchanged from 1908 until it became a 3 sided ground in 1952 when the Midland Road Stand was demolished due to faults found in the foundations. The problems forced the Midland Road (East) Stand to be rebuilt twice and the stadium remained largely a 3 sided ground until 1966 when the East Stand was finally completed.

The Main (JCT 600) Stand which was the scene of one of the worst disasters to occur at a sporting event on the 11th May 1985 when fire swept through the stand resulting in the deaths of 56 people and injuries to a further 265. Since the disaster the stadium has been completely rebuilt.

These pictures were taken on the 10th December 2022 with a Nikon d3300 camera, clicking any image should open a link in another window to the version on Clickasnap.

The Stadium is all seater and has a capacity of 25,136 spread across 5 stands the north western corner stand being separate to the Kop and JCT 600 stands.

The Main (West) Stand

The JCT 600 Stand also known as the Main Stand is the largest stand with a capacity of 9,004, it's unusual in that the stand only runs 3/4 of the length of the pitch, with offices occupying the last 1/4 of the pitch area. This stand also has a small uncovered area near to the offices.

The Midland Road (East) Stand

The Midland Road is a single tier stand with a capacity of 4,500, around the turn of the Millenium former chairman Geoffrey Richmond had a plan to add a second tier to the stand increasing capacity in the East Stand to 10,000. This stand is used to house away fans.

The Kop

I think this picture shows what traditional British Football Stadiums are about, having been built up around the housing that surrounds the stadium. The Kop Stand towering above the terraced housing on Rear Rock Terrace. I'm led to believe that the reason the main stand is oddly shaped is because of the right to light the houses on the eastern side of the ground enjoy prevent major development.

The Kop is the 2nd largest stand at Valley parade holding 7,492, unusually for Kop stands in British Football it has 2 tiers, traditionally Kop stands only having a single tier.

TL Dallas (South) Stand

The TL Dallas South Stand is the smallest stand at Valley Parade holding 1,840 people, it is 2 tiered and hemmed in by Holywell Ash Lane making further expansion unlikely. It is dwarfed by the rest of the stands at the ground and traditionally housing away fans.

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All the images when clicked should open a link to the un-watermarked, higher resolution version on Clickasnap.

All the images remain the copyright of Colin Green.

Griffin Park, Brentford.

Not a set of football pics but a set of art works created by me of the former Griffin Park Football Stadium, Home of Brentford Football Club until 2020. 

Griffin Park opened on the 1st September 1904 with a 1-1 draw between Brentford and Plymouth Argyle, and closed after the final game between Brentford "B" and Erith Town in the London Senior Cup. The record attendance for a Brentford FC match at the ground was 38678 fora FA Cup 6th round tie against Leicester City in the February 1949, Brentford lost 2-0.

The ground has featured athletics, tennis, Gaelic Football and baseball in the early part of it's history, and was the home ground of the London Broncos Rugby League team from 2002 until 2006.

Other notes of interest about Griffin Park is the stadium being underneath the flight path of Heathrow Airport and the roof of the stands being used as giant advertising boards, and a pub being situated on each corner of the ground.

The pictures are based on aerial shots of the ground from each corner in 2019, the artwork was created by me in 2020 for someone that had requested art style prints of the ground for their Brentford supporting daughter.

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Clicking any image should open a link in another window to the un-watermarked, higher resolution version on Clickasnap.

All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.

UK Rugby League Grounds from Above

 One of my hobbies is the sport of Rugby League, I am a supporter of Halifax RLFC, who recently changed there name to Halifax Panthers. The club has had it's success throughout it's history being league champions 4 times and challenge cup winners 5 times. Since relegation from Super League in 2003 the club has been a mainstay of the championship. It was from the recent decision by Super League to refuse re-entry to the competition to Toronto Wolfpack and open up a bidding process to clubs from the championship to enter super league and league ones clubs to enter the championship that I started to have a look at the grounds of the League 1 clubs.

From this interest the idea of creating a short video of each clubs ground from the air was born, originally I had planned to only show the league 1 clubs grounds, but found I had enjoyed the process as it differed from what I normally put together so I then completed videos of all the Championships clubs and Super  League clubs home stadia.

League 1.

League 1 currently features 10 clubs, with future admissions possible from a reborn Toronto Wolfpack, Ottawa Aces, New York City, Belgrade, Valencia, Bristol and Liverpool, Ottawa the only confirmed one for 2022. For the 2021 season the league will be made up of Barrow Raiders, Coventry Bears, Doncaster RLFC, Hunslet Hawks, Keighley Cougars, London Skolars, North Wales Crusaders, Rochdale Hornets, West Wales Raiders and Workington Town.

Championship.

Probably the most competitive league in the British rugby system where a good start to the season could see any one of the 14 clubs either promoted or relegated. The 2021 season will see Batley Bulldogs, Bradford Bulls, Dewsbury Rams, Featherstone Rovers, Halifax Panthers, London Broncos, Newcastle Thunder, Oldham RLFC, Sheffield Eagles, Swinton Lions, Toulouse Olympique,  Whitehaven RLFC, Widnes Vikings and York City Knights do battle.

Super League.

The Super League is the highest level of rugby league competition in the UK and the 2nd highest worldwide. After the ejection of Toronto Wolfpack, Leigh Centurions were promoted to level the competition to 12 clubs for the 2021 season and the rest are, Castleford Tigers, Catalans Dragons, Huddersfield Giants, Hull FC, Hull Kingston Rovers, Leeds Rhinos, Salford Red Devils, St Helens RFC, Wakefield Trinity Wildcats, Warrington Wolves, and Wigan Warriors.

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