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Post by londonranger on Dec 14, 2010 4:05:06 GMT
nethqpr88
Joined: 02 Feb 2007 Posts: 42
Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 9:45 am Post subject: A bit of history - WW2 football and QPR This year my summer reading consisted of an interesting book by Jack Rollin called "Soccer at War" which is a complete account of football in Britain during WW2. Although the angle is football, it also draws an interesting picture of everyday life during the war years.
When Germany attacked Poland on September 1, 1939, the football season had barely started and the games went ahead as scheduled on Saturday, September 2nd after which the league season was abandoned after only three games into the season. Young men, and football players were no exception, were called into service and the FA announced that as no games would be played for the time being and hence the clubs could not generate any gate money, all salary payments to professional players should stop. In other words, all professional players suddenly found themselves unemployed. The clubs protested to no avail and some tried to arrange friendlies to keep going. The very first wartime game was in fact at Loftus Road, a behind closed doors match with QPR vs. an Army XI on September 9th, which Rangers won by 10-0. The identity of the Army players were never revealed due to "security reasons". Several clubs were forced to discontinue for various reasons. For example, Aston Villa had their ground taken over by the Army and thus were unable to continue until 1942. Ipswich were not able to resume competing until 1945. Many others suffered damage to their grounds during bombings.
After the initial stop the FA decided to organize some sort of leagues on regional basis and on October 21, 1939 QPR played the first game in what was called the League South B. The league consisted of five teams from the London area plus Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth, Brighton and Reading. In the end QPR were declared champions, two points ahead of second placed B'mouth. Our only other success during hostilities was winning the League Cup South group stage in 1943, but QPR lost the final at Stamford Bridge against Arsenal 1-4 in front of 54.000 spectators.
Early on there were capacity limitations on how many were allowed into the stands and this, combined with the severity of the situation, lead to a dramatic drop in gate figures. Some people argued that football should have been banned altogether considering that the country was at war. This never got enough support and soon the government realized that staging football matches was good for morale and served the purpose of trying to keep life as normal as possible under the difficult circumstances. Gradually these attendance limitations were lifted, especially after the daytime bombings stopped.
As the clubs were deprived of several regular players, some had difficulties in fielding a competitive side for the games and in an effort to solve this problem, the FA agreed that teams could loan players from other teams when needed. Thus it became customary for teams to try to lure famous footballers to play for them if they knew that so and so was stationed nearby. The system of using 'guest players' was also used frequently by QPR and likewise many QPR players guested for other teams. One player who quite frequently guested for a number of different teams was Billy McEwan. Between 1940 and 1944 he was a guest at no fewer than seven clubs including Birmingham and Blackpool. Ivor Powell made 34 apps for Blackpool between 1940 and 1943 and even made one appearance for Manchester City.
The highest number of guest appearances for any single team during a season was by Arthur Jefferson who made 19 guest appearances for Wrexham during 1944/45. He also played 15 times for them in 1943/44. Our manager to be, Alec Stock, guested for Bristol City, Crystal Palace and Clapton Orient. Naturally, it was not uncommon for our players to frequently guest for other London teams like Brentford, Aldershot, Fulham, Chelsea, Millwall and Watford as well but nobody from QPR played for Arsenal, Tottenham or West Ham. Another player frequently appearing as a guest was Albert Bonass who was something of a ju-jitsu expert. Between 1940 and 1945 he guested for Fulham, Aldershot, Brentford, Watford, Luton, Southampton and York. Unfortunately, Albert was killed in August 1945 when the Sterling bomber he was commissioned to crashed on a training flight. To the best of my knowledge he was the only wartime casualty who was on QPR's books at the time of his death. Charlie Clark, who had played six league games for QPR from 1936 to 1938 but was with Luton at the time of his death in March 1943 was another casualty with ties to QPR. The only other known casualty with QPR ties was Alan Fowler who played a few times as a guest for QPR in 1940/41 and 1943/44 but was actually a Swindon player (Swindon did not compete between 1940-45). Alan lost his life in August 1944. A few others were captured, most notably goalkeeper Reg Allen who was a Bren-gun expert and took part in several landings from submarines. He was initially captured in North Africa in 1942 and spent several years in German prison camps initially in Italy and, having escaped by jumping off a train and recaptured, the tail end of his imprisonment in Austria. Reg didn't return home until 1945. Many teams lost several players as casualties of the war so I guess one can say that QPR were one of the more lucky ones.
