Catalogue for the auction of
Cricket, Football & Sporting Memorabilia

William Eric ‘Bill’ Bowes. Yorkshire & England 1929-1947. Selection of five handwritten letters to Alan Hill, Verity’s biographer regarding the preparation and publication of Hill’s book on Verity. The letters date from March 1984 to March 1986. In the first letter Bowes agrees to allow Hill to use extracts from his book ‘Express Deliveries’, his paucity of available photographs for Hill to use second letter from Bowes refers to planning to meet Hill to discuss Verity and the book and concludes ‘Good luck with your efforts about Hedley’, the third is just a short note, the fourth thanks Hill for news of the Verity manuscript and giving Hill the address of Yorkshire reporter J.M. Kilburn and the fifth, a longer letter, discusses the reaction from certain reporters once the book had been published. ‘Many thanks for your letter and copy of the review by John Callaghan which appears to be far from flattering.. But don’t take this to heart. It is so typical of the man. He walks where Angels fear to tread, has a nil rating among Yorkshire cricketers, and quite frequently ‘cracks his top’ without a full knowledge of the facts. He was a sub-editor with me in the Yorkshire Evening Post Sports’....He has already written a ‘Yorkshire History’ and I wondered if head proposed a book on Hedley Verity and you spoilt his research. Actually he’s not a bad chap... In the meantime I’ve read several other letters speaking well of the book... He then puts down Hill’s idea of doing a follow up book on Bowes and suggests an ideal subject would be Johnny Wardle. Hill took Bowes up on the idea and Wardle’s biography was published in May 1988. All of the letters signed in ink by Bowes and in good condition. From the archive of Alan Hill, Hedley Verity’s biographer