1916–17 Brentford F.C. season

Brentford

1916–17 season
Chairman	H. Jason-Saunders
Secretary-Manager	Fred Halliday
Stadium	Griffin Park
London Combination	12th
Top goalscorer	League: White (20) All: White (20)
Highest home attendance	3,500
Lowest home attendance	1,000
← 1915–16 1917–18 →

During the 1916–17 English football season, Brentford competed in the London Combination, due to the cessation of competitive football for the duration of the First World War. Restricted by league rules mandating that all players must be members of the armed forces or munitions workers, Brentford finished third-from-bottom, having been forced to field over 50 guest players.

Season summary

Straddling the middle period the First World War, the London Combination introduced a new rule that for the 1916–17 season, stating all players must be members of the armed forces or munitions workers, which meant Brentford secretary-manager Fred Halliday (himself a worker at the Ministry of Munitions) had trouble securing players to play.^[1] Full back Dusty Rhodes, half back Alf Amos and forwards Patsy Hendren and Henry White would be the only pre-war Bees players to appear in more than half of the matches during the season.^[2] Albert Chester joined the club from Millwall in December 1916 and also appeared in over half the matches.^[2] Due to a wrist injury suffered by Ted Price, Bradford Park Avenue's Frank Drabble was the main goalkeeper during the season, while Croydon Common's William Bushell was also a regular in the half back line.^[1]

Brentford had a torrid season, winning just 9 of the 40 matches.^[3] Defeats by three, four, five and six goal margins were a regular occurrence, contributing to a total of 99 goals conceded during the campaign.^[2] 16 goals were conceded in four matches versus Luton Town.^[2] The highlights were a 7–0 victory over Portsmouth at Griffin Park on 30 December 1916 and Henry White's performances, who top-scored for the third-consecutive season with 20 goals from 35 matches.^[2]

The Battle of the Somme, which began on 1 July 1916, represented the lowest period so far for the British Army during the war and a number of former Brentford players were killed in the battle:^[4]

• Sergeant Patrick Hagan, killed during the Battle of Bazentin Ridge on 14 July 1916, while serving with the Royal Scots.
• Private Henry Purver, killed during the Battle of Delville Wood on 31 July 1916, while serving with the Royal Fusiliers.
• Private Harry Robotham, killed during the Battle of Flers–Courcelette on 12 September 1916, while serving with the Middlesex Regiment.

Middlesbrough's half back Henry Cook, who appeared as a guest during the 1915–16 season, died of wounds suffered near Maurepas, France on 9 January 1917.^[5] He had been serving in a pioneer battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment.^[5]

League table

London Combination

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	GA	Pts
11	Watford	39	8	9	22	69	115	1.769	25
12	Brentford	40	9	7	24	56	99	1.400	25
13	Portsmouth	40	9	4	27	58	117	1.450	22