Other notable and honorary mentions of QPR players in service include the following: Alec Stock, with the rank of captain, commanded a tank crew in Caen, France and received scrapnel wounds in his back but was soon playing again. Ernie Shepherd, the Fulham winger and later at QPR from 1950 to 1956, was in the RAF and he was in Malta during the prolonged day and night raids there. Danny Boxshall won the Military Medal (awarded to personnel below commissioned rank for bravery in battle on land) in charge of a Bren-gun crew. Albert Smith received the BEM (the Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, usually known as the British Empire Medal - awarded for acts of bravery) in Italy.
It was not uncommon that teams were short of players as kick-off time approached and there were several instances where they had to announce if anybody from the crowd fancied a game. There are stories of yound men taking their football boots with them every time they went to a game in case there was a call for help!
Getting referees to games was sometimes just as difficult as fielding a full strength side. There's even a story of a cup game being abandoned due to the fact that the ref had to leave early to report back to the barracks on time. Due to travel restrictions and petrol rationing no replays were allowed and as the game was still tied 1-1 the tie was awarded to the other team on the basis of their higher position in the league table! In another instance a game was suddenly stopped as a German bomber appeared on the sky and everybody rushed to shelter except for the ref who was an airgunner and he sprang to his anti-aircraft gun near-by to shoot at the plane in his ref outfit plus his helmet. In general, the sound of air-raid sirens was the most common cause for games being abandoned or at least stopped until all clear was sounded.
Despite the difficult circumstances QPR were able to compete all through the war years. As the war in Europe ended in May 1945 there was not enough time to return to normal league football, so the 1945/46 season was still a transitional season and normality resumed in August 1946. In the final provisional season of 1945/46 QPR managed to win both the Division 3 South (North Region) and the Division 3 South (North) Cup - sounds very clear, doesn't it?
Lastly, one can also mention the visit of Dynamo Moscow in November 1945. They played several friendlies in Britain, including a game against Arsenal. The Arsenal keeper Griffiths was kicked in the head and staggered around until half-time when he had to be replaced. A call went around the ground for another goalkeeper and QPR's Harry Brown arrived in the dressing-room just before Sam Bartram of Charlton. On a different note, the Russians jettisoned the half-time tea provided to them and had vodka instead!
In conclusion, here are the total number of guest appearanses by QPR players season by season:
1939/40 15 different QPR players made a total of 73 appearances and scored 10 goals 1940/41 7 players made 16 guest apps scoring 2 goals 1941/42 8 players made 35 guest apps scoring 2 goals 1942/43 12 players made 60 guest apps scoring 3 goals 1943/44 8 players made 26 guest apps scoring 4 goals 1944/45 8 players made 30 guest apps but no goals were scored 1945/46 3 players made 18 guest apps scoring 11 goals (5 by Stock for Clapton Orient)
In total, 26 different QPR players made 258 appearances and scored 32 goals as guests for other teams between 1939 and 1946.
The book is excellent reading for anybody interested in wartime football and it is highly recommended. Back to top
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Post by londonranger on Dec 15, 2010 3:58:52 GMT
This is more of an overview of War and general for Bolton PNE Arsenal. Stan Mortensen, Tom Finney, Tommy Lawton, other icons. Don Howe, now Leslie Compton was our Middlesex wicketkeeper and Dennis was 4th bat, behind Edrich for England but played football for England.
Now vaguely could this have ben posted previously? if so sorry, Just on a rolll.
The Encylopedia of British Football
Football and the Second World War
On 15th March, 1939, Adolf Hitler ordered the German Army to invade Czechoslovakia. It seemed that war was inevitable. Harry Goslin and fourteen members of the Bolton Wanderers squad decided to join the Territorial Army. Other clubs like Liverpool and West Ham United also persuaded their players to join the territorials.
