THE race may not always be to the swift, as the guy in Ecclesiastes supposed, but it was in 1882 when Harry Lee and his Walsall Swifts team mates lifted the Warwickshire District FA Cup.

One hundred and thirty five years later, Harry’s treasured medal has been returned to Walsall by his family.

“It was just sitting in a drawer. I’ve no children to pass it on to so it was best to return it to Walsall,” says Dave Lee, Harry’s great grandson, from Stockton.

He and his sister Christine were Walsall FCs guests at a match over Christmas. “The medal will have pride of place in the trophy cabinet,” said the programme.

The Swifts, formed in 1875, merged with Walsall Town in 1888 to become Walsall Town Swifts – later plain Walsall. A successor Walsall Swifts was formed in 2007 – Wolverhampton and District Sunday League, division nine.

Harry, coincidentally, was a saddler – long Walsall’s nickname. At a social function after a match in Hull he met and subsequently married Ada Faith Appleyard and moved to Humberside. The programme photograph shows Harry and Ada with their son Clifford, who died in the Battle of the Somme.

Dave thinks that later generations may have developed a greater allegiance to rugby league. “Hull was more of a rugby league place, at least in those days.”

Both of his grandparents lived into their 90s. “Walsall treated us really well,” says Dave. “I’m delighted that the medal’s back where it began.”

Another guest at Walsall was Martin Birtle from Billingham, who spotted on a corridor wall a photograph of Peter Billingham, a Walsall player in the late 1950s before a £7,000 transfer to West Brom. He later became a successful greyhound trainer. Sadly, there appears no Teesside connection whatever.

David Moyes, who died suddenly on Boxing Day at the age of 69, was for almost more years than may be remembered the first to answer all manner of quiz questions, in Backtrack or elsewhere in the paper. His knowledge was matched by his enthusiasm.

He’d been a modern languages teacher at Carmel School in Darlington and at Ferryhill Comp, latterly took vicarious pleasure in headlines critical of his namesake – especially when the other Moyes was at Sunderland.

A requiem mass was held at St Thomas Aquinas church in Darlington on Tuesday.

David remained a keen football man, supported both Darlington and Darlington RA, frequently travelled further afield – usually to Newton Aycliffe or Shildon, both on the route of the No 5 bus which stopped outside his house.

Back in 1989, proof that some things take a little longer, he’d again been first with a Backtrack answer – but almost two months after the question was posed.

There’d been a prize, a copy of The Complete Who’s Who of Newcastle United, but by then I’d given it away. David, bless him, never did get his book.

Both the Echo and The Times last week carried a lengthy death notice for former Flt Lt Dennis Parrish DFC BSc. Born in Bishop Auckland, described as “the perfect gentleman”, he’d lived all over the world and “played first-class cricket and football.” He was 95, and died in Northamptonshire.

A little googling uncovers the front page of the Teesdale Mercury, September 6 1944. Fitted tightly beneath the reports of Bowes WI (“sweet making demonstration”) and of a chap from Darlington fined ten bob for picking mushrooms is an account of the DFC.

He’d attended Alderman Wraith school in Spennymoor – “where he won many honours for his brilliance” – become an ICI apprentice and as a Pilot Officer navigator already flown on 38 missions over enemy territory, including action at Dunkirk.

Returning on leave from South Africa, his ship was torpedoed. Pilot Officer Parrish sent eight days in an open boat before being rescued.

Though clearly a remarkable man, his sports prowess at that time appears to have been confined to captaining Ferryhill Juniors – winners of the Durham FA Junior Cup in successive seasons – and to playing cricket for Dean and Chapter.

It may not have been what’s generally defined as first-class cricket, but – Chapter and worse – there are old lads around Ferryhill who’d doubtless disagree.

Geoff Johns in Darlington is intrigued by darts supremo Barry Hearn’s latest observation: “This sport is only going one way, horizontally up.” And just when we thought that the only way was sideways.

Christmas presents included the programme from Shildon v Enfield, FA Amateur Cup third round, February 1960.

It was a time when telephone numbers still had two digits – they did in Shildon, anyway – when the workmen’s club sold Russell’s Imperial Bitter, when Hocking and Peacock advertised Mobylette, Safari and Binetta mopeds and The Northern Echo was promoted with the slogan “You’re missing much if you miss it.”

Particularly, however, the home town eye is caught by an ad for the Shildon Swimming Baths Building Fund Committee. Its secretary was Jim Bywell, perhaps better remembered as an outstanding amateur boxer and a man with a fight on his hands.

“Friday night is baths night,” said the ad. “Dancing in the Old Club hall from 9pm.”

Though Jim Bywell, happily, is still with us, Shildon never did get to take the plunge. We lost to Enfield, an’ all.

Running hard, going nowhere, the indomitable Sharon Gayter’s attempt on the world record for ten treadmill marathons in successive days began at Teesside University on Monday with 4 hours 21 minutes – on target. This one’s sponsored for New Aid Uganda and watched, as always, by faithful husband Bill. “Bill’s contribution,” reports the 54-year-old, “has been to give me his cold.”

Steve Leonard in Middleton Tyas spots on Match of the Day last Saturday a close up of a kids’ ticket from the Carlisle United v Sheffield Wednesday tie. It was labelled “pre-adult.” Is this what’s known as losing your childhood?

Tuesday’s column told of New Year’s Eve in Tow Law, and of John and Jenny Flynn’s move to more temperate climes after 39 years withstanding all that Windy Ridge could blow at them.

It omitted to mention that, in 1998, John had been credited with the Backtrack column quote of the year.

He was Tow Law Town’s chairman when, wondrously, they reached the Carlsberg FA Vase final at Wembley. Before the semi-final first leg, at Taunton, the sponsors hosted a reception at somewhere called Creech Castle.

Whether brand loyalty or Hobson’s choice, John had forsaken his accustomed Guinness for lager. Someone said that they didn’t like the look of his pint.

“If you just want it to look good,” said Flynny – the Lawyers’ lawyer – “I’ll put some cress on top.”

As the column revealed before Christmas that they would, Yorkshire have formally been accepted into the Confederation of International Football Associations.

Their first game’s at Hemsworth on January 28.