FORMER England Rugby Union international Mark Cueto visited the Halliwell Jones Stadium to be presented with his great uncle’s heritage shield in memory of the only Warrington rugby league player not to come home from the war.
Life-long fan Harry Hayes, aged 83, who posted about his memories of Frank Ceuto on the warrington-worldwide forum, had the honour of presenting the heritage shield as one of a number of events to mark the 140th anniversary of the club.
Flying Officer Francisco (“Frank”) Cueto was an English airman of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who died during the Second World War.
He was born in 1917, in Wigton, Cumberland, the son of Spanish-born parents Antonio and Emilia Cueto (née Ruiz).
His father became the proprietor of a fish-and-chip shop in Maryport, Cumbria, and was the great-grandfather of the rugby player Mark Cueto.
Cueto, a pilot in 56 Squadron, died on 9 February 1944, when his Hawker Typhoon (serial JR442) crashed into the North Sea off the coast of Dungeness.
He had married Vera Dutton shortly before his death.
He has no known grave and is commemorated by the Runnymede Memorial and the Stockton Heath War Memorial.
A resident of Stockton Heath, he played 79 first team games for Warrington, as a halfback, scoring 10 tries his first being on 31st October 1936 and his last on 7th September 1940. His Heritage number is 418.
Mark said: “He was my great uncle; he was my pop’s (grandad’s) brother. It’s a story I’ve known about over the years but we’ve not talked about it much as I suppose it’s quite a sad story.
“I’m really pleased to have been invited over to see the timeline. It is brilliant and it does hit home when you see his name on the wall. It makes you feel proud especially with our family name as it’s a pretty rare name in this part of the world. I wish my old man had come. He’s a proper northerner. I’ll be showing him the pictures and the plaque.
“I’m grateful to Warrington for having to have done this for us. The plaque is a really nice gesture.”
He added a little story about the name too. “My dad is called Frank because of his uncle and bizarrely I actually get called Frankie; it’s just a name from when I was 20/21 and started off playing at Sale. People got to know my old man and he’s a bit of a character. As with all the best nicknames they have the worst stories, so when people ask me why I get called Frank, it’s because it’s my dad’s name, that’s it!”
Harry from Grappenhall, posted his memories on the Forum back in 2009 saying: “I was recently trying to pass on my football “skills” to my grandson and I was reminded of an old memory.
“After the war my dad told me to wait for the soldiers to come back from the war, they would teach me some skills. I remember feeling very sad when he said ‘Frank Cueto won’t be coming back’.
“How awful that a career could be ended like that.
“He must be smiling down to see his talent passed on.”
Harry added: “I am privileged to present the shield on behalf of the Warrington Community in the year we celebrate the club’s 140 year history.”
Wolves’ Foundation CEO Neil Kelly found Harry’s comments while he was searching for information on the club’s war hero.
“It seemed a fitting tribute to invite Harry down to the club to present Mark with his great uncle’s heritage shield,” added Neil.
Frank Cueto is remembered on the heritage wall. PICTURE PAUL JACKSON
Trip down memory lane for Harry Hayes, Neil Kelly and Mark Cueto PICTURE PAUL JACKSON
