1916–17 Aston Villa F.C. season

Aston Villa
1916-17 season
WW1	X
FA Cup	WW1

The 1916-17 English football season was Aston Villa's 2nd season of wartime football in England during the First World War. In August 1916, former player, Billy Gerrish was killed in action. In February 1915, six months into the First World War, Gerrish had enlisted in the Football Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment.^[1] He was severely wounded in both legs by a shell blast at Delville Wood on 8 August 1916 and died later that day.^[1] Gerrish has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.^[2]

Walter Kimberley was captured by the Germans at Maubeuge during the First Battle of the Marne and spent two years as a prisoner of war in camps at Döberitz, Dyrotz and Cottbus.^[3]^[4] Beginning with a six-month stay in hospital with laryngitis and bronchitis, Kimberley's health declined during his internment and he was repatriated to Britain in August 1916 with pulmonary tuberculosis.^[4] He was immediately discharged from the army and fell into severe ill heath, permanently losing his voice and dying at home in Aston on 22 April 1917.^[5] Kimberley was buried in Witton Cemetery, Birmingham.^[6] He was married and had two children, one of whom died in infancy.^[7]

Between 1915 and 1919 the Football League and FA Cup were suspended and in their place regional league competitions were set up; appearances in these tournaments do not count in players' official records. Many footballers signed up to fight in the war and as a result many teams were depleted, and fielded guest players instead.

There were three regional leagues; the South-West Combination played in 1915–16 was discontinued. Each league, except the London Combination, was split into a principal tournament, consisting of a single league, and then a subsidiary tournament of four groups.

Jack Windmill saw active service in World War I in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment.^[8] He rose to the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major and gained the Military Cross and the Distinguished Conduct Medal for bravery.^[8] In May 1917, nearly three years after the outbreak of the First World War, Jimmy Stephenson enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery and saw action on the Western Front and later served as part of the British Army of the Rhine.^[9]

Tommy Jackson served with the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers during World War I^[10] Sam Hardy served as an ordinary seaman in the Royal Navy during the First World War.^[11] In May 1917, nearly three years since the outbreak of the First World War, Jimmy Stephenson enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery and saw action on the Western Front and later served as part of the British Army of the Rhine.^[12]

Aston Trench was the front line before Villa Trench in the rear in the North Western trench formation at the Battle of Bazentin Ridge.^[13]

References

^ ^a ^b "Club Remembers its Somme Casualties". Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
^ "Casualty Details". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
^ "Walter Kimberley Gets Taken Prisoner in World War One". Our Warwickshire. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Walter Kimberley's World War One Prisoner Experience, and Beyond". Our Warwickshire. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
^ "Walter Kimberley – Aston Villa and Coventry City". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
^ "Casualty Details". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
^ "Coventry City Footballer Walter Kimberley, and World War One". Our Warwickshire. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Jack Windmill – Football and the First World War". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
^ "Jimmy Stephenson Aston Villa". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
^ Jackson Tommy Image 1 Aston Villa 1921, Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
^ "Samuel Hardy | Service Record". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
^ "Jimmy Stephenson Aston Villa". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
^ "Aston Villa Football Club | the official club website".

External links

Aston Villa official website

Aston Villa football club match record: 1917

[chesterfield-fc-1] "Club Remembers its Somme Casualties". Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.

[CWGC-2] "Casualty Details". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 14 December 2015.

[3] "Walter Kimberley Gets Taken Prisoner in World War One". Our Warwickshire. Retrieved 12 March 2019.

[ourwarwickshire2-4] "Walter Kimberley's World War One Prisoner Experience, and Beyond". Our Warwickshire. Retrieved 12 March 2019.

[FATFWWWK-5] "Walter Kimberley – Aston Villa and Coventry City". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 12 January 2016.

[CWGCWK-6] "Casualty Details". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 11 January 2016.

[ourwarwickshire1-7] "Coventry City Footballer Walter Kimberley, and World War One". Our Warwickshire. Retrieved 12 March 2019.

[FATFWW3-8] "Jack Windmill – Football and the First World War". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 26 June 2018.

[FATFJS-9] "Jimmy Stephenson Aston Villa". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 24 November 2017.

[10] Jackson Tommy Image 1 Aston Villa 1921, Vintage Footballers. Retrieved 1 January 2022.

[FATFWW-11] "Samuel Hardy | Service Record". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 6 December 2018.

[FATFWW2-12] "Jimmy Stephenson Aston Villa". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 24 November 2017.

[13] "Aston Villa Football Club | the official club website".

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Aston Villa F.C. seasons
1870s	1870–71 1871–72 1872–73 1873–74 1874–75 1875–76 1876–77 1877–78 1878–79 1879–80
1880s	1880–81 1881–82 1882–83 1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90
1890s	1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900
1900s	1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910s	1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920s	1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930s	1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940s	1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950s	1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960s	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26

See also

References

External links