All the way from Toronto, Canada, is this photo of a family gathering to celebrate Henry ‘Harry’ Barraclough, a local Hunslet man who made his debut on 28th March, 1894.

His very early Heritage Number of 186 shows he played pre-Northern Union and the big 1895 breakaway.

As his debut was against Devon Nomads, you wonder how the teams got to matches all over the country. Perhaps Devon Nomads were a northern team formed by Devonians who’d come north for work – a bit like London Irish in modern times.

Harry’s last match for Hunslet was 25 April, 1905, but he also played games for HULL FC. His full stats are 12 seasons, 163 appearances, scoring 1 goal and 44 tries.

His fellow players included Albert and Walter Goldthorpe, Joe Lewthwaite, Tom Tunningley and Jack Shooter, to name just a few of the Hunslet greats.

In 1912, Harry bought the Bulls Head in Jack Lane, and also moved between Leeds and Ontario several times. By 1923 he had moved to Canada permanently with his 3 surviving children. It was there that he died in a works accident in 1924. He’s buried in Toronto. His parents are buried in Hunslet cemetery.

The picture shows his Canadian descendants: his grandson, Brad, in the centre holding Harry’s certificate; Amanda and Tina, great grand-daughters in front; and the next generation of great – great – grandchildren behind them.

We’re delighted to be able to celebrate our past Hunslet players around the world.