Source: Football and the First World War

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

London Combination

No.	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorer(s)
1	2 September 1916	Crystal Palace	A	0–4
2	9 September 1916	Southampton	H	1–1	Kirby
3	16 September 1916	Chelsea	H	0–3
4	23 September 1916	Arsenal	A	0–0
5	30 September 1916	Luton Town	H	1–3	Hendren (pen)
6	7 October 1916	Reading	A	2–0	Gregson (2)
7	14 October 1916	Millwall	H	0–3
8	21 October 1916	Watford	A	2–4	Sloley, White
9	28 October 1916	Clapton Orient	H	3–0	White, Gregson, Clarkson
10	4 November 1916	Fulham	A	0–2
11	11 November 1916	Queens Park Rangers	H	1–4	Sloley
12	18 November 1916	West Ham United	A	0–4
13	25 November 1916	Crystal Palace	H	3–1	White, Sloley, Kirby
14	2 December 1916	Southampton	A	1–3	Hendren
15	9 December 1916	Chelsea	A	2–7	White, Hendren
16	23 December 1916	Luton Town	A	2–5	Bushell, Chester
17	25 December 1916	Tottenham Hotspur	H	1–5	White
18	26 December 1916	Tottenham Hotspur	A	2–5	White, Spencer
19	30 December 1916	Portsmouth	H	7–0	White, Sloley, Hendren, Clarkson
20	6 January 1917	Millwall	A	0–3
21	13 January 1917	Watford	H	4–1	Sloley, White (2), Clarkson
22	20 January 1917	Clapton Orient	A	2–5	White (2)
23	27 January 1917	Fulham	H	1–1	Dillimore
24	3 February 1917	Queens Park Rangers	A	0–2
25	10 February 1917	West Ham United	H	1–1	Gregson
26	17 February 1917	Millwall	A	3–2	Chester, Dillimore, White
27	24 February 1917	Fulham	H	1–4	Dillimore
28	3 March 1917	Chelsea	H	3–0	Gregson, White (2)
29	10 March 1917	Watford	A	2–5	White, Hendren
30	17 March 1917	Luton Town	H	1–2	Hendren
31	24 March 1917	Queens Park Rangers	A	2–2	Hendren, Dillimore
32	31 March 1917	Millwall	H	1–3	Dillimore
33	6 April 1917	West Ham United	A	0–2
34	7 April 1917	Fulham	A	2–0	Keenor, Gregson
35	9 April 1917	West Ham United	H	1–2	Hendren (pen)
36	14 April 1917	Chelsea	A	2–3	Hendren (2, 1 pen)
37	19 April 1917	Queens Park Rangers	H	0–0
38	21 April 1917	Watford	H	2–1	White (2)
39	26 April 1917	Arsenal	H	0–0
40	28 April 1917	Luton Town	A	0–6

• Source: 100 Years Of Brentford^[2]

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1916–17 season.

