In 1924, Second Division club Middlesbrough paid Cockfield a £10 fee and the promise of a friendly match for Ashman's services.
[6] Described on the club's website as a "composed half-back ... blessed with energy and stamina", Ashman went on to establish himself as a first-team regular as Middlesbrough won the 1926–27 Second Division title.
[7] He played regularly in 1929–30, but after two more years during which he made just 23 appearances,[7] he moved to Queens Park Rangers for a £500 fee.
[15] Ashman married Alice Simpson, daughter of a local councillor, at Cockfield Church in June 1929.
[16] The 1939 Register finds the family living in Horse Market, Barnard Castle: Ashman was a self-employed newsagent and member of the Police War Reserve, and Alice was an ambulance driver with the WVS.