George M. John Thorley (birth registered third ¼ 1927 – 12 July 2005) born in

Mountain Ash Mountain ash may refer to: * ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also * Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf Mountai ...

, was a Welsh

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and World Cup winning professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

, and at club level Neath RFC, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

Other Nationalities The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ...

, and at club level for Halifax ( Heritage № 645) and

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

, as a , he died in

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, Halifax.

Playing career

International honours

John Thorley won caps for

(RL) while at Halifax circa-1952…60 2-caps, won caps for

(RL) while at Halifax 1953…1959 (2?)3-caps, and won caps for

(RL) while at Halifax in the

1954 Rugby League World Cup The 1954 Rugby League World Cup was rugby league football's first World Cup and was held in France in October–November 1954. Officially known as the "Rugby World Cup", SPARC, 2009: 28 four nations competed in the tournament: Australia, France, ...

against Australia, France, New Zealand, and France. John Thorley played left- in all four of

matches, including

's 16-12 victory over

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the

Final at

Parc des Princes Parc des Princes () is an all-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on 13 November 1954. John Thorley also represented

while at Halifax between 1952 and 1956 against France (1 non-

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

match).Edgar, Harry (2007). ''Rugby League Journal Annual 2008'' Page-110. Rugby League Journal Publishing.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

John Thorley played left- in Halifax's 4-4 draw with

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

in the

1953–54 Challenge Cup The 1954 Challenge Cup was the 53rd staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. It featured clubs from the 1953–54 Northern Rugby Football League season and is particularly notable for its final, which had to be re ...

Final during the 1953–54 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on Saturday 24 April 1954, in front of a crowd of 81,841, and played left- in the 4-8 defeat by

in the

Final

replay Replay may refer to: * Replay (sports), a replayed match between two sport teams Technology * Game replay, a recording of a game session. * Instant replay, in motion pictures and television, a showing again of part of a film * Replay Professional, ...

during the 1953–54 season at

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the football team Bradford City, following the Valley ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

on Wednesday 5 May 1954, in front of a record crowd of 102,575 or more.

Club career

John Thorley played his last game for

against Halifax at Thrum Hall, Halifax.

Honoured at Halifax

John Thorley is a Halifax Hall Of Fame Inductee.

Genealogical information

John Thorley's marriage to Avona M. (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Rathmell
birth registered
during third ¼ in Pontypridd district)), a teacher and active in the

British Polio Fellowship The British Polio Fellowship is a charitable organisation supporting and empowering people in the UK living with the late effects of polio and post-polio syndrome (PPS). It provides information, welfare and support to those affected, to enable ...

, was registered during fourth ¼ 1952 in Pontypridd district. They had children; Steven M. S. Thorley
birth registered
during third ¼ in Calder district), and Elizabeth Anna Thorley
birth registered
during fourth ¼ in Halifax district).

Outside of rugby

After retiring from playing, John Thorley became a keen supporter of Halifax, he also took up golf and was a member of Halifax West End Golf Clu

for more than 30 years, was involved in the Welsh Rugby League Past Players organisation, was deputy churchwarden at

Halifax Parish Church Halifax Minster is the minster church of Halifax, Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. The church is dedicated to St John the Baptist. Formerly the parish church of the town, it was granted minster status in 2009. Halifax Minster is one of thr ...

, and spent a lot of time holidaying with his wife in the south of France.

References

External links

Statistics at neathrugby.co.ukCardiff RFC Season Review 1951 - 1952
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorley, John 1927 births 2005 deaths Dewsbury Rams players Footballers who switched code Glamorgan County RFC players Great Britain national rugby league team players Halifax R.L.F.C. players Neath RFC players Other Nationalities rugby league team players Rugby league players from Mountain Ash, Wales Rugby league props Rugby union players from Mountain Ash, Wales Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players