Wilfred Bartrop
English footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wilf Bartrop (22 November 1887 – 7 November 1918) was a professional footballer, who played as a forward for several English sides prior to the First World War. He was killed in action, days before the end of the war.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Wilfred Bartrop | ||
| Date of birth | 22 November 1887 | ||
| Place of birth | Worksop, England | ||
| Date of death | 7 November 1918 (aged 30) | ||
| Place of death | Escaut, Belgium | ||
| Position | Outside forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1908–1909 | Worksop | ? | (?) |
| 1909–1914 | Barnsley | 160 | (15) |
| 1914–1915 | Liverpool | 3 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
He started his career at home side Worksop before transferring to Barnsley on 21 June 1909.[1] He played in both FA Cup finals that Barnsley reached in 1910 and 1912.[2][3] In the 1910 FA Cup, Bartrop scored a 'wonder goal' in a 1–0 quarter-final win over Queen's Park Rangers. In the final, Barnsley lost the replay 2–0 to Newcastle, after a 1–1 draw in the first tie. The 1912 cup final went again to a replay but Barnsley won, defeating West Bromwich Albion 1–0 in extra time, after a 0–0 draw in the first encounter.[4] Many newspapers, including the Manchester Guardian, praised his play in the replay.[5]
At the end of the 1913–14 season he transferred to Liverpool where he played a total of 3 games before his career was interrupted by the First World War.[1]
A biography of Wilfred Bartrop, entitled 'Swifter than the Arrow', was published in December 2008.[6]
Honours
Military service
He joined the Royal Field Artillery as a Gunner in a Trench Mortar Battery.[4] He was serving in Belgium when his unit came under heavy artillery fire at the river Escaut on 7 November 1918. Bartrop was severely wounded in the legs and chest by an airburst and died of wounds seconds later. His death took place 4 days before the armistice.[9]
The opening display in an exhibition on Football and the Great War at the National Football Museum, Manchester, UK (2014 to 2015) focused on Wilfred Bartrop.[10] The display included photographs, archive film footage and memorabilia including Bartrop's FA Cup winner's medal.