The first British player to compete in the American Hockey league was Welshman Cy Thomas
during the 1947-48 season with the Pittsburgh Hornets.

In that same year, Thomas also played for the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The first Englishman was Edgar “Chirp” Brenchley, who played one season with the Washington Lions in 1948-49.

Hockey might not have entered Brenchley’s life had his parents not emigrated to Canada when he was a young child.

The native of Sittingbourne, Kent, would grow up in the rather different and much colder surroundings of Niagara, Ontario. It was there that he would first play hockey and ultimately turned the sport into a career on and off the ice.

Brenchley began his playing career with the Hershey B’ars who would become the Hershey Bears.

Back in 1934, Hershey played in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League, a league in which Brenchley would spend the majority of his playing days.

The forward would represent Great Britain at the 1935 Winter Olympics and played a huge part in winning a gold medal.

‘Chirp’ put up six points in seven games including four goals.

The first was the game-winner against Sweden.

The last was the championship-winner against Canada in the dying minutes.

Image: www.teamgb.com

He returned to the UK the following season to play with Harringay Greyhounds and also represented GB for a second time at the World Championships.

The competition was hosted in London, England and though Great Britain lost to Canada in the final they earned a silver medal and were crowned European Champions for 1937.

The right-winger scored eight goals in the tournament, in what would be his last appearance for the national team.

It was back to North America for a career like many of his generation, that was interrupted by the Second World War.

Image: https://www.hockeydb.com/

After spells with EAHL teams Washington Lions, Baltimore Clippers, Atlantic City Sea Gulls and New York Rovers (EAHL and QSHL), Brenchley played in the American Hockey League at the age of 38.

During that 1948-49 season with the AHL incarnation of the Washington Lions, Brenchley, the oldest man on the roster, suited up for 46 games, registering fifteen points.

It was a tough season for the Lions who endured consecutive losing streaks of fifteen and eight games respectively, only punctuated by a solitary 6-2 victory against Philadelphia

It was one and done in the American Hockey League but the veteran forward continued playing into his forties.

It was back to the EAHL in familiar surroundings, suiting up for the Sea Gulls once more.

He would also suit up for the Johnstown Jets including their inaugural season as a member of the International Hockley League and became their head coach later during the campaign.
Brenchley guided the Jets to the finals that year, sweeping both Fort Wayne Komets and Toldeo Mercurys in the best-of-three series.

Unfortunately, they met the impressive Cincinnati Mohawks in the Turner Cup Final and fell in six games.

Image: https://www.hockeydb.com/

Brenchley remained with Johnstown for two seasons before moving onto coach the Philadephia Rambles and New Haven Blades of the Eastern Hockey League.

Brenchley only ever took on the head coaching role behind the bench and his final seasons were spent guiding Toledo-St. Louis Mercurys (IHL), Toledo Mercurys (IHL), Sudbury Wolves (EPHL), Port Huron Flags (IHL), Toledo Blades (IHL) and St. Catharines Black Hawks (OHA-Jr. now the Saginaw Spirit).

In 1967, Brenchley turned his hand to scouting and did so in the NHL.

After six seasons scouting for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Kent native moved onto the Washington Capitals in 1974.

Sadly, Brenchley passed away in March of 1975 at the age of 63, having almost dedicated his whole life to the sport of hockey.

It’s said that Edgar Brenchley was known as “Chirp” throughout his career because he enjoyed talking a good game with opponents.

For his achievements in hockey, Brenchley was posthumously inducted into Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame in 1990 and the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993.

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