George Arthur Ephgrave (29 April 1918 – 12 December 2004) was an English

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 ...

. Born in

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 ...

, Ephgrave began his professional career with

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

in 1936, and later played for a number of

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 ...

clubs including

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 ...

and Norwich City before retiring from professional football in 1954.

Life and career

Born in

but brought up in

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

, George Ephgrave began his youth football career with local side Guernsey Rangers, and was later signed by

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 ...

feeder club

Northfleet Northfleet is a town in the borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. It is located immediately west of Gravesend, and on the border with the Borough of Dartford. Northfleet has its own railway station on the North Kent Line, just east of Ebbsfl ...

in October 1935. A year later, Ephgrave signed a professional contract with recently relegated

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 ...

side

, although he failed to make a single appearance in his three seasons at the club. In March 1939, at the end of the last full season before the

Second World War 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 ...

, the goalkeeper signed for Swindon Town, where he made his first appearance in the Football League. During the conflict, Ephgrave served his country in the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

, resulting in him being captured on

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

and held as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

for four years. On his return to England he was signed by

, where he was used as the first-choice goalkeeper for the first season after the war. In the 1946–47 season he played in 29 of the 42

league games, as well as in both of the

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 ...

games the Saints played, although in the following season he was second choice to Len Stansbridge and, later, Ian Black, making only seven league appearances in the first half of the campaign. In July 1948 Ephgrave moved to Norwich City for a transfer fee of £500, where he made just five appearances in three seasons. He was later transferred to

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

in August 1951, playing just four times in his only season at the club, and ended his career with seasons at non-league sides Deal Town and March Town United. After his retirement, Ephgrave moved back to Guernsey, and he died on 12 December 2004 at the age of 86.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ephgrave, George 1918 births 2004 deaths English men's footballers English Football League players Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players Aston Villa F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Watford F.C. players Deal Town F.C. players March Town United F.C. players Guernsey men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Royal Marines personnel of World War II Royal Marines ranks British World War II prisoners of war World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Military personnel from Reading, Berkshire Footballers from Reading, Berkshire