Alf Smirk

Born in Pershore, Smirk had earned England schoolboy honours in 1931 and was on the books at Sheffield Wednesday by 1935. He never made a first-team appearance for Wednesday, instead moving to Sunderland to play for the Sunderland Bus Company. Upon recommendation to him, Southend United manager David Jack offered Smirk a contract in 1938, and he went on to have a ten-year association with the Essex club. He made many wartime appearances during hostilities, before re-signing professionally in 1946.^[1] Until 1948 when he left for Gateshead, Smirk had made 100 Football League appearances for Southend, scoring 26 goals.^[2] He also played in twelve FA Cup games, scoring five times, and totalled 32 goals in 114 games.^[3]

During the war years, Smirk made two guest appearances for Colchester United while serving with the No. 1 Holding Battalion during their first Southern League season following the end of hostilities. He scored in his first appearance for the club, a 3–1 home win over Bath City on 10 November 1945, and making his next appearance in February 1946.^[4]

Smirk left Southend in March 1948 to join Gateshead. He scored four goals in eleven appearances in the latter stages of the 1947–48 season.^[2] However, he returned to Essex at the end of his stint back in the north-east to play for Chingford Town. He was later playing for Tonbridge, facing Colchester United in the semi-final of the Southern League Cup in March 1950 where he was placed in goal following an injury to their goalkeeper after 50 minutes of play. He conceded just once in the 3–2 defeat at Layer Road. He also became player-manager at Loughborough-based club Brush Sports.

Following his retirement from playing and management, Smirk wrote for the Southend Standard and the Southend Times newspapers until his death in Southend-on-Sea in November 1996.^[1]