MEMORIAL PLAQUE TO HONOUR FIRST BLACK INTERNATIONAL

 

FUNDS NEEDED FOR

MEMORIAL PLAQUE TO HONOUR FIRST BLACK INTERNATIONAL

ANDREW WATSON

EXCLUSIVE by SIMON MULLOCK

SUNDAY MIRROR – 08/09/2024 https://www.pressreader.com/uk/sunday-mirror-northern-ireland/20240908/283283168048379

ANDREW WATSON was the illegitimate son of a slave woman and a Scottish plantation owner who has been recognised as football’s first black international.

Now, almost 150 years ago after he made history by captaining Scotland to a 6-1 victory over England on his debut, an appeal has been launched to raise funds for a memorial plaque to be unveiled at the school he attended in Yorkshire.

Watson, a full-back who could play in either flank, is set to be honoured by the Crossley Heath Grammar School in Halifax next March.

European Cup-winning former Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Manchester United defender Viv Anderson, who in 1978 became the first black player to represent England, will unveil the plaque.

Dean Jones, headteacher at Crossley Heath, said: “Andrew Watson's career as a footballer provides inspiration for us all to realise that we can achieve our goals regardless of the status quo in society and expectations others may have for us.

“He exemplified our school values of kindness, courage and excellence. Seeing a student from the history of the Crossley Heath School set an example of the value of diversity to us all, further motivates our present students to positively contribute to society themselves and help make our world a better place.”

Watson had spells playing for Glasgow-based clubs Maxwell and Parkgrove before winning the Scottish Cup three times with the legendary Queens Park team of the early 1880s.

He later moved to England, appearing first for Corinthians before taking up an offer from Merseyside club Bootle that made him the first black professional.

Watson’s story is remarkable even for the Victorian age of empire.

He was born in May 1886 in Demerara, the former British colony in Guyana famous for producing golden brown sugar.

His father, Peter Miller Watson, a public school-educated cousin of Prime Minister William Gladstone, was a Scottish solicitor who travelled to the Caribbean to expand the family fortune and eventually became a co-owner of two plantations.

Mother Anna Rose came from much more humble beginnings.

Born into slavery, she was freed when the heinous trade was abolished in the British Empire by the 1807 Slave Trade Act.

Amazingly, Miller Watson was granted £800 in compensation by the government after 18 of his slaves were set free.

 But he became involved in a long-term relationship with Anna Rose and the couple had two children, Andrew and his older sister Annetta.

When Miller Watson returned to live in London, he decided to take the two children away from their mother - and at the age of 10, Andrew became a pupil at Queen Elizabeth’s Free Grammar School, which is now Heath School.

He later attended King’s College in London and Glasgow University, where he eventually became a star player for Queens Park.

After being called up by Scotland in 1881, Watson captained the team to an emphatic win over England at the Kennington Oval. Two days later, he led the side again as Wales were beaten 5-1 at Wrexham.

The following year, in his third and final international appearance, Watson’s team thrashed England 5-1 at Hampden Park - a victory that led to him being recruited by crack English side Corinthians in a bid to import the passing style that had made the Scots so superior.

Football author and historian Mark Metcalf said: “I walk past Crossley Heath School regularly and when I found out Andrew Watson had studied there then I was resolved to have him honoured.

“I’ve have previously put up on behalf of the PFA many other plaques to football legends such as Frank Swift and Joe Mercer and Kenny Davenport and I will be delighted when the plaque is unveiled by Viv Anderson who, when I was a teenager, made a big impression on me when I saw him face down racists in the crowd when playing for Nottingham Forest.”

Metcalf and Jones have set up a JustGiving page to raise funds to complete the project. Donations can be made at https://www.justgiving.com/page/plaqueforandrewwatson