Mr. Cyril Tolley's Biography
Cyril Tolley Facts
Photo of Cyril Tolley by W J Brunell
Hobbies
Bowls, croquet, bee-keeping, and stamps
clear
Cyril James Hastings Tolley was familiar with golf from a very early age. His father, who was a coffee merchant in Phipps & Company, used to play at a course in Blackheath.
When he was nine, Cyril's family left London and went to Eastbourne, partly because Cyril used to get bronchitis.
At just 13 years old, he became a junior member of the Eastbourne Downs Gold Club on October 7 1909 and the following year was given a sixteen handicap.
Cyril never had lessons but learnt a lot from watching and playing with the local profesional George Adams.
When he was 16, he played in his first County Championship and had a handicap of two.
By the time of the outbreak of World War 1, Cyril had a handicap of plus one and was 19 years old.
He joined the army, and eventually joined the Tank Corps.
He fought at Ypres and Cambrai, and, as he puts it in his book The Modern Golfer, he was: "smashed up at Bourlon, near Cambrai, in November 1917, and captured."
Cyril was treated well in Germany: "We played tennis, hockey, rugger, had a cinema twice a week, a billiard room, and a theatre..."
Tolley was awarded a Military Cross for his leadership in the battle of Cambrai, the first significant battle to involve tanks.
In December 1918, Cyril was repatriated and he played his first round of golf back in England on Christmas Day.
He then went up to University College, Oxford, where he studied Modern History (although he does not appear to have gained a degree), and played for the University. They were captained by Roger Wethered, with whom Cyril formed a long-standing bond.
Cyril took over the captaincy when Wethered resigned in November 1920.
In 1920 he won the amateur championship held at Muirfield.
He almost didn't go there. When Wethered asked if he was going to Muirfield, Tolley replied (as reported in Peter Alliss's book The Best of Golf):
"Oh no I'd much rather play cricket - I made 50 yesterday against the Oxford Police and anyhow I like playing cricket in the summer."
Eventually, Wethered persuaded him, and he entered and ended up beating Bob Gardner in the final. They were level after 38 holes, but Cyril won on the first extra hole.
He would be amateur champion again in 1929.
In 1921, Cyril Tolley won the Welsh Open Championship. He repeated the feat in 1923.
In 1922, Cyril became a member of the Stock Exchange, joining the firm Bower and Ray. He became a partner there and stayed until 1929.
His golfing achievements during that time included winning the French Open in 1924 and 1928.
Also, in 1928, Tolley had a notable legal sucess that proved an important precedent. Fry’s published an advertisement for its chocolates showing a caricature of Tolley with a bar of chocolate sticking out of his pocket, and an accompanying verse. Fry's had not sought Tolley's permission and he argued that people would assume he had been consulted and paid and therefore was not an amateur. Cyril Tolley won the libel case, which had important implications for who could call themselves amateurs.
He gave up his partnership in London, having been retained by the American firm Tucker Anthony, but on the way out to the States, the markets crashed and the firm no longer wanted him, nevertheless Tolley stayed in the USA for four years.
A notable match was when he lost to Bobby Jones in the fourth round of the amateur championship in 1930. Cyril stymied himself and lost at the nineteenth.
Bobby Jones' ball lay in the path between Tolley's and the cup. Back then, the ball was left there and not lifted and marked.
He reached the semi-final of the amateur championship in 1950.
Cyril played seven times for Great Britain in the Walker Cup.
He stood unsuccessfully for the Liberal Party in Hendon South in February 1950, coming third to the winner Sir Hugh Vere Huntly Duff Lucas-Tooth for the Conservatives and the Labour candidate Thomas Sargant. However, Cyril later switched sides and from 1958 to 1962 was a Conservative councillor for the County Borough of Eastbourne.
He was not married. He had been engaged to Miss Dolores Rudcl, sister of Mr. B. G. D. Rudd, the Olympic runner and the granddaughter of Mr. C. D. Rudd, the wealthy financier, but the engagement was called off in Decmber 1927, but the engagement was called off by September the following year.
