Cecil Henry Holden-White (3 November 1860 – 21 September 1934) was an English international

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

left half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Life

He was born in Harold House on Lansdown Road in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, the son of Henry White (d.1900) and his Swiss wife, Eleanor D'Ouchy (d.1912). He attended Brentwood School. His father was a wine merchant, and founder of the rum merchants, Henry White & Company. Cecil originally trained as a wine merchant, and later took on his father's business. As a footballer he first played for

Clapham Rovers Clapham Rovers was from its foundation in 1869 a leading English sports organisation in the two dominant codes of football, association football and rugby union. It was a prominent club in the late 19th century but is now defunct. The club playe ...

then

Swifts Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

. White played for

Corinthian F.C. Corinthian Football Club was an English amateur football club based in London between 1882 and 1939. Above all, the club is credited with having popularised football around the world, having promoted sportsmanship and fair play, and having ch ...

from 1882 to 1891 and was their first captain. He earned two caps playing for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1888. Later in his life, Cecil became a Master of the

Worshipful Company of Vintners The Worshipful Company of Vintners is one of the oldest Livery Companies of the City of London, England, thought to date back to the 12th century. It is one of the "Great Twelve" livery companies of London, and its motto is ''Vinum Exhilarat A ...

. At the time of his death, he was the proprietor of Henry White & Co., a rum importer.

Family

He had a younger brother, Charles Henry Holden-White (1869-1948). He was nephew (or great nephew) of the geologist Rev Francis Le Grix White

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FGS, and was executor of his will.

References

1860 births 1934 deaths English men's footballers England men's international footballers Corinthian F.C. players Men's association football wing halves Clapham Rovers F.C. players English people of Swiss descent Footballers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea People from Kensington {{England-footy-midfielder-1860s-stub