1917–18 Brentford F.C. season

During the 1917–18 English football season, Brentford competed in the London Combination, due to the cessation of competitive football for the duration of the First World War. In a patchy season, the Bees finished in mid-table.

Brentford

1917–18 season
Chairman	H. Jason-Saunders
Secretary-Manager	Fred Halliday
Stadium	Griffin Park
London Combination	6th
Top goalscorer	League: Cock (27) All: Cock (27)
Highest home attendance	6,000
Lowest home attendance	1,500

Season summary

Former Brentford half back George Kennedy was killed on the Western Front in November 1917.

The wartime London Combination was streamlined for the 1917–18 season, with the clubs voting to expel Portsmouth, Watford, Southampton and Luton Town, which would reduce travelling expenses on Britain's congested railways.[1] Despite the entry of the United States into the First World War in April 1917, Britain was still mired in war and manager Fred Halliday again had trouble securing players to play.[1] Of Brentford's squad, goalkeeper Ted Price, defenders Jack Peart, Dusty Rhodes and forwards Albert Chester, Patsy Hendren and Henry White would appear in the majority of the matches during the season.[2] Half back Bill Stanton, previously with Watford, was a rare wartime signing and he too would be regularly available.[1]

Manager Fred Halliday struggled to field a settled side during the opening months of the season and Brentford suffered six defeats in eight matches between mid-September and mid-November 1917.[1] In late November, Halliday pulled off a transfer coup, re-signing former Brentford forward Jack Cock as a guest from Huddersfield Town,[1] to whom he had transferred in April 1914.[3] Cock went on to score 27 goals in 23 appearances, which included two hattricks and a five-goal haul versus rivals Queens Park Rangers on the final day of the season.[2] Henry White, frequently Brentford's top scorer during the First World War, supported ably with 17 goals.[2] The season was notable for some high scoring wins (4–0, 6–2, 6–1 versus Queens Park Rangers; 5–0 versus Clapton Orient and 5–2 versus Tottenham Hotspur) and crushing defeats (7–1 versus Millwall, 6–1 versus Tottenham Hotspur; 8–3, 7–3, 7–2 versus West Ham United and 4–0 on two occasions).[2]

A number of former Brentford players were killed during the season:[4]

• Private James Greechan, died of wounds suffered during the Battle of Langemarck on 25 August 1917, while serving with the Highland Light Infantry.[5][6]
• Company Sergeant Major George Kennedy DCM MM, died of wounds suffered during the Battle of Passchendaele on 16 November 1917, while serving with the Canadian Infantry Corps.[7]
• Private William Kirby, killed during the Battle of Passchendaele on 3 October 1917, while serving with the Royal Engineers. He had appeared as a guest during the 1916–17 season.[8]
• Bombardier William Allwright, served with the Royal Field Artillery and died of a stroke in Britain on 12 April 1918, having returned to convalesce.[9]
• Private Harry Dutfield, served with the Leicestershire Regiment and was killed near Voormezeele, West Flanders on 6 June 1918.[10]

League table

London Combination

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts
5	Arsenal	36	16	5	15	76	57	1.333	37
6	Brentford	36	16	3	17	81	94	0.862	35
7	Crystal Palace	36	13	4	19	54	83	0.651	30

