Robert Whiting (6 January 1883 – 28 April 1917), sometimes known as Pom Pom Whiting, was an English professional

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

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

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 Chelsea. He made 253 appearances in the Southern League for Brighton & Hove Albion and was a part of the club's 1909–10 Southern League First Division and

1910 FA Charity Shield The 1910 FA Charity Shield was the third Charity Shield, a football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Football League and Southern League competitions. The match was played on 5 September 1910 between 1909–10 Football Lea ...

-winning teams.

Personal life

Whiting was married with three sons and the second-youngest, William, later followed in his footsteps to play as a

for

Tunbridge Wells Rangers Tunbridge Wells Football Club is a football club based in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. They are currently members of the . They play their home games at Culverden Stadium. The club is affiliated to the Kent County Football Association ...

. In December 1914, four months after the outbreak of 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 ...

, Whiting enlisted in the

Football Battalion The 17th (Service) Battalion, Middlesex Regiment was an infantry battalion of the Middlesex Regiment, part of the British Army, which was formed as a Pals battalion during the Great War. The core of the battalion was a group of professional footbal ...

of the Middlesex Regiment. After arriving in France in November 1915, Whiting became infected with

scabies Scabies (; also sometimes known as the seven-year itch) is a contagious skin infestation by the mite ''Sarcoptes scabiei''. The most common symptoms are severe itchiness and a pimple-like rash. Occasionally, tiny burrows may appear on the skin ...

at the

front Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * ''The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...

and was sent to a hospital in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

for treatment. As a result of the discovery of his wife's pregnancy and the death of his brother on the Somme in August 1916, Whiting went AWOL. He was caught in October 1916 and

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

led in France in February 1917. A shortage of men meant that his sentence of 9 months' hard labour lasted just one week before he rejoined the Football Battalion. He was killed in action whilst assaulting a fortified German position at Oppy Wood during the Battle of Arras on 28 April 1917 and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial.

Career statistics

Honours

Brighton & Hove Albion * Southern League First Division: 1909–10 *

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

References

1883 births 1917 deaths Footballers from Canning Town English men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers West Ham United F.C. players Tunbridge Wells F.C. players Chelsea F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players English Football League players Southern Football League players British Army personnel of World War I Middlesex Regiment soldiers British military personnel killed in World War I British Army personnel who were court-martialled English prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of the British military Military personnel from London {{England-footy-goalkeeper-stub