Percy Barnfather

Percy Barnfather MC (17 December 1879 – 18 December 1951) was an English professional football outside right, who made 265 appearances and scored 85 goals in all competitions for Croydon Common before and during the First World War.[2]

Percy Barnfather
Barnfather while with New Brompton in 1905.
Personal information
Full name Percy Barnfather[1]
Date of birth (1879-12-17)17 December 1879
Place of birth Byker, England
Date of death 18 December 1951(1951-12-18) (aged 72)[2]
Place of death Westminster, England
Height 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) – 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
(depending on source quoted)
Position(s) Outside right
Youth career
Throckley
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1900–1903 Wallsend Park Villa
1903–1904 Barnsley 27 (3)
1904–1906 New Brompton 39 (4)
1906 Southampton
1906–1907 West Stanley
1907–1909 Croydon Common 25 (16)
1909–1910 Norwich City 32 (4)
1910–1911 Croydon Common 15 (10)
1911–1912 West Stanley
1912–1916 Croydon Common 81 (18)
1919–1920 Merthyr Town 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

An outside right, Barnfather joined Second Division club Barnsley in 1903 and made 25 appearances during the 1903–04 season, scoring four goals.[2] In June 1904, he joined Southern League First Division club New Brompton and remained at Priestfield for two seasons. After a non-playing spell with Southampton,[3] he spent the 1906–07 season back in his native northeast with North Eastern League club West Stanley.[2] Barnfather returned to the Southern League to join Second Division club Croydon Common in August 1907 and aside from a spell with Norwich City and a second spell with West Stanley, he would spend the majority of the remainder of his career with the Robins.[2] Barnfather's professional career with Croydon Common came to an end at the end of the 1914–15 season, by which time he had made 140 appearances and scored 48 goals during three spells at The Nest.[2] He finished his career with a short spell at Southern League First Division club Merthyr Town during the 1919–20 season under manager and former Croydon Common teammate Harry Hadley.[2]

Personal life

Barnfather was born in Byker and attended Welleck Road School in Newcastle.[2] He was a plumber and engineer by trade and was married with three children.[2] After retiring from football, Barnfather worked in a clerical role in the Ministry of Supply.[2] He died of stomach cancer in 1951 and is buried in Croydon.[4]

First World War

In December 1914, four months after the outbreak of the First World War, Barnfather enlisted as a private in the 17th (Service) Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, which became known as the Football Battalion.[5] Throughout the course of his service, he rose from private to captain and won the Military Cross in 1918.[2][6]

Honours

Croydon Common

Career statistics
Club Season League League FA Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Barnsley 1903–04[1] Second Division 27 3 0 0 27 3
New Brompton 1904–05[7] Southern League First Division 17 4 2 0 19 4
1905–06[7] 22 0 2 0 24 0
Total 39 4 4 0 43 4
Croydon Common 1907–08[2] Southern League Second Division 13 2 1 0 14 2
1908–09[2] 12 14 9 1 21 15
Total 25 16 10 1 35 17
Norwich City 1909–10[2] Southern League First Division 32 4 2 0 34 4
Croydon Common 1910–11[2] Southern League Second Division 15 10 2 3 17 13
Croydon Common 1912–13[2] Southern League Second Division 15 4 4 0 19 4
1913–14[2] 30 8 1 0 31 8
1914–15[2] Southern League First Division 36 6 2 0 38 6
Croydon Common total 121 44 19 4 140 48
Merthyr Town 1919–20[2] Southern League First Division 4 0 0 0 4 0
Career total 223 55 27 4 250 59

References
  1. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 18. ISBN 190589161X.
  2. "Croydon Common Football Club – Biographies – Percy Barnfather" (PDF). Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  3. Brown, Tony (2003). The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record. Soccerdata. pp. 24–25. ISBN 1-899468-20-X.
  4. Riddoch, Andrew; Kemp, John (2011). When the Whistle Blows: The Story of the Footballers' Battalion in the Great War. Haynes Publishing. p. 327. ISBN 978-0-85733-103-8.
  5. "The Story of the Footballers' Battalions in the First World War". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  6. "36 SUPPLEMENT TO THE EDINBURGH GAZETTE, JANUARY 2, 1918" (PDF). Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  7. "Gillingham FC Career Details – Percy Barnfather". Retrieved 20 November 2017.


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