Harry Owen Roe
How many know the name of the man, born in Taibach, who was so revered by the Rugby fraternity of Bayonne, in the Basque area of France, that they had a street named after him.
His name was Harry Owen Roe. Harry was born at 25 Cwrt Ucha Terrace in 1886, which in those days was in the parish of Taibach. Cwrt Ucha is situated near the traffic lights in Talbot Road where you turn to access the M4. Harry was the son of William H. Roe and Louisa Margaret Roe. William was a tailor, and there were three other children, two girls and a boy in the family.
The 1901 census shows that the family had moved to Swansea, where William became a landlord of a public house near to the docks, and Harry, then aged 15, was shown to be a pupil teacher.
Harry moved to Penarth and was employed as a shipping clerk, and records show that in 1908, he was playing for Penarth RFC as an ouside half. The Penarth Times for that period gave glowing accounts of his ability in that position. In 1910 a touring French team played against Penarth. The local papers back in Bayonne in France, were in raptures about the brilliance of Harry Owen Roe.
Harry had become a friend of a French player called Jules Fergues, also working as a clerk and who played for Penarth. It was through Jules acting as an intermediary that the Bayonne officials made Harry Owen Roe an offer he couldn't refuse. He was asked by Bayonne if he would become their player/coach, a position which he accepted. Using a manual called The Modern Rugby Game written by the famous Welsh international Gwyn Nicholls, Harry transformed the fortunes of the club, and it was he who really put the panache into the playing methods of French Rugby.
Harry was only just 5' 7" tall and weighed in at eleven stone, five pounds - what a contrast to the physique of modern day players. He played at outside half for the team.
Bayonne is situated in the Basque area of southern France quite close to the border with Spain.
The traditional sport of the area, was a game called Pelota in which a ball is thrown against a wall and a lot of skill and dexterity is needed to play the game. Bullfighting was also popular, and Harry was amused to see youngsters practicing at the sport by dodging young bulls. He realised that he could utilise the skills of the locals in these two pastimes, and use them to handle Rugby balls. He instructed the team thqt he didn't want to see any more rucks or mauls, and that he wanted fifteen ball handling backs in his side. His revolutionary coaching ways transformed the fortune of Bayonne, their playing became known as Le Manie Galois, (The Welsh Way) and one newspaper showed a photo of the team with the headline Los Gallois de France (The Welshmen from France.)
BY 1913 Bayonne had won the French championship by beating the formidable Paris Club by a 30 point margin, with Harry being top scorer. He had topped the French try scoring record in 1912, and was renowned for his drop goals.
His skill was not only confined to the Rugby field, because his knowledge as a shipping clerk when he lived in Penarth, would come to good use. The area around Bayonne had large pine forests. The Bayonne iron industry needed Welsh coal to smelt the iron-ore from Bilbao in Spain. Pinewood is full of resin, which stops them rotting, and was ideal as pit-props for use in the vast coal industry in Wales at that time. Harry - not forgetting the land of his birth - arranged for the pine to be sent to Penarth, then a large port, and prized Welsh coal to be imported into Bayonne.
Harry eventually met and married a local girl, and was conversant in the local Basque language and French as well. The advent of the First World War saw six of the victorious Bayonne team killed in action. Harry continued to play for the team when hostilities ended in 1918.
The stadium where Bayonne play is called Stade Jean Dauger, and is situated at Number One, Rue Harry Owen Roe. The street was named after Harry by the local authority in his honour.
In 1939 Harry was forced to flee the oncoming Nazis, and he returned to Penarth where he served in the Home Guard (Dad's Army) returning to Bayonne when it was safe for him to do so. There was a letter in the Western Mail from a Mr Frank Williams of Baglan. Frank played for Swansea in 1947 and 1948. Swansea toured France and played against Bayonne, and he says that all travelling and hotel arrangements were organised by Harry Owen Roe, and that he would never forget Harry's kindness, and the welcome he gave everyone throughout the tour.
Sadly Harry died in Bayonne in 1962 at the age of 76, and he is even featured in the stained-glass window of the church where he is buried. This shows the respect shown to him by the people of Bayonne. There is talk of a film being made of his life, and I understand a script is already being prepared.
