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Wanderers At War
By Mark Heys March 20 2007
Two World Wars didn't even come in the way of the running of Bolton Wanderers and this was thanks in no small part to the manager Charles Foweraker who served the club with distinction for nearly four decades.

Foweraker worked tirelessly around the clock to ensure that the club remained on it's feet even though the town and the area around him was disrupted with conflict and devastation. Of the players to go to war the second time around was captain Harry Goslin, sadly killed on duty whilst serving his country in 1943 and the second Wanderers player to be killed in combat following on from the tragic death of seaman Walter Sidebottom nearly four years previous.

Goalkeeper Stan Hanson joined fellow first team regulars Don Howe, Danny Winter, Ray Westwood, Ernie Forrest, Jack Hurst and Albert Geldard in the Wanderers contingent who went to war the second time around.

During the war years a young Nat Lofthouse also made his debut for Bolton and there where guest appearances for future Liverpool manager Bill Shankly and Preston North End and England legend Sir Tom Finney.

LEAGUE RECORD

FIRST WORLD WAR

1915-1916  12th in Lancashire Section, 4th in Subsidiary Competition

1916-1917  10th in Lancashire Section, 8th in Subsidiary Competition

1917-1918  7th in Lancashire Section, 6th in Subsidiary Competition

1918-1919  4th in Lancashire Section, 2nd in Subsidiary Competition

SECOND WORLD WAR

1939-1940  4th in North West War League

1940-1941  26th in Football League North

1941-1942  34th in Football League North

1942-1943  46th in Football League North

1943-1944  48th in Football League North

1944-1945  9th in Football League North

1945-1946  3rd in Football League North

GOALSCORING

FIRST WORLD WAR

1915-1916  Joe Smith 22

1916-1917  Joe Smith 20

1917-1918  Alf Winterburn 14

1918-1919  Frank Roberts 18

SECOND WORLD WAR

1939-1940  George Hunt 15

1940-1941  Nat Lofthouse 11

1941-1942  George Hunt 20

1942-1943  George Hunt 17

1943-1944  Jim Currier 17

1944-1945  Nat Lofthouse 30

1945-1946  Nat Lofthouse 20

APPEARANCES

WORLD WAR ONE

Len Appleton, R.Ashurst, H.Barrett, Herbert Baverstock, J.Bleakley, E.Boardman, H.Bradbury, J.Brooks, J.Buchan, Tom Buchan, P.Clayton, J.Colbourn, E.Cooper, W.Cousins, T.Devitt, Alf Davies, W.Davies, Alex Donaldson, John Edmondson, W.Ellison, W.Entwistle, J.Farnworth, Jimmy Fay, Jack Feebury, W.Fitton,  R.Foulkes, A.Gannon, F.H Garrett, J.Garside, R.Geddes, Stan Gimblett, Bob Glendenning, George Guy, C.Hallows, J.Hamer, J.Hampson, G.Haslam, A.Hatfield, R.Hayes, J.Heathcote, T.Hesmondhalgh, Thomas Heslop, Harold Hilton, J.Hilton, P.Hilton, J.Hodgkiss, W.J Holgate, H.Hothersall, Joe Hughes, W.Hulme, G.Hurst, Billy Jennings, F.Johnson, H.Johnson, A.Jones, Evan Jones, T.Kay, H.Keenan, P.Kelly, Jimmy Kidd, J.Lane, Joe Lansdale, J.Lawrence, George Lillycrop, F.Livesey, Bruce Longworth, J.Lord, W.Lovett, J.Lythgoe, W.Mather, R.Morris, J.Nuttall, W.Nuttall, E.Pasquill, John Pickup, F.Pilkington, Frank Roberts, Walter Rowley, M.Rutter, Jimmy Seddon, S.Sharp, Shipperbottom, F.Shuttlebottom, Edward Sidlow, J.R Sloan, H.Smith, Joe Smith, J.Spiby, G.Stanley, David Stokes, Joe Thomas, Percy Toone, Ted Vizard, William Wallace, W.Waller, George Wilson, J.Wilson, Alf Winterburn, J.Woods, J.Wray. M.Young

WORLD WAR TWO

J.Anderson, John Aspinall, Jack Atkinson, Ralph Banks, H.Barker, Malcolm Barrass,  E.C Beardsman, Colin Beardshaw, John Berry, Ron Bolton, Les Boulter, Jackie Bray, Jack Breedon, S.Briddon, J.Brown, W.Brown, Cam Burgess, Stan Butler, D.F Carter, George Catterall, Cliff Chadwick, S.Charlesworth, D.Clancy, Harry Cload, W.Colclough, J.Connor, J.E Cooper, R.M Cross, J.Crossley,J.Crozier, Jimmy Nat Cunliffe, Jim Currier, H.Dailey, J.K Davies, George Eastham, Harry Eastham, Edmund Eastwood, Bill Fielding, R.J Finan, Tom Finney, Ernie Forrest, R.Foster, J.D Foxton, J.W Gallon, H.Gee, Albert Geldard, Matt Gillies, Eddie Goodall, W.C Gorman, W.E Gorman, Harry Goslin, R.E Graham, R.Grainger, Walter Grimsditch, G.Grosling, A.Grosvenor, R.Gunner, HHC Hall, J.Hall, Lol Hamlett, Charlie Hanks, Alf Hanson, Stan Hanson, J.Harker, F.H Harrison, A.D Haslam, N.Heslop, H.Higham, R.W Hopkins, W.Houghton, Don Howe, Harry Hubbick, A.L Hughes, G.E Hughes, George Hunt, Jack Hurst, Billy Ithell, James Jackson, W.R John, J.W Johnson, W.H Johnson, Sid Jones, WEA Jones, J.Knight, S.J Koffman, J.Lancaster, E.C Leyland, J.Liddle, L.Livesey, Nat Lofthouse, F.H Longman, R.MacFarlane, W.Mangham, D.Mann, R.Marsh, D.Marshall, L.Martindale, LAC Mawdsley, R.C Mawdsley, C.McClelland, J.M McCormick, W.McEwan, Alan Middlesbrough, T.Middleton, J.L Milne, Willie Moir, J.Morris, E.R Morrison, Danny Murphy, J.Myers, C.Neal, R.R Newton, W.O'Neill, J.G Owens, L.T Parker, T.U Pearson, E.Platt, G.F Power, R.I Pryde, A.Richardson, N.Richardson, E.Rigby, J.Rimmer, J.J Robinson, Jack Roberts, Teddy Rothwell, D.W Russell, R.Ryder, R.G Savage, W.Schofield, Bill Shankly, J.Shields, J.Shore, J.Shuttleworth, Walter Sidebottom, Tommy Sinclair, J.D Smith, J.R Smith, RAG Smith, K.Smith, K.Speak, A.W Steen,  H.Stephan, A.Sullivan, T.A Swinburne, N.Tate, G.Taylor, Jack Threlfall, F.Tomlinson, H.Topping, E.Walker, George Walton, A.Watson, J.Watson, F.W West, Ray Westwood, H.Whalley, J.E Wharton, G.K Whitehead, F.Windsor, Danny Winter, J.Woodburn, T.Woodburn, Tom Woodward, H.Wright, J.Wright

Copyright 2007 Walking Down The Manny Road - All Rights Reserved

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