Wikipedia

1915–16 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1915–16 English football season, Brentford competed in the London Combination. In the first season of non-competitive wartime football during the First World War, the Bees finished in mid-table in each of the leagues run by the London Combination.

Brentford
1915–16 season
ChairmanH. Jason-Saunders
Secretary-ManagerFred Halliday
StadiumGriffin Park
London Combination Principle Tournament7th
London Combination Supplementary Tournament8th
Top goalscorerLeague: White (13)
All: White (13)
Highest home attendance5,000
Lowest home attendance1,000

Season summary edit

 
Future Cardiff City captain Fred Keenor guested for Brentford in each wartime season.

Having ended the 1914–15 Southern League Second Division season £7,000 in debt (equivalent to £708,500 in 2024), the suspension of competitive football due to the ongoing First World War proved to be a blessing for Brentford, who were given the chance to face Football League clubs Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Clapton Orient and Fulham in the wartime London Combination.[1] Professionalism had also been abolished, meaning that the club needed only to pay its players expenses and in addition, the clubs of the London Combination were predominantly London-based, meaning those expenses would be lower than that of previous seasons.[1] The squad had been decimated by the entry of players into the Army or munitions work,[1] which meant that only goalkeeper Ted Price, full backs Dusty Rhodes and Bertie Rosier, half back Alf Amos and forwards Patsy Hendren and Henry White would play in the majority of Brentford's matches during the season.[2] White would top-score with 13 goals.[2]

Brentford began the London Combination's Principle Tournament strongly, losing just one of the first 10 matches, but the departure of the locally based Football Battalion to the Western Front robbed the club of a source of quality guest players.[1] Local amateurs, guests and soldiers were brought in to plug gaps in the team,[1] though a few guests did make notable contributions during the season – Swindon Town's Bertie Denyer (9 goals in 9 appearances) and Middlesbrough's Dick Wynn (8 goals in 20 appearances).[2] Middlesbrough proved to be a ready source of players, with former Brentford full back Joe Hisbent, half backs Henry Cook, George Malcolm and forward Harry Chapelhow also guesting.[2] Brentford finished the London Combination's two league competitions in mid-table, with the highlights being two West London derby wins versus Queens Park Rangers and wins over Football League clubs Clapton Orient, Arsenal and neighbours Fulham.[2]

Two former Brentford players died during the season:

League tables edit

Main article: London Combination

London Combination Principle Tournament edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
6 Tottenham Hotspur 22 8 8 6 38 35 1.086 24
7 Brentford 22 6 8 8 36 40 0.900 20
8 Queens Park Rangers 22 8 3 11 27 41 0.659 19
Source: Football and the First World War

London Combination Supplementary Tournament edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
7 Watford 14 5 3 6 22 20 1.100 13
8 Brentford 14 5 2 7 29 33 0.879 12
9 Croydon Common 14 4 3 7 28 27 1.037 11
Source: Football and the First World War

Results edit

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend edit

Win Draw Loss

London Combination Principle Tournament edit

No. Date Opponent Venue Result Scorer(s)
1 4 September 1915 West Ham United H 2–1 Powell, F. Price
2 11 September 1915 Tottenham Hotspur A 1–1 Sloley
3 18 September 1915 Crystal Palace H 1–0 Keenor
4 25 September 1915 Queens Park Rangers A 2–1 F. Price, Gregson
5 2 October 1915 Fulham H 2–2 White, Sloley
6 9 October 1915 Clapton Orient A 3–1 Sloley (3)
7 16 October 1915 Watford H 1–2 Sloley (pen)
8 23 October 1915 Millwall A 3–3 Gregson, White, Wynn
9 30 October 1915 Croydon Common H 2–1 Allman (og), Sloley
10 6 November 1915 Arsenal A 1–3 Shaw (og)
11 13 November 1915 West Ham United A 1–4 Hooper
12 20 November 1915 Tottenham Hotspur H 1–1 Wynn
13 27 November 1915 Crystal Palace A 0–1
14 4 December 1915 Queens Park Rangers H 4–0 White, Hendren (2), Wynn
15 11 December 1915 Fulham A 3–4 White (2), Wynn
16 18 December 1915 Clapton Orient H 1–1 Denyer
17 25 December 1915 Chelsea H 1–2 G. Curtis
18 27 December 1915 Chelsea A 1–4 Malcolm
19 1 January 1916 Watford A 1–3 Denyer
20 8 January 1916 Millwall H 1–1 Wynn
21 15 January 1916 Croydon Common A 2–2 Denyer (2)
22 22 January 1916 Arsenal H 2–2 Chapelhow, Denyer

