Harold Shepherdson MBE (28 October 1918 – 13 September 1995) was an English football player, coach and manager. Born in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, Shepherdson signed for his hometown club in 1936, but saw his playing career interrupted by 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 ...

and ultimately made just 17 league appearances. He is most notable for having been Alf Ramsey's long-term assistant as

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

manager, including during the successful

1966 World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...

campaign. Shepherdson also had four spells as caretaker manager at Middlesbrough. Shepherdson was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

1969 Birthday Honours The 1969 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in supplem ...

. Originally, only the eleven players who featured in the 4–2 win over West Germany in the

1966 World Cup final The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was a association football, football match played at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 July 1966 to determine the winner of the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth FIFA World Cup. The match was conte ...

received medals. Following a Football Association led campaign to persuade FIFA to award medals to every non-playing squad and staff member, Margaret Shepherdson received a medal on behalf of her late husband from

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

at a ceremony at 10 Downing Street on 10 June 2009.World Cup 1966 winners honoured
/ref> The flyover road leading to Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium was named Shepherdson Way in honour of his contribution to the club.

References

1918 births 1995 deaths English men's footballers Men's association football defenders English football managers Middlesbrough F.C. managers Middlesbrough F.C. players Footballers from Middlesbrough Southend United F.C. players Brentford F.C. wartime guest players Middlesbrough F.C. non-playing staff Members of the Order of the British Empire Association football coaches {{England-footy-manager-stub