Harry Bamford (footballer, born 1886)

Harold Walley Bamford (2 November 1886 – 26 November 1915)[2] was an English professional footballer who played as a half-back for Southampton in the Southern League from 1908 to 1911, and later for Glossop in the Football League.

This article is about the Southampton footballer. For the Bristol Rovers footballer, see Harry Bamford. For the Brentford footballer, see Harry Bamford (footballer, born 1914).

Harry Bamford
Personal information
Full name Harold Walley Bamford
Date of birth (1886-11-02)2 November 1886[1]
Place of birth Sculcoates, Yorkshire, England
Date of death 26 November 1915(1915-11-26) (aged 29)
Place of death near Etaples, France
Position(s) Left-half
Youth career
Bitterne Guild
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1908–1911 Southampton 7 (0)
1912–1914 Glossop 14 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Football career

Bamford was born in Sculcoates in Yorkshire, but moved to Southampton when young.[2] Employed as a pay clerk in Southampton Docks,[2] he played his youth football for Bitterne Guild before joining Southampton in the 1908 close season.[3]

Most of his time with the "Saints" was spent in the reserves whom he helped win the Hampshire Senior Cup in 1910. His first-team debut came on 9 January 1909, when he took the place of Bert Trueman at left-half for the Southern League match at Luton Town, which was lost 1–0.[4] Bamford retained his place for two further matches, before John Robertson replaced him, although Bamford returned for two matches at the end of February. Bamford made two further appearances, in April 1910 and in April 1911.[5]

Later career

In August 1912, Bamford reverted to amateur status, and joined Glossop of the Football League Second Division on amateur terms.[2][6]

War service

Bamford enlisted in the King's Shropshire Light Infantry for WW1. The 1st Battalion were based at Tipperary in August 1914, as part of the 16th Battalion of the 6th Division. They mobilised for war a month later and landed at St. Nazaire, France on 10 September. Bamford was badly wounded during skirmishes at Proven in the Ypres salient in November 1915, and died of septicaemia in No. 1 Red Cross Hospital, near Etaples.[2][7]

Bamford held the rank of Second Lieutenant and was awarded the 1914-15 Star, Victory and British War Medals.[8]

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records show he was the son of Annie Bamford, of 5, Cliff Road, Itchen, Southampton, and the late Abraham Bamford. He is buried at Étaples Military Cemetery, near Le Touquet,[9][10]

References
  1. "Harold Bamford". SaintsPlayers. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  2. Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan; Bull, David (2013). All the Saints: A Complete Players' Who's Who of Southampton FC. Southampton: Hagiology Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-9926-8640-6.
  3. Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (1992). The Alphabet of the Saints. ACL & Polar Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 0-9514862-3-3.
  4. Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan (1987). Saints – A complete record. Breedon Books. p. 45. ISBN 0-907969-22-4.
  5. Chalk, Gary; Holley, Duncan. Saints – A complete record. pp. 45, 47 and 49.
  6. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records: 1888 to 1939. SoccerData from Tony Brown. p. 16. ISBN 1899468633.
  7. Connolly, Shaun; Heritage, Mark (26 January 2015). "Harold Walley Bamford". southamptoncenotaph.com. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  8. Simpson, Gordon (11 November 2014). "Remembering the fallen Saints of the First World War". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  9. "Casualty Details: Bamford, Harold Walley". CWGC. 26 November 1915. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  10. in Plot 1, Row A, Grave 15. He is one of 10,770 Commonwealth soldiers interred in this military cemetery. His headstone reads: "Until the morning dawns and the shadows flee away."
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