Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

John Charles Rea (21 December 1868–4 February 1944) was a Welsh

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 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 ...

for

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...

, and earned nine caps for the Wales national team.

Club career

Rea's only game for

was on 15 December 1894 in a 3–2 win against

Stoke Stoke is a common place name in the United Kingdom. Stoke may refer to: Places United Kingdom The largest city called Stoke is Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire. See below. Berkshire * Stoke Row, Berkshire Bristol * Stoke Bishop * Stok ...

International career

Rea made his international debut for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

on 24 February 1894 in the

1893–94 British Home Championship The 1893–94 British Home Championship was an edition of the annual international football tournament played between the British Home Nations. It was won by Scotland in a close competition in which neither Scotland nor England lost a game but Sco ...

against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, which finished as a 4–1 home win. He earned nine caps in total for Wales and scored one goal, with his last appearance coming on 19 February 1898 in the

1897–98 British Home Championship The 1897–98 British Home Championship was the fifteenth edition of the annual football (soccer), football tournament played between the British Home Nations. England national football team, England won the title after whitewashing all three oppo ...

against Ireland, which finished as a 0–1 home loss.

Military career

In 1902, Rea was a Lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers), though volunteer units were reorganised in 1908 with the creation of the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry i ...

. One of the new units formed was the 2nd Welsh Brigade of the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

, with one battery of the new field artillery brigade provided by the 1st Cardigan Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers), becoming the Cardiganshire Battery. Rea served as the commanding officer of the battery by 1912. In August 1914, after

World War I 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 ...

was declared, Rea took up his duty of battery commander within the first line division of the Welsh Division, later renamed the

53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division The 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that fought in both the First and Second World Wars. Originally raised in 1908 as the Welsh Division, part of the Territorial Force (TF), the division saw service in ...

. The divisional artillery were ordered to France to join the British Expeditionary Force, where he arrived in November 1915. The divisional artillery rejoined the rest of the division in Egypt in January 1916, later serving in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

. Rea survived the war, and returned to his family business. In 1922, he received the

1914–15 Star The 1914–15 Star is a campaign medal of the British Empire which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces who served in any theatre of the First World War against the Central European Powers during 1914 and 1915. The me ...

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

and Victory Medal at Terrace Road,

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

Awards

* Victory Medal

Personal life

Rea was born on 21 December 1868 in Lledrod, to John Rea of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

and Mary Anne Williams of Newtown. In 1906, he took over the licence and lease for the family's hotel, and converted it to a restaurant with a grocery store. He married Florence Isabel Elkes in 1908 in

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

, and had three children by 1911. Rea lived in

with his wife, who died in 1936. In 1944, he died in Aberystwyth at the age of 75.

Career statistics

International

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rea, John 1868 births 1944 deaths Footballers from Aberystwyth Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers English Football League players Men's association football forwards London Caledonians F.C. players London Welsh F.C. players Aberystwyth Town F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players British Army personnel of World War I Welsh people of World War I Royal Field Artillery officers Territorial Force officers Military personnel from Ceredigion