Vivian Sumner Simpson MC (1883 – 13 April 1918) was an English amateur footballer who played 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 ...

for The Wednesday as a

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. He is most notable for his time in

non-League football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

with Sheffield, for whom he scored over 100 goals in over 200 appearances.

Personal life

Simpson attended Wesley College, Sheffield and later worked for his father as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

. He served in the York and Lancaster Regiment during the First World War and was awarded the Military Cross and

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

in September 1917: Between November 1916 and February 1917, Simpson was promoted from a temporary

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

to acting captain, while commanding his company. He was promoted to acting captain and to command his company again in April 1917. In September 1917, Simpson was invalided back to Britain after suffering wounds and was posted to a role training junior officers in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

. He later returned to the

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and was killed by a

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

"while selflessly dashing through the darkness to check on his comrades" on 13 April 1918 at Outtersteene, near Ploegsteert, Belgium. He was buried in Outtersteene Communal Cemetery Extension.

Career statistics

Honours

Sheffield *

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footba ...

: 1903–04

References

1883 births 1918 deaths Footballers from Sheffield English men's footballers English Football League players Men's association football inside forwards British Army personnel of World War I York and Lancaster Regiment officers Military personnel from Sheffield British military personnel killed in World War I Sheffield F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Norwich City F.C. players Northern Nomads F.C. players Southern Football League players Deaths by firearm in Belgium Burials in Belgium {{England-footy-forward-1880s-stub English solicitors People educated at Wesley College, Sheffield