London Combination Supplementary Tournament edit

No. Date Opponent Venue Result Scorer(s)
1 5 February 1916 Luton Town A 3–4 White (2), Hendren
2 12 February 1916 Arsenal H 2–1 Denyer, White
3 19 February 1916 Queens Park Rangers A 1–1 Wynn
4 4 March 1916 West Ham United A 2–4 Denyer (2)
5 11 March 1916 Croydon Common H 3–1 Amos, Gordon, Hooper
6 18 March 1916 Arsenal A 2–5 Denyer, Hooper
7 25 March 1916 Queens Park Rangers H 4–0 Wynn, Hooper (2), Sloley
8 1 April 1916 Crystal Palace A 3–6 Sloley (2), Hendren
9 8 April 1916 West Ham United H 1–3 White
10 15 April 1916 Croydon Common A 0–0
11 21 April 1916 Fulham H 2–1 White, Wynn, (pen)
12 24 April 1916 Fulham A 0–1
13 29 April 1916 Luton Town H 0–3
14 6 May 1916 Crystal Palace H 6–3 Knight (2, 1 pen), White (3), Trumper
  • Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[2]

Playing squad edit

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1915–16 season.
Pos. Name Nat. Date of birth (age) Signed from Signed in Notes
Goalkeepers
GK Ted Price   (1883-06-13)13 June 1883 (aged 32) Croydon Common 1912
Defenders
DF Dusty Rhodes (c)   (1882-08-16)16 August 1882 (aged 33) Sunderland 1908 Trainer
DF Bertie Rosier   (1893-03-21)21 March 1893 (aged 22) Southall 1913
Midfielders
HB Charles Allwright   (1888-06-11)11 June 1888 (aged 27) Kingston-on-Thames 1914
HB Alf Amos   (1893-02-09)9 February 1893 (aged 22) Old Kingstonians 1913
HB George Curtis   (1888-10-22)22 October 1888 (aged 26) Kingston-on-Thames 1914
HB Mick O'Brien   (1893-08-10)10 August 1893 (aged 22) Celtic 1915
Forwards
FW Herbert Allwright   (1892-03-04)4 March 1892 (aged 23) Unattached 1915
FW Walter Chalk   (1885-07-10)10 July 1885 (aged 30) Old Kingstonians 1915 Amateur
FW Patsy Hendren   (1889-02-05)5 February 1889 (aged 26) Queens Park Rangers 1911 Played when his cricket commitments allowed
FW Charles Hibbert   (1894-01-25)25 January 1894 (aged 21) Uxbridge 1914 Amateur
FW Frank Price   (1885-02-28)28 February 1885 (aged 30) Shepherds Bush 1914
FW Alfred Rosier   (1888-09-06)6 September 1888 (aged 26) Unattached 1915 Amateur
FW Richard Sloley   (1891-08-20)20 August 1891 (aged 24) Cambridge University 1914 Amateur
FW Henry White   (1895-08-08)8 August 1895 (aged 20) Whamcliffe Athletic 1913 Amateur
Guest players
GK W. Griffiths n/a n/a West Ham United 1916 Guest from West Ham United
DF Joe Hisbent   (1881-12-29)29 December 1881 (aged 33) Middlesbrough 1915 Guest from Middlesbrough
DF Fred Keenor   (1894-07-31)31 July 1894 (aged 21) Cardiff City 1915 Guest from Cardiff City
HB Henry Cook   (1893-10-23)23 October 1893 (aged 21) Middlesbrough 1915 Guest from Middlesbrough
HB Walter Hatherall   (1894-04-22)22 April 1894 (aged 21) n/a 1916 Guest
HB Fred Jepson   (1889-12-20)20 December 1889 (aged 25) Spennymoor United 1915 Guest from Spennymoor United
HB John Lamb   (1889-07-25)25 July 1889 (aged 26) The Wednesday 1915 Guest from The Wednesday
HB George Malcolm   (1889-06-20)20 June 1889 (aged 26) Middlesbrough 1915 Guest from Middlesbrough
HB Billy Matthews   1881 (aged 33–34) Chester 1915 Guest from Chester
HB Archie Mitchell   (1885-12-15)15 December 1885 (aged 29) Queens Park Rangers 1916 Guest from Queens Park Rangers
HB F. Stuckey n/a n/a Old Kingstonians 1916 Amateur, guest from Old Kingstonians
HB Billy Wake   (1886-01-05)5 January 1886 (aged 29) Queens Park Rangers 1916 Guest from Queens Park Rangers
FW George Bowler   (1890-01-23)23 January 1890 (aged 25) Tottenham Hotspur 1915 Guest from Tottenham Hotspur
FW J. Champion n/a n/a n/a 1916 Guest
FW Harry Chapelhow   (1885-03-06)6 March 1885 (aged 30) Penrith 1916 Guest from Penrith
FW Billy Clarkson   (1891-09-22)22 September 1891 (aged 23) Burnley 1915 Guest from Burnley
FW Jack Curtis   (1888-12-13)13 December 1888 (aged 26) Stockport County 1915 Guest from Stockport County
FW Bertie Denyer   (1893-04-09)9 April 1893 (aged 22) Swindon Town 1915 Guest from Swindon Town
FW Arthur Featherstone   n/a n/a 1915 Guest
FW Charlie Freeman   (1887-08-22)22 August 1887 (aged 28) Chelsea 1915 Guest from Chelsea
FW T. Gordon n/a n/a n/a 1916 Guest
FW Alf Gregson   (1889-03-02)2 March 1889 (aged 26) Grimsby Town 1915 Guest from Grimsby Town
FW Bill Hooper   (1884-02-20)20 February 1884 (aged 31) Southport Central 1915 Guest from Southport Central
FW William Knight   (1877-02-10)10 February 1877 (aged 38) Steel Barrel Works 1916 Guest from Steel Barrel Works
FW J. Newman n/a n/a n/a 1916 Guest
FW Bert Powell   (1886-11-23)23 November 1886 (aged 28) Boscombe 1915 Guest from Boscombe
FW William Steer   (1888-10-10)10 October 1888 (aged 26) Chelsea 1915 Guest from Chelsea
FW Henry Trumper   (1889-11-23)23 November 1889 (aged 25) Unattached 1916 Guest
FW Dick Wynn   1892 (aged 22–23) Middlesbrough 1915 Guest from Middlesbrough
  • Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[2] Timeless Bees,[5] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939[6]

