William Elijah Buckenham (3 February 1888 – 9 June 1954) was an English

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

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 for both Woolwich Arsenal and

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 ...

in 1909–10.

Football career

Buckenham was born in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

but was brought up in the

Plumstead Plumstead is an area in southeast London, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich, England. It is located east of Woolwich. History Until 1965, Plumstead was in the historic counties of England, historic county of Kent and the detail of mu ...

area of London where he played for local clubs, before joining the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

based at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, where he gained Hampshire county honours. He joined Woolwich Arsenal of the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...

in November 1909 and made 21 league appearances, scoring five goals. Shortly after joining Arsenal, he also signed for

of the Southern League, and thus was registered for both clubs at the same time. He made his debut for the "Saints" taking the place of Bob Carter on 30 April 1910 in the final match of the season, when he scored in a 3–1 victory against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. He started the following season, playing at outside right, scoring again in the opening match of the season. After four more appearances, he was replaced by Frank Jefferis; shortly afterwards, he decided to abandon football and concentrate on a career in the army.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckenham, Bill 1888 births 1954 deaths Footballers from Exeter English men's footballers Southampton F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players Royal Field Artillery soldiers Men's association football forwards 20th-century British Army personnel Military personnel from Exeter