NEWS FLASH..........  A NEW BOOK BY PETER HOLLAND, COMING SOON.........  SWIFTER THAN THE ARROW,  Wilfred Bartrop, Football and War........  Click here to order yours now !!!

Wilfred Bartrop

Wilfred was born in Worksop in 1889.  He signed for Worksop Town in June 1909.  After a relatively short career with the Tigers, he signed for Barnsley Football Club and made his debut on 4th September 1909 vs. Glossop N.E. (Away).  Wilfred played in the F.A. Cup winning team of 1911-1912 (shown below).  He played his last game for Barnsley on the 25th April 1914 vs. Hull City (Away), before transferring to Liverpool F.C.  Wilfred made only 3 appearances for Liverpool before enlisting into the Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Field Artillery.

Barnsley Football Club Season 1910 - 1911

Forman, Tufnell, Lillycrop, Gadsby, Bartrop, Utley, Boyle, Glendenning, Ness, Downs, Mearns, Cooper

Season 1911 - 1912 (with the F.A. Cup) - Players only named

Back Row: Leavey (reserve), Cooper     Centre Row:  Glendenning, Downs, Taylor, Bratley, Utley

Front Row:  Bartrop, Tufnell, Lillycrop, Travers, Moore

Thanks go to Mrs. Frances Hall (nee Bartrop) for supplying the above information

"After reading this book, I am proud to say that I was born in the same town as Wilfred, a man who was skillful enough to have a successful career in professional football, but also knew where his duty lay when called upon." Graham Taylor OBE, former England National Football Team Manager "A fascinating story about a remarkable man." Sir Michael Parkinson, lifelong Barnsley FC supporter

by Peter Holland Published: 01 December 2008 Wilfred Bartrop was a gifted professional footballer who played in the years immediately before the First World War. Highly acclaimed for his speed on the right wing, Bartrop played for Worksop Town, Barnsley and Liverpool, and was an ever-present member of the celebrated ‘Battling Barnsley’ teams of 1910 and 1912. Bartrop was a star signing for Liverpool in 1914, but arrived at the worst possible time – just as Europe was plunged into the horrors of war. After the professional leagues were disbanded, Gunner Bartrop played his part in the ‘greater game’, manning artillery guns on the front line in France and Belgium. Swifter than the Arrow recounts Wilfred Bartrop’s life, from his background in Victorian Worksop, through success and disappointment on the football field, and onto the bloody battlefields of Flanders. It is an extraordinary true story of triumph, tragedy, scandal, sport and war. ISBN: 9781848760684

Copyright © 2008 P. Holland, All Rights Reserved

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