Coaching staff edit

Name Role
  Fred Halliday Secretary-Manager
  Dusty Rhodes Trainer

Statistics edit

Appearances and goals edit

Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the London Combination season.
Pos Nat Name League
(Principle) 		League
(Suppl.) 		Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK   Ted Price 22 0 13 0 35 0
DF   Dusty Rhodes 21 0 13 0 34 0
DF   Bertie Rosier 19 0 10 0 29 0
HB   Charles Allwright 7 0 1 0 8 0
HB   Alf Amos 13 0 10 1 23 1
HB   George Curtis 6 1 5 0 11 1
HB   Mick O'Brien 3 0 0 0 3 0
FW   Herbert Allwright 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW   Walter Chalk 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW   Patsy Hendren 8 2 14 2 22 4
FW   Charles Hibbert 3 0 0 0 3 0
FW   Frank Price 4 2 0 0 4 2
FW   Alfred Rosier 3 0 4 0 7 0
FW   Richard Sloley 9 7 6 4 15 11
FW   Henry White 17 5 13 8 30 13
Players guested during the season
GK n/a W. Griffiths — 1 0 1 0
DF   Joe Hisbent 12 0 6 0 18 0
DF   Fred Keenor 5 1 — 5 1
HB   Henry Cook 10 0 9 0 19 0
HB   Walter Hatherall — 2 0 2 0
HB   Fred Jepson 2 0 1 0 3 0
HB   John Lamb 6 0 — 6 0
HB   George Malcolm 11 1 7 0 18 1
HB   Billy Matthews 1 0 — 1 0
HB   Archie Mitchell — 1 0 1 0
HB n/a F. Stuckey — 1 0 1 0
HB   Billy Wake — 1 0 1 0
FW   George Bowler 2 0 — 2 0
FW n/a J. Champion — 1 0 1 0
FW   Harry Chapelhow 2 1 10 0 12 1
FW   Billy Clarkson 7 0 — 7 0
FW   Jack Curtis 13 0 — 13 0
FW   Bertie Denyer 5 5 4 4 9 9
FW   Arthur Featherstone 1 0 — 1 0
FW   Charlie Freeman 1 0 — 1 0
FW n/a T. Gordon — 1 1 1 1
FW   Alf Gregson 4 2 — 4 2
FW   Bill Hooper 5 1 6 3 11 4
FW   William Knight — 2 2 2 2
FW n/a Newman — 1 0 1 0
FW   Bert Powell 2 1 0 0 2 1
FW   William Steer 4 0 — 4 0
FW   Henry Trumper — 3 1 3 1
FW   Dick Wynn 12 5 8 3 20 8
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: 100 Years of Brentford[2]

Goalscorers edit

Pos. Nat Player LCP LCS Total
FW   Henry White 5 8 13
FW   Richard Sloley 7 4 11
FW   Bertie Denyer 5 4 9
FW   Dick Wynn 5 3 8
FW   Bill Hooper 1 3 5
FW   Patsy Hendren 2 2 4
FW   Alf Gregson 2 — 2
FW   Frank Price 2 — 2
FW   William Knight — 2 2
HB   Fred Keenor 1 — 1
FW   Bert Powell 1 — 1
FW   Harry Chapelhow 1 0 1
HB   George Curtis 1 0 1
HB   George Malcolm 1 0 1
FW n/a T. Gordon — 1 1
FW   Henry Trumper — 1 1
HB   Alf Amos 0 1 1
Opponents 2 0 2
Total 36 29 65
  • Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
  • Source: 100 Years of Brentford[2]

