Wilfred Bratton
Australian soccer player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wilfred Bratton was an English-born Australian soccer player who also played as a forward for the inaugural Australia national soccer team in 1922.[1]
Early life
Wilfred Bratton was born in Sheffield, England.[2][3][4] At the age of 15, Bratton migrated to Australia and settled at Flaxton or Palmwoods where he was employed as a farmhand. He enlisted for World War 1 in May 1915 as a Private and was wounded in service, a victim of gassing and severe trench fever. He returned to Australia in March 1919.[5]
In October 1921 Bratton married Ellen Elizabeth Champion at St Andrew's Church of England, South Brisbane.[6]
In 1928 Bratton wrote to the newspapers about a game of football played between his 3rd Australian Division and the Royal Air Force at Ballieul (Somme on the Western Front) in the winter of 1917.[7]
Club career
Bratton played for Palmwoods in August 1920 in their friendly games against Buderim before the formation of the North Coast Football Association (NCFA) in 1921.[8] In the first season of the NCFA in 1921 Bratton played for Mapleton.[9] Bratton continued to play for Mapleton until 1928 and was even club president.[10][11]
International career
Bratton played for the Australia national soccer team and was capped only once, as a replacement for Dave Ward[12] with a goal on 24 June 1922 against New Zealand.[13][14]
Bratton is designated Socceroo cap number 12.[15]
Career statistics
International
| National team | Year | Competitive | Friendly | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Australia | 1922 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
- Scores and results list Australia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Australia goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 June 1922 | Athletic Park, Wellington, New Zealand |  New Zealand |
1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly | [16] |