so our first clue was the subject, NOEL Cantwell, Irish footballer and cricketer. As to why, well in France, and French speaking areas like Canada, and some parts of Africa, they would wish you "Joyeux Noel" rather than Happy Christmas. Also in France, Spain, and countries who use their languages, it is Pere Noel who brings the gifts to children.
This card is titled just Noel Cantwell, but his full name was Noel Euchuria Cornelius Cantwell. He was born in 1932, and died in 2005, and it seems less known that he was also an excellent cricketer, in fact he started by playing cricket, and his ashes were even scattered at Cork County Cricket Ground in 2018. ESPN has his statistics for both football and cricket, and, according to the Trading Card Database he appears on 17 cards, most of which are shown, (and as always they are keen to be sent scans of the missing ones) – however these are all football.
So does anyone out there have a card of him in cricketing mode? Do let us know...
You can see all the cards in this set, front and back, at The Trading Card Database/Bar.A10 - and also the Barratt packets - which cost 3d. each, and contained one card, plus, I think, twelve sweet cigarettes. Just tell me if I am wrong and there were more or less. I tried to work it out using the modern ones which look more like pipe cleaners; and though you get twenty-four in those packets they look half the thickness of the ones that I remember.
Now these were, rather naughtily, branded as "Gold Flake" - which was the trademark of W.D. and H.O. Wills, though it had been started as a brand of Stephen Mitchell & Son of Glasgow, only being used by Wills from 1901, once under Imperial Tobacco. Even more interesting, the brand was still in production when these sweet cigarettes were made - albeit in India.
This set is merely recorded in our British Trade Index Part II as :
10. Series A.10. 1962. Small. Coloured. (50). Album issued.
And in our updated version as :
FAMOUS FOOTBALLERS SERIES. A.10. 1962-63. 65 x 35. Nd. (50). Album issued.