Pos.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Ted Price		13 June 1883 (aged 33)	Croydon Common	1912
Defenders
DF	George Curtis		22 October 1888 (aged 27)	Kingston-on-Thames	1914
DF	Jack Peart		13 October 1884 (aged 31)	Croydon Common	1916
DF	Dusty Rhodes (c)		16 August 1882 (aged 34)	Sunderland	1908	Trainer
Midfielders
HB	Charles Allwright		11 June 1888 (aged 28)	Kingston-on-Thames	1915
HB	Alf Amos		9 February 1893 (aged 23)	Old Kingstonians	1913
HB	Alec Barclay		1 November 1885 (aged 30)	Ilford	1910	Amateur
HB	Bertie Rosier		21 March 1893 (aged 23)	Southall	1913
Forwards
FW	Herbert Allwright		4 March 1892 (aged 24)	Unattached	1915
FW	W. Chalk		n/a	Old Kingstonians	1915	Amateur
FW	Albert Chester		17 March 1886 (aged 30)	Millwall	1916
FW	Patsy Hendren		5 February 1889 (aged 27)	Queens Park Rangers	1911	Played when his cricket commitments allowed
FW	Richard Sloley		20 August 1891 (aged 25)	Cambridge University	1914	Amateur
FW	Henry White		8 August 1895 (aged 21)	Whamcliffe Athletic	1913	Amateur
Guest players
GK	Frank Drabble		8 July 1888 (aged 28)	Bradford Park Avenue	1916	Guest from Bradford Park Avenue
GK	Harvey	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
GK	Jimmy Morris		n/a	Clapton Orient	1917	Guest from Clapton Orient
GK	B. Neville	n/a	n/a	Unattached	1916	Guest
DF	Fred Bullock		1 July 1886 (aged 30)	Huddersfield Town	1916	Guest from Huddersfield Town
DF	W. Hampson	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
DF	Ted Hanney		19 January 1889 (aged 27)	Manchester City	1917	Guest from Manchester City
DF	Kennedy	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
DF	Mason	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
DF	H. Skinner	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
HB	Birtwhistle	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
HB	William Bushell		30 June 1880 (aged 36)	Croydon Common	1916	Guest from Croydon Common
HB	Carter	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
HB	Caves	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
HB	A. Davis	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
HB	Hollidge	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
HB	George Hunter		1 June 1885 (aged 31)	Manchester United	1916	Guest from Manchester United
HB	Fred Keenor		31 July 1894 (aged 22)	Cardiff City	1916	Guest from Cardiff City
HB	John Lamb		1893 (aged 22–23)	The Wednesday	1916	Guest from The Wednesday
HB	James Lockwood	n/a	n/a	Queens Park Rangers	1916	Guest from Queens Park Rangers
HB	C. Morris	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
HB	Robert Nash		n/a	Unattached	1917	Guest
HB	Nunn	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
HB	Roberts	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
HB	Thompson	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
HB	B. Toms	n/a	n/a	Luton Town	1917	Guest from Luton Town
FW	Tommy Barber		22 July 1886 (aged 30)	Aston Villa	1917	Guest from Aston Villa
FW	Blackmore	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
FW	Billy Brawn		1 August 1878 (aged 38)	Unattached	1916	Guest
FW	David Chalmers		22 July 1891 (aged 25)	Grimsby Town	1917	Guest from Grimsby Town
FW	Billy Clarkson		22 September 1891 (aged 24)	Burnley	1916	Guest from Burnley
FW	Cooper	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
FW	Harold Crockford		25 September 1893 (aged 22)	Chatham Town	1916	Guest from Chatham Town
FW	Bertie Denyer		9 April 1893 (aged 23)	Swindon Town	1917	Guest from Swindon Town
FW	Dilley	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
FW	Dillimore	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
FW	Fawcett	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
FW	Thomas Graham		20 July 1887 (aged 29)	Castleford Town	1916	Guest from Castleford Town
FW	Alf Gregson		2 March 1889 (aged 27)	Grimsby Town	1916	Guest from Grimsby Town
FW	Groves	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
FW	Hogarth	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
FW	Bill Hooper		20 February 1884 (aged 32)	Southport Central	1917	Guest from Southport Central
FW	Hunt	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
FW	William Kirby		21 January 1882 (aged 34)	Croydon Common	1916	Guest from Croydon Common
FW	Macey	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
FW	Palmer	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
FW	Shaw	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
FW	Smith	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
FW	Albert Spencer		n/a	Clapton Orient	1916	Guest from Clapton Orient
FW	Tuckfield	n/a	n/a	Millwall	1917	Guest from Millwall
FW	F. Walker	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
FW	J. Wood	n/a	n/a	Luton Town	1917	Guest from Luton Town

• Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,^[2] Timeless Bees,^[6] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939^[7]

