Early 1884 Wirral Archers Lawn Tennis Club silver-plated 1884 engraved chalice trophy - The bowl is engraved with ferns and the words, “W A Lawn Tennis - W Gerald Barker - July 1884.” Major William Gerald Barker of the ‘Wirral Archers’ Lawn Tennis Club, was a very active lawn tennis player during the 1880s. He played mainly at clubs in the north of England, such as Buxton, Moffat, Scotland, Liverpool and Manchester. Probably his best recorded result was in reaching the final of the Liverpool Cricket Club Tournament in 1883 when he was finally defeated by none other than James Bruce Ismay of the White Star Line and Titanic fame. He was born in 1859 and died in 1951 at Torquay, Devon, measuring 14cm