Politicians continued to negotiate in an attempt to avoid a war. On 29th September, 1938, Neville Chamberlain, Adolf Hitler, Edouard Daladier and Benito Mussolini signed the Munich Agreement which transferred to Germany the Sudetenland, a fortified frontier region that contained a large German-speaking population. When Eduard Benes, Czechoslovakia's head of state, who had not been invited to Munich, protested at this decision, Chamberlain told him that Britain would be unwilling to go to war over the issue of the Sudetenland.
The Munich Agreement was popular with most people in Britain because it appeared to have prevented a war with Nazi Germany. Some people disagreed with this point of view. George Kay, the manager of Liverpool, did not trust Adolf Hitler and joined the Territorial Army. He also encouraged his players to join. Charlie Paynter, the manager of West Ham United, also persuaded his players and staff to join the Territorials.
Tommy Lawton pointed out in his autobiography, Football is my Business: "Then came the war and, with it, the end of my career or so I felt. Surely there couldn't be room for a professional footballer in a world gone crazy? I, of course, being a young, fit man of approaching twenty would go into the services. Meanwhile, in the leisure time I had left I wound up my personal affairs, cursed Hitler and all his rats and occasionally sat down to think of what had been and what might have been."
On 15th March, 1939, Adolf Hitler ordered the German Army to invade Czechoslovakia. It seemed that war was inevitable. On 8th April, Bolton Wanderers played a home game against Sunderland. Before the game started, Harry Goslin, the team captain, spoke to the crowd: "We are facing a national emergency. But this danger can be met, if everybody keeps a cool head, and knows what to do. This is something you can't leave to the other fellow, everybody has a share to do."
Of the 35 players on the staff of Bolton Wanderers, 32 joined the armed services and the other three went into the coal mines and munitions. This included Harry Hubbick, who resumed his career down the pits and Jack Atkinson and George Hunt served in the local police force. A total of 17 players, including Harry Goslin, Danny Winter, Billy Ithell, Albert Geldard, Tommy Sinclair, Don Howe, Ray Westwood, Ernie Forrest, Jackie Roberts, Jack Hurst and Stan Hanson, joined the 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment.
Bolton Wanderers players in 1939: Billy Ithell, Danny Winter, Jackie Roberts, George Caterall, Don Howe and Harry Goslin.
It was decided that the Football League should begin on 26th August. More than 600,000 people watched these games. On Friday, 1st September, 1939, Adolf Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland. The football that Saturday went ahead as Neville Chamberlain did not declare war on Germany until Sunday, 3rd September. The government immediately imposed a ban on the assembly of crowds and as a result the Football League competition was brought to an end. Blackpool, who had won all three games so far that season, was top of the First Division table at the time.
On 14th September, the government gave permission for football clubs to play friendly matches. In the interests of public safety, the number of spectators allowed to see these games was limited to 8,000. These arrangements were later revised, and clubs were allowed gates of 15,000 from tickets purchased on the day of the game through the turnstiles.
Jack Fairbrother and Willie Hamilton of Preston North End joined the Blackburn Police Force on the outbreak of the war.
The government imposed a fifty mile travelling limit and the Football League divided all the clubs into seven regional areas where games could take place. London clubs arranged for their regional competition to begin on the last Saturday in October. One group was composed of Arsenal, Brentford, Charlton, Chelsea, Fulham, Millwall, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United. The other group included Aldershot, Brighton, Clapton Orient, Crystal Palace, Leyton Orient, QPR, Reading, Southend and Watford.
Some of the players had already joined the armed forces. West Ham United decided that this was unfair on those players who were unavailable for selection. The club decided to pay all their players thirty shillings a week whether or not they played. Shortly afterwards, the Management Committee of the Football League passed a resolution instructing all clubs to follow West Ham's example.
James Barron, the Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper is beaten by a shot from Sam Small of West Ham United in the 1940 Football League Cup Final.
After the declaration of war in September 1939, Adolf Hitler did not order the attack of France or Britain as he believed there was still a chance to negotiate an end to the conflict between the countries. This period became known as the Phoney War. As Britain had not experienced any bombing raids, the Football League decided to start a new competition entitled the Football League War Cup.