Management edit

Name Nat From To Record All Comps Record League
(Principle) 		Record League
(Suppl.)
P W D L W % P W D L W % P W D L W %
Fred Halliday   4 September 1915 6 May 1916 36 11 10 15 030.56 14 5 2 7 035.71 22 6 8 8 027.27

Summary edit

Games played 36 (22 London Combination Principle Tournament, 14 London Combination Supplementary Tournament)
Games won 11 (5 London Combination Principle Tournament, 6 London Combination Supplementary Tournament)
Games drawn 10 (2 London Combination Principle Tournament, 8 London Combination Supplementary Tournament)
Games lost 15 (7 London Combination Principle Tournament, 8 London Combination Supplementary Tournament)
Goals scored 65 (36 London Combination Principle Tournament, 29 London Combination Supplementary Tournament)
Goals conceded 73 (40 London Combination Principle Tournament, 33 London Combination Supplementary Tournament)
Clean sheets 4 (2 London Combination Principle Tournament, 2 London Combination Supplementary Tournament)
Biggest win 4–0 on two occasions
Worst defeat 3–0 versus Luton Town, 29 April 1916; 4–1 on two occasions; 5–2 versus Arsenal, 18 March 1916; 6–3 versus Crystal Palace, 1 April 1916
Most appearances 35, Ted Price (22 London Combination Principle Tournament, 13 London Combination Supplementary Tournament)
Top scorer 13, Henry White

Transfers & loans edit

Guest players' arrival and departure dates correspond to their first and last appearances of the season.
Players transferred in
Date Pos. Name Previous Club Fee Ref.
4 December 1915 FW   Alfred Rosier Unattached Amateur [2]
n/a HB   Jimmy Kennedy   Watford n/a [7]
Guest players in
Date from Pos. Name Previous Club Date to Ref.
4 September 1915 FW   Jack Curtis   Stockport County 1 January 1916 [2]
4 September 1915 HB   Fred Keenor   Cardiff City 9 October 1915 [2]
4 September 1915 FW   Bert Powell   Boscombe 11 September 1915 [2]
11 September 1915 FW   Billy Clarkson   Burnley 30 October 1915 [2]
11 September 1915 HB   John Lamb   The Wednesday 30 October 1915 [2]
25 September 1915 FW   Alf Gregson   Grimsby Town 23 October 1915 [2]
16 October 1915 FW   William Steer   Chelsea 8 January 1916 [2]
23 October 1915 DF   Joe Hisbent   Middlesbrough 21 April 1916 [2]
23 October 1915 HB   George Malcolm   Middlesbrough 21 April 1916 [2]
23 October 1915 FW   Dick Wynn   Middlesbrough 21 April 1916 [2]
30 October 1915 FW   Arthur Featherstone n/a 30 October 1915 [2]
6 November 1915 HB   Henry Cook   Middlesbrough 30 October 1915 [2]
13 November 1915 FW   Bill Hooper   Southport Central 15 April 1916 [2]
20 November 1915 HB   Billy Matthews   Chester 20 November 1915 [2]
11 December 1915 FW   Bertie Denyer   Swindon Town 1 April 1916 [2]
11 December 1915 FW   Charlie Freeman   Chelsea 11 December 1915 [2]
25 December 1915 FW   George Bowler   Tottenham Hotspur 27 December 1915 [2]
27 December 1915 HB   Fred Jepson   Spennymoor United 5 February 1916 [2]
15 January 1916 FW   Harry Chapelhow   Penrith 29 April 1916 [2]
19 February 1919 FW Newman n/a 19 February 1919 [2]
11 March 1916 FW T. Gordon n/a 11 March 1916 [2]
1 April 1916 GK W. Griffiths   West Ham United 1 April 1916 [2]
1 April 1916 HB   Walter Hatherall n/a End of season [2]
15 April 1916 FW   Henry Trumper Unattached End of season [2]
24 April 1916 FW J. Champion n/a 24 April 1916 [2]
24 April 1916 FW   William Knight   Steel Barrel Works End of season [2]
24 April 1916 HB F. Stuckey   Old Kingstonians 24 April 1916 [2]
6 May 1916 HB   Archie Mitchell   Queens Park Rangers End of season [2]
6 May 1916 HB   Billy Wake   Queens Park Rangers End of season [2]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e White 1989, p. 106-107.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 363. ISBN 0951526200.
  3. ^ John Bayne on Lives of the First World War
  4. ^ "Casualty Details: Alexander White Walker". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  5. ^ Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
  6. ^ Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 190589161X.
  7. ^ Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.
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