John Buckland

Like his father, and two uncles before him, John Buckland attended William Hulme’s Grammar School in Manchester. He also followed their footsteps into the school lacrosse team. One of his uncles was George Frederick Buckland, a 1908 Olympian. John Buckland went on to play for Old Hulmeians in the early post-World War II years, and enjoyed a 20-year career at the highest level of northern lacrosse. During his time at the club, the Old Boys won the Iroquois Cup three times in 1949-50 and 1962, when Buckland was nearly 40-years-of-age.

A prolific goalscorer, Buckland won representative honours with England, and in 1949 played in the first ever England versus Lord Robinson’s XII, and also for England against The Rest. He was also in the Great Britain team that played the visiting Yale University team. However, it was in the coveted North versus South match that Buckland had perhaps his best record. He played in 10 consecutive matches between 1947-56, and was honoured with the captaincy in 1956. He continued playing at the highest level into the mid-1960s.