Stanley Charles Davies (24 April 1898 – 17 January 1972) was a Welsh professional

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 as a forward.

Early life

Davies was born in

Chirk Chirk ( cy, Y Waun) is a town and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, south of Wrexham, between it and Oswestry. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 4,468. Historically in the traditional county of Denbighshire, and later Clwy ...

, working as a coal miner for a year as a teenager before becoming a footballer. He fought in World War I, serving with the Royal Welch Fusiliers on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

and attained the rank of sergeant. Davies was wounded during the Battle of Cambrai and later transferred to the Army Signalling School, being awarded the Military Medal and the

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

for his service.

Career

Having played for his hometown side

prior to World War I, Davies turned professional with Rochdale in January 1919 but just three months later joined

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 ...

for £800. After two years with Preston, Davies moved to Everton on 29 January 1921 for a fee of £4000, a club record for Preston at the time. He made his debut on 5 February 1921. His final match was on 5 November that year, and he then moved to West Bromwich Albion. Later in his career he played for Birmingham,

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

, Rotherham United (as player-manager) and

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

. He died in Birmingham in 1972.

References

* * 1898 births 1972 deaths Welsh men's footballers Wales men's international footballers Men's association football forwards Rochdale A.F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Everton F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Welsh football managers Rotherham United F.C. managers People from Chirk Footballers from Wrexham County Borough British Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Military Medal Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Royal Welch Fusiliers soldiers Chelmsford City F.C. non-playing staff Military personnel from Wrexham County Borough {{Wales-footy-forward-stub