Victor David Lambden (25 October 1925 – 4 July 1996) was an English 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 for Bristol Rovers 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 ...

. He played for a local amateur side before joining Bristol Rovers in 1945. Lamden was a prolific goalscorer during his ten years with the club. After his professional career, he returned to amateur football.

Early and personal life

Lambden was born in

Keynsham Keynsham ( ) is a town and civil parish located between Bristol and Bath in Somerset, England. It has a population of 16,000. It was listed in the Domesday Book as ''Cainesham'' (as it is pronounced), which is believed to mean the home of Sai ...

in 1925 to parents Arthur Lambden and Ethel Chinn, and was the youngest of four children. He had two older sisters (Joan and Frances) and one brother (Graham). Lambden married Bristol Rovers fan Grace Ford at St Anne's Church in

Oldland Oldland is a village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The parish includes the villages of Cadbury Heath and Longwell Green, and part of Willsbridge. It does not include Oldland Common, which is in the parish of Bitton. Hi ...

on 28 February 1949. His brother Graham served as best man for the ceremony.

Career

Lambden began his footballing career playing for his local team, Oldland Abbotonians, before joining Bristol Rovers in 1945. He went on to make 269 appearances in the

over the next ten years, scoring 117 goals. Lambden made the best of starts to his Football League career, scoring on his debut for Rovers in the opening game of the 1946–47 season. This game, a 2–2 draw against Reading, also marked the return of League football after it was suspended during World War II. On 19 March 1948, Lambden broke the Bristol Rovers club record for the fastest hat-trick in a match. His nine-minute treble (the goals coming in the 18th, 25th and 27th minutes) in a game against Aldershot remained the club's fastest until Dai Ward scored a four-minute hat-track in 1956. As of 2016, Lambden's remains the joint second-fastest in the club's history. By the end of his time with Rovers Lambden was the club's all-time second-highest goalscorer, behind his teammate Geoff Bradford. His 117-goal tally was later surpassed by Alfie Biggs and

Harold Jarman Harold James Jarman (born 4 May 1939) is an English former professional footballer and first-class cricketer. He spent the majority of his lengthy footballing career with Bristol Rovers, where he is the club's 3rd-highest goalscorer of all time ...

, but he remains the fourth on the club's top goalscorers list into the 21st century. Over the period of his time playing at Eastville, Lambden had become widely known for his successful partnership with fellow

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Bradford, and the pair later died just eighteen months apart from each other. After retiring from professional football, Lambden dropped out of the league to play for

Trowbridge Town Trowbridge Town Football Club is a football club based in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England. They are currently champions of the and play at The Daykin Estates Ground, Woodmarsh, on the southern edge of the town. History A Trowbridge Town team ...

.Byrne & Jay (2003), p. 435

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambden, Vic 1925 births 1996 deaths Footballers from Bristol Association football forwards English footballers English Football League players Oldland Abbotonians F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Trowbridge Town F.C. players People from Keynsham