Kenneth Lawrence Wright (16 May 1922 – 6 June 1994) 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 ...

who played as an inside-forward in the Football League for

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

. As an amateur, Wright played for Cambridge Town. He served with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

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 opposing ...

where he rose to the rank of Flight Lieutenant and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He played wartime football for

, making seven appearances in the Football League South between 1943 and 1945 (including a return of five goal in five games in the 1945–46 season). He signed professional forms with the east London club in 1946, making his official debut on 7 September 1946 in a 0–2 home defeat against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. He played for the Hammers for three seasons before leaving in 1949. He was the club's top scorer for the 1948–49 season with 11 goals. His overall tally for West Ham was 25 goals in 59 games. He later rejoined the RAF after a knee injury forced his retirement from football, becoming an instructor with

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

References

1922 births 1994 deaths People from Newmarket, Suffolk English men's footballers Men's association football inside forwards Cambridge City F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) English Football League players Royal Air Force officers Footballers from Suffolk {{England-footy-forward-1920s-stub