The entire competition of 137 games including replays was condensed into nine weeks. However, by the time the final took place, the "Phoney War" had come to an end. On 10th May, 1940, Adolf Hitler launched his Western Offensive and invaded France. In the days leading up to the final, the British Expeditionary Force was being evacuated from Dunkirk.
In the final held at Wembley on 8th June, 1940, West Ham United beat Blackburn Rovers 1-0. Despite the fears that London would be bombed by the Luftwaffe, over 42,300 fans decided to take the risk of visiting Wembley. The only goal was scored by Sam Small after a shot from George Foreman had been blocked by James Barron, the Blackburn goalkeeper.
West Ham players celebrate winning the 1940 Football League Cup Final. Left to right, Corporal Norman Corbett, Ted Fenton, Charlie Bicknell, Archie Macaulay and George Foreman.
The Luftwaffe carried out its first bombing raid of London on 10th July, 1940. During the Battle of Britain clubs continued to play football. On 19th September, 1940, soon after the beginning of the Blitz, the Football Association relaxed their ban on Sunday football to provide recreation for war workers. Winston Churchill took the view that the continuation of football was good for the morale of the nation.
Between September 1940 and May 1941, the Luftwaffe made 127 large-scale night raids. Of these, 71 were targeted on London. The main targets outside the capital were Liverpool, Birmingham, Plymouth, Bristol, Glasgow, Southampton, Coventry, Hull, Portsmouth, Manchester, Belfast, Sheffield, Newcastle, Nottingham and Cardiff. Some two million houses (60 per cent of these in London) were destroyed and 60,000 civilians were killed and 87,000 were seriously injured. Of those killed, the majority lived in London.
Raich Carter while working for the Auxiliary Fire Service in 1940.
On the outbreak of the Second World War the England inside-forward, Raich Carter, joined the Sunderland Fire Service. This was a reserved occupation and his action was interpreted as being a tactic to avoid military service. As a result, Carter was often booed by the crowd in friendly games he played during the conflict. This caused Carter a great deal of stress and on 2nd October 1941 he joined the RAF. Like most professional footballers, Carter became a Physical Training Instructor, and did not see any action during the war.
Major Frank Buckley had been a senior officer in the Football Battalion during the First World War. He attempted to re-join the British Army in 1939 but at the age of 56 he was considered too old. However, he was manager of Wolves at the time and did encourage his players to join the armed forces. According to the Football Association publication, Victory Was The Goal (1945), between 3 September 1939 and the end of the war, 91 men joined the armed forces from Wolves, 76 from Liverpool, 65 from Huddersfield Town, 63 from Leicester City, 62 from Charlton, 55 from Preston North End, 52 from Burnley, 50 from Sheffield Wednesday, 44 from Chelsea, 41 each from Brentford and Southampton, and each from Sunderland and West Ham United.
On 12th May, 1940, Adolf Hitler ordered the invasion of France. The 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment was sent to help the French but came under attack from the advancing Panzer divisions. Harry Goslin was credited with destroying four enemy tanks and this resulted in him being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. Goslin, Don Howe, Ray Westwood, Ernie Forrest, Jack Hurst and Stan Hanson, were lucky to make it back to the French port of Dunkirk where they were rescued by British ships.
53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment football team: Standing: Danny Winter, Harry Goslin, Stan Hanson, George Catterall, (Lt Col G. Bennet), Billy Ithell, Jack Hurst, Front row: Albert Geldard, Don Howe, Ray Westwood, Jackie Roberts, Tommy Sinclair. In January 1940 Wilf Mannion was conscripted into the British Army. He was sent to France and took part in the battle to stop the advance of the German Army during the Western Offensive. A local newspaper reported that Mannion had been killed but he was one of the soldiers who was evacuated from Dunkirk.
On his return to England he was selected to play for his country in an unofficial international against Scotland in January 1942. Soon afterwards Wilf Mannion was sent to South Africa. On 10th July 1943 he was a member of the force that invaded Sicily in an attempt to overthrow Benito Mussolini. His commanding officer was Hedley Verity, the England cricketer. Mannion later recalled: "I remember we lost half the company that day. We were pinned down all day by the enemy. Hedley was caught in the crossfire and hit in the chest. He was a wonderful man and I was his company runner for a number of years. We served together all over the place."
