Henry Augustus Anstiss (22 August 1899 – 9 March 1964) was a much-travelled 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 lea ...

who played as an

inside-forward 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 bei ...

for Hammersmith Athletic,

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

, Swansea Town,

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

, Gillingham, Tunbridge Wells Rangers and

Cray Wanderers Cray Wanderers Football Club is an English semi-professional association football, football club based in Chislehurst, London. Based on later reports, the club has a claim to have been established some time in 1860 in the twin villages of St ...

in the 1920s and 1930s. His most significant spell was with Port Vale, with whom he won the

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

title in 1929–30.

Career

Anstiss played for Hammersmith Athletic, before joining

and

, before joining

in February 1927, along with 'a substantial financial consideration' in exchange for Alfred Strange. Strange went on to become an England international. Anstiss did not head in the same direction. He had a great start to his Vale career, though, scoring on his debut at the

Old Recreation Ground The Old Recreation Ground was a football stadium located in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, England, and home to Port Vale F.C. from 1913 to 1950. It was the sixth ground the club used. Structure and facilities The stadium was in rather bad conditi ...

in a 6–2 win over

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

on 26 February. He went on to score a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 7–1 home win over

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

on 2 April and claimed 11 goals in 15

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

games in the 1926–27 campaign. This was the end of his purple patch, as he scored five goals in 32 games in the 1927–28 season. Injury brought him down in November 1928 and limited him to three goals in 17 matches in the 1928–29

relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

season. He scored 15 goals in 37 appearances in the 1929–30 season, as the "Valiants" were crowned champions of the

. He fell from favour in October 1930 and was limited to six goals in 17 games in the 1930–31 season. He was transferred to Swansea Town in May 1931. Later he played for

, Gillingham, Tunbridge Wells Rangers and

Personal life

Anstiss served as a Boy 1st Class in the

Royal Navy during the First World War The Royal Navy had three main tasks at the beginning of the war: to bring the British Expeditionary Force to France and ensure its supplies and reinforcements; to establish and maintain a blockade against Germany; and to ensure the security of ...

. Aged just 16, he saw action at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...

in 1916 and served on ''

HMS Royal Oak Eight ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS ''Royal Oak'', after the Royal Oak in which Charles II hid himself during his flight from the country in the English Civil War: * was a 76-gun second rate launched in 1664 and burnt by the Dutch ...

''. He joined the crew of '' HMS Powerful'' the following year.

Career statistics

Honours

Port Vale *

Football League Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated t ...

: 1929–30

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anstiss, Harry Footballers from the London Borough of Camden People from Hampstead English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Royal Navy personnel of World War I Brentford F.C. players Millwall F.C. players Watford F.C. players Rochdale A.F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Crewe Alexandra F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Tunbridge Wells F.C. players Cray Wanderers F.C. players English Football League players 1899 births 1964 deaths 20th-century English sportsmen