William Bulmer

Sir James William Bulmer (8 August 1881 – 26 June 1936) was an English public servant and professional rugby league footballer. He played rugby league in the 1900s for Halifax as a forward and represented England in the first ever international rugby league game in 1904. The following year he played in the 8–3 victory over Warrington in the 1903–04 Challenge Cup Final at The Willows, Salford on Saturday 30 April 1904, in front of a crowd of 17,041.

In 1902 he was selected to play for Yorkshire in the County Championship and played one match in the 1902–03 season and a further three in the 1903–04 season.

Business career Leaving school aged 10, Bulmer trained as a joiner and in 1903 purchased the joinery business of his employer, T. S. Dodd, on Dodd's retirement. Bulmer specialised in building cinemas and skating rinks. In 1912 he branched into the textile business, establishing a worsted spinning mill in Halifax and later owned several mills and warehouses in the Halifax and Bradford areas. During the First World War his mills were producing 1 million yards of khaki cloth for the British army, every 10 weeks.

Bulmer was also involved in the production of artificial silk, founding the Bulmer Rayon Artificial Silk Company in 1924 and when it was amalgamated into the British Acetate Silk Corporation, he became managing director.

In 1931 Bulmer resigned from Smith Bulmer & Co, the firm that he started in 1913 and in 1932 was adjudged bankrupt after the failure of the rayon business.