William and Albert had been born at an exciting time.

For their father was Pryce Pryce-Jones whose warehouse and mail order business had grown to unparalleled heights by the time they reached their teens.

William was born in 1867 and three years his junior was Albert with brothers Edward and Henry completing the dynasty.

By 1882 their father’s new business centre, the Royal Welsh Warehouse, was complete and included Queen Victoria on a list of 100,000 customers worldwide.

As the family’s fortunes blossomed, so had the town.

None had played more a part in making Newtown Football Club a success in its founding years than the Pryce-Jones family with many of the club’s players working at the warehouse over the years.

Though the brothers had also donned their boots and represented the town club.

Both were students of Cambridge and Shrewsbury Schools which had played a key role in the development of football across the country.

Williams made his debut in one of the first Welsh internationals in 1887 and would continue to represent the town club alongside his brother who earned his solitary national team cap in 1895.

County Times:

The Welsh team which beat Ireland in 1890 when William Pryce-Jones starred. Picture by Ian Garland.

However their crowning glory had been in Welshpool in that same year when 10 man Newtown had hit back to beat Wrexham and lift the Welsh Cup for the first time.

William served with the South Wales Borderers from 1897 to 1902 and the family firm until 1937 while Albert also served in the Great War for the Canadian Infantry.

While Albert survived his son, Reginald died in battle in 1916.

As the family’s fortunes waned so had Newtown’s which would suffer economic hardship in the inter war years.

However none could ever take away the memories of April 1895.

WILLIAM ERNEST PRYCE JONES

Born Newtown, 1867; died Tywyn 1949

Forward

Five caps: (Cambridge University) v Scotland 1887; v England, Ireland, Scotland 1888; v Ireland 1890, three goals.

Career: Shrewsbury School 1884-86; Jesus College, Cambridge 1886-89; Newtown 1887-97; Corinthians 1889- 91 10 apps, also Swifts; Newtown RWW 1901.

County Times:

William Ernest Pryce-Jones.

Not so much of an all-rounder as his brother but ‘Mr Ernest’ was a more accomplished footballer.

Pryce Jones gained a soccer blue in 1889 and was for a period a member of the Corinthians XI.

He returned to Newtown from college, became chairman of the local club and began placing it on a firm footing.

In later years the club was known as Newtown RWW, after the family business.

When the team reached the Welsh Cup final in 1895, Pryce Jones arranged paid for the entire team to prepare for the match at Borth.

Pryce Jones was a permanent feature of the Newtown cricket team, as a batsman and leg break bowler, and also represented Shropshire and Montgomeryshire.

He continued to work for the family firm as a director until it was taken over in 1937 and died while on holiday at a private hotel in Tywyn in 1949.

ALBERT WESTHEAD PRYCE JONES

Born Newtown 1870; died Buenos Aires 1946

Winger 5ft 10ins 10st

One cap: (Newtown) v England 1895

Career: Shrewsbury School 1884-89; Clare College, Cambridge 1889-93; Newtown 1888-97; Corinthians one app (v Derby Co ) 1893.

Club honours:

Newtown - Welsh Cup winners 1895

Shropshire and District League champions 1893

`Mr Bertie’, as he was known, was a man of many sports – cricket, tennis, rifle shooting and billiards.

He was called to the Bar and admitted to the Inner Temple.

Director of the RWW, firstly in Wales and then with the Canadian subsidiary firm Pryce Jones (Canada) Ltd - had, among its trustees Alfred Lyttelton, the former England footballer and cricketer.

During the Grear War, he served with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and then as a lieutenant-colonel with the Canadian Saskatchewan Regiment in France.

He saw service on the Western Front in the Great War and was then assigned to the occupation force staff, being awarded the OBE at the end of the war.

After living in London he joined his son in Argentina in 1938 and died in the capital of Buenos Aires eight years later.