Lives in Cricket No 22 - Jack Mercer

15 the beach, and as Jack unleashed some mighty blows and sent tennis balls flying into the water, the youngsters were thankful for their father’s advice as they rowed out trying to retrieve the balls. Walt’s words of encouragement certainly paid off as Jack soon became an important member of the Southwick side, and his prowess for the local team and the local school brought him to the attention of the Sussex county club. At that time, though, Jack held no ambition to be a professional sportsman and did not actively pursue these early opportunities with the county club. By this time Walt had a thriving business from his smithy in the yard of the Red Lion and had diversified his interests away from just serving the needs of the area’s affluent residents and farmers. For a while he drove Shoreham to Hove horse trams, before securing a contract to act as farrier for the horses stabled at the local gasworks. Many of the local hauliers also used his services so there were always plenty of horses around, and from an early age, the young Mercers helped their father tether horses before they were shod. Some of the racehorse stables which flourished on the chalk downland also used Walter’s smithy, and as a result, Jack also got an opportunity to visit Brighton and Goodwood racecourses. 5 Jack had a decent education at the local school in Kingston-by-Sea, but he was never going to follow an academic career and, on leaving school at fourteen, Jack initially secured a job as a postman, enjoying the chance to be out in the fresh air, and meeting people whilst out on his daily rounds. With their family still expanding and a few more mouths to feed at ‘Cranleigh’, Walt and Mary were, no doubt, also very grateful of their eldest son’s wage. At heart, Jack was a romantic and, like many in coastal areas, he was curious about what lay beyond the seas close his home. When walking along the seafront he often wondered – and probably fantasised – about the places from which the vessels had travelled. He was also fascinated by the origins and background of some of the well-dressed gentlemen of European origin who paraded, with their equally well-dressed ladies, along the promenades at Brighton and Hove. Jack was also intrigued by the tales told by the ostlers and stable lads when they brought their horses to his father’s smithy, and in particular, he became fascinated about Russia, the Cossacks and their magnificent steeds. In 1913, now almost twenty, he and a friend received an offer to become crew members of a sailing yacht which was heading to St Petersburg. It seemed like a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity to see Russia, so Jack accepted the offer, tendered his resignation as a postman and after telling his parents (who no doubt held misgivings) set sail on the yacht. It proved to be a highly enjoyable adventure with the pair staying for a while in the St Petersburg area rather than return with the rest of the To Russia, with love 5 Perhaps this explains his gambling habits as well as a love of horses which, in later life, bordered on the sentimental.