Bertie Mee and Wilf Mannion in Cairo.
Wilf Mannion also took part in the battles around Anzio on the way to take Rome. Such was the losses that Mannion's battalion was eventually withdrawn so it could be reorganized and reinforced. Bertie Mee, who served with Mannion, later reported that: "He'd had such a rough time that medically he was downgraded, withdrawn from active service and sent to our convalescence depot. He had gone from an A1 to a B1 - the lowest grade still considered rehabitable. But when you're in the line and someone gets killed next to you, I can understand you losing it." He was sent to Cairo to recover but soon after arriving he developed malaria.
While some footballers joined the armed forces, others found occupation in the support services. Jack Fairbrother and Willie Hamilton of Preston North End joined the police force, whereas Ernie Callaghan of Aston Villa, served as a reserve policeman and was awarded the British Empire Medal for conspicuous bravery during a bombing raid on Birmingham in September 1942.
Raich Carter was employed by the Auxiliary Fire Service while continuing to play Sunderland. The ageing Arsenal star, Joe Hulme, became a reserve policeman and Joe Cockroft returned to Sheffield to work in the steel industry.
The Blitz was still taking place when the 1941 Football League Cup Final took place at Wembley on 31st May. Preston North End and Arsenal drew 1-1 in front of a 60,000 crowd. Preston won the replay at Blackburn, 2-1. Robert Beattie got both of Preston's goals.
Jack Fairbrother (Preston North End) attempts to stop a penalty kick by Leslie Compton (Arsenal) during the 1941 Football League Cup Final.
In the 1940-1941 season Preston North End needed to win their last game against Liverpool to win the North Regional League title. The nineteen year old Andrew McLaren scored all six goals in the 6-1 victory. There is no doubt that during this period Preston was the best football club in England. This great team was broken up by the Second World War. In 1942 Tom Finney, their star player, was called up to the Royal Armoured Corps and later fought under General Bernard Montgomery in the Eighth Army in North Africa.
Wolves also won the Football League War Cup in 1942 beating Sunderland 4-1. The team included Eric Robinson who was to be tragically killed during a military training exercise soon afterwards.
The British Army invited some of the best footballers to became Physical Training instructors at Aldershot. Those who accepted the offer included Joe Mercer, Cliff Britton, Tommy Lawton, Matt Busby, Stan Cullis, Don Welsh, Billy Cook, Arthur Cunliffe, Billy Wright, Archie Macaulay, Norman Corbett, Bert Sproston and Eric Stephenson.
England's half-back line of Cliff Britton, Stan Cullis and Joe Mercer played for Aldershot during the war.
Most of Arsenal's first-team joined the Royal Air Force. This included Ted Drake, Jack Crayston, Eddie Hapgood, Leslie Jones, Bernard Joy, Alf Kirchen, Laurie Scott and George Swindin. Some of them got jobs as Physical Training instructors and did not see action overseas, whereas others in the team went abroad. This included Dennis Compton (India), Bryn Jones (Italy), Reg Lewis (Germany) and Ted Platt (North Africa). Tom Whittaker, the Arsenal trainer, was promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader and won the MBE for his role in the D-Day operations.
Some of Britain's top footballers served abroad. This included Harry Goslin, Albert Geldard, Ray Westwood, Jack Roberts, Dick Walker, George Male, Tom Finney, Arthur Rowley, Robert Langton, Wilf Copping, Andrew Beattie, Robert Langton, Wilf Mannion, Danny Winter, Billy Ithell, Albert Geldard, Tommy Sinclair, Don Howe, Ray Westwood, Joe Rooney, Ernie Forrest, Jackie Roberts, Jack Hurst and Stan Hanson. Ernie Taylor, who had joined Newcastle United in the early part of the war was in the Royal Navy and served in the Submarine Service.
Tom Finney in his army uniform.