Source: Football and the First World War

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

London Combination

No.	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Scorer(s)
1	1 September 1917	Clapton Orient	H	1–0	Keenor
2	8 September 1917	Millwall	A	3–1	Hendren, Gregson (2)
3	15 September 1917	Tottenham Hotspur	H	5–2	Hendren (2), White (3)
4	22 September 1917	Chelsea	A	1–3	Hendren
5	29 September 1917	Crystal Palace	A	0–4
6	6 October 1917	Arsenal	H	2–2	Gregson, Sloley
7	13 October 1917	West Ham United	A	3–8	Heydenrick, Green, Stanton
8	20 October 1917	Fulham	H	1–3	Chester
9	27 October 1917	Clapton Orient	A	3–1	White (2), Stanton
10	3 November 1917	Millwall	H	0–4
11	10 November 1917	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1–6	Chester
12	17 November 1917	Chelsea	H	1–0	Hooper
13	24 November 1917	Crystal Palace	H	3–0	Cock (3)
14	1 December 1917	Arsenal	A	1–4	Cock
15	8 December 1917	West Ham United	H	3–2	Cock, Denyer, White
16	15 December 1917	Fulham	H	0–2
17	22 December 1917	Clapton Orient	H	5–0	Edwards, White, Cock (2), Hendren
18	25 December 1917	Queens Park Rangers	H	1–1	Cock
19	26 December 1917	Queens Park Rangers	A	4–0	Hendren, Hanney, Stanton, White
20	29 December 1917	Millwall	A	1–7	Cock
21	5 January 1918	Tottenham Hotspur	H	2–3	White, Cock
22	12 January 1918	Chelsea	A	1–4	Cock
23	19 January 1918	Crystal Palace	A	4–3	Chester, E. Rhodes (3)
24	26 January 1918	Arsenal	H	3–2	Cock (2), White
25	2 February 1918	West Ham United	A	2–7	Cowless, Chester
26	9 February 1918	Queens Park Rangers	H	6–1	White (2), Cock (3), Hooper (pen)
27	16 February 1918	Clapton Orient	A	1–1	Cock
28	23 February 1918	Millwall	H	3–1	Cock (2), Sloley
29	2 March 1918	Tottenham Hotspur	A	0–3
30	9 March 1918	Chelsea	H	0–1
31	16 March 1918	Crystal Palace	H	0–2
32	23 March 1918	Arsenal	A	3–1	Cock, Chalmers, Cockerill (og)
33	29 March 1918	Fulham	H	2–3	Chester, Hooper
34	30 March 1918	West Ham United	H	3–7	White (2, 1 pen), Chester
35	1 April 1918	Fulham	A	6–4	Cock (2), Allwright, White (2), Chester
36	6 April 1918	Queens Park Rangers	A	6–2	Cock (5), White

• Source: 100 Years Of Brentford[2]

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1917–18 season.

