Frederick Harry Durrant (19 June 1921 – 5 March 2010) was an English professional footballer who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

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 ...

, most notably for Queens Park Rangers. He later played for and managed non-League club

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

Playing career

Brentford

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 ...

, Durrant began his career at Southern League club

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

, before signing for First Division club

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

on his 17th birthday in 1938. He failed to make a first team appearance before the outbreak of the Second World War the following year saw competitive football suspended. Durrant made wartime appearances for the Bees and guested for Aldershot and Blackburn Rovers. Durrant finally made his competitive debut for the club in the 1945–46 season and scored in a 2–2 FA Cup third round first leg draw with Tottenham Hotspur on 5 January 1946. He scored three further goals in the competition and finished the season with four goals from six appearances. Durrant made his

debut in a First Division match versus

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 ...

on 2 September 1946 and scored the opening goal in a 2–2 draw. He made the headlines in the following game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, when he left the pitch during the first half with concussion, before returning for the second half and scoring two goals in a 2–1 win. Soon afterwards, he was surprisingly transferred by manager Harry Curtis. Durrant scored seven goals in 10 competitive appearances for the Bees. At the time of his death in March 2010, Durrant was Brentford's oldest-living player.

Queens Park Rangers

Durrant joined Third Division South club Queens Park Rangers in late September 1946, for a then-record £4,500 fee. With the club's regular centre forwards away on army duty, Durrant was signed to bolster the high-flying club's frontline. Denied promotion with a second-place finish during the 1946–47 season, Durrant finally won the first

silverware Silverware may refer to: * Household silver including **Tableware **Cutlery **Candlesticks *The work of a silversmith * Silverware is also a slang term for a collection of trophies A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achieveme ...

of his career when Rangers won the 1947–48 Third Division South championship. Durrant departed Loftus Road in February 1949 and scored 26 goals in 53 appearances for the club.

Exeter City

Durrant signed for Third Division South club Exeter City in February 1949, for a then-club record £5,000. In an injury-affected spell, he managed 5 goals in 17 league appearances, before retiring from league football in 1950.

Dover

Durrant ended his career with Kent League First Division club

, for whom he played between 1950 and 1952.

Management career

Durrant undertook a player-manager role upon joining Dover and remained in the role after retiring from playing. He had a successful time with the club, winning the Kent League and Senior Cup double in the 1951–52 season and the

Kent League Cup The Southern Counties East Football League is an English football league established in 1966, which has teams based in Kent and Southeast London. Until 2013, it was known as the Kent League. There was a previous Kent League, that existed from ...

in 1956–57.

Personal life

After football, Durrant settled in

and ran a cafe.

Career statistics

Honours

As a player

Queens Park Rangers * Football League Third Division South: 1947–48 Dover * Kent League First Division: 1951–52 * Kent Senior Cup: 1951–52 *Dover Charity Cup: 1950–51

As a manager

Dover * Kent League First Division: 1951–52 * Kent Senior Cup: 1951–52 *

: 1956–57 * Dover Charity Cup: 1950–51

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durrant, Fred 1921 births Footballers from Kent Sportspeople from Dover, Kent English men's footballers Brentford F.C. players English Football League players Folkestone F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Aldershot F.C. wartime guest players Men's association football forwards Blackburn Rovers F.C. wartime guest players Exeter City F.C. players Southern Football League players Dover F.C. players Dover F.C. managers 2010 deaths English football managers Kent Football League (1894–1959) players