Wilfred Shaw (21 April 191220 February 1945) was an English

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 right back mainly for Doncaster Rovers. He was killed in action in World War II.

Playing career

Shaw signed to Doncaster from local club Rossington Colliery for the start of the 1930–31 season, though didn't get his first game until 2 May 1931. The following season he made just 2 appearances, and it wasn't until the end of the 1933–34 season that he became a regular feature, playing in every league and FA Cup game in the 1934–35 season. In December 1935, Smith was in the Doncaster team that played their first game against a club from outside the British Isles when they entertained F.C. Austria of Vienna, a game they eventually lost 1–2. He was also in the first Rovers side to venture abroad when they played a friendly against the Dutch International XI on 21 October 1936 at the Sparta Rotterdam Arena, losing 7–2. During the first season of the war, Shaw was a regular feature for Doncaster in the East Midlands War League, though in each of the following two seasons he only played in one game. His last appearance for Rovers was on 24 October 1942 in a 2–4 home defeat to Sheffield United in the War League North. He was registered with Gloucester City for the 1941–42 season, though never played any competitive games.

Personal life

His brother was

George Shaw George Shaw may refer to: * George Shaw (biologist) (1751–1813), English botanist and zoologist * George B. Shaw (1854–1894), U.S. Representative from Wisconsin * George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Irish playwright * George C. Shaw (1866–196 ...

, who also played for Doncaster in the 1920s, and went on to be an FA Cup winner with West Bromwich Albion and made an appearance for England. A

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in the

Argyll And Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

, 2nd Bn, ⁣ref name=wargraves/> Shaw was killed in action 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 ...

during Operation Veritable on 20 February 1945. He is buried in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery near Kleve in Germany, his name is on the War Memorial in Cantley, Doncaster.

Honours

Doncaster Rovers *

Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated from a higher division allocated to ...

Champions 1934–35

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Wilf 1912 births 1945 deaths People from Rossington Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster Footballers from South Yorkshire English men's footballers Men's association football defenders Rossington Main F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players English Football League players Military personnel from Doncaster British Army personnel killed in World War II Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders soldiers