Albert Ernest Harry (8 March 1897 – 3 January 1966) was an English
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 ...
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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
for
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
. He also played for
Kingstonian
Kingstonian Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London which currently plays in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
The club was founded in 1885 by YMCA ...
,
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock ...
and
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mov ...
.
Early life
Harry, served in the army during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
with the 6th battalion of the
East Surrey Regiment from 1914 to 1919,
[Obituary and report of his funeral.]
Football career
Harry was signed for
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...
in 1921 by then
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
Edmund Goodman, who had spotted Harry playing for
Kingstonian
Kingstonian Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London which currently plays in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
The club was founded in 1885 by YMCA ...
in the Surrey Cup Final.
He made his
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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
debut in March 1922 and went on to make 410 appearances for Crystal Palace between then and 1934, a club record which stood until surpassed by
Terry Long in 1960.
Harry moved to
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and
is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock ...
in August 1934
and later to
Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mov ...
.
Later life and death
Harry subsequently retired from football and became a publican in
Oakamoor
Oakamoor is a small village in north Staffordshire, England.
Although it is now a rural area, it has an industrial past which drew on the natural resources of the Churnet valley.
Iron was smelted from medieval times. Copper and lumber were als ...
, Staffordshire,
then returned to
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
where he kept the Pound Inn at
Leebotwood
Leebotwood ( ) is a small village and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is about south of Shrewsbury and north of Church Stretton.
Geography
The village is located on the A49 road, north of Church Stretton and south of the village of Dor ...
from 1935 to 1954 and Horseshoes Inn at nearby
Dorrington from 1954 until he retired from the licensed trade in 1963, when he moved to
Bayston Hill
Bayston Hill is a large village and civil parish in central Shropshire, England. It is south of the county town Shrewsbury and located on the main A49 road, the Shrewsbury to Hereford road.
Occupied continuously since before the Middle Ages, ...
near
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'S ...
.
[
Albert Harry died in 1966 aged 68,] and was buried on 7 January 1966 at Leebotwood church. He left a widow and two daughters.[
]
References
External links
Albert Harry at holmesdale.net
1897 births
1966 deaths
Burials in Shropshire
English men's footballers
Crystal Palace F.C. players
Dartford F.C. players
Kingstonian F.C. players
Shrewsbury Town F.C. players
Footballers from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
People from Kingston upon Thames
Men's association football forwards
English Football League players
East Surrey Regiment soldiers
British Army personnel of World War I
Military personnel from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
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