He died in Eastbourne on 18 May 1978.
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When he was nine, Cyril's family left London and went to Eastbourne, partly because Cyril used to get bronchitis.
At just 13 years old, he became a junior member of the Eastbourne Downs Gold Club on October 7 1909 and the following year was given a sixteen handicap.
Cyril never had lessons but learnt a lot from watching and playing with the local profesional George Adams.
When he was 16, he played in his first County Championship and had a handicap of two.
By the time of the outbreak of World War 1, Cyril had a handicap of plus one and was 19 years old.
He joined the army, and eventually joined the Tank Corps.
He fought at Ypres and Cambrai, and, as he puts it in his book The Modern Golfer, he was: "smashed up at Bourlon, near Cambrai, in November 1917, and captured."
Cyril was treated well in Germany: "We played tennis, hockey, rugger, had a cinema twice a week, a billiard room, and a theatre..."
Tolley was awarded a Military Cross for his leadership in the battle of Cambrai, the first significant battle to involve tanks.
In December 1918, Cyril was repatriated and he played his first round of golf back in England on Christmas Day.
He then went up to University College, Oxford, where he studied Modern History (although he does not appear to have gained a degree), and played for the University. They were captained by Roger Wethered, with whom Cyril formed a long-standing bond.
Cyril took over the captaincy when Wethered resigned in November 1920.
In 1920 he won the amateur championship held at Muirfield.
He almost didn't go there. When Wethered asked if he was going to Muirfield, Tolley replied (as reported in Peter Alliss's book The Best of Golf):
"Oh no I'd much rather play cricket - I made 50 yesterday against the Oxford Police and anyhow I like playing cricket in the summer."
Eventually, Wethered persuaded him, and he entered and ended up beating Bob Gardner in the final. They were level after 38 holes, but Cyril won on the first extra hole.
He would be amateur champion again in 1929.
In 1921, Cyril Tolley won the Welsh Open Championship. He repeated the feat in 1923.
In 1922, Cyril became a member of the Stock Exchange, joining the firm Bower and Ray. He became a partner there and stayed until 1929.
His golfing achievements during that time included winning the French Open in 1924 and 1928.
Also, in 1928, Tolley had a notable legal sucess that proved an important precedent. Fry’s published an advertisement for its chocolates showing a caricature of Tolley with a bar of chocolate sticking out of his pocket, and an accompanying verse. Fry's had not sought Tolley's permission and he argued that people would assume he had been consulted and paid and therefore was not an amateur. Cyril Tolley won the libel case, which had important implications for who could call themselves amateurs.
He gave up his partnership in London, having been retained by the American firm Tucker Anthony, but on the way out to the States, the markets crashed and the firm no longer wanted him, nevertheless Tolley stayed in the USA for four years.
A notable match was when he lost to Bobby Jones in the fourth round of the amateur championship in 1930. Cyril stymied himself and lost at the nineteenth.
Bobby Jones' ball lay in the path between Tolley's and the cup. Back then, the ball was left there and not lifted and marked.
He reached the semi-final of the amateur championship in 1950.
Cyril played seven times for Great Britain in the Walker Cup.
He stood unsuccessfully for the Liberal Party in Hendon South in February 1950, coming third to the winner Sir Hugh Vere Huntly Duff Lucas-Tooth for the Conservatives and the Labour candidate Thomas Sargant. However, Cyril later switched sides and from 1958 to 1962 was a Conservative councillor for the County Borough of Eastbourne.
He was not married. He had been engaged to Miss Dolores Rudcl, sister of Mr. B. G. D. Rudd, the Olympic runner and the granddaughter of Mr. C. D. Rudd, the wealthy financier, but the engagement was called off in Decmber 1927, but the engagement was called off by September the following year.
In World War II broke out, Cyril was a company commander in the Royal Sussex Regiment, and served as a liaison officer with the U.S. Army.
After the war, in 1948, Tolley served a term as captain of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.
Cyril Tolley was president of the Eastbourne Downs Golf Club from 1954 until 1979.He died in Eastbourne on 18 May 1978.
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