A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country (Matthew 13:57)
By Brynmor Evans 2012
His name was Harry Owen Roe. Harry was born at 25 Cwrt Ucha Terrace in 1886, which in those days was in the parish of Taibach. Cwrt Ucha is situated near the traffic lights in Talbot Road where you turn to access the M4. Harry was the son of William H. Roe and Louisa Margaret Roe. William was a tailor, and there were three other children, two girls and a boy in the family.
The 1901 census shows that the family had moved to Swansea, where William became a landlord of a public house near to the docks, and Harry, then aged 15, was shown to be a pupil teacher.
Harry moved to Penarth and was employed as a shipping clerk, and records show that in 1908, he was playing for Penarth RFC as an ouside half. The Penarth Times for that period gave glowing accounts of his ability in that position. In 1910 a touring French team played against Penarth. The local papers back in Bayonne in France, were in raptures about the brilliance of Harry Owen Roe.
Harry had become a friend of a French player called Jules Fergues, also working as a clerk and who played for Penarth. It was through Jules acting as an intermediary that the Bayonne officials made Harry Owen Roe an offer he couldn't refuse. He was asked by Bayonne if he would become their player/coach, a position which he accepted. Using a manual called The Modern Rugby Game written by the famous Welsh international Gwyn Nicholls, Harry transformed the fortunes of the club, and it was he who really put the panache into the playing methods of French Rugby.
Harry was only just 5' 7" tall and weighed in at eleven stone, five pounds - what a contrast to the physique of modern day players. He played at outside half for the team.
Bayonne is situated in the Basque area of southern France quite close to the border with Spain.
The traditional sport of the area, was a game called Pelota in which a ball is thrown against a wall and a lot of skill and dexterity is needed to play the game. Bullfighting was also popular, and Harry was amused to see youngsters practicing at the sport by dodging young bulls. He realised that he could utilise the skills of the locals in these two pastimes, and use them to handle Rugby balls. He instructed the team thqt he didn't want to see any more rucks or mauls, and that he wanted fifteen ball handling backs in his side. His revolutionary coaching ways transformed the fortune of Bayonne, their playing became known as Le Manie Galois, (The Welsh Way) and one newspaper showed a photo of the team with the headline Los Gallois de France (The Welshmen from France.)
BY 1913 Bayonne had won the French championship by beating the formidable Paris Club by a 30 point margin, with Harry being top scorer. He had topped the French try scoring record in 1912, and was renowned for his drop goals.
His skill was not only confined to the Rugby field, because his knowledge as a shipping clerk when he lived in Penarth, would come to good use. The area around Bayonne had large pine forests. The Bayonne iron industry needed Welsh coal to smelt the iron-ore from Bilbao in Spain. Pinewood is full of resin, which stops them rotting, and was ideal as pit-props for use in the vast coal industry in Wales at that time. Harry - not forgetting the land of his birth - arranged for the pine to be sent to Penarth, then a large port, and prized Welsh coal to be imported into Bayonne.
Harry eventually met and married a local girl, and was conversant in the local Basque language and French as well. The advent of the First World War saw six of the victorious Bayonne team killed in action. Harry continued to play for the team when hostilities ended in 1918.
The stadium where Bayonne play is called Stade Jean Dauger, and is situated at Number One, Rue Harry Owen Roe. The street was named after Harry by the local authority in his honour.
In 1939 Harry was forced to flee the oncoming Nazis, and he returned to Penarth where he served in the Home Guard (Dad's Army) returning to Bayonne when it was safe for him to do so. There was a letter in the Western Mail from a Mr Frank Williams of Baglan. Frank played for Swansea in 1947 and 1948. Swansea toured France and played against Bayonne, and he says that all travelling and hotel arrangements were organised by Harry Owen Roe, and that he would never forget Harry's kindness, and the welcome he gave everyone throughout the tour.
Sadly Harry died in Bayonne in 1962 at the age of 76, and he is even featured in the stained-glass window of the church where he is buried. This shows the respect shown to him by the people of Bayonne. There is talk of a film being made of his life, and I understand a script is already being prepared.
A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country (Matthew 13:57)
By Brynmor Evans 2012