Dr. Robert Herbert Mills-Roberts (5 August 1862 – 27 November 1935) 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 ...

. A Welsh international, he was a member of the Preston North End side which became known as "The Invincibles". He was born at

Ffestiniog Ffestiniog () is a community in Gwynedd in Wales, containing several villages, in particular the settlements of Llan Ffestiniog and Blaenau Ffestiniog. It has a population of 4,875. History Ffestiniog was a parish in Cantref Ardudwy; in 1284 ...

on 5 August 1862 and educated at

Friars School, Bangor Friars School is a school in Bangor, Gwynedd, and one of the oldest schools in Wales. History 1557 Establishment The school was founded by Geoffrey Glyn who had been brought up in Anglesey and had followed a career in law in London. A fria ...

and

University College, Aberystwyth Aberystwyth University ( cy, Prifysgol Aberystwyth) is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The universi ...

.British Medical Journal ''Obituary'' Br Med J. 1935 December 14; 2(3910): 1182–1183 As a student he played both association football and rugby football, but he eventually emerged as a first rate goalkeeper while studying at

St Thomas's Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...

, London. He made the first of his eight appearances 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 ...

in 1885, and in 1887 was invited to play as an amateur for

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

in their FA Cup ties. He was a member of the Preston sides which were FA Cup Finalists in 1888 and FA Cup Winners in

1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the ...

. Their victory in the Cup in the 1888–89 season was achieved without conceding a single goal throughout, which was attributed to his goalkeeping skills. He also played for

Barnes Barnes may refer to: People * Barnes (name), a family name and a given name (includes lists of people with that name) Places United Kingdom *Barnes, London, England **Barnes railway station ** Barnes Bridge railway station ** Barnes Railway Bri ...

, Casuals, and Birmingham St George's. He retired in 1890, but was persuaded to make a last appearance for Wales in 1892. Between 1884 and 1888, he made seven appearances for the

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

s amateur club, including playing for Corinthian three times against Preston North End. Mills-Roberts qualified as a doctor in July 1887, and the following year was appointed the house surgeon at

Birmingham General Hospital Birmingham General Hospital was a teaching hospital in Birmingham, England, founded in 1779 and closed in the mid-1990s. History Summer Lane In 1765, a committee for a proposed hospital, formed by John Ash and supported by Sir Lister ...

. He later took a position with the hospital at the Dinorwic Slate Quarry, and served with the British Expeditionary Force in the

First World War 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 ...

. At the end of his working career, he retired to

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, where aged 73 he died on 27 November 1935.

References

External links

Welsh Biography Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mills-Roberts, Rh 1862 births 1935 deaths People from Merionethshire People educated at Friars School, Bangor Alumni of Aberystwyth University Welsh footballers Wales international footballers Association football goalkeepers English Football League players Aberystwyth Town F.C. players Crusaders F.C. (London) players Barnes Club footballers Corinthian F.C. players Casuals F.C. players Birmingham St George's F.C. players Warwick County F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Gloucester City A.F.C. players Llanberis F.C. players Welsh surgeons 19th-century Welsh medical doctors 20th-century Welsh medical doctors 20th-century surgeons FA Cup Final players