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Young, 'Sunny' Jim (1903-17) 100+; Located + Pics
Topic Started: Jan 24 2011, 09:51 PM (3,376 Views)
Dianogah
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kevtic

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I thought it was about time I contributed something to this great idea and task so I took on the task of finding the resting place of Sunny Jim Young arguably one of Celtic's greatest ever captains.

I did a bit of internet searching but really found very little to point towards where he might be buried other than almost definitely in Kilmarnock somewhere as that was where he was born and where he died. So I took myself off to the Mitchell Library and looked at the Evening Times around the date of his death, Sept 4th 1922, and he got a fairly large front page piece explaining the circumstances of his death in a motor vehicle accident which involved a motorcycle with side-car that was in a collision with a Kilmarnock Corporation tramcar. Unfortunately sunny Jim received head injuries that he never regained consciousness from and died in Kilmarnock Infirmary that night.

The piece in the times didn't state when and where the funeral would take place but the obituaries column of Sept 5th gave details that the funeral would leave 10 Hill St Kilmarnock (Now the site of or was the site of Diageo). So a bit of google map searching had me thinking that Newmilns cemetery could be a possible destination. I contacted a very helpful lady called Elaine at East Ayrshire bereavement services who checked up their records and we discovered his grave is actually in Kilmarnock Cemetery.

She gave me the location of his grave. She also said she would get someone to mark the grave for me as there was a good chance there might be no headstone or be unable to read the inscription but this wouldn't be until next week sometime.

As i had got this far i couldn't wait and headed down there this afternoon, my wife even accompanied me to help in the search. Unfortunately it does indeed look like Sunny Jim is now in an unmarked grave. The section in the cemetery where he is buried is relatively small and there is a mix of easily read gravestones to ones where it's hard to see if there was ever any writing on them to just empty plots of grass.

I must admit it was a rather disappointing moment as I had done the ground work and thought it would be a case of turning up and locating the grave stone. Still i suppose this is part of what this is about and finding the sites of great Celtic players and hopefully marking them for future generations.

So the point I'm at now is that Elaine is going to email me next week at some point either telling me the grave will be marked or providing a more comprehensive map of the cemetery and the lair positions. Currently the cemetery map only shows you the sections. Once I have that info I'll take another trip down to finally locate it's position and get some photos etc.

First time I've ever done anything like this and it was quite an enjoyable experience. Hopefully I can see it through to its conclusion.

I also have another couple of locations for other players but i think these ones will be much easier to locate.


weeshamrock

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Tremendous work K. Is that Grassyards Road Cemetery you were at? If so Sunny Jim is buried in the same place as Johnny Doyle, which would be a great wee connection.

There's lots of disappointments along the way when it comes to these grave searches. You've done a pile of work and yet there's no guarantee that there'll be a headstone or small memorial to visit. I enjoy the aspect of searching cemeteries and hoping to stumble across the grave you're looking for but it can get quite draining after a while! Hopefully once the council give you the lair/ section number you'll find out for sure.

This is inspiring stuff, much like the man himself. Sunny Jim is one of the major figures in early Celtic history and his life story deserves a good airing. 14 years a Celt, 443 appearances. A giant of a man. He drove the team on to their famed early successes.

Would you be able to post up copies of the newspaper extracts etc?



kevtic

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It is the Grassyards cemetery. I didn't realise Doyle was there or i would have gone to see his resting place. Will defo be doing that next time.

The newspaper article was on microfiche I don't know if there is any way of getting a copy of it. The obituary part was very faint and it took me along time to get the focus and light good enough to see what was written. Not good for your eyes looking at microfiche for any length of time.

I intend doing a more detailed write up on Sunny Jim once the grave is officially located although David Potter has a chapter on him in Cult Heroes' that pretty much covers most of it.


weeshamrock


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K - which papers were you looked at for Sunny Jim's obituary? Did you check out the Glasgow Observer? One of our trusted men is at the Mitchell just now and might be able to get a copy of an Obit printed off.



kevtic
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i just checked the evening Times on microfiche.

Interestingly I was in touch with an Anne Geddes who works as a librarian for the heritage services in Kilmarnock and she's going to send some stuff in the post that they looked out for me on Sunny Jim which was great as i never even asked for it. I'd originally got in touch with her as they came up on a web search when i was looking for Young's resting place but as i got the info i was loking for elsewhere I dropped her a line saying I'd got it and she replied back that they had found some obituaries and would i like a copy.

She's also going to see what Johnny doyle stuff they have. She said she'd be happy to help in any searches for players buried in Ayrshire. i gave her a bit of background about why we were looking and pointed her in direction of the wiki as well and she said her mother's maiden name was Dolan after she saw one of the first 11 was a Dolan so i sent her the info we had so maybe there is a connection there.

Anyway worth remembering as a potential resource as I'm sure there must be a few players down Ayrshire way.


weeshamrock
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That's excellent K, interesting to see what obits she comes up with. Two Celts die in tragic circumstances within a relatively close geographical area, decades apart. Both massive local stories so here's hoping there's some good info in the coverage.

Would be great if it turned out she was connected to our first goalie too!

Definitely a few Bhoys at rest in Ayrshire.




