Charles Thomas Sillett (29 October 1906 – 27 February 1945) 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 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 ...

in the 1930s. He was the father of

John Sillett John Charles Sillett (20 July 1936 – 30 November 2021) was an English football player and manager. He played for Chelsea, Coventry City and Plymouth Argyle. He won the Championship with Chelsea in 1955, playing alongside his brother Peter Si ...

and

Peter Sillett Richard Peter Tudor Sillett (1 February 1933 – 13 March 1998) was an English footballer. He played for Chelsea and Southampton as a right-back, and made three appearances for England. He was the older brother of John Sillett, who managed Cove ...

, both of whom became professional footballers. Charlie Sillett was killed in a

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

attack on an allied

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

while serving with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in 1945. He had already survived the torpedoing of HMS ''Registan'' in 1942.

Football career

Army

Sillett was born in

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 ...

in the

Royal Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, the son of Sidney and Mary Sillett. He joined the Army in 1926 and was enlisted in the 60th

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

, based at

Tidworth Camp Tidworth Camp is a military installation at Tidworth in Wiltshire, England. It forms part of the Tidworth, Netheravon and Bulford (TidNBul) Garrison. History The Camp was established when the War Office acquired a 19th-century mansion – Tedw ...

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wi ...

, where he rose to the rank of

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

, becoming a

physical training Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations and daily activities. Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate-vigorous physical ...

instructor. His skills on the football field won him a variety of Army representative honours. In 1931, his Army career came to an end, and after a short period playing with Barking Town in the

Athenian League The Athenian League was an English amateur football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football Museum, Preston). but this nam ...

he joined

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 ...

in October 1931.

Southampton

He played two matches with Southampton's reserves, before being drafted into the first team as an emergency

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, where the "Saints" were suffering with an injury crisis with

Bill Fraser William Simpson Fraser (5 June 1908 – 9 September 1987) was a Scottish actor who appeared on stage, screen and television for many years. In 1986 he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance for his stage role in the play ''W ...

Arthur Haddleton Arthur Haddleton (6 April 1910 – 5 January 1971) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward for various clubs in the 1930s. Despite showing promise in the early part of his career, he eventually achieved very little, although he ...

and

Johnny McIlwaine John Arkison McIlwaine (12 June 1904 – 24 April 1980) was a Scottish association football, footballer who played as a centre half for Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth, where he captained the team in the 1929 FA Cup Final, before moving to south coas ...

all unavailable. Sillett scored twice on his debut, in a 3–1 victory at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

on 2 January 1932, and retained his place in the first team, playing up front until

Ted Drake Edward Joseph Drake (16 August 1912 – 30 May 1995) was an English football player and manager. As a player, he first played for Southampton but made his name playing for Arsenal in the 1930s, winning two league titles and an FA Cup, as wel ...

was promoted from the reserves in March. Sillett was recalled, this time at

left-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 ...

, replacing Reg Thomas for the final three matches of the season. During the following season, manager

George Kay George Kay (21 September 1891 – 18 April 1954) was an English football player and manager of Luton Town, Southampton and Liverpool. The highlight of his playing career was when he captained West Ham United in the first FA Cup final to be play ...

settled on a defensive line-up of Bill Adams and

Michael Keeping Alexander Edwin Michael Keeping (22 August 1902 – 28 March 1984) was an English association football, footballer and coach (sport), manager. He coached Real Madrid CF from January 1948 to October 1950. His father was the Olympic medal winning c ...

at fullbacks, with

Stan Woodhouse Stanley Woodhouse (10 February 1899 – 18 March 1977) was an English footballer who played initially as an inside forward and later as a half back with Bury and Southampton in the 1920s and 1930s. Playing career Woodhouse was born in Warringt ...

, Frank Campbell,

Arthur Bradford Arthur Houston Bradford (born November 19, 1969) is an American writer and filmmaker. He has published two books of short stories, ''Dogwalker'' (2001) and ''Turtleface and Beyond'' (2015), and a children's book, ''Benny's Brigade'' (2012). He h ...

Bill Luckett William Luckett (6 September 1903 – 5 July 1985) was an English professional footballer who played for Southampton as a left-half in the 1920s and 1930s, making over 200 appearances. Playing career Early days Luckett was born in St Helens, La ...

as the three half backs – as a result, Sillett managed only six games all season. In 1933–34, he was again kept out of his favoured role as full back, this time by Arthur Roberts, but had a run of four games taking over from Tommy Brewis at

inside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring Goal (sport)#Association footbal ...

