Eric STOKES worked in his father's undertaking business. He appears in an acknowledgement published in the Gloucestershire Echo on 28 Jan 1949 praising his excellent funeral arrangements.
An Eric STOKES competed in a Boxing Day walking race in Cheltenham in 1945, coming 6th in a time of 1 hour, 8 minutes and 12 seconds. Finishing ahead of him were R JELFS and H JELFS who may have been related to the owner of the cart shown in the photograph of Eric's great grandfather. This Eric STOKES was also probably the captain of the St Gregory's Athletic Club in 1946. Eric would have been 33 years old so perhaps old for a cross-country runner, but perhaps the right age to be captain.