Percy Barnfather (17 December 1879 – 18 December 1951) was an English 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 made 265 appearances and scored 85 goals in all competitions as an

outside right 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 Croydon Common, before and during 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 ...

Playing career

, Barnfather joined

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 ...

club

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

in 1903 and made 25 appearances during the 1903–04 season, scoring four goals. In June 1904, he joined Southern League First Division club New Brompton and remained at Priestfield for two seasons. After a non-playing spell with

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, ...

, he spent the 1906–07 season back in his native

northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...

with

North Eastern League The North Eastern League was an association football league for teams in the North East of England. The league was founded in 1906 and was initially successful, with teams defecting from the rival Northern Football Alliance to play. Although ...

club West Stanley. Barnfather returned to the Southern League to join Second Division club Croydon Common in August 1907 and aside from a spell with

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

and a second spell with West Stanley, he spent the majority of the remainder of his career with the Robins. Barnfather's professional career with Croydon Common came to an end at the end of the 1914–15 season, by which time he had made 140 appearances and scored 48 goals during three spells at The Nest. He finished his career with a short spell at Southern League First Division club Merthyr Town during the 1919–20 season, under manager and former Croydon Common teammate

Harry Hadley Harry Hadley (26 October 1877 – 22 October 1947) was an English professional football player and manager. He played once for the England national team. Playing career Hadley was born in Barrow-in-Furness. Having had little junior football ex ...

Personal life

Barnfather was born in

Byker Byker is a district in the east of the City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series ''Byker Grove'', By ...

and attended Welleck Road School in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. He was a plumber and engineer by trade and was married with three children. After retiring from football, Barnfather worked in a clerical role in the

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed on 1 August 1939 by the Ministry of Supply Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 38) to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Ministe ...

. He died of stomach cancer in 1951 and is buried in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

First World War

In December 1914, four months after the outbreak of the

, Barnfather enlisted as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

in the

Football Battalion The 17th (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment was an infantry battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, part of the British Army, which was formed as a Pals battalion during the Great War. The core of the battalion was a group of professional footbal ...

of the

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

. Through the course of his service, he rose from private to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and won the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

in 1918.

Career statistics

Honours

Croydon Common * Southern League Second Division: 1908–09, 1913–14 * Southern Football Alliance: 1912–13

References

External links

* 1879 births 1951 deaths English Football League players Gillingham F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Croydon Common F.C. players Middlesex Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War I West Stanley F.C. players Merthyr Town F.C. players Southern Football League players Footballers from Newcastle upon Tyne Men's association football outside forwards Recipients of the Military Cross Deaths from stomach cancer in England English men's footballers Military personnel from Newcastle upon Tyne {{England-footy-forward-1870s-stub