Pos.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Ted Price		(1883-06-13)13 June 1883 (aged 34)	Croydon Common	1912
Defenders
DF	Alf Amos		(1893-02-09)9 February 1893 (aged 24)	Old Kingstonians	1913
DF	Jack Peart		(1884-10-13)13 October 1884 (aged 32)	Croydon Common	1916
DF	Fred Price		n/a	Shepherds Bush	1914
DF	Dusty Rhodes (c)		(1882-08-16)16 August 1882 (aged 35)	Sunderland	1908	Trainer
Midfielders
HB	Charles Allwright		(1888-06-11)11 June 1888 (aged 29)	Kingston upon Thames	1915
HB	George Curtis		(1888-10-22)22 October 1888 (aged 28)	Kingston upon Thames	1914
HB	Mick O'Brien		(1893-08-10)10 August 1893 (aged 24)	Celtic	1915
HB	Bill Stanton		(1890-05-09)9 May 1890 (aged 27)	Watford	1917
Forwards
FW	Albert Chester		(1886-03-17)17 March 1886 (aged 31)	Millwall	1916
FW	Patsy Hendren		(1889-02-05)5 February 1889 (aged 28)	Queens Park Rangers	1911	Played when his cricket commitments allowed
FW	Richard Sloley		(1891-08-20)20 August 1891 (aged 26)	Cambridge University	1914	Amateur
FW	Henry White		(1895-08-08)8 August 1895 (aged 22)	Whamcliffe Athletic	1913	Amateur
Guest players
GK	Fred Craig		(1893-01-16)16 January 1893 (aged 24)	Plymouth Argyle	1917	Guest from Plymouth Argyle
GK	W. Griffiths	n/a	n/a	West Ham United	1917	Guest from West Ham United
GK	Jimmy Morris		n/a	Clapton Orient	1917	Guest from Clapton Orient
GK	Walter Scott		(1886-01-21)21 January 1886 (aged 31)	Worksop Town	1917	Guest from Worksop Town
DF	Fred Bullock		(1886-07-01)1 July 1886 (aged 31)	Huddersfield Town	1917	Guest from Huddersfield Town
HB	Sam Blott		(1886-06-19)19 June 1886 (aged 31)	Plymouth Argyle	1917	Guest from Plymouth Argyle
HB	Jimmy Brandham		1890 (aged 26–27)	Fulham	1918	Guest from Fulham
HB	W. Frisby	n/a	n/a	Southampton	1917	Guest from Southampton
HB	Ted Hanney		(1889-01-19)19 January 1889 (aged 28)	Manchester City	1917	Guest from Manchester City
HB	E. Heydenrick		n/a	Unattached	1917	Guest
HB	Bill Hooper		(1884-02-20)20 February 1884 (aged 33)	Southport Central	1917	Guest from Southport Central
HB	George Hunter		(1885-06-01)1 June 1885 (aged 32)	Manchester United	1917	Guest from Manchester United
HB	James Lockwood		(1887-02-20)20 February 1887 (aged 30)	Queens Park Rangers	1918	Guest from Queens Park Rangers
HB	Mansell		n/a	The Wednesday	1917	Guest from The Wednesday
HB	J. Mee	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
HB	Sam Morris		(1886-10-20)20 October 1886 (aged 30)	Bristol Rovers	1917	Guest from Bristol Rovers
HB	Robert Nash		n/a	Unattached	1917	Guest
HB	A. Rhodes	n/a	n/a	n/a	1918	Guest
HB	T. Roberts	n/a	n/a	Luton Town	1917	Guest from Luton Town
HB	T. Smith	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
HB	Talbot	n/a	n/a	n/a	1918	Guest
HB	Maurice Woodward		(1891-10-12)12 October 1891 (aged 25)	Southend United	1917	Guest from Southend United
HB	Billy Yenson		1880 (aged 36–37)	Croydon Common	1917	Guest from Croydon Common
FW	Billy Brawn		(1878-08-01)1 August 1878 (aged 39)	Unattached	1917	Guest
FW	David Chalmers		(1891-07-22)22 July 1891 (aged 26)	Grimsby Town	1918	Guest from Grimsby Town
FW	Jack Cock		(1893-11-14)14 November 1893 (aged 23)	Huddersfield Town	1917	Guest from Huddersfield Town
FW	William Cowless		1889 (aged 27–28)	West Ham United	1918	Guest from West Ham United
FW	Jack Curtis		(1888-12-13)13 December 1888 (aged 28)	Stockport County	1917	Guest from Stockport County
FW	A. Davis	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
FW	Bertie Denyer		(1893-04-09)9 April 1893 (aged 24)	Swindon Town	1917	Guest from Swindon Town
FW	James Dillimore		(1894-12-19)19 December 1894 (aged 22)	n/a	1917	Guest
FW	Billy Edwards		(1895-10-24)24 October 1895 (aged 21)	n/a	1917	Guest
FW	W. Elliott	n/a	n/a	n/a	1918	Guest
FW	Thomas Graham		(1887-07-20)20 July 1887 (aged 30)	Castleford Town	1917	Guest from Castleford Town
FW	John Green		September 1894 (aged 22–23)	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1917	Guest from Wolverhampton Wanderers
FW	Alf Gregson		(1889-03-02)2 March 1889 (aged 28)	Grimsby Town	1917	Guest from Grimsby Town
FW	W. Harrison	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
FW	H. James	n/a	n/a	n/a	1918	Guest
FW	A. Jones	n/a	n/a	Unattached	1917	Guest
FW	Fred Keenor		(1894-07-31)31 July 1894 (aged 23)	Cardiff City	1917	Guest from Cardiff City
FW	W. Ramsay	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest
FW	B. N. Sidney	n/a	n/a	n/a	1917	Guest

• Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,[2] Timeless Bees,[11] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939[12]

Coaching staff

Name	Role
Fred Halliday	Secretary-Manager
Dusty Rhodes	Trainer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Price

Rhodes (c)

Peart

Yenson

Hooper

Brandham

White

Edwards

Cock

Chester

Hendren

Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the London Combination season.