Arsenal lost the use of its ground during the war as Highbury was used as an Air Raid Patrol Centre. Plymouth Argyle Home Park ground was badly damaged during an air raid in February 1941. So also was the grounds of Sunderland (Roker Park), Sheffield United (Bramall Lane), Chelsea (Stamford Bridge) and Southampton (Dell). Ten bombs that hit the Bramall Lane ground in December 1940, demolished half the John Street Stand and badly damaged the pitch. One of the bombs dropped on Roker Park in March, 1943, killed a policeman. The Dell was so badly damaged that Southampton had to play its games at the Pirelli Sports Ground in Eastleigh.
In August, 1944, a V1 Flying bomb hit the greyhound kennels close to Wembley Stadium. Several dogs escaped and the last of them were rounded up over a week after the bombing raid had taken place.
Blackpool's Bloomfield Road ground was used as a RAF training centre. Preston's Deepdale was used to hold captured prisoners during the Second World War. The military gave the club £250 a year in compensation.
Unofficial international games also took place during the war. Over 78,000 fans watched the England game against Scotland at Hampden Park, Glasgow, during the Blitz.
England's Harry Goslin played in four unofficial internationals during the Second World War. On 12th May, 1940, Adolf Hitler ordered the invasion of France. As a member of the 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment Goslin was sent to help the French but came under attack from the advancing Panzer divisions. Harry Goslin was credited with destroying four enemy tanks and this resulted in him being promoted to the rank of Lieutenant.
Nat Lofthouse as a Bevin Boy
On 22nd March 1941, the 15 year-old Nat Lofthouse made his debut for Bolton Wanderers. Bolton won the game 5-1 with Lofthouse scoring two of the goals. He now became a first-team regular. He continued to score on a regular basis but in 1943 he became a Bevin Boy and worked as a miner in a local colliery. As Dean Hayes points out in his book, Bolton Wanderers (1999): "Bevin Boy Lofthouse's Saturdays went like this: up at 3.30 a.m., catching the 4.30 tram to work; eight hours down the pit pushing tubs; collected by the team coach; playing for Bolton. But work down the mine toughened him physically and the caustic humour of his fellow miners made sure he never became arrogant about his success on the field."
In his autobiography Goals Galore (1954) Nat Lofthouse comments that: "I was only eighteen when I reported at Mossley Colliery, near Bolton, a pit in which I knew many of the Wanderers' supporters worked. I must admit that, although it was only a forty-five minutes' tram-ride from home, I had never visited such distant parts. The one thing that sticks in my mind about that morning was the miners going on shift carrying their famous lamps."
Len Shackleton also worked down the mines as a Bevin Boy in the later stages of the war. He later recalled what it was like to be a miner: "My papers to report as a Bevin Boy duly arrived, even though I had warned the postman not to worry if he accidentally mislaid an OHMS envelope addressed to Len Shackleton... I thought it was a severe enough shock having to leave home at six o'clock in the morning, but that was nothing compared to the experience of my first descent in the pit cage. For the benefit of anyone who has not travelled in one of those torture boxes, let me make it quite clear that a pit cage is nothing like a department store lift, although it is rumoured the same principle of operation is employed. Going down in a pit cage is a terrifying experience: it is like being suspended on a piece of elastic. One minute you are rushing into the bowels of the earth, imagining Brisbane to be the next stop; the next minute you stop suddenly and ... just dangle. One day at Fryston was sufficient to convince me I had made a real blunder by volunteering for mining."
Len Shackleton and Jimmy Stephen as Bevin Boys in 1945
Jackie Milburn came from a family of coalminers and began work at the Ashington Coal Company in 1940. Later he worked at Hazelrigg Colliery and in 1943 he signed for Newcastle United. He purchased an old motorcycle and dressed in full pit gear, he could often been seen racing to the ground after work. Milburn told Mick Bell, who was a shop steward at the colliery, that he believed that working on a Saturday morning was affecting his performance on the field. After consulting with the other workers, who were all Newcastle United fans, Bell now went to see the colliery manager and threatened strike action if Jackie Milburn was not given the morning off on the day of a game. Faced with the threat of industrial action the colliery manager reluctantly agreed to Bell's request."
