Ralph Thompson (footballer)

Ralph Motson Thompson (1892 – 1 July 1916) was an English amateur footballer who played in the Football League for Grimsby Town as an outside left.[1]

Ralph Thompson
Personal information
Full name Ralph Motson Thompson[1]
Date of birth 1892
Place of birth Grimsby, England
Date of death 1 July 1916 (aged 23–24)[2]
Place of death near Ovillers-la-Boisselle, France[2]
Position(s) Outside left
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
George Street Wesleyans
Grimsby Rovers
Grimsby St John's
Grimsby Rovers
Heycroft Rovers
1913–1914 Grimsby Town 12 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Personal life

Thompson's father John was chairman of Grimsby Town in 1905 and 1906 and his brother Albert also played for the club.[3][4] Thompson himself was educated at Silcoates School and in 1911, he was working as a trainee auctioneer.[3] Six weeks after the outbreak of the First World War, Thompson enlisted as a private in the Lincolnshire Regiment on 17 September 1914.[5] While serving with the Grimsby Chums, he was wounded in the neck, arm and spine during the attack on Ovillers-la-Boisselle on the first day of the Somme in 1916.[6][7] He could not be evacuated and was later found and buried.[7] Thompson is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.[2]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Grimsby Town 1914–15[8] Second Division 11 0 0 0 11 0
Career total 11 0 0 0 11 0

References
  1. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 286. ISBN 190589161X.
  2. "Casualty Details". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  3. "Grimsby Town Football Club". Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  4. "Grimsby Town Accounts". www.extra-gtfc.co.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  5. "Ralph Motson Thompson | Service Record". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  6. "Private Ralph Motson Thompson" (PDF). Lochnagar Crater. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  7. "Thompson, Ralph Motson". Lincs to the Past. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  8. "Grimsby Town Squad 1914/15". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 12 June 2017.


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