John William Thomas MSM (30 September 1890 – 1947) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Newcastle United as an inside right.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John William Thomas[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 30 September 1890[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Sacriston, England | ||
| Date of death | 1947 (aged 56–57)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Inside right | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| –1910 | Spennymoor United | ||
| 1910–1911 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 | (0) |
| 1911–1912 | Newcastle United | 1 | (0) |
| 1912–19?? | Spennymoor United | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Personal life edit
Either side of the First World War, Thomas worked as a miner,[3] latterly in Sacriston.[4]
After the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914,[3] he enlisted as a lance corporal in the Durham Light Infantry.[2] In 1915, Thomas took part in the Second Battle of Ypres. During the battle, he was taken prisoner of war near Boetleer's Farm and was sent to Germany,[5] where he was incarcerated with French prisoners and learnt the language.[3] He eventually escaped with four other French prisoners and by using a compass which had been hidden in a cake sent from home, he made it to the neutral Netherlands.[3] Upon his return to Britain, Thomas was interrogated as a possible German spy, but was then sent back to France to work in counter-espionage,[3] by posing as a French dock worker in Le Havre and Dieppe.[4] He won the Meritorious Service Medal during the course of his service.[6]
Career statistics edit
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 1910–11[7] | Southern League First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Newcastle United | 1911–12[8] | First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
References edit
- ^ a b Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. p. 285. ISBN 978-1905891610.
- ^ a b c "Thomas, J.W., Sgt., MSM, 1914–1918 (1947)". North East War Memorials Project. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Henderson, Tony (30 September 2014). "The Newcastle United footballers who went to war for their country". The Chronicle. Newcastle. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ a b Hazlewood, Paul. "A tribute to Albion's fallen". www.brightonandhovealbion.com. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- ^ "'Wor' War heroes". Newcastle United Football Club. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "United In The Wars – Part One!" (PDF). True Faith. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ Carder, Tim; Harris, Roger (1997). Albion A–Z: A Who's Who of Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Hove: Goldstone Books. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-9521337-1-1.
- ^ "John Thomas". 11v11.com. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
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