Alfred Boulton (1879 – 29 January 1916) 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 in the

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 ...

for

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

as a

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He also played for Accrington Stanley and Kirkham and also served as secretary at the latter club.

Personal life

Boulton was married with two children and worked as a plumber and painter. On 11 September 1914, a month after Britain's entry into the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Boulton enlisted as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. He arrived in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in September 1915 and by 11 January 1916, he had been promoted through the ranks to

lance sergeant Lance sergeant (LSgt or L/Sgt) is an appointment in the armies of the Commonwealth and formerly also a rank in the United States Army. Commonwealth Lance-sergeant in the armies of the Commonwealth was an appointment given to a corporal so they ...

. 18 days later, Boulton was "killed by a stray bullet" and was buried at Gunners Farm Military Cemetery in Hainaut, Belgium.

References

English men's footballers English Football League players Blackpool F.C. players 1879 births 1916 deaths People from Kirkham, Lancashire Men's association football fullbacks British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I Loyal Regiment soldiers Accrington Stanley F.C. (1891) players Footballers from Lancashire Military personnel from Lancashire {{England-footy-defender-1870s-stub