Clyde Duncan Skene

[John Meffen]

Clydesdale Skene
b 24th June 1884, Larbert, Stirlingshire
d ?? January 1946, Eynsham, Oxfordshire
Falkirk Debut – Saturday April 6th 1907 v Dundee (H) Scottish League Division 1
Falkirk Seasons – 1906/07-1908/09, 1910/11
Positions – Centre-Forward
Falkirk Honours
Falkirk Infirmary Shield W 1907/08
Falkirk FC Leading League Goalscorer 1908/09 [13]
Scottish League Division 1 Matches/Goals [49/41]
Scottish Cup Matches /Goals [8/1]
Other Clubs – Falkirk Amateurs, Stenhousemuir, Queen's Park, Dundee, Dunfermline Athletic, Montrose
Played for Team 'B' v Team 'A', League International Trial at Glasgow, 17th February 1908
¿¿Played for Clyde v Celtic, Glasgow Charity Cup ?th Rd at Glasgow, ???? 1908??

According to the Falkirk Herald, whilst a Falkirk Player, Clydesdale Skene assisted Clyde in a Glasgow Charity Cup Match in 1908, could anybody back this up, and if so possibly give me a round, venue and date.

At the same time it said he was going with Queen's Park on their summer tour to Copenhagen, again, if it's possible could anyone verify this and supply some details

[LEATHERSTOCKING]

C.D.Skene made his Queen`s Park debut vs. Airdrieonians Div.One on 30th January 1904. He then played 4 league games for Queen`s in 1905-06 & another 4(1 goal) in 1910-11. In 1909-10 season, E.P.Skene played 16 league games(6 goals), 3 Scottish Cup games(1 goal) & 1 Glasgow Cup game(1 goal). It is a very unusual name so I presume these two were related to the better known Dr.L.H.Skene the Queen`s goalkeeper capped vs. Wales in 1903-04 season. As C.D.Skene was hardly a regular in the Spiders` 1st Xl of the time(and I don`t know if he was even a playing member in 1907-08 season) it is unlikely but not impossible that he toured Denmark with Queen`s in May 1908. Dr.Skene was awarded the Military Cross for services during the Great War.

[BMCCOLL]

It is a very unusual name...

Unusual? This must be the greatest name ever!

[LEATHERSTOCKING]

Origin of the name is obscure. It could mean "fierce" or "proud" from an Old French word or it could derive from skene or skean a short bladed knife carried either in the stocking or inside a jacket. There is a Loch of Skene West of Aberdeen "lake of the knife" deriving perhaps from the dwelling of a famous/notorious knife wielder/maker who lived/worked his craft and the name could translate to "from Loch of Skene" or "a knife man". If the latter then Dr.Skene carried on the tradition.

[John Meffen]

Clydesdale & Leslie Skene [Stenhousemuir, Queen's Park, Fulham, Glentoran & Scotland] were brothers. Leslie was a practicing Doctor, and the reason why he played for Fulham & Glentoran was because those were where his practices were at the time

Clyde was probably a member in 1907/08 but definitely not a playing member, as he spent the entire season with Falkirk

I don't know if there are any 'Skenes' still in Larbert/Stenhousemuir, but the Skene Family were a well to do [but certainly not rich or anything] family from Larbert in the late 1890s/early 1900s. Their father was in charge of the Stirlingshire Asylum on Bellsdyke Rd, Larbert, and was a decent middle-order bat with Stenhousemuir CC

I'll try to find if there was a connection, between C.D.Skene, L.H.Skene and E.P.Skene at this end, but you can almost certainly take it as written.

I have a couple of bits about Leslie Skene, but they're all on paper, so I'm gonna have to hunt them [I just picked them up, but I wasn't too interested as he did not play for the only team that counts [in my humble opinion]]. When I get the chance I'll pass them on.

John

[LEATHERSTOCKING]

According to Douglas Lamming, Leslie Henderson Skene was born in Larbert on 22nd August 1882 playing for Edinburgh University, Queen`s Park(assisting Stenhousemuir during his time @ Hampden), Fulham(as a professional) cs.1907 & Glentoran cs.1910. No mention of Falkirk.

In addition to his full cap he had a single outing for the Scottish League side vs. Ireland @ Love Street in 1904 and I believe he also played for the Irish League but can`t confirm this. Has anyone got details?

