Herbert Gwyn Turner (19 June 1909 – 8 June 1981) was a Welsh international

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 a full back for

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

. He was best known for scoring for both sides in the 1946 FA Cup Final, becoming the first player to do so.

Football career

Turner was born in

Brithdir, Caerphilly Brithdir is a small village in the northern part of the Rhymney Valley near New Tredegar, in the county borough of Caerphilly, south Wales. It was formed in the early twentieth century to provide housing for men working at the local coal mines ...

and, after school, he joined the

Welch Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment line infantry, of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the am ...

where he had a reputation as an all-round sportsman winning medals for rugby, athletics and hockey with Army teams, as well as playing football. On leaving the army, he returned to his place of birth where he made four appearances for the village team before a trial with

. Turner signed in August 1933 and made his first team debut in the

Football League Third Division South The Third Division South 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 North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...

, with twenty appearances at

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

in the 1933–34 season as Charlton finished fifth in the table. In the next season, he started off at centre half, playing alongside Bill Dodgin and

Frank Harris Frank Harris (14 February 1856 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist, short story writer, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United State ...

before the arrival of Don Welsh in February led to him being moved to

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. The team that manager

Jimmy Seed James Marshall Seed (25 March 1895 – 16 July 1966) was an English footballer and football manager. Despite being born in Blackhill, Seed was brought up in the village of Whitburn on the coast just to the north of Sunderland, the family moving ...

had assembled went on to claim the Division title at the end of the season, and finished as runners-up in the

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 ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

, thus achieving back-to-back promotions. In their first season in

Division One Division 1 or Division One may refer to: Association football * Azadegan League, the second-tier professional football league in Iran * Brisbane Premier League Division 1, the second-tier professional football league in Brisbane, Queensland, Austr ...

, Charlton finished in the runners-up spot, missing the League title by only three points to champions

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, with the meanest defence in the division conceding only 49 goals. Turner continued to play regularly for Charlton up to the outbreak of the

Second World War 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 ...

, as Charlton consolidated their place in the top flight with fourth place and third-place finishes in the next two seasons. By now, Turner's club form had brought him to the notice of the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

selectors and he made his international debut at

Ninian Park Ninian Park was a association football, football stadium in the Leckwith, Cardiff, Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales, that was the home of Cardiff City F.C. for 99 years. Opened in 1910 with a single wooden stand, it underwent numerous renovatio ...

on 17 October 1936 in a 2–1 victory over

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Wales followed this with victories over

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

(2–1) and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

(4–1) to comfortably claim the

1937 British Home Championship Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

. Turner made a total of eight appearances for Wales prior to the war, with five victories and three defeats. He continued to turn out regularly for Wales during the early part of the war, making a further eight appearances in wartime internationals. During the war he was a guest-player for Lovell's Athletic, the

works team A works team, sometimes also referred to as factory team and company team, is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business, institution, or organization in a broad sense. Works teams have very close ties with thei ...

for Lovell's sweet factory in

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, Wales. After the cessation of hostilities, there was no League football in 1945–46. The

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

was the main competition to be played this season; to make up for the lack of quality matches, all FA Cup rounds from round one up to and including the quarter-finals were made two-legged ties (rather than the traditional single matches) with the aggregate score determining who went through to the next round. After easy victories over

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

and

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 ...

, Charlton met

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

in the

semi-final A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

. Bolton were still suffering from the after-effects of the

Burnden Park disaster The Burnden Park disaster was a crowd crush that occurred on 9 March 1946 at Burnden Park football stadium, then the home of Bolton Wanderers. The crush resulted in the deaths of 33 people and injuries to hundreds of Bolton fans. It was the de ...

in which 33 spectators were killed as a result of overcrowding. Charlton won the semi-final comfortably to set up a Cup Final against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

. The

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

was played at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

on 27 April 1946. The game was goalless until the 85th minute, when

Jackie Stamps John David Stamps (2 December 1918 – 19 November 1991) was an English footballer who played as a centre-forward, most notably for Derby County. He is best remembered for scoring two goals in the 1946 FA Cup Final for Derby County in a 4–1 ...

and a Charlton defender jumped up to head a centre from the right. As the ball was nodded out it went straight to

Dally Duncan Douglas "Dally" Duncan (14 October 1909 – 2 January 1990) was a Scottish football player and manager. A left-winger, Duncan joined Hull City from Aberdeen Richmond in 1928 and spent his entire professional career in English football. He joine ...

