Kenneth Cecil Boyes (17 November 1895 – 6 October 1963) 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 a small number of games as a professional 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 ...

and Bristol Rovers in the era just 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 ...

, before a long career in local

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 ...

Football career

Boyes was born in

and on leaving school was a member of the

Hampshire County Cricket Club Hampshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Hampshire. Hampshire teams formed by earlier organisations, principal ...

's ground staff at the County Ground, Southampton. In 1914, he was taken on by

Southampton Football Club Southampton Football Club () is an English professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, which competes in the . Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, before which they were based at The Dell. The club play in ...

as an amateur, but failed to reach the first team before the outbreak of war. During the war, he represented his battalion at both cricket and football, and was also the regimental sprinting champion. At the end of the war, he returned to the "Saints" and was signed as a professional in October 1919. He made his first team debut, in a Southern League fixture at

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 ...

, when he took the place of

inside-left 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 ...

Jimmy Moore for two matches. In January, he made a further two appearances, this time at

outside-left 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 ...

as a replacement for Fred Foxall. In 1920 Southampton, along with most Southern League clubs, joined the new

Football League Third Division The Football League Third Division was the third tier of the English football league system in 1920–21 and again from 1958 until 1992. When the FA Premier League was formed, the division become the fourth tier level. In 2004, following the f ...

, but Boyes was unable to get into the team past Moore and Foxall who were both ever-present as Saints finished their inaugural season 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 ...

second in the table, missing out on the only available promotion place. Boyes eventually made his Football League debut as replacement for Foxall against Norwich City on 15 October 1921, followed by three games in April, this time replacing Henry Johnson. In June 1922, Boyes was given a free transfer to Bristol Rovers where he made two first-team appearances before returning to the south coast, joining

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

for their first season in the Western League, followed by a season with Weymouth. In 1928, he became Pirelli General's groundsman at Dew Lane,

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

; he continued to turn out for the club on occasions until 1940, but remained the groundsman until he retired in 1960.

Family

His younger brother,

Stuart Stuart may refer to: Names * Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) Automobile *Stuart (automobile) Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, connecting South Australia and the Northern Territory Northe ...

was a cricketer who played over 500 matches for

and the MCC between 1921 and 1939.Stuart Boyes career profile on Cricket Archive
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyes, Ken 1895 births 1963 deaths Footballers from Southampton English men's footballers Men's association football outside forwards Southampton F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Poole Town F.C. players Weymouth F.C. players Pirelli General F.C. players Southern Football League players English Football League players British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Southampton British Army soldiers