Everton History

The Goodison Bugler’s Last Post — The Life of Francis Hamill

Rob Sawyer recalls the man who provided the Toffees with their own musical soundtrack in the late 1920s and 1930s

To my delight, Everton FC has eschewed the use of in-match music to spur on the team or celebrate a goal. However, many decades before the English national team started being accompanied by a band, the Toffees had their own musical soundtrack provided by a Francis Henry Hamill, a bugler.

Born on 2 December 1894, Hamill hailed from Belfast and in 1901 was listed as living with his parents and siblings on Cairns Street, Falls Ward. He served in the First World War – moving across from the Army to the RAF in October 1918. One assumes that he honed his musical skills while engaged in service for his country. His brother, Joseph, was killed in 1916 serving with the Royal Field Artillery and is buried at Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery.

Once de-mobbed after the end of the war, he moved to Liverpool with his wife, Margaret (née Ennis). The couple raised three daughters (Frances, Veronica and Margaret) in the city. On the 1921 census, the Hamill family was living at 47 Holborn Street (a 10-minute walk from the heart of the Everton district) – his occupation was given as a ‘general labourer (out of work)’ with the Mersey Harbour Board’s wool warehouse. Five years later, the Hamills were living at 16 Cranmer Street, prior to moving on to 38 Paget Street.

With the move to Merseyside came a firm attachment to the Blues – and Hamill chose to start bringing his bugle with him to matches, probably in the late 1920s. Normally sat in the Park End stand, he would sound the charge when Everton were on the attack. It drew the attention of George Green, the celebrated Liverpool Echo illustrator. Soon, Hamill started to regularly feature in his humorous cartoon strip, which appeared in the newspaper and, later, in the official match-day programme.

After the war, Hamill’s bugling appearances at Goodison Park became sporadic, as commented upon in George Green’s cartoons. Supporters did not forget him though; a fellow Toffee wrote to the BBC suggesting that he feature in Noises from Home – a regular radio feature intended to give British forces personnel stationed overseas something familiar to listen to. He duly appeared on the programme in April 1951, playing his instrument. As the Liverpool Echo commented: ‘It should bring back happy memories for Everton supporters in uniform overseas.’

On 4 February 1953 came the sad news that Francis Hamill – at this point living at 45 Foley Street, an easy stroll from Goodison Park – had passed away unexpectedly. He was buried 5 days later in Ford Cemetery. The death notice in the Echo stated, touchingly, ‘Bugler’s Last Call’.

Footnote:
Three decades after Francis Hamill’s death, his nephew, Errol Smalley, was – with his wife, Theresa – heavily involved in the campaign for the overturning of the convictions of the so-called Guildford Four (Smalley was related to Paul Hill, one of the four). They were incarcerated for the Provisional IRA pub bombings in the Surrey town in October 1974, which claimed the lives of five people and injured 65. The Guildford Four were released in 1989.

If anyone has further information about Francis Hamill and any surviving relatives, please get in touch with Rob via the ToffeeWeb editors. Likewise, please get in touch if anything requires correcting.

Sources:

bluecorrespondent.co.uk
Liverpool Echo
Everton matchday programme
Find My Past
Ancestry/Brian McCaul

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