Walter Sidebottom (1 February 1921 – 23 October 1943) 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 ...
who played as a
winger in the
Football League for
Bolton Wanderers.
Personal life
Sidebottom served as an
able seaman
An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination o ...
in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
Posted aboard , he was
killed in action when the ship was sunk by German torpedo-boat destroyers at the
Battle of Sept-Îles
The Battle of Sept-Îles was a naval action fought on the night of 22/23 October 1943 during World War II as part of the Atlantic campaign. The battle took place off the Sept-Îles near the French coast in the English Channel between a light c ...
on 23 October 1943.
Sidebottom is commemorated on the
Plymouth Naval Memorial.
Career statistics
References
1921 births
1943 deaths
People from Hunslet
Footballers from Leeds
Men's association football wingers
English men's footballers
English Football League players
Bolton Wanderers F.C. players
Bolton Wanderers F.C. wartime guest players
Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II
Deaths due to shipwreck at sea
Royal Navy sailors
Military personnel from Leeds
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