Edgar Shearer

Although born and educated in England, he was to settle in Ireland where he remained throughout his adult life. He attended Aldenham Public School where he excelled at sports. At 17 he went to work in Ireland for a textile firm. At first he played rugby for the City of Derry team but was noted for his kicking skills by the chairman of the newly-formed Derry City football team. In 1929, Shearer joined Casuals FC and in 1930 also started playing for Corinthians FC. In 1931-32 he started the season by scoring six goals in three games for Casuals FC before returning to Ireland and featuring for Derry City. During the 1933-34 and 1935-36 seasons, Shearer appeared in the important Casuals games in the FA Amateur Cup and succeeded in helping Casuals lift the trophy for the only time in their history in 1936, scoring one goal in the final replay against Ilford. Due to this game, Shearer missed the Irish Cup final with Derry City. For Corinthians and Casuals, Shearer appeared until the 1938-39 season in 50 official games scoring 38 goals, whilst regularly featuring on tour in Ireland, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland. Shearer played for Derry until 1939, scoring 78 goals including three hat-tricks in one season, in 1936-37 helping them to lift the City Cup and North West Senior Cup. In 1934 he also helped his old school to victory in the Arthur Dunn Cup final for the first time. He became a favorite with the Irish crowds and was a key player in the Irish league team which defeated the Football League in 1935 as well as in 1936. He also gained seven Amateur International caps for England and was selected for the British Olympic side in 1936. He made one appearance as inside right against Poland scoring one goal and was a substitute against China. During his career he received a number of offers to turn professional, including one from Arsenal, but always refused. He retired from football in 1939 although he did play occasionally for the Army during World War II.

He was perhaps an even more accomplished cricketer than he was a footballer. Shearer played cricket for the City of Derry, where he won the North West Cup, and the Bond Cup (1927-28) for the highest batting average. In the 1929 season, Shearer scored 2,000 runs. A right-hand batter, he played 13 times for Ireland between 1933 and 1952 and in 1951, playing for the Gentlemen of Ireland, he scored 101 to become the first Irish player to score a century at Lord’s Cricket Ground, the most prestigious cricket venue. During the war he served in North Africa with the Royal Artillery and commanded the garrison at Tobruk in Libya. He was demobilized as a Colonel and was awarded an OBE at the end of the war. In business life he became managing director of a long-established Belfast textile firm and later became a director of the construction company Sir Alfred McAlpine & Son. On his retirement, Shearer became the first chairman of the Northern Ireland Sports Council and was president of the Irish and Northern Cricket Unions. He was appointed honorary aide-de-camp to the Governor of Northern Ireland in 1950 and from 1960-69 to the Queen. He was appointed CBE in 1974 for his services to Northern Ireland.