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Abel Tatum

OVERALL STATISTICS

BIRTHAGESIGNED ONFROM
12-03-1915
N/A
26 -08-1938
Bickershaw Hornets
DEBUTLAST MATCHLEFT
27-08-1938 v Widnes
Featherstone Rovers
1939- Leigh
CAREERAPPEARANCES (SUBS)
1938-1938
27 (0)
TRIESGOALSDGOALSPTS
0
0
0
0

Biography of Abel Tatum



HERITAGE NO : 485
Abel Tatum by Alex Service

The St.Helens Reporter of 23rd August 1938 gives us the first mention of this player:

A newcomer at prop-forward is worth watching. His name is Abel Tatham [sic] and by the looks of him he is able to eat them. A 13 stones 8 pound forward from Bickershaw Hornets, he is 22, a collier, an all-in wrestler and built as solid as a battleship. Not tall, but extremely powerful and quite active. Tatham [sic] is an ideal front-row man. I believe they signed him after the match.

Abel made his debut against Widnes on 27th August 1938. He made 27 appearances for the Saints and was no slouch. One report, after Saints played Warrington says that:

Miller, the burly Warrington front-row man, will have cause to remember Tatham [sic] who gave him a most unacceptable time in the set scrums.

Obviously Abel turned professional at a time when the Second World War had started to erupt. His last match as a St.Helens player was against Featherstone Rovers on 29th April 1939. At that time he was a General Labourer and living in Laurel Street, Preston temporarily. Abel then returned to play for his home-town team Leigh in the War Emergency League and [Heritage Number 511] made 3 appearances early in the 1940-41 season.

In 1921 Abel was living in Baker Street, Leigh. He lived with his father Ben was a detailer at the Westleigh Colliery, mother Alce and sister Edith. Abel lived with his widowed grandmother Mary.

The Leigh club did not continue during the War and it would appear that Abel joined the Army at some point, despite having a reserved occupation status as a collier. It is sad to relate that Sapper Abel Tatum, of the Royal Engineers was killed in Normandy on 11th August 1944, aged 28. He is buried at Ranville War Cemetery, Calvados, France. The village of Ranville was the first village to be liberated by the Allies in the early hours of 6th June 1944 by troops of the 6th Airborne Division.

The Saints Heritage Society would like to acknowledge the Commonwealth War Graves Commissions web site for providing details of Abel Tatums supreme sacrifice and the Tatum family for the image of his final resting place.

His sacrifice, like that of so many others, must never be forgotten.

PLAYER HONOURS

SEASON STATISTICS

Season (Official Matches)TriesGoalsDGoalsMatches
1938~39 0 0 0 27
TOTALS:0 0 0 27
Season (Other Matches)TriesGoalsDGoalsMatches
TOTALS:

ALL MATCHES

DateMatchPosOpponentsCompVenueFTFTOTGDG
27th Aug 1938 1
L
 10 Widnes L A 0 29 VIEW
31st Aug 1938 2
L
 10 Warrington L H 7 20 VIEW
3rd Sep 1938 3
L
 10 Widnes L H 6 11 VIEW
12th Sep 1938 4
L
 10 Liverpool Stanley LC1 H 5 10 VIEW
17th Sep 1938 5
L
 10 Barrow L A 2 23 VIEW
24th Sep 1938 6
W
 10 Hull Kingston Rovers L H 11 8 VIEW
28th Sep 1938 7
W
 10 Keighley L H 23 0 VIEW
1st Oct 1938 8
W
 10 Swinton L A 10 3 VIEW
8th Oct 1938 9
L
 10 Liverpool Stanley L H 7 9 VIEW
15th Oct 1938 10
W
 10 Dewsbury L A 10 5 VIEW
22nd Oct 1938 11
W
 10 York L H 15 13 VIEW
29th Oct 1938 12
L
 10 Hull Kingston Rovers L A 5 15 VIEW
5th Nov 1938 13
W
 10 Dewsbury L H 16 4 VIEW
12th Nov 1938 14
L
 10 Rochdale Hornets L A 8 10 VIEW
19th Nov 1938 15
W
 10 Swinton L H 12 8 VIEW
26th Nov 1938 16
L
 10 Broughton Rangers L A 7 10 VIEW
3rd Dec 1938 17
L
 10 Huddersfield L H 3 10 VIEW
10th Dec 1938 18
W
 10 Liverpool Stanley L A 12 10 VIEW
17th Dec 1938 19
W
 10 Broughton Rangers L H 22 6 VIEW
24th Dec 1938 20
W
 10 Leigh L A 18 10 VIEW
26th Dec 1938 21
L
 10 St. Helens Recs L H 4 5 VIEW
27th Dec 1938 22
L
 10 Wigan L H 2 28 VIEW
31st Dec 1938 23
L
 10 Featherstone Rovers L A 5 10 VIEW
15th Apr 1939 24
L
 10 Oldham L H 10 15 VIEW
22nd Apr 1939 25
L
 8 Halifax L H 4 25 VIEW
24th Apr 1939 26
W
 10 Warrington L A 8 7 VIEW
29th Apr 1939 27
W
 8 Featherstone Rovers L H 37 10 VIEW
*Unofficial Match. **Non Playing Sub.
WINS : 12 | LOSSES : 15 | DRAWS :

GALLERY





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