Roderick Alexander Munro (27 July 1920 – July 1976) was a Scottish 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 played as a full back for

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 ...

and Cambridge City. He is best remembered for his seven years 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 ...

with Brentford, for whom he made over 200 appearances.

Career

Rangers

A full back, Munro began his career in

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 ...

as an amateur with

Scottish League First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the o ...

club

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

in 1938, but the breakout 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 ...

in 1939 and the suspension of professional football brought a halt to his career.

Brentford

A year after the end of the Second World War in 1945, Munro joined

as an amateur, on the recommendation of Tom Manley, with whom he had served in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

during the war. He played the final five matches of the 1945–46

Football League South The Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created temporarily for the League to continue through the Second World War while limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The leagues sta ...

season. Munro signed a professional contract during the 1946 off-season and with the resumption of league football, he made his debut in a 5–2

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

defeat to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

on 28 September 1946. He made 38 appearances in his debut season, which ended with the Bees suffering relegation to

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 ...

. Munro was a regular fixture in the team until the end of the 1952–53 season, when he departed

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground was in a predominantly resi ...

. He made 211 appearances during his time with the Bees.

Cambridge City

Munro ended his career with at

Athenian League The Athenian League was an England, English amateur association football, football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football ...

club Cambridge City.

Personal life

Munro grew up in the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

Aultbea Aultbea (Gaelic: ''An t-Allt Beithe'') is a small coastal fishing village in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. It is situated on the southeast shore of Loch Ewe, about west of Ullapool. The village has a primary school and a small post offi ...

in the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

of Scotland. He met his wife Sheena in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

while serving in the Second World War and they had two children. While with Brentford, Munro and his wife Sheena provided accommodation for Aultbea-native Hugh Urquhart, who failed to make the grade with the club and dropped into

non-League football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...

. The couple settled in Hauxton, Cambridgeshire in the 1950s and worked for

Fisons Fisons plc was a British Multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical, scientific instruments and horticultural chemicals company headquartered in Ipswich, United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a cons ...

. Munro died in 1976 and was survived by Sheena, who died in

Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 21,128 as of 2021 ...

in February 2008.

Career statistics

References

Military personnel from Highland (council area) Scottish men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Brentford F.C. players English Football League players 1920 births Rangers F.C. players Scottish Football League players Cambridge City F.C. players 1976 deaths People from South Cambridgeshire District Colchester United F.C. players Southern Football League players Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Footballers from Cambridgeshire 20th-century Scottish sportsmen {{Scotland-footy-defender-1920s-stub