Coaching staff

Name	Role
Fred Halliday	Secretary-Manager
Dusty Rhodes	Trainer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Pos	Nat	Name	Total
			Apps	Goals
GK		Ted Price	9	0
DF		George Curtis	6	0
DF		Jack Peart	9	0
DF		Dusty Rhodes	32	0
HB		Bertie Rosier	8	0
HB		Charles Allwright	6	0
HB		Alf Amos	22	0
HB		Alec Barclay	5	0
FW		Herbert Allwright	2	0
FW		W. Chalk	2	0
FW		Albert Chester	23	2
FW		Patsy Hendren	39	10
FW		Richard Sloley	9	5
FW		Henry White	35	20
Players guested during the season
GK		Frank Drabble	24	0
GK	n/a	Harvey	1	0
GK		Jimmy Morris	5	0
GK	n/a	B. Neville	1	0
DF		Fred Bullock	11	0
DF	n/a	W. Hampson	3	0
DF		Ted Hanney	3	0
DF	n/a	Kennedy	1	0
DF	n/a	Mason	1	0
DF	n/a	H. Skinner	5	0
HB	n/a	Birtwhistle	1	0
HB		William Bushell	22	1
HB	n/a	Carter	1	0
HB	n/a	Caves	1	0
HB	n/a	A. Davis	4	0
HB	n/a	Hollidge	2	0
HB		George Hunter	1	0
HB		Fred Keenor	13	1
HB		John Lamb	3	0
HB	n/a	James Lockwood	10	0
HB	n/a	C. Morris	3	0
HB		Robert Nash	1	0
HB	n/a	Nunn	1	0
HB	n/a	Roberts	10	0
HB	n/a	Thompson	1	0
HB	n/a	B. Toms	1	0
FW		Tommy Barber	2	0
FW	n/a	Blackmore	1	0
FW		Billy Brawn	2	0
FW		David Chalmers	1	0
FW		Billy Clarkson	16	3
FW	n/a	Cooper	1	0
FW		Harold Crockford	3	0
FW		Bertie Denyer	1	0
FW	n/a	Dilley	2	0
FW	n/a	Dillimore	12	5
FW	n/a	Fawcett	1	0
FW		Thomas Graham	3	0
FW		Alf Gregson	11	6
FW	n/a	Groves	1	0
FW	n/a	Hogarth	2	0
FW		Bill Hooper	4	0
FW	n/a	Hunt	1	0
FW		William Kirby	18	2
FW	n/a	Macey	2	0
FW	n/a	Palmer	1	0
FW	n/a	Shaw	1	0
FW	n/a	Smith	3	0
FW		Albert Spencer	1	1
FW	n/a	Tuckfield	1	0
FW	n/a	F. Walker	11	0
FW	n/a	J. Wood	1	0

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford^[2]

Goalscorers

Pos.	Nat	Player	Total
FW		Henry White	20
FW		Patsy Hendren	10
FW		Alf Gregson	6
FW	n/a	Dillimore	5
FW		Richard Sloley	5
FW		Billy Clarkson	3
FW		Albert Chester	2
FW		William Kirby	2
HB		William Bushell	1
HB		Fred Keenor	1
FW		Albert Spencer	1
Total			56

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford^[2]

Management

Name	Nat	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	W %
Fred Halliday		2 September 1916	28 April 1917	40	9	7	24	22.50|

Summary

Games played	40
Games won	9
Games drawn	7
Games lost	24
Goals scored	56
Goals conceded	99
Clean sheets	8
Biggest win	7–0 versus Portsmouth, 30 December 1916
Worst defeat	6–0 versus Luton Town, 28 April 1917
Most appearances	39, Patsy Hendren
Top scorer	20, Henry White

