Albert James "Albie" Roles (29 September 1921 – 3 October 2012) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a full back for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. His career was interrupted by the Second World War and, as a result, he only made one

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

and four

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

appearances.

Football career

Roles was born in Southampton and attended the Deanery School, becoming an apprentice engineer. He represented Southampton and Hampshire Schools and played his youth football with Albion Boys Club. While playing in the Southampton Junior League, he was spotted by scouts from

and joined them as an amateur in 1938. By the time he turned professional in October 1940, League football had been suspended because of the war, but Roles made 188 wartime appearances, more than any other Saints player. Roles was not

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

during the war because his employment, making engines for torpedo boats at

Parsons Parsons may refer to: Places In the United States: * Parsons, Kansas, a city * Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Parsons, Tennessee, a city * Parsons, West Virginia, a town * Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingt ...

on the Town Quay, was a

reserved occupation A reserved occupation (also known as essential services) is an occupation considered important enough to a country that those serving in such occupations are exempt or forbidden from military service. In a total war, such as the Second World War, w ...

. During the war, Roles also made at least one guest appearance for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

. Described as a "mobile left-back", Roles played in four

matches in 1945–46, defeating Newport County 6–4 on aggregate before going out to

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

, 3–5 on aggregate. In the summer of 1946, Roles was called up to do his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

and before he returned to The Dell in 1948, his position at left back was occupied by

Bill Rochford William Rochford (27 May 1913 – 9 March 1984) was an English footballer. A member of the Portsmouth team that won the 1939 FA Cup, he played over 100 matches for Portsmouth and for their south coast rivals, Southampton. Playing career Rochfo ...

who had been signed in July 1946. On his return to the club after his National Service, Roles was placed on the

transfer list The transfer market is the arena in which football players are available for transfer to clubs. The transfer market consists of a list of players available for transfer, and also the money moving between clubs as they contest to purchase and sell ...

, but was re-engaged for the start of the 1948–49 season. Roles had to wait until 4 April 1949 before he was selected again for the first team, when Rochford was unavailable for the trip to

Bradford Park Avenue Bradford (Park Avenue) Association Football Club is an association football club based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in , at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The name derived from their former hom ...

. At this time, Southampton were eight points clear at the top of the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

table with seven matches left to play and were confident of promotion. In the event, Southampton (also without top-scorer,

Charlie Wayman Charles Wayman (16 May 1921 – 26 February 2006) was an English footballer. Wayman, who was born in Chilton, Bishop Auckland, was a prolific centre-forward in the first decade after the Second World War. Newcastle United signed him from Sp ...

) lost 2–0 at Bradford and only won once in the final six matches, missing promotion by one point. In May 1949, Roles was released by the club, and joined Gloucester City for a brief spell before becoming player-manager at

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

Later career

In 1952, Roles and his wife both contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and spent two years in hospital. Following his recovery, Roles was employed by

Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the Wh ...

, before spending twenty years as a technician at Southampton Institute of Higher Education. Roles died on 3 October 2012, aged 91 years. He had been married to Vie for sixty six years; the couple had one son, David.

References

External links

Career details on 11 v 11.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roles, Albie 1921 births 2012 deaths Footballers from Southampton English footballers Association football defenders Southampton F.C. players Gloucester City A.F.C. players Cowes Sports F.C. players English Football League players West Ham United F.C. wartime guest players English football managers