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Profile |
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Full name |
Victor Robert Woodley |
Born |
26 February 1910 in Burnham, Buckinghamshire [registered in Eton, June 1910]. |
Census Notes |
According to the 1911 census, one year old victor is the youngest of twelve children, of which ten of them are at home with George and Thirza, living in Chippenham. His father, and eldest brother, works with the Great Western Railways. His next eldest brothers work on the local dairy farm. |
According to the 1939 register, victor R, a professional footballer and a war reserve for the Metropolitan Police Force, is married to Betty, and they live at 17 Lammas Road in Slough. |
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Married |
to Betty Merrin [registered in Eton, December 1933]. Two children, Raymond and Sylvia.While he was Bath City FC manager, they were living at Charlotte Street in Bath. |
Died |
23 October 1978 in Bradford-on-Avon, aged 68 years 239 days [registered in Trowbridge, October 1978]. |
Height/Weight |
5 ' 11½", 11st. 10lbs [1937]. |
Source |
Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] & FindMyPast.com |
Club Career |
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Club(s) |
Started his career playing junior football in the Buckinghamshire area, and played with Chippenham FC, before joining Windsor & Eton FC of the Spartan League as an amateur. Had trials with Chelsea FC and Aldershot FC, but joined Chelsea in May 1931. He made one appearance for Tottenham Hotspur FC during the war. He remained with Chelsea, making 252 league appearances, until he joined Bath City AFC on 22 December 1945, joined Derby County FC three months later during their injury crisis, he made another thirty league appearances and his last game for County was when he was winning the FA Cup with them**. Returned to Bath City AFC in May 1947, as player-manager. He remained until he resigned on 13 December 1949.In February 1950, Melksham Town FC approached Woodley to sign him as an amateur. An opportunity Woodley turned down.** |
Club honours |
Spartan League winners 1929-30; FA Cup winners 1945-46; |
Individual honours |
Football League (four appearances) |
Distinctions |
None |
Source |
Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990]. |
England Career |
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Player number |
632nd player to appear for England. |
Position(s) |
Goalkeeper |
First match |
No. 208, 17 April 1937, Scotland 3 England 1, a British Championship match at Hampden Park, Mount Florida, Glasgow, aged 27 years 50 days. |
Last match |
No. 226, 24 May 1939, Romania 0 England 2 , an end-of-season tour match at Stadionul Agenţia Naţională de Educaţie Fizică, Bucureşti, aged 29 years 87 days. |
Major tournaments |
British Championship 1936-37, 1937-38, 1938-39; |
Team honours |
British Championship winners 1937-38, shared 1938-39; |
Individual honours |
None |
Distinctions |
Only the fourth Buckinghamshire-born player to represent England.Died twenty days after Alf Strange. |
England Disgrace |
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"Victor Robert Woodley, former England and Chelsea goalkeeper, manager of Bath City FC, and living at Bath, was at Windsor on Thursday [26 August 1948] committed to prison for 14 days for failing to pay £11 2s. War Damage contributions. Committal was made failing payment forthwith. "A tax inspector stated that the contributions owed by Woodley were in respect of property he formerly lived in at Slough. They had given him every chance to pay, but he had refused and there was no alternative but to ask for his committal. "Vic Woodley was not in court during the hearing of the case-actually he was in Bath. Mr Arthur Mortimer, chairman of the Batch City Football Club, being apprised by this newspaper of what had happened, immediately sought out Woodley and had a talk with him. "Soon after their conversation, a representative of this newspaper interviewed Mr. Mortimer, who said:; " "It is perfectly true that Vic is the man involved in this case. Proceedings, it appears, have been protracted and there has been an amount in dispute relating to War Damage Contributions which he has persistently refused to acknowledge. "Woodley still denies that he is responsible for this amount, which concerns a dispute between a former owner of the property and himself. The War Damage people have put it on Woodley, and he was summoned to appear in court. He did not appear to the summons and now that a committal order has been made there is clearly only one thing for him to do-he is obviously going to pay. Otherwise he couldn't be in goal on Saturday. "Woodley tells me" Mr. Mortimer went on, "that he is quite adamant in his contention that he is not responsible for this debt and would prefer to go to prison rather than pay it. In fact, he would do this but for his obligation to Bath City football team. He is now going to get in touch immediately with the Windsor Police with a view to clearing the matter up." " - Bath Weekly Chronicle & Herald, Saturday, 28 August 1938 |
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Beyond England |
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Formerly an engineer. In February 1950, he became a licensee of The Barge Inn, on Frome Road in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, which was where he died. - An English Football Internationalists' Who's Who. Douglas Lamming (1990). Hatton Press, p.275/6. |
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