Transfers & loans

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Fee	Ref.
2 September 1916	DF	Jack Peart	Croydon Common	Free	[8]
9 December 1916	FW	Albert Chester	Millwall	Free	[9]
Guest players in
Date from	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Date to	Ref.
2 September 1916	HB	Caves	n/a	2 September 1916	[2]
2 September 1916	FW	Billy Clarkson	Burnley	19 April 1917	[2]
2 September 1916	FW	Thomas Graham	Castleford Town	21 October 1916	[2]
2 September 1916	FW	William Kirby	Croydon Common	20 January 1917	[10]
9 September 1916	FW	Billy Brawn	Unattached	25 November 1916	[2]
9 September 1916	HB	William Bushell	Croydon Common	17 March 1917	[11]
9 September 1916	FW	F. Walker	n/a	20 January 1917	[2]
16 September 1916	FW	Harold Crockford	Chatham Town	30 September 1916	[2]
23 September 1916	GK	Frank Drabble	Bradford Park Avenue	26 April 1917	[2]
7 October 1916	DF	Fred Bullock	Huddersfield Town	End of season	[2]
7 October 1916	FW	Alf Gregson	Grimsby Town	26 April 1917	[2]
7 October 1916	HB	Fred Keenor	Cardiff City	26 April 1917	[2]
21 October 1916	FW	Shaw	n/a	21 October 1916	[2]
21 October 1916	HB	Thompson	n/a	21 October 1916	[2]
18 November 1916	FW	Birtwhistle	n/a	18 November 1916	[2]
18 November 1916	FW	Groves	n/a	18 November 1916	[2]
18 November 1916	DF	Kennedy	n/a	18 November 1916	[2]
18 November 1916	HB	John Lamb	The Wednesday	14 April 1917	[2]
2 December 1916	FW	Blackmore	n/a	2 December 1916	[2]
2 December 1916	FW	Fawcett	n/a	2 December 1916	[2]
2 December 1916	HB	George Hunter	Manchester United	2 December 1916	[2]
2 December 1916	HB	Roberts	n/a	17 February 1917	[2]
9 December 1916	DF	H. Skinner	n/a	31 March 1917	[2]
23 December 1916	DF	W. Hampson	n/a	26 December 1916	[2]
23 December 1916	GK	Harvey	n/a	23 December 1916	[2]
23 December 1916	HB	Hollidge	n/a	25 December 1916	[2]
23 December 1916	FW	Palmer	n/a	23 December 1916	[2]
25 December 1916	HB	James Lockwood	Queens Park Rangers	24 March 1917	[2]
26 December 1916	FW	Albert Spencer	Clapton Orient	26 December 1916	[2]
13 January 1917	GK	B. Neville	Unattached	13 January 1917	[2]
27 January 1917	FW	Dillimore	n/a	21 April 1917	[2]
3 February 1917	FW	Bertie Denyer	Swindon Town	3 February 1917	[2]
17 February 1917	HB	A. Davis	n/a	9 April 1917	[2]
17 February 1917	FW	Smith	n/a	End of season	[2]
17 February 1917	FW	Tuckfield	Millwall	17 February 1917	[2]
17 March 1917	GK	Jimmy Morris	Clapton Orient	End of season	[2]
24 March 1917	FW	Dilley	n/a	31 March 1917	[2]
24 March 1917	DF	Mason	n/a	24 March 1917	[2]
24 March 1917	HB	Nunn	n/a	24 March 1917	[2]
31 March 1917	HB	Carter	n/a	31 March 1917	[2]
31 March 1917	FW	Hogarth	n/a	14 April 1917	[2]
31 March 1917	FW	Macey	n/a	6 April 1917	[2]
9 April 1917	FW	Cooper	n/a	9 April 1917	[2]
14 April 1917	FW	Tommy Barber	Aston Villa	26 April 1917	[2]
14 April 1917	DF	Ted Hanney	Manchester City	End of season	[2]
14 April 1917	FW	Hunt	n/a	14 April 1917	[2]
19 April 1917	FW	David Chalmers	Grimsby Town	19 April 1917	[2]
19 April 1917	FW	Bill Hooper	Southport Central	End of season	[2]
21 April 1917	HB	C. Morris	n/a	End of season	[2]
26 April 1917	HB	Robert Nash	Unattached	26 April 1917	[12]
28 April 1917	HB	B. Toms	Luton Town	End of season	[2]
28 April 1917	FW	J. Wood	Luton Town	End of season	[2]

References

1. White 1989, p. 107-108.
2. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 364. ISBN 0951526200.
3. "London Combination Table 1916/17". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
4. Bees Review: Brentford Official Matchday Programme vs Hull City 03/11/15. Milton Keynes: Regal Sports Press. 2015. pp. 61–67.
5. "The Middlesbrough Roll of Honour of the Great War" (PDF).
6. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920-2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
7. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 190589161X.
8. "Croydon Common FC - Jack Peart" (PDF).
9. "Croydon Common FC - Albert Chester" (PDF).
10. "Croydon Common FC - William Kirby" (PDF).
11. "Croydon Common FC - William Bushell" (PDF).
12. "Croydon Common FC - Robert Nash" (PDF).