Pos	Nat	Name	Total
			Apps	Goals
GK		Ted Price	20	0
DF		Alf Amos	8	0
DF		Jack Peart	26	0
DF		Fred Price	1	0
DF		Dusty Rhodes	23	3
HB		Charles Allwright	3	1
HB		George Curtis	1	0
HB		Mick O'Brien	2	0
HB		Bill Stanton	25	3
FW		Albert Chester	30	7
FW		Patsy Hendren	34	6
FW		Richard Sloley	1	0
FW		Henry White	24	17
Players guested during the season
GK		Fred Craig	1	0
GK	n/a	W. Griffiths	1	0
GK		Jimmy Morris	11	0
GK		Walter Scott	3	0
DF		Fred Bullock	6	0
HB		Sam Blott	1	0
HB		Jimmy Brandham	9	0
HB	n/a	W. Frisby	2	0
HB		Ted Hanney	10	1
HB		E. Heydenrick	1	1
HB		Bill Hooper	22	3
HB		George Hunter	17	0
HB		James Lockwood	1	0
HB		Mansell	1	0
HB	n/a	J. Mee	1	0
HB		Sam Morris	5	0
HB		Robert Nash	1	0
HB	n/a	A. Rhodes	1	0
HB	n/a	T. Roberts	1	0
HB	n/a	T. Smith	1	0
HB	n/a	Talbot	1	0
HB		Maurice Woodward	7	0
HB		Billy Yenson	15	0
FW		Billy Brawn	1	0
FW		David Chalmers	1	1
FW		Jack Cock	23	27
FW		William Cowless	1	1
FW		Jack Curtis	3	0
FW	n/a	A. Davis	1	0
FW		Bertie Denyer	2	1
FW		James Dillimore	1	0
FW		Billy Edwards	10	1
FW	n/a	W. Elliott	1	0
FW		Thomas Graham	1	0
FW		John Green	9	1
FW		Alf Gregson	5	3
FW	n/a	W. Harrison	1	0
FW	n/a	H. James	2	0
FW	n/a	A. Jones	1	0
FW		Fred Keenor	9	1
FW	n/a	W. Ramsay	1	0
FW	n/a	B. N. Sidney	1	0

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford[2]

Goalscorers

Pos.	Nat	Player	Total
FW		Jack Cock	27
FW		Henry White	17
FW		Albert Chester	7
FW		Patsy Hendren	6
FW		Alf Gregson	3
HB		Bill Hooper	3
DF		Dusty Rhodes	3
HB		Bill Stanton	3
HB		Charles Allwright	1
FW		David Chalmers	1
FW		William Cowless	1
FW		Bertie Denyer	1
FW		Billy Edwards	1
FW		John Green	1
HB		Ted Hanney	1
HB		E. Heydenrick	1
FW		Fred Keenor	1
Opponents			1
Total			81

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford[2]

Management

Name	Nat	From	To	Record
				P	W	D	L	W %
Fred Halliday		1 September 1917	6 April 1918	36	16	3	17	044.44

Summary

Games played	36
Games won	16
Games drawn	3
Games lost	17
Goals scored	81
Goals conceded	94
Clean sheets	5
Biggest win	5–0 versus Clapton Orient, 22 December 1917
Worst defeat	7–1 versus Millwall, 29 December 1917
Most appearances	39, Patsy Hendren
Top scorer	27, Jack Cock

