Albert Kitchener Iles (9 October 1914 – 30 November 1979) was a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played in

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

prior to the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Football career

Iles began his footballing career playing in the Southern League for Tunbridge Wells Rangers. His prolific scoring record at that level earned him a professional contract with Bristol Rovers, signed on 24 September 1937. He immediately adjusted to the standard of football in Division 3 (South) of The Football League, and ended the 1937–38 season as ''The Pirates top goalscorer with 14 goals from 31 games. The following season, he scored a further five goals in fifteen League appearances, as well as featuring regularly for the reserve team. He played once in the aborted

1939–40 Football League The abandoned 1939–40 season would have been the 48th season of The Football League. The kick-off in all divisions took place on Saturday 26 August 1939.Ian Laschke: ''Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79''. Macdonald ...

season, and scored 16 goals in 29 wartime guest appearances for Rovers. He also made two guest appearances for

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

. After the war he played for

Street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

, and was later trainer at Bristol St. George.

Non-footballing life

In 1939 Iles was working as a fitter at the

Bristol Aeroplane Company The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aircraft engines. Notable ...

, and he later spent many years working at

SWEB SWEB Energy, formerly South Western Electricity Board (SWEB) was a British state-owned regional electricity company operating in South West England which was privatised by the Thatcher government. Although sold many times, the 'SWEB' brand na ...

in Bristol.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iles, Albert 1914 births 1979 deaths Sportspeople from Royal Tunbridge Wells English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Tunbridge Wells F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. wartime guest players Bristol City F.C. wartime guest players Street F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players Western Football League players Footballers from Kent 20th-century English sportsmen