Mervyn Scoble, originally from Exmouth, was an Exeter City mascot in the 1950s. He later established an early Torquay United equivalent of Exeweb.

Born in Exeter in 1948, Mervyn was the son of Edwin Scoble, chairman of the Exeter City supporters’ club branch in Exmouth. Although it’s not known as to exactly when, Mervyn started to act as City’s mascot around about 1954 or 1955. One such occasion was on 3 September 1955 when the match report for the home game against Torquay United records that “Both teams were led on to the field by their mascots, 7 years old Mervyn Scoble of the Exmouth and Exeter City Supporters Club and 8 years old Haydn Morgan of the Torquay United Supporters Club”. Destined to become an artist, Mervyn later memorialised a picture of himself and his Torquay United counterpart on canvas.

Continuing in his mascot role for the remainder of the 1955/56 season, the young Mervyn was to learn in August 1956 that his services were no longer required by Exeter City. This news was conveyed in a letter to his father from City secretary  G J Gilbert and read:

“My Directors feel that the practice of your little boy attending on the ground as a ‘Mascot’ on match days might now be discontinued. As you know ‘Mascots’ are not generally encouraged these days. I hope the little chap will not be too disappointed at this decision”.

But Mervyn was disappointed and so were others. A petition was launched and a picture exists - possibly taken on a carnival float - which shows Mervyn next to a banner that says ‘Mervyn the Mascot. Known and admired by thousands - sacked by the few’ with the impression that he may be available for transfer to another club. Two months later the boy’s plight drew the attention of the national press in the shape of the Empire News and Sunday Chronicle under the headline of MASCOT IS ‘DROPPED’ - FANS ARE ANGRY NOW. 

Put on the spot by the newspaper, club chairman Sidney Thomas chose to reiterate the earlier decision:

“We don’t see any useful purpose can be served by altering our previous decision. We have nothing at all against the boy. It’s just a question of policy”.

After what his father described as “a cruel blow”, when the boy aparently “wept bitterly”,  Mervyn and his father switched their allegiance to Torquay United.

Meanwhile Mervyn developed his artistic talents at school and went on to study at Saint Martin's School of Art in London before moving to Canada in 1971. Eventually settling in Wiarton, Ontario he taught in secondary schools and higher education whilst also exploring Canadian culture through painting, printmaking, photography, woodcarving, and sculpture as he became a well-known figure in his local community. Amongst his works was a series of portraits of Toronto Maple Leafs ice hockey players.

By now away from Devon for over twenty-five years, and an early home computing and internet enthusiast, Mervyn - soon to be known to many over three thousand miles away as ‘Mervo’ - established an online Torquay United message board in 1997 and continued to run it for the best part of a decade before stepping aside. At first distant from the club, the site later attracted the support of Torquay chairman Mike Bateson and operated for a while on an official basis. A regular contributor at the time was Richard Hughes who later became a journalist and the Herald Express Torquay United correspondent on the retirement of the long-serving Dave Thomas.  

Mervyn Scoble died in Edmonton, Alberta in December 2025 aged seventy-seven. Alongside Torquay United paying tribute - with the club’s co-chairman separately adding words of his own -  the Herald Express devoted a page to a article by Richard Hughes recalling the work and influence of an unlikely internet pioneer who had been a youthful feature of games at St James’ Park exactly seventy years beforehand.   

[Grateful acknowledgements to Jon Gibbes (Torquay United official historian), Mervyn's daughter Sarah, Artistica of Montreal, Torquay United FC and Richard Hughes and the Herald Express]