Transfers & loans

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Fee	Ref.
1 September 1917	HB	Bill Stanton	Watford	Free	[2]
Guest players in
Date from	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Date to	Ref.
1 September 1917	DF	Fred Bullock	Huddersfield Town	6 October 1917	[2]
1 September 1917	FW	Jack Curtis	Stockport County	24 November 1917	[2]
1 September 1917	FW	Alf Gregson	Grimsby Town	6 October 1917	[2]
1 September 1917	DF	Ted Hanney	Manchester City	End of season	[2]
1 September 1917	HB	George Hunter	Manchester United	19 January 1918	[2]
1 September 1917	FW	Fred Keenor	Cardiff City	23 March 1918	[2]
1 September 1917	GK	Jimmy Morris	Clapton Orient	1 April 1918	[2]
22 September 1917	FW	John Green	Wolverhampton Wanderers	5 January 1918	[2]
22 September 1917	FW	A. Jones	Unattached	22 September 1917	[2]
22 September 1917	HB	T. Roberts	Luton Town	22 September 1917	[2]
22 September 1917	GK	Walter Scott	Worksop Town	6 October 1917	[2]
13 October 1917	GK	W. Griffiths	West Ham United	13 October 1917	[2]
13 October 1917	HB	E. Heydenrick	Unattached	13 October 1917	[2]
13 October 1917	HB	J. Mee	n/a	13 October 1917	[2]
13 October 1917	FW	B. N. Sidney	n/a	13 October 1917	[2]
13 October 1917	HB	T. Smith	n/a	13 October 1917	[2]
20 October 1917	HB	Sam Morris	Bristol Rovers	26 December 1917	[2]
20 October 1917	HB	Maurice Woodward	Southend United	End of season	[2]
3 November 1917	FW	Billy Brawn	Unattached	3 November 1917	[2]
3 November 1917	FW	W. Harrison	n/a	3 November 1917	[2]
3 November 1917	HB	Mansell	The Wednesday	3 November 1917	[2]
3 November 1917	HB	Robert Nash	Unattached	3 November 1917	[13]
10 November 1917	HB	Sam Blott	Plymouth Argyle	10 November 1917	[2]
10 November 1917	GK	Fred Craig	Plymouth Argyle	10 November 1917	[14]
10 November 1917	FW	James Dillimore	n/a	10 November 1917	[2]
10 November 1917	FW	W. Ramsay	n/a	10 November 1917	[2]
17 November 1917	FW	Bertie Denyer	Swindon Town	8 December 1917	[2]
17 November 1917	FW	Thomas Graham	Castleford Town	17 November 1917	[2]
17 November 1917	FW	Bill Hooper	Southport Central	End of season	[2]
24 November 1917	FW	Jack Cock	Huddersfield Town	End of season	[2]
24 November 1917	HB	Billy Yenson	Croydon Common	30 March 1918	[15]
1 December 1917	FW	A. Davis	n/a	1 December 1917	[2]
8 December 1917	HB	W. Frisby	Southampton	15 December 1917	[2]
15 December 1917	FW	Billy Edwards	n/a	23 March 1918	[2]
5 January 1918	FW	H. James	n/a	End of season	[2]
12 January 1918	HB	A. Rhodes	n/a	12 January 1918	[2]
19 January 1918	HB	Talbot	n/a	19 January 1918	[2]
2 February 1918	FW	William Cowless	West Ham United	16 February 1918	[2]
2 February 1918	FW	W. Elliott	n/a	2 February 1918	[2]
16 February 1918	HB	Jimmy Brandham	Fulham	1 April 1918	[2]
23 February 1918	HB	James Lockwood	Queens Park Rangers	23 February 1918	[2]
23 March 1918	FW	David Chalmers	Grimsby Town	23 March 1918	[2]
Guest players out
Date from	Pos.	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
1917	HB	Jimmy Kennedy	Airdrieonians	1918	[16]

References

1. White 1989, p. 108-109.
2. White, Eric, ed. (1989). 100 Years Of Brentford. Brentford FC. p. 364. ISBN 0951526200.
3. White 1989, p. 101-103.
4. Bees Review: Brentford Official Matchday Programme vs Hull City. Milton Keynes: Regal Sports Press. 3 November 2015. pp. 61–67.
5. "James Greechan | Service Record". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
6. "The Magazine of Highams Park Baptist Church – October/November 2017" (PDF). p. 21. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
7. "Casualty Details: George William Kennedy". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 22 July 2018.
8. "Croydon Common FC – William Kirby" (PDF). Retrieved 8 May 2018.
9. "Casualty Details: William Allwright". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
10. "Casualty Details: Harry Dutfield". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
11. Haynes, Graham; Coumbe, Frank (2006). Timeless Bees: Brentford F.C. Who's Who 1920–2006. Yore Publications. ISBN 978-0955294914.
12. Joyce, Michael (2012). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: Tony Brown. ISBN 190589161X.
13. "Croydon Common FC – Robert Nash" (PDF). Retrieved 8 May 2018.
14. Scallan, Trevor. "GoS-DB Players". www.greensonscreen.co.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
15. "Croydon Common FC – William Yenson" (PDF). Retrieved 8 May 2018.
16. Litster, John. Record of Pre-War Scottish League Players. Norwich: PM Publications.