On 15th July 1942, the 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment was told to mobilise for overseas service. The following month they arrived in Egypt and immediately became involved in defending Alam el Halfa. On 30th August, 1942, General Erwin Rommel attacked Alam el Halfa but was repulsed by the Eighth Army. General Bernard Montgomery responded to this attack by ordering his troops to reinforce the defensive line from the coast to the impassable Qattara Depression.
On 1st November 1942, Montgomery launched an attack on the Deutsches Afrika Korps at Kidney Ridge. After initially resisting the attack, Rommel decided he no longer had the resources to hold his line and on the 3rd November he ordered his troops to withdraw. However, Adolf Hitler overruled his commander and the Germans were forced to stand and fight.
The next day General Bernard Montgomery ordered his men forward. Lieutenant Harry Goslin and the 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment joined the pursuit. The Eighth Army broke through the German lines and Erwin Rommel, in danger of being surrounded, was forced to retreat. Those soldiers on foot, including large numbers of Italian soldiers, were unable to move fast enough and were taken prisoner.
The British Army recaptured Tobruk on 12th November, 1942. During the El Alamein campaign half of Rommel's 100,000 man army was killed, wounded or taken prisoner.
After spending time in Baghdad, the 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment moved to Kirkurk on 8th January 1943. They were eventually relocated to Kifri which was to become their main base for the next five months. While there Harry Goslin, Stan Hanson, Don Howe and Ernie Forrest played for the British Army against the Polish Army in Baghdad.
Sergeant Harry Goslin (right), the English international centre-half was killed in Italy on 18th December, 1943.
The 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment joined General Bernard Montgomery and the 8th Army in the invasion of Italy. On 24th September, 1943, Lieutenant Harry Goslin and his men landed at Taranto. Three days later the men had reached Foggia without too much opposition. However, when the men were ordered to cross the River Sangro the regiment took part in some of the most difficult fighting of the Second World War.
At the end of November Don Howe was wounded and evacuated to a dressing station. After another enemy air attack Ray Westwood and Stan Hanson came close to being killed. The shelling continued and on 14th December, 1943, Harry Goslin was hit in the back by shrapnel. He died from his wounds a few days later. The Bolton Evening News reported: "Harry Goslin was one of the finest types professional football breeds. Not only in the personal sense, but for the club's sake, and the game's sake. I regret his life has had to be sacrificed in the cause of war."
Other footballers killed in the Second World War included Walter Sidebottom who played for Bolton Wanderers, and was considered one of the best young prospects in the Football League, was drowned when his ship was torpedoed in the English Channel in November 1943. Joe Rooney, who played for Wolverhampton Wanderers, was killed in an air raid in Belfast in June 1941.
Fred Fisher, who played football for Barnsley and Millwall, was killed in September, 1944. William Imrie, who had played for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United during the 1930s, was in the Royal Air Force and lost his life during a raid in 1945.
Eight players registered with Arsenal died during the Second World War. Bobby Daniel, a Flight Sergeant Gunner in the RAF, was killed on 23rd December 1943. Other Arsenal players in the RAF who died included Sidney Pugh, Harry Cook and Leslie Lack.
Len Shackleton with Bobby Daniel at Highbury. Daniel joined the RAF on the outbreak of the Second World War and was killed on 23rd December 1943.
Bill Dean, a goalkeeper who got into the Arsenal team in 1940, told friends: "Well I have fulfilled my life's ambition, I have played for Arsenal." Dean died in action with the Royal Navy in March 1942.
Three Arsenal players who joined the Royal Fusiliers also lost their lives. Hugh Glass was drowned at sea in 1943, Cyril Tooze was killed by a sniper's bullet in Italy on 10th February 1944 and Herbie Roberts, a regular in Arsenal's team that won a hat trick of League Championships between 1932 and 1935, became a lieutenant in the Royal Fusilliers. He died of erysipelas on 19th June 1944.
Most Luftwaffe air raids took place at night. To protect their planes from fighter planes and the heavy artillery below, the German pilots flew thousands of feet above the ground. This made it hard for the Germans to find and hit their targets. To make it even more difficult for the German bombers, the British government imposed a total blackout during the war. Every person had to make sure that they did not provide any lights that would give clues to the German pilots that they were passing over built-up areas.