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Obit for Sunny Jim in the Evening Times of September of 1922
Wee Shamrock to follow up with a scan of the Observer Obit

Sunny Jim Killed

A great football player

James Young known to the footballing world in his playing days as “Sunny Jim” died in Kilmarnock Infirmary last night from injuries received in a motor accident earlier that day. Along with two Darvel men Joseph Deans and Andrew Shearer, the latter a farmer, he was proceeding to Darvel for an afternoons shooting.
When their car was passing through the Wellington Bridge on the road between Kilmarnock and Hurlford, Iit collided with a Kilmarnock corporation tramway car and young was badly injured.

A Loyal Celt

In his young days Young played with junior club Dean Park of Kilmarnock and after going to England he was persuaded to leave Bristol by the late Mr. Michael Dunbar to join Celtic. With Celtic he remained to the end of his football career in 1905 serving the Parkhead club for 16 years.
Young was an enthusiastic player whose good qualities were not recognised as they might have been. The SFA capped him against Ireland in 1906, and the league honoured him six times, but he never achieved his hearts desire of playing against England for his native country. Above all however he was a club player, and surely never was Celtic served better by a player than “Sunny Jim.”
Some years ago he became the tenant of a public house in Duke Street Kilmarnock, in succession to his old friend and club mate Bobby Templeton.
Young has left a widow and a Family of two girls and a boy. He was a Brother In Law of Alick Smith, the great left wing forward of Rangers.


weeshamrock


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With thanks to EmeraldBhoy, our Man at the Mitchell, for recovering these copies. This first one is from the Observer:


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From the Evening Times:


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kevtic


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Still waiting on info on exact grave location from the council. Don't want to hassle them as they were so helpful in the intial enquiry.


kevtic

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Got some great stuff through from the heritage services in the post today from the Kilmarnock herald and the Kilmarnock Standard. Will scan and put up tomorrow. they could be a really good source of stuff for any Ayrshire based players. Sunny Jim comes across as bit of local hero in the two pieces.


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Excellent stuff i received through from the Burns Monument Centre.

Death Notice from Kilmarnock Herald Sept 8th 1922


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Newspaper story from Kilmarnock Herald Sept 8th 1922 - 2 parts


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Newspaper story from Kilmarnock Standard Sept 9th 1922


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Dianogah
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kevtic
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Received directions to Sunny jim's lair this morning. looks to me like it is an unmarked grave but they have put a marker peg in for me to locate it.

Excuse my ignorance but when they say head of the grave would that be bit nearest the head stone or the end of the grave as it comes out from the headstone?


weeshamrock


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I think it means the bit nearest the head stone - can anyone confirm?


kevtic

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Should just have googled it, it is the bit nearest the headstone.

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I made a very quick trip back to Kilmarnock Cemetery on Sat. I happened to be passing that way but it was getting late and I had to get the wee fella home for bed so I missed out on Johnny Doyle's grave but I did find Sunny Jim's and I was delighted to see my first worries about him being in an unmarked grave were unfounded. His grave was in a bit I hadn't looked at as I thought it was in an adjoining section. The foreman of the cemetery had marked the grave for me and although it still took me a bit of time to locate it when I did find it it was a rather humbling experience. I wasn't really sure what to do or say. I said a few private words and hoped he wouldn't mind if I took some pics as you can see below.


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caltonbhoy1967

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Great work kevtic.

Good to see Sunny Jim's grave is in good condition and looks to be maintained and cared for.


weeshamrock


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That's a fine memorial to Sunny.
Sad to read that his wife only survived him for a few years and also passed away at a young age.

Great work K.



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Thanks to Kevtic's directions and pics we found our way over to Sunny Jim's resting place today on our pilgrimage to Johnny Doyle's grave.

A wonderful memorial to a Great Celt.



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kevtic


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Glad to see you found it. You clearly got a much better day then me. ;)

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peter1888

As I knew I was going to be in Kilmarnock last week, I decided to visit James Young's grave when I was in the area.

I had wanted to do this for for some time ever since I'd been shown a medal some months ago by a man in the next town to me. A medal I felt truly honoured to be holding in my hand. It's now more than a hundred years old.

It was awarded to Sunny Jim Young in recognition of his great efforts in helping Celtic win the league six years in a row, 1905-10. A world record at the time. A record which stood until the same club equalled the feat, and then bettered it, decades later in the 60's and 70's.

This man's actually been offered £1000 for Young's medal, but so far has resisted parting with it.

I found the grave within 10 mins of entering the cemetery, getting my bearings from the previous pics on this thread. I saw that someone else had been there in the last few days as there were flowers laid beside the gravestone. This was great to see, as obviously, it meant other Celtic people had been there recently.

On my way to the cemetery in Kilmarnock, I took a detour and passed under the Wellington bridge. This is the location where James Young tragically met with the fatal collision which cost him his life, aged just 40 years. The bridge is on the road from Kilmarnock to Darvel.

I've recently found out that David Potter is in the process of writing a book on this great Celtic captain and it's scheduled for release in October of this year. For sure, that's a book which will be added to my collection.

The three attached photos are of the gravestone, Jim Young's medal and the Wellington Bridge.

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