According to his obituary in the BMJ, he was born in November 1882 and spent most of his career as superindendant of a mental institution on the Isle of Man & died @ Noble`s Hospital on the island on 29th October 1959 aged 76 but if Lamming`s birth date is correct, he`d have been 77. He was twice wounded @ Gallipoli in 1915 and was awarded the George Cross in the New Year`s Honours list in January 1918.

[markbfc]

Here's a house list from an 1891 Scottish Cenus based on a search for "Leslie Skene". Unfortunately Ancestry.co.uk don't have access to the orginal images:

Alexander Alexander Skene 48
Mary Ann Whitton 32
Mary Ann Skene 32
Alexander Leslie Henderson Skene 8
Clydesdale Duncan Skene 6
Margaret Aitken Skene 3
Margaret Gillies 26
Marion Hill 21
Margaret Craig Campbell 15
Annie Johnstone 23

[sureitsza]

Dr. Leslie Henderson Skene, born in Lambert (Stirlingshire) on August 22, 1882, attended George Watson's College in Edinburgh and then Edinburgh University, for which he also played while he was at medical school. Thereafter he joined Queen's Park (Glasgow), and also played once for Scotland in 1904. He was a casual, calm and not exactly energetic goalkeeper. By profession he was a nephrologist. From 1910 on, his sporting career gradually came to a close in Ireland with Glentoran (Belfast) after he had spent three seasons with Fulham (London).

Above info from www.iffhs.de

Skene (no christian name given) of Glentoran won 1 cap for the Irish League in 1911. No mention of opposition but in that year the Irish League played Southern League (@ Upton Park, March 30), Southern League (@ Windsor Park Sep 30) and Football League (@ Anfield Oct 16)
He didn't play v Scottish League Oct 30.

Above info from irishleaguegreats.blogspot.com

Hope the above is of some use to you.

[Scottish]

It is a very unusual name...

Unusual? This must be the greatest name ever!

Indeed. Clydesdale Skene. Could have been the eager amateur assistant of the occupants of 221b Baker Street. Or the winner of the 3.30 at Ripon.

[John Meffen]

Unusual? This must be the greatest name ever!

It is, rather, is it not?

[nightfire]

Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup Semi Final

9th May 1908 at Hampden Park

Celtic 2 v 0 Clyde

Scorers: Davie McLean 2

Attendance: 13,000

Celtic Team:

Adams
Craig
Weir
Young
Loney
Hay
Munro
McMenemy
McLean
Somers
Hamilton

Clyde Team:

McTurk
Gilligan
Watson
Walker
McAteer
Chappell
Dickie
Spiers
Clyde Skene
Cunningham
W McTaggart

[Scottish]

Match report on London Hearts shows that none of the front five were actually Clyde players

[BMCCOLL]

It is a very unusual name...

Unusual? This must be the greatest name ever!

Indeed. Clydesdale Skene. Could have been the eager amateur assistant of the occupants of 221b Baker Street. Or the winner of the 3.30 at Ripon.

Or, as I suspect, a sleeping partner of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

[LEATHERSTOCKING]

E.P.Skene then seems to be a bit of a mystery. If he isn`t in the 1891 census, he must have been 18 when he played his single season @ Hampden. Papa Skene had another unusual name - double Alexander, & for young Leslie an additional forename is found.

[John Meffen]

From The Stirling Sentinel Tue 2nd Sep 1902

"Leslie H Skene, the custodian of the Stenhousemuir club, who, on several occasions last Season assisted King's Park, is a native of Larbert, where he was born 20 years ago. His earliest remembrance of active football was while playing as full back in a rugby match during school days at George Watson's College Edinburgh. At the age of 15 he commenced Association Football in a local juvenile organisation, in which he played at outside-left, being partnered by Peter F.Jones, now of Queen's Park. From this juvenile team, he was promoted to keep goal for the Larbert Broomage Albion juniors in an emergency, and was never displaced.

He played at the age of 16 throughout the season, winning badges for the Stirling and District Junior League. He was selected to play in the junior international trials (1898) and in representative matches against Clackmannan and also Perthshire. Leaving the Juniors, he became a member of the Falkirk Amateur FC, and although pressed frequently to play for Stenhousemuir he preferred the amateur standard, and migrated to the Edinburgh University Team, in which he was associatiated with many well-known athletes.

Last year he played for Queen's Park against Corinthians and Rangers, and won favour for himself both by press and public. He is a young player of great promise, to whom the highest positions in the field of Football are yet open"