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Bert Crossthwaite

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Bert Crossthwaite
Personal information
Full name Herbert Crossthwaite
Date of birth (1887-04-04)4 April 1887
Place of birth Preston, England
Date of death 20 May 1944(1944-05-20) (aged 67)
Place of death Birmingham, England
Height 5 ft 9+3⁄4 in (1.77 m)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
19??–1905 Preston Post Office
1905–1906 Preston North End 0 (0)
1906–1907 Blackpool 1 (0)
1907–1909 Fulham 2 (0)
1909–1910 Exeter City 41 (0)
1910–1914 Birmingham 49 (0)
1914–1915 Stoke 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Herbert Crossthwaite (4 April 1887 – 20 May 1944) was an English footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Blackpool, Fulham and Birmingham in the Football League and for Exeter City in the Southern League.

Sporting career

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Crossthwaite played football for Preston Post Office before signing amateur forms with Football League First Division club Preston North End, but made no senior appearances for that club.[1][2] Having turned professional,[2] he did play one match in the Football League for their West Lancashire rivals Blackpool, in the Second Division away to Gainsborough Trinity on 29 September 1906.[3] Crossthwaite joined Fulham for a £15 fee ahead of the 1907–08 season,[4] and made two more Second Division appearances in the second half of that campaign, standing in for first-choice goalkeeper Leslie Skene on each occasion.[1][5] He was retained for 1908–09,[6] but took no further part in the first team,[1] and signed for Southern League club Exeter City in 1909.[7] He missed only one Southern League match in the 1909–10 season.[8]

He then moved to Birmingham, joined the police,[9] and was reinstated as an amateur.[2] He returned to football with Birmingham in 1911, for which he played 49 Second Division games, most of which came in a spell from October 1912 to New Year's Day 1914.[10][11] He later signed for Stoke, before retiring from the game in around 1915.[12]

After retiring as a player, he became a referee, and officiated in matches up to Football League level.[13] He was also a competent sprinter, despite being a heavy man,[14] and was for many years actively involved with the charity sports meetings organised by the Birmingham police.[2][13]

Personal life

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Herbert Crossthwaite was born on 4 April 1887 in Preston, Lancashire,[12] to Thomas Crossthwaite, a general labourer, and his wife Esther, a cotton operative.[15] The 1901 United Kingdom Census records him as a postal telegraph messenger.[16] He married Agnes Carter in 1909, and the couple had two children, Ann and Herbert.[17]

Crossthwaite joined the Birmingham City Police in September 1910, giving his previous occupation as that of postman.[17] His police file describes him as 5 ft 9+3⁄4 in (1.77 m) tall, of dark complexion with dark brown hair and eyes.[17] He was promoted to sergeant in 1917 and to inspector in 1925,[17] spending much of his career serving in the Chief Constable's office, specialising in entertainment tax enforcement before such work was taken over by the Inland Revenue.[17] He was a recipient of the King's Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935,[2] and retired from the police later that year having completed his 25 years' service.[17]

The 1939 Register finds him living with his family in the Erdington district of Birmingham and working part-time as a nightwatchman.[18] On 20 May 1944, at the age of 57, he collapsed and died in Erdington.[9][19]

A cousin, Harry Crossthwaite, played League football for Stockport County and Stoke.[12][10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Player search: Crossthwaite, H (Herbert)". English National Football Archive. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e "The Clubman's Diary: Inspector Crossthwaite". Birmingham Gazette. 4 July 1935. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Calley, Roy (1992). Blackpool: A Complete Record 1887–1992. Derby: Breedon Books Sport. p. 188.
  4. ^ "Fulham's transfer fees". Daily Mirror. London. 3 August 1907. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "no title". Daily Mirror. London. 7 February 1908. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Football signing on". Daily Mirror. London. 1 May 1908. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "The Field of Sport. Exeter City's signatures completed". Devon and Exeter Gazette. 19 July 1909. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Crossthwaite, Herbert". The Grecian Archive. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Death of ex-inspector Crossthwaite". Evening Despatch. Birmingham. 22 May 1944. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
  11. ^ Matthews (1995), pp. 158–160.
  12. ^ a b c Matthews 1995, p. 83.
  13. ^ a b "Death of former police officer". The Birmingham Mail. 22 May 1944. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Table talk. Inspector-goalkeeper". The Birmingham Mail. 27 May 1944. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "1891 England Census for Herbert Crossthwaite". Ancestry.com. RG12 3430/120 ED 10.
  16. ^ "1901 England Census for Harbert Crossthwaite". Ancestry.com. RG13 3946/11 ED 22.
  17. ^ a b c d e f "West Midlands, England, Police Files and Ledgers, 1850–1950 for Herbert Crossthwaite". Ancestry.com. 7825 Crossthwaite Herbert.
  18. ^ "1939 England and Wales Register for Herbert Crosthwaite". Ancestry.com. RG101/5487e QAEC.
  19. ^ "England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995 for Herbert Crossthwaite". Ancestry.com. 1944 Cable–Dziegielewski p. 228.

Sources

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  • Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Derby: Breedon Books. ISBN 978-1-85983-010-9.
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