Arthur Harrison Allard Vann (1 May 1884 – 25 September 1915) was a British Army officer killed in the First World War. He had been a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

outside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

who appeared in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

for Burton United.

Personal life

Vann was born on 1 May 1884 in Bugbrooke,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. His parents, Alfred George Collins Vann and Hannah Elizabeth Vann were teachers and his younger brother was Bernard William Vann. He attended Chichele College,

Higham Ferrers Higham Ferrers is a market town and civil parish in the Nene Valley in North Northamptonshire, England, close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders. It forms a single built-up area with Rushden to the south and had a population of 8,82 ...

, where his father was headmaster. Vann was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 5th Battalion, The King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry) on 29 June 1908. This was a

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

unit. He resigned his commission in August 1911. Both Vann and his brother Bernard attended

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

. Bernard matriculated in 1907 and Arthur in 1909, aged 25. He graduated in 1913. In the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Vann was again commissioned in the Army as a temporary

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

on 1 October 1914. He served in the 28th (County of London) Battalion of The London Regiment, (The Artists' Rifles) and the West Yorkshire Regiment during the first year of the war. He held the rank of captain and was

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

of the 12th Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment when he was killed at the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used Chemical weapons in World War I, ...

on 25 September 1915. His body was not recovered and he is commemorated on the Loos Memorial. Bernard Vann also served, winning a VC and an MC and Bar, before being killed in action in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on 3 October 1918.

References

1884 births Artists' Rifles officers Military personnel from Northamptonshire Sportspeople from Northamptonshire English men's footballers Northampton Town F.C. players Men's association football outside forwards English Football League players British Army personnel of World War I Burton United F.C. players British military personnel killed in World War I 1915 deaths West Yorkshire Regiment officers Southern Football League players Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge People from Bugbrooke King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry officers Footballers from Northamptonshire Territorial Force officers {{England-footy-forward-1880s-stub