, who shot goalwards. Turner tried to kick the ball clear, but only managed to turn the ball into his own net. In the next minute Turner scored for his own side when he took a free-kick from the edge of the Rams' penalty area, and although goalkeeper

Vic Woodley Victor Robert Woodley (26 February 1910 – 23 October 1978) was an English football goalkeeper who played for Chelsea was an FA Cup Winner with Derby County and the England national team between the wars. Woodley was spotted by a Chelsea sc ...

appeared to have the shot well covered, the ball struck a Derby player and was deflected past Woodley into the opposite corner of the net to which he was diving. Turner thus became the first player to score for both sides in an FA Cup Final, a feat subsequently repeated by

Tommy Hutchison Thomas Hutchison (born 22 September 1947) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a midfielder. He made over 1,100 appearances, including 314 in the Football League alone for Coventry City, and more than 160 apiece in the competition f ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

and

Gary Mabbutt Gary Vincent Mabbutt (born 23 August 1961) is an English former footballer who made more than 750 professional appearances, first playing for Bristol Rovers and going on to play 619 games for Tottenham Hotspur, despite being diagnosed with typ ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

. At the age of 36 years 312 days, Turner also became the oldest player to score in an FA Cup Final. The match finished level after 90 minutes, but in extra time Derby County scored three goals to win the match 4–1. Turner played one more season with Charlton, but was no longer a regular choice, and was used as cover for

Peter Croker Peter Harry Lewis Croker (21 December 1921 – 7 December 2011) was an English footballer, who played as a full-back in the Football League for Charlton Athletic and Watford and in non-league football for Bromley and Gravesend & Northfleet. Pr ...

at right back or Herbert Johnson at right-half. Turner retired in 1947 after a 14-year Charlton career in which he played 196 matches. Apart from the cup-final goal, his only other goals were two penalties.

Coaching career

He moved to Dartford as player-coach 1947 and 1950 he spent a year in the Netherlands coaching Dortrecht FC. He then left for Sweden where he coached

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening (), commonly known simply as Malmö FF or MFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö, Scania. They compete in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football, and play home matches at the Eleda S ...

and

Kalmar FF Kalmar Fotbollförening, more commonly known as Kalmar FF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Kalmar, Sweden. The club is affiliated to Smålands Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Guldfågeln Arena. Formed on 15 June 1 ...

Later career

In 1956, he returned to England, where he became a

licensee A licensee can mean the holder of a license or, in U.S. tort law, is a person who is on the property of another, despite the fact that the property is not open to the general public, because the owner of the property has allowed the licensee to en ...

Manston, Kent Manston is a village and civil parish in the Thanet district of Kent, England. The village is situated northwest of Ramsgate. The parish includes four hamlets and the former Manston Airport. Etymology The village was originally ''Mannestone'' ...

, until 1980.

Family

His elder brother,

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from the Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious", often shortened to Ernie. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), ...

was a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

with Merthyr Town and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in the 1920s. Bert married Ena James 18 May 1937 and so became brother-in-law to

Dai Astley David John Astley (11 October 1909 – 7 November 1989) was a Welsh international footballer who played as an inside forward in The Football League in the 1920s and 1930s. Club career Dowlais-born Astley played for Merthyr Town, Charlton, Ast ...

(footballer) who was married to Ena's sister Muriel. In 1938 Ena gave birth to a daughter Jillian, who later lived in SwedenInterview with Jillian and Marriage Certificate from Holy Trinity Church in Woolwich

Honours

As a player

Charlton Athletic *

runners-up:

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

champions: 1934–35 *

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third tier ...

runners-up: 1935–36 *

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

runners-up: 1936–37 Wales *

British Home Championship The British Home Championship (historically known as the British International Championship or simply the International Championship) was an annual football competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams: England, Scotlan ...

winners:

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

As a manager

Malmö FF *

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

Svenska Cupen Svenska cupen (, ), also known as the Swedish Cup in English, is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. ''Svenska cupen'' usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also ...

: 1951, 1953

References

External links

Report on 1946 FA Cup Final, with picture of own goal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Bert 1909 births 1981 deaths Military personnel from Caerphilly County Borough Men's association football fullbacks Welsh men's footballers Footballers from Caerphilly English Football League players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Wales men's international footballers Wales men's wartime international footballers Welsh football managers Welsh expatriate football managers Malmö FF managers Kalmar FF managers Expatriate football managers in Sweden Welch Regiment soldiers Lovell's Athletic F.C. wartime guest players Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Sweden 20th-century British Army personnel