Sidney Wheelhouse

Sidney Wheelhouse
Wheelhouse in 1907
Personal information
Date of birth September 1888
Place of birth Darlington, England[1]
Date of death 19 September 1916 (aged 27–28)
Place of death near Beaumont-Hamel, France
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s) Right back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1905 Bishop Auckland
1906–1907 Shildon Athletic
1907–1915 Grimsby Town 234 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sidney Wheelhouse (September 1888 – 19 September 1916) was an English professional football right back, best remembered for his eight years in the Football League with Grimsby Town.[1]

Career

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A right back, Wheelhouse began his career with Northern League clubs Bishop Auckland and Shildon Athletic before moving to the Football League to sign for Second Division club Grimsby Town in 1907.[2] He was a regular with the Mariners for the next eight seasons and went on to captain the club, before leaving at the end of 1914–15.[2] He returned to Blundell Park in 1916 to play in a wartime charity match.[2]

Grimsby Town F.C. 1914–1915. BACK: David Kenny, Holden (Trainer), William Andrews, Sidney Wheelhouse, Willis Rippon, Alfred Lee, Percy Summers, Francis Martin. FRONT: Thomas Spink, Thomas Rippon, George Rampton, Thomas Mayson, Ralph Thompson.

Personal life

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He fought with the 17th (Service) Battalion of the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment) (more popularly known as the 1st Football Battalion) during the First World War and rose to the rank of lance corporal.[2] He saw action at Delville Wood and Guillemont in July and August 1916.[2]

17th (Service) Battalion Recruitment Poster

On 18 September, Wheelhouse was part of a working party which was mined while sheltering from a mortar attack and within 24 hours, he and every member of the party was dead.[2] He is buried in Couin British Cemetery.[3]

Sidney's Obituary, 27 September 1916

Career statistics

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Club Season League FA Cup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Grimsby Town 1907–08[2] Second Division 30 0 5 0 35 0
1908–09[2] 38 0 1 0 39 0
1909–10[2] 37 0 1 0 38 0
1910–11[4] Midland League
1911–12[2] Second Division 32 1 1 0 33 1
1912–13[2] 37 1 1 0 38 1
1913–14[2] 36 0 1 0 37 0
1914–15[2] 24 0 1 0 25 0
Total 234 2 11 0 245 2

References

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  1. ^ a b Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 307. ISBN 978-1905891610.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Sid Wheelhouse – Grimsby Town and the First World War". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  3. ^ "CWGC – Casualty Details". www.cwgc.org. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  4. ^ Sidney Wheelhouse at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)