"Is that you John? I was afraid I might miss you in the blackout."
Cartoon published in March, 1943
At first, no light whatsoever was allowed on the streets. All street lights were turned off. Even the red glow from a cigarette was banned, and a man who struck a match to look for his false teeth was fined ten shillings. Later, permission was given for small torches to be used on the streets, providing the beam was masked by tissue paper and pointed downwards.
The blackout caused serious problems for people travelling by motor car. In 1939 only car sidelights were allowed. The results were alarming. Car accidents increased and the number of people killed on the roads almost doubled. The king's surgeon, Wilfed Trotter, wrote an article for the British Medical Journal where he pointed out that by "frightening the nation into blackout regulations, the Luftwaffe was able to kill 600 British citizens a month without ever taking to the air, at a cost to itself of exactly nothing." One of those killed was Jack Lambert of Arsenal who had won league championship medals in 1930-31 and 1932-33.
Squadron Leader Tom Whittaker
Liverpool and England full-back, Tom Cooper, was a sergeant in the Military Police. He was killed on 25th June 1940 near Aldeburgh when his motor cycle was involved in a head on crash with a bus. As a result of his death the military issued an order that all servicemen were no longer allowed to ride their motorcycles without wearing a crash helmet.
George Bullock, who played for Barnsley and served in the Royal Navy, was another road victim when he was killed on 2nd June 1943. This included Percival Thomas Taylor, who made five appearances in wartime football for Preston North End. Taylor scored a hat trick while playing as a guest for Middlesbrough against Bradford City on 4th April 1942. He was killed in a motor cycle accident six days later.
Joe Mercer, Matt Busby and Don Welsh as army sergeants.
Stan Mortensen, who played for England and Blackpool after the war, narrowly escaped death when his Wellington bomber crashed into a forest near Lossiemouth. Mortensen, who was an air-gunner, escaped with head injuries but the pilot and bomb aimer were killed and the navigator lost a leg.
Jackie Stamps of Derby County was badly wounded during the retreat from France in 1940. He was told he would never play again but the doctors were wrong and he managed to have a successful post-war career. The England international player, Wilf Mannion, was at Dunkirk and later saw action in North Africa.
Roy White, a sergeant of the British Expeditionary Army and was also involved in the retreat from France in 1940. His boat was torpedoed and by the time he was picked up it was discovered he had gone blind. After two months in hospital he recovered his sight and eventually reached the rank of major. After the war he played for Tottenham Hotspur.
"Mac" (Douglas Machin) drew this cartoon for The Topical Times (3rd February, 1940)
Jackie Bray, the Manchester City player, joined the Royal Air Force in 1940. He won the British Empire Medal and later worked in the unit that rehabilitated wounded fighter pilots. His club mate, Eric Westwood, took part in the D-Day landings and was mentioned in dispatches. Bill Shorthouse was badly wounded at Normandy but survived to play for Wolverhampton Wanderers after the war.
Bill Edrich, better known as a cricketer but also played football for Tottenham Hotspur, was a Squadron Leader pilot who took part in several bombing raids on Nazi Germany. Harold White, who played for West Bromwich Albion before the war, won the Military Medal in March 1942.
Dick Walker of West Ham United was a sergeant with an infantry battalion who fought from El Alamein to Italy and was several times mentioned in dispatches. Alf Fields, the Arsenal centre-half, was also in North Africa and Italy and won the British Empire Medal. So was Corporal Alex Munro of Blackpool but was captured by the German Army in July 1942. He survived three years in a POW camp and resumed his football career after the war. Henry Roberts, who played for Millwall in the 1930s, was captured in a Commando raid on St Nazaire. He was wounded in both legs and spent the rest of the war at a POW camp in Germany.
Fred Chadwick of Ipswich Town and Albert Hall of Tottenham Hotspur were both captured by the Japanese Army while they were in Singapore. and spent several years in captivity. Hall escaped when he was one of the 58 survivors from a Japanese transport ship which was sunk in the Pacific in September 1943. Chadwick also survived several years of captivity and both men returned to play in the Football League after the war.
Encyclopedia of Football
Early History of Football
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