Richard McFadden (1889 in

Cambuslang Cambuslang ( sco, Cammuslang, from gd, Camas Lang) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

– 23 October 1916 in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

, France) was a Scottish

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 was

Clapton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profess ...

's top scorer for four consecutive seasons between 1911 and 1915. Having moved from Scotland to Blyth as a boy, McFadden started his career in the Northern League with Blyth in November 1910, before moving to Wallsend Park Villa for a fee of £2. In May 1911, he joined Clapton Orient, scoring on his debut against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

on 2 September.Neilson Kaufman, "The Men Who Made Leyton Orient Football Club", Tempus, 2002, pp.326. McFadden broke Orient's goalscoring record in his first season with the club, scoring 19 goals, only to break the record again in what was to be his final season, 1914–1915, with 21 goals. In the intervening two seasons, he was still Orient's top scorer. He also represented a Southern XI in a match against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in November 1914, scoring the only goal of the game, after which a

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

reporter declared that McFadden was the "outstanding player on the field". McFadden attracted press attention off the pitch in 1912 when he rescued an 11-year-old boy from the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of t ...

, for which he received a medal from the

Mayor of Hackney The mayor of Hackney is a directly elected mayor responsible for the executive function of Hackney London Borough Council in London, England. The inaugural holder Jules Pipe Julian Benjamin Pipe (born May 1965) is a British politician who c ...

. Prior to joining Clapton Orient McFadden had also risked his own life when rescuing a man from a burning building.Stephen Jenkins, "They Took the Lead", DDP, 2005, pp.59. At the outbreak of

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 ...

professional football was suspended, and McFadden joined the 17th Battalion

Middlesex Regiment The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1966. The regiment was formed, as the Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment), in 1881 as part of the Childers Re ...

, the "

Footballers' Battalion When World War I was declared in 1914, it had a negative effect on association football; in some countries competitions were suspended and players signed up to fight, resulting in the deaths of many players. Frederick Wall, Secretary of the Footba ...

", along with 40 other Orient players and staff. He rose to the rank of Company Sergeant Major.
CWGC Casualty record. During the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

, he witnessed the death of his childhood friend and Orient teammate William Jonas in July 1916, and was injured himself a few weeks later. On his recovery he returned to the front and earned the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

, but on 22 October 1916, McFadden was fatally wounded by a shell blast whilst leading his men near

Serre-lès-Puisieux Serre-lès-Puisieux is a village in the commune of Puisieux in the Pas-de-Calais department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Serre-lès-Puisieux is situated on the D919 road, northeast of Amiens and north of Albert. Colincamps ...

. He died of wounds the next day in a

field hospital A field hospital is a temporary hospital or mobile medical unit that takes care of casualties on-site before they can be safely transported to more permanent facilities. This term was initially used in military medicine (such as the Mobile A ...

.Stephen Jenkins, "They Took the Lead", DDP, 2005, pp.52. His death was acknowledged by other football clubs, including

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in their official programme, and the ''Manchester Football Chronicle'' stated, "In civil life he was a hero, and he proved himself a hero on the battlefield." McFadden is buried at

Couin Couin () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A small farming village located 16 miles (25 km) southwest of Arras at the junction of the D25 and D2 roads, by the banks of the rive ...

British Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcfadden, Richard 1889 births 1916 deaths Footballers from Cambuslang People from Blyth, Northumberland Footballers from Northumberland Scottish footballers Men's association football forwards Blyth Spartans A.F.C. players Wallsend F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players English Football League players British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in the Battle of the Somme Middlesex Regiment soldiers