, during which he scored twice in a 5–0 victory over

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

at The Dell on 16 December. In August 1934, after three seasons with the Saints, Sillett became an established member of the first team and in 1934–35 he only missed three games, playing at either left- or right-back. He soon became "''very popular with fans and colleagues alike''" and his versatility meant that he was equally at home on either side of the pitch. In the following season, he was ever-present often playing further forward in midfield and occasionally standing in as centre forward when

Vic Watson Victor Martin Watson (10 November 1897 – 3 August 1988) was an English professional footballer who played most of his club football for West Ham United. Playing career Watson, a centre forward, played 505 times for West Ham between 1920 and ...

was unavailable. During this season, he was a member of the team that suffered an 8–0 defeat against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a Association football, football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater i ...

on 28 March 1936 (still the highest margin of defeat); two days later, he played at The Dell against

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

in front of only 1,875 spectators (losing 1–0). This was the lowest-ever crowd for a first-team match at The Dell. He only missed one league match in 1936–37 as the Saints struggled to avoid relegation, finishing in 19th place, four points above the relegation zone. In January, the Saints played

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 ...

champions

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

in a

Third Round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

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 ...

match in front of a record crowd of 30,380. Sunderland won 3–2 and went on to take the cup in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

the following May. In

his final season His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...

at The Dell, Sillett was appointed team captain, "leading the side with distinction", but began to suffer regularly from injuries causing him to miss a third of the season, at the end of which he decided to retire. During his seven years with Southampton, Sillett made a total of 183 appearances in League and Cup matches for the first team, scoring 10 goals. Throughout his entire Southampton career, the club was struggling both financially and on the pitch, regularly finishing in the lower half of the table.

Later career and death

He had a brief career in

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

with

Guildford City Guildford City Football Club (formerly Guildford United and AFC Guildford) is a football club based in Guildford, Surrey, England. The club was established in 1921, folded in 1974 and was reformed in 1996. Guildford City play in the . Histo ...

, before becoming a publican at "The Lamb" at

Nomansland No man's land is an unoccupied area between two opposing positions. No man's land (Latrun) is an example. No Man's Land, No-man's land or Nomansland may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * No Man's Land, Cornwall, England * No Man's Land F ...

in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he enlisted in the

, serving as a DEMS gunner. On 29 September 1942, Sillett was serving on HMS ''Registan'' with the rank of

Able Seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

when it was torpedoed by 140 miles east of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

, with the loss of 11 crew members and 5 DEMS gunners. Sillett survived the sinking and was picked up on 30 September by an Argentinian merchant boat. On 27 February 1945, he was a member of a DEMS gun crew on the Norwegian freighter SS ''Corvus'', which was part of

BTC 81, when the convoy was attacked by two German

s about seven miles from

Lizard Point, Cornwall Lizard Point () in Cornwall is at the southern tip of the Lizard Peninsula. It is situated half-a-mile (800 m) south of Lizard village in the civil parish of Landewednack and about 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Helston. Lizard Point ...

. ''Corvus'' was hit by a

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

launched by ''U-1018'' and sank within a few minutes, resulting in the death of five of the freighter's Norwegian crew, a 16-year-old British cabin boy, Thomas Boniface, and two of the three British gunners,

Leading Seaman Leading seaman is a junior non-commissioned rank or rate in navies, particularly those of the Commonwealth. When it is used by NATO nations, leading seaman has the rank code of OR-4. It is often equivalent to the army and air force rank of c ...

Sillett and

Dennis Baker. Both U-boats were sunk two hours later with

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...

s from HMS ''Loch Fada''. He is commemorated on the

Chatham Naval Memorial Chatham Naval Memorial is a large obelisk situated in the town of Chatham, Kent, which is in the Medway Towns. The memorial is a feature of the Great Lines Heritage Park. The huge expanse of the Great Lines was in its own right a layer of defenc ...

Family

Sillett was married to Anne and their children included

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

(born in

on 1 February 1933) and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(born in Southampton on 20 July 1936). The two sons were trainees at Southampton after the war, both subsequently joining

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. Peter played 64 games for Southampton, before moving to Chelsea in 1953, where he had a long career playing 260 league matches and going on to make three appearances 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 1955. He was also a (non-playing) member of England's squad for the

1958 FIFA World Cup The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the sixth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country. Brazil be ...

. John never appeared in Southampton's first team, but joined his brother at Chelsea in 1954, making 93 appearances in the league. He subsequently played for

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

and

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...

, before becoming a manager at

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'The ...

and then at Coventry City, where he won the

1987 FA Cup final The 1987 FA Cup Final between Coventry City and Tottenham Hotspur on 16 May 1987 at Wembley Stadium, London, England was the 106th Final of the FA Cup, English football's primary cup competition. It was the third final for Tottenham Hotspur in s ...

References

External links

Lamb Inn at Nomansland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sillett, Charlie 1906 births 1945 deaths Footballers from Plumstead English men's footballers English Football League players Barking F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Guildford City F.C. players King's Royal Rifle Corps soldiers Royal Navy sailors Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II Men's association football fullbacks Military personnel from London Publicans